Chris Graves WR or DB?

[brock]

Mike Redding -- Top 200 kid, offers from multiple SEC schools, The Opening, UA All-American
Xavier Restrepo -- Not highly ranked but has produced at this level, albeit not much. Nobody expects him to carry a WR room, but very reliable, good hands, strong, can be a very good college WR and we have a sample at the college level to back that up.
Keyshawn Smith -- Not highly ranked but several P5 offers out west. Probably served more as a WR3 than an alpha, but has proven he can contribute. Likely not a stud, but not JAG either. Rotational kid, at worst.

Romello Brinson -- Top 150 kid, offers from everyone
Jacolby George -- Top 200 kid, UA All-American
Brashard Smith -- Top 250 kid, offers from everyone, Army All-American

Frank Ladson -- Was good enough for Clemson out of HS, #39 overall player in America, 30+ offers, The Opening, UA All-America, etc.
Isaiah Horton -- Multiple SEC offers, blue-chip prospect, should have the size to compete right away

This isn't even mentioning one of the best TE rooms in America, and one of the best RB rooms in America with MULTIPLE kids who are well above-average/elite pass catching backs. Rooster can be deployed as a de facto slot WR/scat back, Citizen has WR skills, Parrish caught 21 balls last year as a backup (We haven't had ANY back catch 21+ balls since Mark Walton in 2016), Chaney can certainly catch, DMoney has been praising Thad's receiving chops on here for 2 years. So TE is LOADED with pass-catchers. RB is LOADED with pass-catchers.

Do we really think ALL the kids I listed as the WR room suck? There's gotta be SOME talent there to polish, no? Even if we can get good production from half those kids, and they can be counted upon, we should be OK. I certainly am on board with the staff in wanting another WR. We do need someone proven. But assuming we add nothing to this room, I really don't see how this situation prevents us from attaining our realistic goals, unless we have the worst luck on the planet and every kid I listed above is a donkey.

There’s enough, we just need to develop the talent or we going to be stuck in the situation next year trying to fish for a transfer receiver which I dont want to do anymore

 

[CANEMC]

Graves walkin into the WR room...

 

[Jassid82]

That WR room unfortunately picked the wrong day to have their worst day at the office. (Spring game in front of all the fans and the TV cameras). Love Mario and hes hitting grand slams but he was a "day late and a dollar short" (literally) because that room needed 2 proven WRs and we just missed the first wave when there was hella WRs to be had, unfortunately. Now we have to roll with and coach up who we have. No excuses.

 

[nycane]

There’s enough, we just need to develop the talent or we going to be stuck in the situation next year trying to fish for a transfer receiver which I dont want to do anymore

we dont really have good speed. Brashard has it but we need better speed. its kid that we can develop Brinson or George. George intrigues me because he doesn't seem to get caught from behind and has nice skillset.

 

[brock]

we dont really have good speed. Brashard has it but we need better speed. its kid that we can develop Brinson or George. George intrigues me because he doesn't seem to get caught from behind and has nice skillset.

George not as fast as people think he is and neither is brashard. Brashard got thearon collier speed, not slow but not a blazer either and I think brashard is a step faster than George. Regardless I want to see what the 2021 freshman do with a larger share of reps, each of them flashed at various times last year

 

[E1k]

He was my favorite player in the class until we got njalik, I think both could get playing time if needed

 

[skeeter]

Malik Curtis is the answer here

 

[nycane]

Malik Curtis is the answer here

You guys are so obsessed with this kid. He might just have straight line speed. That works in hs.

 

[nycane]

George not as fast as people think he is and neither is brashard. Brashard got thearon collier speed, not slow but not a blazer either and I think brashard is a step faster than George. Regardless I want to see what the 2021 freshman do with a larger share of reps, each of them flashed at various times last year

We don’t have Miami speed. Mario knows this.

 

[Cribby]

I think we lack a true #1 wr, even say if we had like a Stacey Coley we’d be fine

Here’s the deal, everything has to be one extreme or the other in CIS land. But like anything the truth is somewhere in the middle. The wr’s are not trash , there’s legit potential but nobody took the wr room by the balls like Rambo did last year. Right when he hit campus the staff knew he was the number one guy. There was zero doubt, if you remember my practice updates I was building him up from practice one.

This group had too many up’s and downs in spring , consistency being the issue. One minute you see incredible catches or big plays then the next play an easy drop. That’s why the staff was so set on finding a wr that at least had some good production at this level and speed. Which would trickle down to the other guys , relieving pressure. Changing the pecking order.

The other issue is there’s a big drop off after the top 3-4 guys. That’s a big problem, especially if you’re a spread offense.

I personally like George, Restrepo, Smiff , Smith and think Brinson could surprise people. Getting him back is much needed, but like the others he’s unproven.

As we sit Frank Ladson is the guy with the brightest light shining on him. He has to step up and be the big body go to type, if he doesn’t start fall fast it could be a quick fall down the depth chart. It’s sink or swim time for that cat.

 

[Canemang]

George not as fast as people think he is and neither is brashard. Brashard got thearon collier speed, not slow but not a blazer either and I think brashard is a step faster than George. Regardless I want to see what the 2021 freshman do with a larger share of reps, each of them flashed at various times last year

100%
Not near as explosive as advertised.

 

[OrangeBowlMagic]

Here’s the deal, everything has to be one extreme or the other in CIS land. But like anything the truth is somewhere in the middle. The wr’s are not trash , there’s legit potential but nobody took the wr room by the balls like Rambo did last year. Right when he hit campus the staff knew he was the number one guy. There was zero doubt, if you remember my practice updates I was building him up from practice one.

This group had too many up’s and downs in spring , consistency being the issue. One minute you see incredible catches or big plays then the next play an easy drop. That’s why the staff was so set on finding a wr that at least had some good production at this level and speed. Which would trickle down to the other guys , relieving pressure. Changing the pecking order.

The other issue is there’s a big drop off after the top 3-4 guys. That’s a big problem, especially if you’re a spread offense.

I personally like George, Restrepo, Smiff , Smith and think Brinson could surprise people. Getting him back is much needed, but like the others he’s unproven.

As we sit Frank Ladson is the guy with the brightest light shining on him. He has to step up and be the big body go to type, if he doesn’t start fall fast it could be a quick fall down the depth chart. It’s sink or swim time for that cat.

If you're the 38th overall prospect in America and you can't seize this room by the balls, you're a pretty sizeable bust.

Kinda wild though, I went back and looked at the other kids he was ranked with in the 2019 class. I'm not sure I've ever seen more injuries to top ranked kids in my life. Look at this:

1. Jadon Haselwood -- Torn ACL in 2020
2. Garrett Wilson -- Baller, 1st round pick in 2022
3. Theo Wease -- Missed all of 2021 with an injury
4. George Pickens -- Baller, 2nd round pick in 2022 but he tore his ACL in the spring of 2021 and missed most of this last season.
5. Dominick Blaylock -- Essentially missed all of the past 2 seasons due to injury.
6. Kyle Ford -- Torn ACL cost him 2020
7. Ladson -- Missed a lot of last year with hip and groin injuries
8. Jake Smith -- Signed with Texas but transferred to USC and broke his foot immediately, missed all of 2021
9. Joe Ngata -- Multiple injuries the past 2 years at Clemson
10. Jeremiah Payton -- Sigh

That is WILD. The whole **** top 10 has been a walking MASH unit.

 

[Cribby]

If you're the 38th overall prospect in America and you can't seize this room by the balls, you're a pretty sizeable bust.

Kinda wild though, I went back and looked at the other kids he was ranked with in the 2019 class. I'm not sure I've ever seen more injuries to top ranked kids in my life. Look at this:

1. Jadon Haselwood -- Torn ACL in 2020
2. Garrett Wilson -- Baller, 1st round pick in 2022
3. Theo Wease -- Missed all of 2021 with an injury
4. George Pickens -- Baller, 2nd round pick in 2022 but he tore his ACL in the spring of 2021 and missed most of this last season.
5. Dominick Blaylock -- Essentially missed all of the past 2 seasons due to injury.
6. Kyle Ford -- Torn ACL cost him 2020
7. Ladson -- Missed a lot of last year with hip and groin injuries
8. Jake Smith -- Signed with Texas but transferred to USC and broke his foot immediately, missed all of 2021
9. Joe Ngata -- Multiple injuries the past 2 years at Clemson
10. Jeremiah Payton -- Sigh

That is WILD. The whole **** top 10 has been a walking MASH unit.

I was never crazy about Ladson as a prospect but to be fair injuries has always stopped him anytime he built some momentum. But like I said he has a lot of pressure on him starting fall camp. This is likley his last strike at living up to to some of the hype. Hs should be living on the jugs machine.

 

[OrangeBowlMagic]

I was never crazy about Ladson as a prospect but to be fair injuries has always stopped him anytime he built some momentum. But like I said he has a lot of pressure on him starting fall camp. This is likley his last strike at living up to to some of the hype. Hs should be living on the jugs machine.

Agreed. I thought he was a good prospect, but he really has never been able to get off the ground.

He had Higgins, a healthy Ross, and Rodgers ahead of him in 2019.
Missed some time in 2020 and Rodgers was the go-to guy on that team, I remember he was passed up by Cornell Powell as well as an older kid.
And only played 5 games last year, but they were the first 5 and he didn't really do anything. Pretty sure he was starting in their 3 WR sets early in the year, but was really an afterthought behind Ross and Ngata. That whole passing offense was a huge mess though, then he gets hurt.

Whatever, it's a clean slate now. If he really is anywhere near as good as kids like Wilson or Pickens and he's healthy, he should shine quickly. The fact we didn't see that in the spring is concerning, but he's got time and he's certainly going to have the opportunity.

 

[Dwinstitles]

DB

 

[Hurricane23]

Here’s the deal, everything has to be one extreme or the other in CIS land. But like anything the truth is somewhere in the middle. The wr’s are not trash , there’s legit potential but nobody took the wr room by the balls like Rambo did last year. Right when he hit campus the staff knew he was the number one guy. There was zero doubt, if you remember my practice updates I was building him up from practice one.

This group had too many up’s and downs in spring , consistency being the issue. One minute you see incredible catches or big plays then the next play an easy drop. That’s why the staff was so set on finding a wr that at least had some good production at this level and speed. Which would trickle down to the other guys , relieving pressure. Changing the pecking order.

The other issue is there’s a big drop off after the top 3-4 guys. That’s a big problem, especially if you’re a spread offense.

I personally like George, Restrepo, Smiff , Smith and think Brinson could surprise people. Getting him back is much needed, but like the others he’s unproven.

As we sit Frank Ladson is the guy with the brightest light shining on him. He has to step up and be the big body go to type, if he doesn’t start fall fast it could be a quick fall down the depth chart. It’s sink or swim time for that cat.

I agree, now as you said it’s going to be a drop in the the top 3-4 wrs I think we’ll end up trying to run more but that’s kinda a different conversation. If the receivers can catch the ball we’ll be fine, our Te’s will help take pressure off them as well, be eventually they’ll need to come up with some big plays. I haven’t given up on Ladsen but just keeping it real he’s a junior/senior? Former 5 star ofcourse hasn’t really produced and didn’t really make any noise in the spring idk bro.

 

[Rocketcitycane06]

DB

I like him better at db.

 

[TrumpyCane]

TrumpyCane’s friend saw Graves at Publix today and spoke to him

Graves said he was playing WR

TrumpyCane’s friend also said he looks nowhere near ready to contribute, was very skinny

 

[grover]

You guys are so obsessed with this kid. He might just have straight line speed. That works in hs.

Go back and look at his HUDL highlights. He has a lot more than straightline speed. Kid has moves. We need SPEED. He's got it. Not elite, but definitely enough to make safeties pay attention. We need elusiveness. He's got that, too. We struck out on the portal. This is our ONLY option at this point for a coverage buster.

Malik Curtis on Hudl

Watch Malik Curtis's videos and highlights on Hudl. More info: South Fort Myers High School - Freshman Football / Class of 2021 / Fort Myers, FL

www.hudl.com

 

[skeeter]

You guys are so obsessed with this kid. He might just have straight line speed. That works in hs.

Doesn't matter at this point...Better than 8th on CB depth chart. And outside of 1-2 some of these portal kids aren't Biletnikoff candidates either.

But ya I will admit I was higher than most out of HS on Curtis.