Randall will not last out the 1st game if selected the starter. He has shown no improvement in 2 years and would cost us 2 or more games if he played the whole game. Russell is the man and only Perrilloux in two years will stand in his way. Russell needs to get 1st team practice time. Wilkerson is considered by the pros to be the number one center in the country.
I didn't take the time to read all of TE's novel but what I did read it looks like he and I are on the same page. One point TE pushes home that I whole-heartedly agree with is our 2004 success resting with Randall. Neither of the 2 frosh need to be starting, period. I don't care how long they have been in the system they haven't set foot on the "real" field. That's a huge difference. Through fall and spring practice they have worn red "no-contact" jerseys which can most definitely make a person not flinch or react to an oncoming rusher. I though it was evident in the scrimmage. Our best case scenario is for Randall to continue to develop as a manager of the game. Nothing flashy. ala Matt Mauck. Let the frosh get their mop up duty to gain that on the field experience. Then 1 or both can take over in '05. Other things that caught my eye at the spring game: >Alley B has converted baby fat to muscle. Looks much better. >Mario Stevenson, Claude Wroten and Ali Highsmith look to be serious players >Kenny Hollis looks good. >Justin V is still Justin V >Dwayne Bowe has super-glue for palms of his hands >And last but most important......the Golden Girls are hot........
That is the problem. You have to know the game and know your reads to be a ame manager. I am not sure that there is an effective game manager on the team and while I agree with you that this team has the defense to run that type of game plan, I seriously doubt you are going to keep stockpiling offensive talent playing keepaway. I also don't see MR as a game manager nor do I see JR as a game manager. I just think that you have got to stick with someone in game 1 and let it ride if you plan on trying to win at Florida or Georgia. I am sure Saban and Fisher will do what is best for the team, this is just my opinion and I think that JR is the man.
Can anyone gather from the spring game as to who has the inside track to the following positions (along with my guesses): 1) TE - David Jones? 2) FB - Kevin Steltz? 3) WR - Dwayne Bowe? 4) FL - Amp Hill? 5) RDE - Pittman or Oliver? 6) RT - Claude Wroten? 7) SLB - Ken Hollis? Ali Highsmith? Cooper? 8) FS - Jesse Daniels? 9) RT - Nate Livings? 10) RG - Terrill McGill? 11) LG - Rudy Niswanger? 12) DB - Mario Stevenson (Nickel) 13) DB - Ronnie Prude (Dime)
your right on te, zinger and hebert looked good too. wr/fl- davis looked good too i think it will be bowe,hill,davis,skyler, addia, and the freshman fb- right on DE- too close to tell rt- wroten SLB- ali and ingram looked the best fs- daniels just as you said on the line db- mario is awesome plain and simple, zennon looked really really good, child looked amazing too, gordon looked pretty good and the same with prude. we have so much talent here its insane.
I think with all the depth at DB, we will have to move one or 2 of them to Safety or Free Safety. The question is which one has the physical and mental makeup to play those positions? Is Jesse Daniels looking better at FS? He will be the key to us being as successful as we were with our blitz packages. There were so many times Jack Hunt had to cover a pretty good receiver one on one (e.g., Sugar Bowl against OU), so it's critical this guy step up his game big time from last year. I didn't hear anyone talk about a player I am most high on for defense: Kirston Pittman.
Well, if you ask me, it's inevitable, and not unlikely, nor should it be surprising... Randall Gay and Travis Daniels, as well as Prude all played some safety last year...Hell, even Clayton did for about a series or so... It's not so much about being a run supporter or a hard hitter anymore, to be totally honest. That's taken care of by our front seven for the most part. It's also not about providing so much over the top help, as our corners can DEFINITELY wing it alone out on the islands... I think it's more about just a knowledge of the gameplan, and a knowledge of the defense, which most of those defensive backs have in droves. To get onto the field, they've got to have mastered a large volume of defensive information in terms of the playbook, schemes, and our strategy. As long as they get us in the right alignment, it's not necessary for them to be heavy hitters, have great cover skills or even come up to stuff the run. They just have to have speed, know the defense, and be able to check in and out of our calls. Period.
Perhaps you are right. Standing out there by Whitworth and Livings will make anybody look a little puny.
