I think our offense will have more talent next year, but lose intangibles. Flynn's calmness under pressure and 5 years of reading defenses. Hester's almost mistake free clutch play and Early Doucet. Perriloux has more natural talent than Flynn. Lafell will step up and perhaps Tolliver will emerge as a third receiver. Our RB's are very talented. Our OL should be better than this year because we only lose Stewart. I was surprised to hear Tyson Jackson not say whether he is coming back. If not for that I would feel great about our DL because Alexander was hurt all year. I think our major concern are LB's and corners. We lose both senior corners Ali Highsmith and Sanders. We haven't seen enough of Jai Eugene and Hawkins to say they can do a great job. Perhaps our new CB commit can play as a freshman. Riley and Sheppard will have to play LB I guess unless we let McCray play LB. Our safeties are fine even though we lose Stelz. Chad Jones, Harry Coleman, etc. Any thoughts on who ya'll see starting, especially at corner and LB?
Our secondary will be all right...We are deep at safety, Harry Coleman showed a lot last night...With a great D-line and srong secondary, that should help our lb's...The O-line will suffer a huge blow if Big Herman leaves to the NFL...Everybody was raving about his play last night.
We'll have more talent on offense next year; we will probably score more points, but may not be as collected & good under pressure as this offense. We'll just have to wait & see how we mature. My primary question about the offense is which RB gets the bulk of the carries... My guess is Charles Scott. CB & LB are big question marks for the defense. How well we address those will define our season.
eugene didnt even look so hot last night. replacing one is not such a big deal if you have a dependable one coming back, but two! im concerned. with the DL we'll have, just play nickel all the time. got plenty of safeties.
CB & LB are big question marks for the defense. How well we address those will define our season.[/quote] Exactly what I'm getting at, but I would like your best guesses at who starts and if anyone leaves early--Tyson Jackson, Beckwith, Pittman, etc. Beckwith leaving would hurt us bad IMO and I don't think he will because he was often hurt and couldn't really show his stuff. Who starts at LB and in the DB's. Will we change any DB's to LB's? Give it your best shot. We won't hold you to it. What is the word on how any young DB's and LB's look? I ask this because I can recall hearing that Beckwith was outstanding at practice before I ever saw him play in a game.
My guess is CB: Chris Hawkins & Patrick Johnson LB: Beckwith at MLB with Sheppard taking over Ali's spot & Riley over Sanders'. Tyson Jackson, Beckwith, and Herman Johnson all come back. Kirston Pittman enters the draft & opts not to apply for another year of eligibility.
I hope Johnson can do it, and I hear he will enroll early which helps. I am not that high on Eugene as an elite corner. Hawkins has a little more experience. Ok that would be good, but it leads to more questions. How do we use McCray, Chad Jones, Harry Coleman and Taylor. I had always assumed Jones would take Steltz's place, but after last night it seems that Coleman should be used frequently. Where do each play now? Taylor should retain his current position. Jones must play, does he still take over for Steltz? If so, who plays the most between Coleman and McCray. This year McCray played a lot in place of Sanders, but will he come in for Riley in passing situations?
Jai's got more PT than anyone besides Hawkins (as no one else has any), and he's got the athletic ability, but he just hasn't developed as hoped. Not only is Patrick Johnson an amazing athlete, but he's got the drive & determination to become a starter right away. Well, the natural assumption would be the same way we used them this year/in the NC game. Harry Coleman & Taylor at Safety, McCray at nickelback, and Chad Jones as dime back. It really depends on who the new DC is though.
I just think Jones is such a talent he should be on the field at all times if he can handle the assignments mentally. I think that McCray has less physical talent and has certainly blown some assignments this year. Taylor seemed to show more speed than McCray last night as well. If Coleman is the safety I think Jones should at least be the nickel. I have every confidence that he can step up and stop the run when needed as he will only get bigger. In addition who can forget him catching McFadden from behind. He is an elite athlete. I hope our new DC will use him more.
