Positions battles DE

[FrancisSawyer]

Yet people always wondered why I'd speak up about how excessive the mopery of some people had got on here. Y'all just speaking on cway who I've definitely called on things over the years. But it wasn't just him. Let's not forget how rampant that **** was. Very few people saw that same vision towards the progress we were experiencing and would constantly have to argue for that stance. **** was all over here. Now they just act like they all knew what was coming.

I wouldn't know how to classify myself as far as that goes but I'll attempt it. I've always been very critical of Mario when I felt he deserved it yet I was always fair and gave him credit when it was due. As far as players go I have always been super optimistic in terms of them realizing their potential.

If we're talking about before the 2025 season specifically, I knew that Hetherman was going to make a huge difference and that the defense would experience a big turnaround. I loved the DL and the CBs plus the Poyser addition. I liked the Scott and Thomas additions but had no clue how good those 2 would be especially Scott. I liked the Toure addition and liked the LB group with Bissainthe, Aguirre and Smith. I loved the overall depth at DL and knew Bain would be a stud when healthy plus Mesidor getting slimmed down and going to DE full time was exciting but nowhere in my wildest dreams could I have ever imagined how insanely dominant those 2 were last year. Not even close! I knew we would have a very good team but again, I could not have ever imagined navigating the road we did to reach the National Championship Game.

After the SMU loss something changed. Something clicked for both the players and the coaches. The coaches particularly Mario Cristobal and Shannon Dawson stopped getting in their own way and quit being so rigid and the players fed of off that. The team began to galvanize and it really showed in the playoffs. Mario grew tremendously as a gameday coach and you could see his confidence growing. We fell just short but that 2025 team brought this program back in amongst the elite and the 2026 team won't stop until we finish the job and are standing at the very top.

 

[Zombie-Cane]

Glad to say I was wrong on this. Really glad to say that.

I think it speaks volumes about Akheem Mesidor — his commitment, his work ethic — and credit to Jason Taylor too.

I’m really interested to see how Blount compares this year to what Mesidor was last season. Mesidor leaned heavily on his craft — quickness, twitch, pure explosiveness. He took a real jump. Before that, he wasn’t this level of player, but once he got healthy, got in shape, and everything clicked, he hit another gear.

Now with Blount, it’s different. He’s younger coming into it, but Mario Cristobal has been high on him from the jump. I think he’s got an NFL-type season in him. At the same time, I could see him sticking around with Taylor, developing that craft even more — and if that happens, you’re talking about a guy who could be here another year or two and turn into a legit first-round pick.

Yea……