I enjoy going through the position groups and breaking them down just a little.
Below are my thoughts for 2018.
QB (3 Scholarship Players):
Guarantano
McBride
Shrout
Gaurantano leads to pack and should start next year - When given time in 2017 I thought he started really coming around with accuracy and showed a lot of promise. He also started stepping up from a leadership perspective. To turn any corners as a team in 2018 we desperately need Guarantano to take the next step. McBride is a capable backup will better running ability than Guarantano. When running the offense at the end of the year we had no OLINE, couldn't run the ball, and the QBs had no time in the pocket. All things considered I thought McBride showed some promise
Could be adding a Grad Transfer at QB if the right guy is available. I believe this would be for depth more so than looking for a starter
RB (5 Scholarship Players):
Chandler
Jordan
Coleman
Fils-Aime
Banks
It would have been nice to get another big time recruit at RB this year but Chandler & Jordan showed a lot of promise in 2017 and the addition of Banks should be good as well. Fils-Aime isn't the biggest runner but he gets some tough yards and runs hard. He could surprise in 2018 as I believe we will be more north and south than in previous years. As long as injuries don't cause issues in the backfield we should be just fine at this position next year
WR (10 Scholarship Players)
Jennings
Callaway
Palmer
Johnson
Williams
Murphy
Jones
Taylor
Tillman
Fant
Jennings is such a pivotal part of the outlook at this position. With him this position group could be good. Regardless we need youngsters like Palmer, Murphy, Taylor, Williams, and Jones to step up. The new WR coach has developed players at other stops so this could be a position grouping that gets a lot better from 17 to 18 as the coaching at this position last year was questionable at best
TE (6 Scholarship Players):
Wolf
Pope
Brown
Bumphus
Anderson
Warren
JUCO Anderson is the key to this position group. He and Bumphus are the only 2 that fit what the coaches are looking for immediately as bodies big enough to handle inline blocking. If they can stay healthy and a player like Pope adds 15-20 lbs of rip in the offseason this could be a nice position group.
OL (13 Scholarship Players - Could lose 2 to Medical RS)
Brooks
Calbert
Smith
Tatum
Richmond
Ryan Johnson
Locklear
J Johnson (JUCO)
Carvin
Antonutti - Redshirt
Lane - Redshirt
Possible Medical RS (2 Scholarship Players)
Hall
Niehaus
If all the guys not named Hall/Neihaus come back healthy and can gain some mass this offseason I think this group is much better than where we ended last year.
Calbert is a tremendous prospect and a big guy. Carvin is a big bodied freshman. I thought that R Johnson showed some promise at Guard last year and I think he could be our starting center this year.
Below is what I believe is our best case scenario:
T Smith - Starts at LT and simply dominates
J Carvin - Starts at LG and shows promise
R Johnson - Starts at C and shows improvement and promise
Calbert/Locklear - One of the 2 steps up and impresses
J Johnson/Richmond - One of the 2 steps up and impresses
This is another position group where adding 1-2 Grad Transfers would make a ton of sense. Adding another big bodied guard and big bodied OT would make an a lot of sense
Overall the offense can't get much worse than last year. Guarantano, Jennings, Anderson, and 2-3 offensive lineman stepping up will be vital to us seeing improvement in 2018. If everything plays out in our favor we could turn this thing around fairly quickly on offense. If Jennings doesn't make it and the OL has a rough year than the QB/RB position groups might not be able to show the full promise that they have. If we could add 1-2 impact GRAD Transfers at the OL we should desperately be trying to do so. So much of the offenses ability to run, pass, and operate is based on an OL that can it least do its job. We were so bad at this position the last half of last year that Joe Montana and Barry Sanders couldn't have played well.
If you guys enjoy this I'll take a crack at the defensive side of the ball as well.
I am not a coach but pay a lot of attention to all the feedback on the boards, and from the coaches, to form my opinions.
Below are my thoughts for 2018.
QB (3 Scholarship Players):
Guarantano
McBride
Shrout
Gaurantano leads to pack and should start next year - When given time in 2017 I thought he started really coming around with accuracy and showed a lot of promise. He also started stepping up from a leadership perspective. To turn any corners as a team in 2018 we desperately need Guarantano to take the next step. McBride is a capable backup will better running ability than Guarantano. When running the offense at the end of the year we had no OLINE, couldn't run the ball, and the QBs had no time in the pocket. All things considered I thought McBride showed some promise
Could be adding a Grad Transfer at QB if the right guy is available. I believe this would be for depth more so than looking for a starter
RB (5 Scholarship Players):
Chandler
Jordan
Coleman
Fils-Aime
Banks
It would have been nice to get another big time recruit at RB this year but Chandler & Jordan showed a lot of promise in 2017 and the addition of Banks should be good as well. Fils-Aime isn't the biggest runner but he gets some tough yards and runs hard. He could surprise in 2018 as I believe we will be more north and south than in previous years. As long as injuries don't cause issues in the backfield we should be just fine at this position next year
WR (10 Scholarship Players)
Jennings
Callaway
Palmer
Johnson
Williams
Murphy
Jones
Taylor
Tillman
Fant
Jennings is such a pivotal part of the outlook at this position. With him this position group could be good. Regardless we need youngsters like Palmer, Murphy, Taylor, Williams, and Jones to step up. The new WR coach has developed players at other stops so this could be a position grouping that gets a lot better from 17 to 18 as the coaching at this position last year was questionable at best
TE (6 Scholarship Players):
Wolf
Pope
Brown
Bumphus
Anderson
Warren
JUCO Anderson is the key to this position group. He and Bumphus are the only 2 that fit what the coaches are looking for immediately as bodies big enough to handle inline blocking. If they can stay healthy and a player like Pope adds 15-20 lbs of rip in the offseason this could be a nice position group.
OL (13 Scholarship Players - Could lose 2 to Medical RS)
Brooks
Calbert
Smith
Tatum
Richmond
Ryan Johnson
Locklear
J Johnson (JUCO)
Carvin
Antonutti - Redshirt
Lane - Redshirt
Possible Medical RS (2 Scholarship Players)
Hall
Niehaus
If all the guys not named Hall/Neihaus come back healthy and can gain some mass this offseason I think this group is much better than where we ended last year.
Calbert is a tremendous prospect and a big guy. Carvin is a big bodied freshman. I thought that R Johnson showed some promise at Guard last year and I think he could be our starting center this year.
Below is what I believe is our best case scenario:
T Smith - Starts at LT and simply dominates
J Carvin - Starts at LG and shows promise
R Johnson - Starts at C and shows improvement and promise
Calbert/Locklear - One of the 2 steps up and impresses
J Johnson/Richmond - One of the 2 steps up and impresses
This is another position group where adding 1-2 Grad Transfers would make a ton of sense. Adding another big bodied guard and big bodied OT would make an a lot of sense
Overall the offense can't get much worse than last year. Guarantano, Jennings, Anderson, and 2-3 offensive lineman stepping up will be vital to us seeing improvement in 2018. If everything plays out in our favor we could turn this thing around fairly quickly on offense. If Jennings doesn't make it and the OL has a rough year than the QB/RB position groups might not be able to show the full promise that they have. If we could add 1-2 impact GRAD Transfers at the OL we should desperately be trying to do so. So much of the offenses ability to run, pass, and operate is based on an OL that can it least do its job. We were so bad at this position the last half of last year that Joe Montana and Barry Sanders couldn't have played well.
If you guys enjoy this I'll take a crack at the defensive side of the ball as well.
I am not a coach but pay a lot of attention to all the feedback on the boards, and from the coaches, to form my opinions.
