Not that anyone gives a flying rats ass what I think in July... But let's go.
QB:
1. Hooker
2. Milton
3. Jackson
-- Pretty straight forward here. By transfer portal era standards, this is really good depth at QB
RB:
1. Small
2A. Wright
2B. JWT
Situational short yardage guy: Princeton Fant
-- Whitehead hasn't shown he can stay healthy. I'm going with a bit of a hot take and saying we get creative on 3rd and an inch. I do think Small is an improved short yardage runner next season though.
WR (Outside):
1. Tillman
2. Webb
1. McCoy
2. Keyton
WR (Slot):
1. Hyatt
2A. Callaway
2B. Holiday
-- Hyatt is going to have a good year. Different type of slot than Velus but will still produce. I think one of the big x-factors in this offense is getting one of the Jimmys or Walker Merrill going as a reliable 3rd or 4th target.
TE:
1A. Warren
1B. Fant
2. Campbell
-- We're lucky to have Fant back. He and Warren do a lot of dirty work in this offense. They compliment each other well and will get a decent number of targets this fall.
LT:
1. Wright
2. Mincy
LG:
1. Carvin
2. Lane
C:
1. Mays
2. Carvin
RG:
1. Spraggins
2. Lampley
RT:
1. Crawford
2. Davis
-- OL all comes down to the tackle opposite Wright, and overall depth. In good shape on the interrior for the most part, especially the starting 3 being solid players. Good potential depth there too. Tackles are the issue, we all know it. Wright has to stay healthy.
-- One more blurb about the offense... Squirrell White or Dylan Sampson could figure into the mix in some spot play. Their speed is elite and they're good ballplayers to go with it.
SWITCHING GEARS TO THE DEFENSE
SDE:
1. Barron
2. West
3 Tech:
1. Thomas
2. Eason
3. Terry
Nose:
1. Simmons
2. Garland
3. Terry
WDE:
1. Young
2. Harrison
-- I like our depth on the inside. I think in addition to the 5 guys listed here we have Jordan Phillips who could earn some reps as well. On the edge, its about Baron and Bumpus staying healthy. They're both solid when they are... And it is about Young and Harrison taking a step forward. They're our twitchiest guys for sure. Young could be a double digit sack guy IMO. And then theres Pearce and Josephs who could most definitely bolster our situational pass rush.
MIKE:
1. Banks
2. Beasley
WILL:
1. Mitchell
2. Page
-- Mitchell is huge in this group. Staying healthy is huge for this group. I could Elijah Herring beating out someone for reps here. We'll play four guys just because of the number of snaps the defense plays.
Nickel:
1. Walker (GT Transfer)
2. Slaughter
-- Walker has played a lot of football at nickel. I'm a believer that this spot takes a veteran to understand the leverage you have to have because it always changes based on the call. He doesn't run quite as well as I would like. I'd be thrilled if he dropped from 205 to 195 to gain half a step.
CB:
1. Burrell
2. Turnage
1. Charles
2. Hadden
-- I am afraid this might be quite the trouble spot for this defense. I like the potential of literally everyone listed but they've all had their lumps as well... We'll see. (Minus Charles on the lumps comment). Theres plenty of other bodies to throw at it and see if someone will own the job. Rucker, Williams, Harrison come to mind.
S:
1. Flowers
2. Charles
1. McCullough
2. McDonald
-- We need to be more dynamic at safety, I get it. But these two are just salty old veterans who knows what they're doing. I'm interested to see if Flowers runs well enough to play Nickel. I like his length and physicality there. Could create quite the domino effect on the rest of the defense.
KR: Holiday
PR: Squirrel
-- Both could be pretty damn good in those respective spots as well.
2.
QB:
1. Hooker
2. Milton
3. Jackson
-- Pretty straight forward here. By transfer portal era standards, this is really good depth at QB
RB:
1. Small
2A. Wright
2B. JWT
Situational short yardage guy: Princeton Fant
-- Whitehead hasn't shown he can stay healthy. I'm going with a bit of a hot take and saying we get creative on 3rd and an inch. I do think Small is an improved short yardage runner next season though.
WR (Outside):
1. Tillman
2. Webb
1. McCoy
2. Keyton
WR (Slot):
1. Hyatt
2A. Callaway
2B. Holiday
-- Hyatt is going to have a good year. Different type of slot than Velus but will still produce. I think one of the big x-factors in this offense is getting one of the Jimmys or Walker Merrill going as a reliable 3rd or 4th target.
TE:
1A. Warren
1B. Fant
2. Campbell
-- We're lucky to have Fant back. He and Warren do a lot of dirty work in this offense. They compliment each other well and will get a decent number of targets this fall.
LT:
1. Wright
2. Mincy
LG:
1. Carvin
2. Lane
C:
1. Mays
2. Carvin
RG:
1. Spraggins
2. Lampley
RT:
1. Crawford
2. Davis
-- OL all comes down to the tackle opposite Wright, and overall depth. In good shape on the interrior for the most part, especially the starting 3 being solid players. Good potential depth there too. Tackles are the issue, we all know it. Wright has to stay healthy.
-- One more blurb about the offense... Squirrell White or Dylan Sampson could figure into the mix in some spot play. Their speed is elite and they're good ballplayers to go with it.
SWITCHING GEARS TO THE DEFENSE
SDE:
1. Barron
2. West
3 Tech:
1. Thomas
2. Eason
3. Terry
Nose:
1. Simmons
2. Garland
3. Terry
WDE:
1. Young
2. Harrison
-- I like our depth on the inside. I think in addition to the 5 guys listed here we have Jordan Phillips who could earn some reps as well. On the edge, its about Baron and Bumpus staying healthy. They're both solid when they are... And it is about Young and Harrison taking a step forward. They're our twitchiest guys for sure. Young could be a double digit sack guy IMO. And then theres Pearce and Josephs who could most definitely bolster our situational pass rush.
MIKE:
1. Banks
2. Beasley
WILL:
1. Mitchell
2. Page
-- Mitchell is huge in this group. Staying healthy is huge for this group. I could Elijah Herring beating out someone for reps here. We'll play four guys just because of the number of snaps the defense plays.
Nickel:
1. Walker (GT Transfer)
2. Slaughter
-- Walker has played a lot of football at nickel. I'm a believer that this spot takes a veteran to understand the leverage you have to have because it always changes based on the call. He doesn't run quite as well as I would like. I'd be thrilled if he dropped from 205 to 195 to gain half a step.
CB:
1. Burrell
2. Turnage
1. Charles
2. Hadden
-- I am afraid this might be quite the trouble spot for this defense. I like the potential of literally everyone listed but they've all had their lumps as well... We'll see. (Minus Charles on the lumps comment). Theres plenty of other bodies to throw at it and see if someone will own the job. Rucker, Williams, Harrison come to mind.
S:
1. Flowers
2. Charles
1. McCullough
2. McDonald
-- We need to be more dynamic at safety, I get it. But these two are just salty old veterans who knows what they're doing. I'm interested to see if Flowers runs well enough to play Nickel. I like his length and physicality there. Could create quite the domino effect on the rest of the defense.
KR: Holiday
PR: Squirrel
-- Both could be pretty damn good in those respective spots as well.
2.
