Almost half way through the 2016 season. We filled our class early and down the stretch we will start to see the class take shape. I wanted to chart who we have committed vs what we have returning to get an idea of where we are and what our needs are. Any numbers experts can chime in on how many we can take and so on. I am using the comprehensive rankings from TOS here just to be 'fair'. I'll save this and re-post with alterations as both the current roster and committed class changes.
Returning QB's:
Dormady
Guarantano
Jones
Committed QB's:
CJ Lewis 3* 28th DTQB
- Lewis high a lot of potential but is certainly raw and a long way from being a P5 QB. He seems like a driven kid who will buy in. If QB is obviously not going to workout he is athletic enough to play WR or perhaps DB.
Returing RB's:
Kelly
Fils-Aime
Lewis
Committed RB's:
Ty Chandler 4* 6th RB
- Chandler is a big-timer. He is the kind of RB that big-time programs land year-in-year-out.
Trey Coleman 3* 41st ATH
- Coleman just seems like a "football player". Reminds me of those RB's who are good at everything but not great at anything, and you need those players sometimes. Not go all VFF before a kid finishes his senior season, but I think his ceiling is higher at LB.
Returning TE's:
Ethan
Johnson
Eli
Pope
Brooks
Committed TE's:
Chase Rogers 3* 37th TE
- Rogers is a smooth pass catcher but not the best athlete in the TE room. He has good size at 6'3 238.
Latrell Bumphus 3* 25th WDE
- Bumphus is a great jumbo-athlete who could play TE or DE. I personally hope he winds up at DE and think his ceiling is higher there.
Returning WR's:
Malone
Jennings
Smith
P Williams
Byrd
Johnson
L Williams
Callaway
George
Perry
Committed WR's:
Jordan Murphy 3* 63rd WR
- Murphy is under ranked, IMHO. We don't have huge needs at WR but hope we can hang onto Murphy. He is a good player
Jacquez Jones 3* 121st WR
- Jones is supposed to have big-time speed. He is pretty thin but has decent height and length for a smaller framed guy.
Princeton Fant 3* 84th WR
- Unique build for a WR because he is so thick. 6'2 205. If he can get and stay healthy he is a good player. I'm curious to if he can keep his weight down enough to stay at WR. He doesn't have the length to play TE, but in the college game you can do some unique H-back type stuff with a 6'2 230 type guy. Very interesting prospect.
Returning OT's:
Kendrick
Hall
Richmond
Tatum
Johnson
Neihaus
Sanders
Returning OG's/C's:
Robertson
Jones
Thomas
Boulware
Mosley
Committed OL's:
Riley Locklear 3* 69th OT
- He could play C or OT, much like Coleman Thomas. Locklear is listed at 6'5 290.
Jordan Tucker 3* 73rd OT
- Tucker is massive at 6'7 335. Could play T or G. Woody saw him play the first game of the year and thinks Tucker's best football is ahead of him.
Returning DE's:
Kongbo
Mixon
Phillips
Taylor
Smith
McDaniel
Committed DE's:
Tre Lawson 3* 23rd SDE
- Lawson has great size at 6'6 245. He needs to gain a considerable amount of weight, but if he does he will be a solid player. He is putting up big numbers so far during his senior season.
Marquez Bembry 3* 48th ATH
- Bembry has an impressive offer list for a 3*. He is a great athlete and would be a Darrell Taylor type player on the edge. A ton of potential.
Returning DT's:
Tuttle
Vickers
Kahlil
Picou
Johnson
Butcher
Committed DT's:
Brandon Gaddy 3* 45th DT
- Great athlete. Buy-in factor is huge for him. Find a position and be the best you can be at it.
Breyon Gaddy 4* 15th DT
- Buy-in factor is big for Breyon as well. He won't struggle to find a position, but buying into controlling his weight and conditioning will be big. Sky is the limit for he and his brother.
Eric Crosby 4* 13th DT
- Needs to transform his body to take the next step. A ton of physical tools and obviously an athlete. His frame and athleticism remind me of Aaron Donald... Again, another guy with a big buy-in factor.
Kivon Bennett 3* 36th DT
- Under ranked right now. Probably the most game-ready DT we have committed. Perfect 4-3 DT.
Returning LB's:
Kirkland
Jumper
McDowell
Bryant
Bates
Berry
Bituli
Sapp
Blakely
Committed LB's:
Jaquan Henderson 3* 29th S
- Great athlete. Undersized but if he can put on the weight and maintain his athleticism he will be a big time will.
Solon Page 3* 64th OLB
- Good size at 6'2 207. Could play either OLB spots depending on what his body does. He is a more natural Sam and could be the 'modern day sam' that this defense has needed for years. Can he play in the box? That's Page's biggest question, IMO.
Mo Burnam 3* 39th MLB
- Good size at 6'2 219, and is a good athlete for a MLB... But he doesn't play MLB for his high school team so there is a lot of projecting going on here.
Returning S's:
TK
Abernathy
Berry
Griffin
Warrior
Returning CB's/N's:
Gaulden
Moseley
Buchanan
Martin
Osborne
Henderson
Committed DB's:
Maliek Gray 4* 6th S
- Could play S or N. Could grow into an OLB. Big-time player wherever he lands.
CJ Cotman 3* 37th CB
- Finding a position will be hard for him. Could play CB, WR, or RB. Big time speed. If he finds the right fit, he will be a good player.
Cheyenne Labruzza 3* 43th CB
- Could play CB but I think he could be better at S or N. He has offensive skills, a good frame, and just looks like a football player. I think he is one of our better commitments.
Terrell Bailey 3* 47th CB
- 4* on Rivals. I like his tape a lot. He seems like a true CB and those are always hard to find.
Theo Jackson 3* 35th S
- Another guy with offensive skills. Great length for a DB at 6'2. Should be a long, rangy safety one day. Outside shot at playing CB.
Quick Thoughts:
Currently, this class is a little short on difference makers. Adding Trey Smith, Lamont Wade, maybe a couple others will change that. I don't see this being a top 10, but do see it being a class that meets our needs. We do have a lot of guys with really high ceilings, IMO. Who knows how many reach their potential, but we clearly have a plan to develop these guys. i really like the potential of Jackson, Lawson, Cotman, Henderson, Labruzza, and Page, just to name a few.
Returning QB's:
Dormady
Guarantano
Jones
Committed QB's:
CJ Lewis 3* 28th DTQB
- Lewis high a lot of potential but is certainly raw and a long way from being a P5 QB. He seems like a driven kid who will buy in. If QB is obviously not going to workout he is athletic enough to play WR or perhaps DB.
Returing RB's:
Kelly
Fils-Aime
Lewis
Committed RB's:
Ty Chandler 4* 6th RB
- Chandler is a big-timer. He is the kind of RB that big-time programs land year-in-year-out.
Trey Coleman 3* 41st ATH
- Coleman just seems like a "football player". Reminds me of those RB's who are good at everything but not great at anything, and you need those players sometimes. Not go all VFF before a kid finishes his senior season, but I think his ceiling is higher at LB.
Returning TE's:
Ethan
Johnson
Eli
Pope
Brooks
Committed TE's:
Chase Rogers 3* 37th TE
- Rogers is a smooth pass catcher but not the best athlete in the TE room. He has good size at 6'3 238.
Latrell Bumphus 3* 25th WDE
- Bumphus is a great jumbo-athlete who could play TE or DE. I personally hope he winds up at DE and think his ceiling is higher there.
Returning WR's:
Malone
Jennings
Smith
P Williams
Byrd
Johnson
L Williams
Callaway
George
Perry
Committed WR's:
Jordan Murphy 3* 63rd WR
- Murphy is under ranked, IMHO. We don't have huge needs at WR but hope we can hang onto Murphy. He is a good player
Jacquez Jones 3* 121st WR
- Jones is supposed to have big-time speed. He is pretty thin but has decent height and length for a smaller framed guy.
Princeton Fant 3* 84th WR
- Unique build for a WR because he is so thick. 6'2 205. If he can get and stay healthy he is a good player. I'm curious to if he can keep his weight down enough to stay at WR. He doesn't have the length to play TE, but in the college game you can do some unique H-back type stuff with a 6'2 230 type guy. Very interesting prospect.
Returning OT's:
Kendrick
Hall
Richmond
Tatum
Johnson
Neihaus
Sanders
Returning OG's/C's:
Robertson
Jones
Thomas
Boulware
Mosley
Committed OL's:
Riley Locklear 3* 69th OT
- He could play C or OT, much like Coleman Thomas. Locklear is listed at 6'5 290.
Jordan Tucker 3* 73rd OT
- Tucker is massive at 6'7 335. Could play T or G. Woody saw him play the first game of the year and thinks Tucker's best football is ahead of him.
Returning DE's:
Kongbo
Mixon
Phillips
Taylor
Smith
McDaniel
Committed DE's:
Tre Lawson 3* 23rd SDE
- Lawson has great size at 6'6 245. He needs to gain a considerable amount of weight, but if he does he will be a solid player. He is putting up big numbers so far during his senior season.
Marquez Bembry 3* 48th ATH
- Bembry has an impressive offer list for a 3*. He is a great athlete and would be a Darrell Taylor type player on the edge. A ton of potential.
Returning DT's:
Tuttle
Vickers
Kahlil
Picou
Johnson
Butcher
Committed DT's:
Brandon Gaddy 3* 45th DT
- Great athlete. Buy-in factor is huge for him. Find a position and be the best you can be at it.
Breyon Gaddy 4* 15th DT
- Buy-in factor is big for Breyon as well. He won't struggle to find a position, but buying into controlling his weight and conditioning will be big. Sky is the limit for he and his brother.
Eric Crosby 4* 13th DT
- Needs to transform his body to take the next step. A ton of physical tools and obviously an athlete. His frame and athleticism remind me of Aaron Donald... Again, another guy with a big buy-in factor.
Kivon Bennett 3* 36th DT
- Under ranked right now. Probably the most game-ready DT we have committed. Perfect 4-3 DT.
Returning LB's:
Kirkland
Jumper
McDowell
Bryant
Bates
Berry
Bituli
Sapp
Blakely
Committed LB's:
Jaquan Henderson 3* 29th S
- Great athlete. Undersized but if he can put on the weight and maintain his athleticism he will be a big time will.
Solon Page 3* 64th OLB
- Good size at 6'2 207. Could play either OLB spots depending on what his body does. He is a more natural Sam and could be the 'modern day sam' that this defense has needed for years. Can he play in the box? That's Page's biggest question, IMO.
Mo Burnam 3* 39th MLB
- Good size at 6'2 219, and is a good athlete for a MLB... But he doesn't play MLB for his high school team so there is a lot of projecting going on here.
Returning S's:
TK
Abernathy
Berry
Griffin
Warrior
Returning CB's/N's:
Gaulden
Moseley
Buchanan
Martin
Osborne
Henderson
Committed DB's:
Maliek Gray 4* 6th S
- Could play S or N. Could grow into an OLB. Big-time player wherever he lands.
CJ Cotman 3* 37th CB
- Finding a position will be hard for him. Could play CB, WR, or RB. Big time speed. If he finds the right fit, he will be a good player.
Cheyenne Labruzza 3* 43th CB
- Could play CB but I think he could be better at S or N. He has offensive skills, a good frame, and just looks like a football player. I think he is one of our better commitments.
Terrell Bailey 3* 47th CB
- 4* on Rivals. I like his tape a lot. He seems like a true CB and those are always hard to find.
Theo Jackson 3* 35th S
- Another guy with offensive skills. Great length for a DB at 6'2. Should be a long, rangy safety one day. Outside shot at playing CB.
Quick Thoughts:
Currently, this class is a little short on difference makers. Adding Trey Smith, Lamont Wade, maybe a couple others will change that. I don't see this being a top 10, but do see it being a class that meets our needs. We do have a lot of guys with really high ceilings, IMO. Who knows how many reach their potential, but we clearly have a plan to develop these guys. i really like the potential of Jackson, Lawson, Cotman, Henderson, Labruzza, and Page, just to name a few.
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