Week 1 is in the books. Here are my five takeaways from practice (both media portion and closed portion):

1. We have three young mutants on the OL

This OL class is strong as a whole, with Canon Pickett and Rhys Woodrow getting a lot of good reps and Jacob Hawks showing promise. But the big takeaway for me is that we have three physical anomalies in Jackson Cantwell, Ben Congdon and Joel Ervin. I expect the first two to play a big role this year, and Ervin has a chance depending on how fast he develops (he missed spring with injury).

All three of those guys are unique specimens and we need to find ways to get them on the field.

2. We’ve significantly upgraded TE athleticism

We were slow at TE last year without being particularly good at blocking. Alex Bauman ran a 5.2 and Elija Lofton was hurt and heavy. This year’s group can at least match last year’s blocking with way more speed and athleticism.

Lofton has lost almost 20 pounds and is back to making explosive plays. Israel Briggs is a flat-out stud with balance, fluidity and burst at 6’4, 230. He can separate vertically and laterally and is a natural pass-catcher. He also competes in the run game. Gavin Mueller was limited in spring but is huge (6’5, 260) and runs well. He doesn’t have a ton of blocking experience, but if Coach Viti can unlock Mueller’s natural power (55’2.5 shotput as sophomore) it will solve our in-line TE issue.

3. There is no clarity on the position battles

This is more of a disclaimer. We are four practices in with no scrimmages. All the major position battles (QB2, WR3, RB2, OL, LB3) are still wide open. Many players are getting reps with the 1s. Don’t read too much into out-of-context tidbits. Nobody knows yet.

4. Our interior pass rush is lethal

We were good inside last year, but in the beginning of the year we were more oriented to stopping the run with David Blay getting heavy snaps. This year, everybody in the DT rotation is built to rush the passer and Ahmad Moten Sr and Justin Scott are making leaps. This group wreaks havoc.

5. The defensive backfield is elite

The DB group has impressed me more than any other position on the team. We have four healthy starting outside corners. Jaboree Antoine is knocking on the door. Zechariah Poyser is rock-solid at safety. Bryce Fitzgerald might be the best defensive athlete in America. The players we had last year are getting better.

You never replace a Keionte Scott or Jakobe Thomas, but our additions are cut from the same cloth. Omar Thornton is better than I thought. I knew he’d be good, but he has legit breakout potential. He’s explosive and plays faster in full-contact. JJ Dunnigan is one of the most impressive freshman DBs I’ve ever seen on Greentree. He’s big, twitchy, can change directions, has great instincts and practices 100 MPH. He has star potential sooner than later. Camdin Portis is a natural at nickel, and Jaelen Waters has progressed in a huge way since spring.

Overall, this is a really good team. They don’t need anything crazy- if they just keep putting together strong days and stay healthy they have enough to compete for the championship.

 

I can't get on board with this but I'm sure as **** here for it....and I'll tell you this: If you're right, we have the best team in the country by a wide margin and will not lose a single game unless we have a "fluky" situation where Mensah turns an ankle or we turn the ball over 5 times, etc.

If the 2026 defense is overall better as a whole, with this offense, we are a step better than every single team in America.

Bring it to me.

I crawl so that others may walk
I walk so that others may run
I run so that others may fly...

If yall scared, go to church...

Me:

 

TX, MIA, OR, OSU, and ND appear to me to be the top tier, all very close in talent. On paper, I’d rank them in that order. I don’t know if I’d put this year’s Canes over last years.

*If Sark can’t go deep into the playoffs with 5-6 first rounders, then he needs to find a new occupation.

 

I have us with the rare double...#1 offense and #1 defense

 

TX, MIA, OR, OSU, and ND appear to me to be the top tier, all very close in talent. On paper, I’d rank them in that order. I don’t know if I’d put this year’s Canes over last years.

*If Sark can go deep into the playoffs with 5-6 first rounders, then he needs to find a new occupation.

U think Ole miss falls off even with returning QB and RB? They hit the portal soo hard on defense they ran up on Dabo and snatched his LB bare face no ski mask lol.. Their DBs might not be championship worthy but think Chambliss gonna be a problem

 

What filthy highlight reel. To think mulitple million dollar salaried idiots passed on him.

Said the same exact thing while watching. After the very first clip, where he just (with one arm) absolutely ragdolls the starting LT on a team that went 15-0, my thought was "why did nobody send this video to Jeff Hafley?"

 

U think Ole miss falls off even with returning QB and RB? They hit the portal soo hard on defense they ran up on Dabo and snatched his LB bare face no ski mask lol.. Their DBs might not be championship worthy but think Chambliss gonna be a problem

I’d put them at the top of the next tier, but they are not as deep and talented across the roster as the five I mentioned.

 

At what point will people on CIS accept the fact that UM is loaded? Our roster, coaching and overall program is as good as any in the country. That doesn’t guarantee a championship as injuries, luck and matchups play a part as well. But it means our goal is not to make the playoffs, but to win playoff games.

All that to say please stop forcing Dmoney to qualify all this statements. Him saying the defensive backs look good doesn’t mean the receivers are bad. DTackles being good doesn’t mean the guards and centers are bad. It just means there is a lot of talent. Everywhere.

Agreed. There's much more known about this team than questions to be answered.

Another year under excellent coordinators and coaches, developing competitive depth, and key portal additions put []__[] in position to play our best ball in a very long time.

 

What does the safety depth chart look like?

Safety Depth:

 

Having elite interior DL is more dangerous than having elite edges, if you had to choose one or the other. You cant gameplan for Defenders coming str8 up the middle 1 second after the snap. If they are as good as D$ is saying in addition to the DB's it could be the closest thing we had since 01. The edges are gonna eat, regardless.

 

@DMoney when was the last time we have a DT duo this strong?

Probably K. Norton & R.J. McIntosh

What’s crazy is most think this duo is miles better than that RJ and Norton. No offense to those guys but they weren’t in preseason first round mocks

 

What does the safety depth chartDJ look like?

Obviously they haven't given us much to go on but I would say...

FS Bryce Fitzgerald/JJ Dunnigan
SS Zechariah Poyser/Dylan Day/
N Omar Thornton/Bryce Fitzgerald/Camden Portis

Anyone I'm missing?

 

@DMoney

Can you find out an answer for me?

Why doesn't Mario Cristobal lend his name, image and likeness to the CFB27 video game? Why are we stuck with Coach Lou Hernandez?

 

We have more at DT than almost anyone in the country not sure people are aware of other teams rosters. Everyone is desperate for DT depth

I wish I could teleport those concerned back to some our prior August conversations on DT depth.

 

I wish I could teleport those concerned back to some our prior August conversations on DT depth.

NIL has spread the talent so thin for most teams it’s just difficult to hoard DTs and certainly to afford them

I can’t say for sure if Carter was going to start for OSU but the expectation was he would log major minutes. Davis was a starter at Nebraska. It’s going to be really difficult to have that on the two deep at DT

No disrespect to David Blay but he probably wouldn’t see too many snaps on this team if at all

 

Interesting Pete said Lightfoot probably won't start. Seems like Blount is the DE opposite Wilson?

He also said we will run more 3 man fronts which doesn't really make sense to me unless they are using a guy like Lightfoot as that stand up end/LB.

It's coming from Pete so reliability is sus

 

Week 1 is in the books. Here are my five takeaways from practice (both media portion and closed portion):

1. We have three young mutants on the OL

This OL class is strong as a whole, with Canon Pickett and Rhys Woodrow getting a lot of good reps and Jacob Hawks showing promise. But the big takeaway for me is that we have three physical anomalies in Jackson Cantwell, Ben Congdon and Joel Ervin. I expect the first two to play a big role this year, and Ervin has a chance depending on how fast he develops (he missed spring with injury).

All three of those guys are unique specimens and we need to find ways to get them on the field.

2. We’ve significantly upgraded TE athleticism

We were slow at TE last year without being particularly good at blocking. Alex Bauman ran a 5.2 and Elija Lofton was hurt and heavy. This year’s group can at least match last year’s blocking with way more speed and athleticism.

Lofton has lost almost 20 pounds and is back to making explosive plays. Israel Briggs is a flat-out stud with balance, fluidity and burst at 6’4, 230. He can separate vertically and laterally and is a natural pass-catcher. He also competes in the run game. Gavin Mueller was limited in spring but is huge (6’5, 260) and runs well. He doesn’t have a ton of blocking experience, but if Coach Viti can unlock Mueller’s natural power (55’2.5 shotput as sophomore) it will solve our in-line TE issue.

3. There is no clarity on the position battles

This is more of a disclaimer. We are four practices in with no scrimmages. All the major position battles (QB2, WR3, RB2, OL, LB3) are still wide open. Many players are getting reps with the 1s. Don’t read too much into out-of-context tidbits. Nobody knows yet.

4. Our interior pass rush is lethal

We were good inside last year, but in the beginning of the year we were more oriented to stopping the run with David Blay getting heavy snaps. This year, everybody in the DT rotation is built to rush the passer and Ahmad Moten Sr and Justin Scott are making leaps. This group wreaks havoc.

5. The defensive backfield is elite

The DB group has impressed me more than any other position on the team. We have four healthy starting outside corners. Jaboree Antoine is knocking on the door. Zechariah Poyser is rock-solid at safety. Bryce Fitzgerald might be the best defensive athlete in America. The players we had last year are getting better.

You never replace a Keionte Scott or Jakobe Thomas, but our additions are cut from the same cloth. Omar Thornton is better than I thought. I knew he’d be good, but he has legit breakout potential. He’s explosive and plays faster in full-contact. JJ Dunnigan is one of the most impressive freshman DBs I’ve ever seen on Greentree. He’s big, twitchy, can change directions, has great instincts and practices 100 MPH. He has star potential sooner than later. Camdin Portis is a natural at nickel, and Jaelen Waters has progressed in a huge way since spring.

Overall, this is a really good team. They don’t need anything crazy- if they just keep putting together strong days and stay healthy they have enough to compete for the championship.

This team has NC potential but one game at a time. Oct 3 and Nov 7 is key to the whole season and seeding for the playoffs. Plus don't lose any key guys to injury like Mensah, Toney, etc. We do have good depth at most positions. How we develop at LB where we are young and unproven behind Toure and Chase Smith will mean a lot. I think this team is better than last year but still early. Go Canes!

 

NIL has spread the talent so thin for most teams it’s just difficult to hoard DTs and certainly to afford them

I can’t say for sure if Carter was going to start for OSU but the expectation was he would log major minutes. Davis was a starter at Nebraska. It’s going to be really difficult to have that on the two deep at DT

No disrespect to David Blay but he probably wouldn’t see too many snaps on this team if at all

Another sign this team is better than last year. Blay played well last year too not counting the penalties. We are talented and deep.