Kind of piggybacking off of Paul's post from today, I was thinking about players who, mostly due to injuries to players ahead of them on the depth chart, will get a bigger chance than they otherwise would have to earn PT in the fall.
TE
With Alex Ellis likely limited and only Ethan Wolf both available and coming back with experience, both AJ Branisel (coming off injury and a redshirt) and Neiko Creamer (who came on at the end of the season and in bowl practices) should get a ton of reps. Can either or both of them step up and bolster the TE rotation?
DL
Paul mentioned him today, but Dimarya Mixon is incredibly intriguing to me. I know the VQ staff thinks he is better as a big SDE, but even with Derek Barnett and Kyle Phillips out in the spring, I don't see how he gets meaningful run there in the fall. We're still light on numbers at DT, especially in the spring with DOB out and Williams limited. And he could certainly use the reps there.
Kendall Vickers is basically the same as Mixon, although he played a little bit less in 2014. A tweener type who the coaches really like, he's got an opportunity this spring at both DE and DT. Btw, I'm counting Latroy Lewis as a guy who is already established enough at DE that he was going to get plenty of reps regardless.
Andrew Butcher should have a lot of opportunity at WDE. I'm going to assume they know what they have in Curt Maggitt and can go easy on him, so besides Corey Vereen, Butcher is basically it. Would be big if he could show that he can help this season if needed.
LB
Chris Weatherd is my candidate for breakout player of the spring and possibly the season. Love his athleticism and game, and with a full year int he program I think he's ready to show out. Seems like everything is in flux at OLB outside of JRM (who, like Maggit, they know what they have with), and could he even see some time at WDE given the depth situation mentioned above?
Kenny Bynum won't have Jakob Johnson or DKJr to deal with in the spring at MLB, so can he build on a decent showing in the bowl game? Can he give the coaches enough confidence to leave Dillon Bates to fight it out with Weatherd and Cortez McDowell at OLB?
Lastly, and this isn't injury-created PT, but can either or both of Devaun Swofford or Lemond Johnson do enough to break into the rotation at S, or at the least keep their ST jobs from incoming freshmen?
Thoughts?
TE
With Alex Ellis likely limited and only Ethan Wolf both available and coming back with experience, both AJ Branisel (coming off injury and a redshirt) and Neiko Creamer (who came on at the end of the season and in bowl practices) should get a ton of reps. Can either or both of them step up and bolster the TE rotation?
DL
Paul mentioned him today, but Dimarya Mixon is incredibly intriguing to me. I know the VQ staff thinks he is better as a big SDE, but even with Derek Barnett and Kyle Phillips out in the spring, I don't see how he gets meaningful run there in the fall. We're still light on numbers at DT, especially in the spring with DOB out and Williams limited. And he could certainly use the reps there.
Kendall Vickers is basically the same as Mixon, although he played a little bit less in 2014. A tweener type who the coaches really like, he's got an opportunity this spring at both DE and DT. Btw, I'm counting Latroy Lewis as a guy who is already established enough at DE that he was going to get plenty of reps regardless.
Andrew Butcher should have a lot of opportunity at WDE. I'm going to assume they know what they have in Curt Maggitt and can go easy on him, so besides Corey Vereen, Butcher is basically it. Would be big if he could show that he can help this season if needed.
LB
Chris Weatherd is my candidate for breakout player of the spring and possibly the season. Love his athleticism and game, and with a full year int he program I think he's ready to show out. Seems like everything is in flux at OLB outside of JRM (who, like Maggit, they know what they have with), and could he even see some time at WDE given the depth situation mentioned above?
Kenny Bynum won't have Jakob Johnson or DKJr to deal with in the spring at MLB, so can he build on a decent showing in the bowl game? Can he give the coaches enough confidence to leave Dillon Bates to fight it out with Weatherd and Cortez McDowell at OLB?
Lastly, and this isn't injury-created PT, but can either or both of Devaun Swofford or Lemond Johnson do enough to break into the rotation at S, or at the least keep their ST jobs from incoming freshmen?
Thoughts?
