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Players with the most to prove in 2020

DMoney

DMoney

D-Moni
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Will Mallory- After a dominant spring and fall camp, most people inside the program expected a huge season from Mallory. It didn’t happen, and he disappointed with his hands and lack of physicality. But there were signs of promise. In the four games Brevin Jordan missed to end the season, Mallory averaged 55.75 receiving yards per game. That’s 725 over the course of a season, which would have put him 4th in the country among TEs. The key will be cleaning up the drops and get getting tougher. Greg Olsen got off to a rocky start as a Cane and recovered. We will see how Mallory adapts.

Nesta Silvera- An injury put Silvera behind the curve as a sophomore and he never fully caught up. He struggled using his hands and moving laterally, which is essential at his size. It can’t be all bullrush at this level. The good news is that DTs usually develop later and Nesta was dominant in the first week of spring. Time will tell if that is real improvement or victimizing overmatched interior OL.

Kai-Leon Herbert- Injuries and illness have stunted Herbert’s development. He’s lost valuable practice time, and it showed when he hit the field against Duke. The physical tools are there- his high school testing numbers are comparable to Ezra Cleveland (one of the best OL athletes in the upcoming draft). Herbert rotated with Zion Nelson at RT in spring and the early returns are promising under his third OL coach.

Zach McCloud- My two biggest concerns on defense are replacing Shaq Quarterman and an overall lack of physicality. McCloud can address both. He is a thumper and a physically developed fifth-year player. His instincts and IQ will determine his success. Too often he was late to pull the trigger, which caused his athleticism to play down. He is relatively new to MLB and that position suits him better than striker.

Gurvan Hall- Last year was supposed to the breakout after an outstanding fall camp. While he wasn’t bad (55 tackles, 2 sacks and an INT), he didn’t take the next step. Sheldrick Redwine, Jaquan Johnson and Rayshawn Jenkins didn’t make the leap until their third years or later, which bodes well for Hall if he keeps studying the game under Coach Banda and Ed Reed.

Which players do you want to see make the next step in 2020?
 
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The whole **** team -except Brevin Jordan & Rousseau- has a lot to prove really. But... Mark Pope based on the expectations/hype he arrived at the program with coupled with the offensive system no longer being an excuse for lack of production (in theory).
 
DroCane said:
The whole **** team has a lot to prove really. But... Mark Pope based on the expectations/hype he arrived at the program with coupled with the offensive system no longer being an excuse for lack of production (in theory).
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I was going to put Pope but all of the WRs fit the bill. Harley was actually the best WR in the abbreviated spring.
 
Pope based on everything .. high school, stars, speed, potential, frustrating first 2 years and the fact he has done nothing, zero.

Gurvan - he needs to turn into the “eraser” and leader Jaquan was for us.
 
Yeah that list is good, however everyone from last year's roster needs to take a big step. We could write a small paragraph for everyone. Coaches need to be on the list too!
 
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Mallory was one of the few players on offense who didn't throw in the towel the last few games of the season. When given starting minutes, he produced at an All Conference level. To me, he's a proven commodity. He just has the misfortune of having to play behind the nation's best tight end. I'd like to see him used more as a wideout next season. Let's be honest, he's really just a big wide receiver. With the receiving group a huge question mark, I'd give him reps at multiple positions. Especially since we have a proven H-back/blocking tight end with Hodges.
 
Liberty City El said:
I wouldn't say these guys necessarily have the most to prove, but the guys I want to see step up & show something:

Mark Pope - yeah I know, a lot of people on the board dislikes the kid, but he's been putting in a crazy amount of work this offseason, literally every single day since January he's been working with Speed & WR's coaches (mainly Th3 Lab/Chris Scott) on perfecting his route running & improving his hands. Playing in this new Air Raid passing style uptempo offense will benefit him the most IMO & he's set break out this year. He's probably the most doubted & hated on, but I'm certain he's going to kill it this year (if there is a season lol).

OL - The entire OL needs to prove they're not one of the worst lines in Division-1 Football, tall task, but they have to prove they can do the bare minimum basics of actually holding a block for 3 seconds & not giving up 51 sacks in a season.

DJ Ivey - He was the worst in the secondary last year, he gave up the most yards & had the most completions caught on him at 24 out of 41 targets with 349yds & multiple TD's. He also got beat routinely on plays where if the QB had simply made a good pass would've ended up as a big gain or TD. His footwork & overall technique needs major work, he's been working this offseason on it, so hopefully he improves, but until I see it on the field he will still be a liability in coverage as the CB2. Need a big big step up season from Ivey.

LB group - Agree with you 100% on McCloud D$. I'm not all that high on him, but hopefully a position change & being a 5th year senior will be good enough to make him a solid Mike LB for us.

But also the rest of the LB group needs to step up major. I'm higher on Brooks than anybody, I also love Huff's upside, but Huff has missed a ton of time being that he was a late fall add last year & was an academic redshirt. Which means he's missed all of Spring last year, all summer workouts & didn't get in Fall camp until about a couple days before the UF game. With the C-19 shutdown he's still missing valuable reps. I believe he'll be a good player for us, but he's going to need time to adjust & learn the Defense in full.

Also need to see a healthy LB group for once. Guys like BJ Jennings, Patrick Joyner & the rest need to get healthy & start contributing, can't sustain a full season having so many injured LB's, we need depth with how young & inexperienced we'll be at LB, can't afford to have Ragu out there playing meaningful snaps, I hope those guys finally get fully healthy & put it together.

Striker - Frierson & Keontra Smith; I actually liked how Gil played last year & can't wait to see Keontra get an opportunity to show his skills on the field, I think he's going to be a very good in coverage in this defense. I think athletically the two of them will be a very good Hybrid/Nickel pairing at Striker, probably won't have the IQ that Finley had at that spot, but will make up for it with Ball skills & down the field coverage.

Jeremiah Payton - Obviously, he was a TF who was Redshirted last year so there wasn't anything he could prove & I'm not arguing he has the most to prove, he's just a kid I have high expectations for & think he will be great in this offense once given the opportunity.
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If Pope is putting in thar kind of work then I really really hope it pays off for him. I am rooting for him.
 
Good list.

I'd add Payton. But, that's because I have big expectations for him. I'd also add a corner because, well, we badly need a corner to step up. Ivey is the sensical name because of how he's performed relative to previous expectations.
 
If part of this discussion is what they brought out of high school, then Donaldson has to be on the list.

He was a top 100 recruit overall and he has the size and basic traits to be a quality OL. He just has to take everything more seriously, from conditioning to technique. Right now he's basically a JAG and maybe that's all he'll ever be. But unlike most JAGs who are really limited, he could actually be an all conference or better type player (from a pure ceiling standpoint).
 
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Jahfari Harvey is another name I thought of adding.

It'll probably be difficult to get too many snaps with Rousseau, Roche & Phillips ahead of him, but I think he can be a good rotational rusher when he gets the chance.
 
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