forums

Coach Cristobal recaps Thursday practice: “Something clicked today” with TreVonte’ Citizen’s confidence

View as article
calinative umstudent said:
WR3 and LB seem to be the biggest competition areas as of this moment.

Kiffin getting this praise is a great thing specifically because it hopefully mean we don’t have to see Cam playing more than a handful of snaps per game. With Arroyo healthy, Riley Williams a top talent with a yr more development, and Loftin a guy that can contribute immediately, TE is in a better spot than I was fearing heading into spring.

Lb competition seems maybe Bissainthe is potentially putting it together… based on his performance last season I’m not very confident in him. He didn’t show anything positive diagnosing plays imo. Will be interesting to see who wins the 3rd spot.

I’m pretty convinced we are bringing in a starting Portal RB and Safety.

DT is the position I’m hoping to hear more positives from
Click to expand...
Guidry said that Wesley has improved tremendously from last season to now and I generally believe Guidry so I'm confident that Wes is primed to breakthrough this season. Popo is looking good for the third spot but imo it's the 4th spot that will be the most interesting. This will be the guy who wins the Sam/Nickel LB role that KJ Cloyd played last year. I think it's going to be an all out battle between Kaleb Spencer, Bobby Washington, Cam Pruitt and Adarius Hayes. I would expect more LBs to get PT this year as we are so deep at the position. Marcellus Pullium and Chase Smith will be pushing Popo to back up Kiko and Wes.

I 100% agree with your TE assessment. Lofton most certainly will play.

WR3 is another battle Royale with Horton, Jojo, Robbie Washington and Ny Carr in the mix. Ray Ray will probably backup X.

We will be very aggressive in the portal focusing on starting DT, RB, Safety, CB and WR if someone special is there.
 
Advertisement
FrancisSawyer said:
Guidry said that Wesley has improved tremendously from last season to now and I generally believe Guidry so I'm confident that Wes is primed to breakthrough this season. Popo is looking good for the third spot but imo it's the 4th spot that will be the most interesting. This will be the guy who wins the Sam/Nickel LB role that KJ Cloyd played last year. I think it's going to be an all out battle between Kaleb Spencer, Bobby Washington, Cam Pruitt and Adarius Hayes. I would expect more LBs to get PT this year as we are so deep at the position. Marcellus Pullium and Chase Smith will be pushing Popo to back up Kiko and Wes.

I 100% agree with your TE assessment. Lofton most certainly will play.

WR3 is another battle Royale with Horton, Jojo, Robbie Washington and Ny Carr in the mix. Ray Ray will probably backup X.

We will be very aggressive in the portal focusing on starting DT, RB, Safety, CB and WR if someone special is there.
Click to expand...
Put this hot take down for the season:

Horton gonna be our second leading receiver 👀
 
JHallCanes said:
Put this hot take down for the season:

Horton gonna be our second leading receiver 👀
Click to expand...
I like it. The kid has the talent and the desire since it wasn't easy to transform his body the way he did. That tells me the kid is hungry. I know Mario isn't going to announce the world that Horton is killing it if he is so basically that is a good hot take because Horton is absolutely capable.
 
FrancisSawyer said:
I like it. The kid has the talent and the desire since it wasn't easy to transform his body the way he did. That tells me the kid is hungry. I know Mario isn't going to announce the world that Horton is killing it if he is so basically that is a good hot take because Horton is absolutely capable.
Click to expand...
He’s got some skills our other guys don’t have. I’m a big fan of his talent but I think what you’re saying is true. It’s the Cam Ward effect this off season

As much as Cam is gonna elevate the team during games, he’s going to elevate the offense in the off season

So if Horton doesn’t work hard he’s going to be out of playing time. There’s an accountability on this 2024 offense that we haven’t seen in a long time because of Ward

In my not so humble opinion
 
JHallCanes said:
He’s got some skills our other guys don’t have. I’m a big fan of his talent but I think what you’re saying is true. It’s the Cam Ward effect this off season

As much as Cam is gonna elevate the team during games, he’s going to elevate the offense in the off season

So if Horton doesn’t work hard he’s going to be out of playing time. There’s an accountability on this 2024 offense that we haven’t seen in a long time because of Ward

In my not so humble opinion
Click to expand...
You are absolutely on the money brother. It's two things mainly. First off, Mario has done an excellent job in that locker room. He has kept some but mostly brought in the type of kid with high character who wants to bust his a$$ to be the best. Now add a guy like Cam Ward at QB and it's like that nitrous button to really get your engine going. Adding Cam at QB was like squirting more lighter fluid on an already raging fire. The best thing about it is that it has spread throughout the entire squad including defense and specials.

There was some concern about how bad the offense was ripping this defense but the thing is when you really take a look at our offense top to bottom with OL, RB, WR, TE...that's a ton of weapons for a QB like Ward and he is going to use them and make the defense pay. Another thing is that Cam Ward effect on the other QBs. He is elevating them just by doing his thing because those other QBs are watching him work and they are competitive.

Lastly I know it's been literally hellish for the defense to have to go up against all of that but the bright side is that truthfully they won't see a better offense all year and I'm not wearing any orange and green glasses. They have struggled mightily but they will rise up to meet the challenge because they are all competing for jobs and it's going to make this defense that much better.

My hot take. This offense averages 40+ points a game this year. Caveat is as long as Cam Ward is healthy.
 
Advertisement
JHallCanes said:
He’s got some skills our other guys don’t have. I’m a big fan of his talent but I think what you’re saying is true. It’s the Cam Ward effect this off season

As much as Cam is gonna elevate the team during games, he’s going to elevate the offense in the off season

So if Horton doesn’t work hard he’s going to be out of playing time. There’s an accountability on this 2024 offense that we haven’t seen in a long time because of Ward

In my not so humble opinion
Click to expand...

We've definitely seen transformations in the past. It would be awesome to see Horton light it up this Fall.

But I always believe in hoping for the best while planning for the worst.
* I hate the fact we don't have even one other big to push WR Horton and really hope we add another WR from the portal.
* I welcome the Citizen update, thrilled, but hope we add an RB in the portal because our RBs are clearly not cutting it right now.
* It's good to hear the occasional "atta boy" about Moten and DT Horton making strides. But it's equally true we need another DT for the portal given Gore is still second team.
* I am psyched coaches talk about the progress from the two Vandy DB transfers among other DB kudos and all. But I still want a deeper secondary from the portal given how often we hear Cam, the TEs and the WRs are toasting them regularly in practice.
 
grover said:
We've definitely seen transformations in the past. It would be awesome to see Horton light it up this Fall.

But I always believe in hoping for the best while planning for the worst.
* I hate the fact we don't have even one other big to push WR Horton and really hope we add another WR from the portal.
* I welcome the Citizen update, thrilled, but hope we add an RB in the portal because our RBs are clearly not cutting it right now.
* It's good to hear the occasional "atta boy" about Moten and DT Horton making strides. But it's equally true we need another DT for the portal given Gore is still second team.
* I am psyched coaches talk about the progress from the two Vandy DB transfers among other DB kudos and all. But I still want a deeper secondary from the portal given how often we hear Cam, the TEs and the WRs are toasting them regularly in practice.
Click to expand...
100% Facts! The good news is that we are going to be very aggressive in the post spring portal and every position you mentioned is on the list.

RB. We are going to looking for a straight up stud. We're not going to waste time bringing in a depth piece. Mario is going for a kid that will be RB1.

WR. We will be out to get a bigger WR who can be a clear go to. In other words we are looking for a WR1.

DT. We had a great haul in the 2024 class but they are not even on campus yet. We brought in Clark and Cook which is solid but it's apparent that we need a big war daddy DT to bring it all together. We will be looking.

CB. The lack of scholarship CBs on the roster this Spring is downright laughable. We have some good front line talent but outside of Porter and Powell, none have proven themselves. Damari Brown, Jadais Richard, Daryl Porter Jr and Nickel Meesh Powell will get plenty of work with Robert Stafford, Demetrius Freeney and maybe Robbie Washington will provide depth. Ryan Mack and Romanas Frederique will arrive in the Summer. Dylan Day may also play CB this season. It's obvious that true freshman Dylan Day just isn't ready but he wasn't expected to be. We are just too razor thin with CBs who can play at a high level. We will be after 1 or 2 CBs in the portal for certain!

Safety. Another position where we have some good talent but just not enough. We will be looking for an elite ballhawk type to pair with the many physical box type safeties we currently have.
 
Advertisement
grover said:
We've definitely seen transformations in the past. It would be awesome to see Horton light it up this Fall.

But I always believe in hoping for the best while planning for the worst.
* I hate the fact we don't have even one other big to push WR Horton and really hope we add another WR from the portal.
* I welcome the Citizen update, thrilled, but hope we add an RB in the portal because our RBs are clearly not cutting it right now.
* It's good to hear the occasional "atta boy" about Moten and DT Horton making strides. But it's equally true we need another DT for the portal given Gore is still second team.
* I am psyched coaches talk about the progress from the two Vandy DB transfers among other DB kudos and all. But I still want a deeper secondary from the portal given how often we hear Cam, the TEs and the WRs are toasting them regularly in practice.
Click to expand...
I don’t believe for a second Citizen looking solid in one practice changes anything about how we approach the portal and RB

Mario said we would be aggressive and there’s no reason to think otherwise. Mario is a lot of things, not all of them good, but he’s been delivering when he makes these statements

And also yes I’m a big fan of Hortons potential but you have a chance to upgrade the WR room you do it in a heartbeat

A true #1 WR along with X and Cam and we are a threat instantly
 
FrancisSawyer said:
You are absolutely on the money brother. It's two things mainly. First off, Mario has done an excellent job in that locker room. He has kept some but mostly brought in the type of kid with high character who wants to bust his a$$ to be the best. Now add a guy like Cam Ward at QB and it's like that nitrous button to really get your engine going. Adding Cam at QB was like squirting more lighter fluid on an already raging fire. The best thing about it is that it has spread throughout the entire squad including defense and specials.

There was some concern about how bad the offense was ripping this defense but the thing is when you really take a look at our offense top to bottom with OL, RB, WR, TE...that's a ton of weapons for a QB like Ward and he is going to use them and make the defense pay. Another thing is that Cam Ward effect on the other QBs. He is elevating them just by doing his thing because those other QBs are watching him work and they are competitive.

Lastly I know it's been literally hellish for the defense to have to go up against all of that but the bright side is that truthfully they won't see a better offense all year and I'm not wearing any orange and green glasses. They have struggled mightily but they will rise up to meet the challenge because they are all competing for jobs and it's going to make this defense that much better.

My hot take. This offense averages 40+ points a game this year. Caveat is as long as Cam Ward is healthy.
Click to expand...
Squirting? Wild
 
Advertisement
Advertisement
We all know what Mario thinks of Bain and Francis and he just compared Lofton to those 2. Dude is the real F'ing deal. Just please god don't let him be wasted as a TE2 who barely plays or isn't used.
 
DMoney said:
Great stuff overall, but some really eye-opening comments on Elija Lofton.
Click to expand...
Agreed but Lofton playing RB is frustrating to say the least. Our depth at RB should be better. I understand injuries happened and help is coming but we really shouldn’t be in this position in year 3.
 
Advertisement
Back
Top