To qualify that statement I'll clarify when I say a hole (other than at corner)it's just a matter of youth and inexperience. For instance to start the season I'd say we have holes on the dline. By mid season we'll see tons of progress because Scott and Jones ALREADY HAVE COLLEGE READY SIZE. But to start the season we're gonna be really dependent on health and our transfer tackles. I consider that a hole. Db in general is same situation. Powell we've gone back and forth on what position he'll start at. Brown I think eventually will be a monster. Same as Patterson. But it's not right now where it needs to be. I'm more concerned with safety this entire season than I am at any other position. This carpenter kid has had health issues previously. I'm not crazy about our depth on the interior of the oline in general and even less so at center. Tight end I came into this camp with alot of concern over. Mainly because Arroyo is always hurt and Riley really showed me nothing positive last year. But Riley does look more engaged so far and lofton REALLY impresses me. We're just depending on alot of youth. The beautiful thing is our youth are tons of studs.
Yeah they're bolting because of exactly what your explaining. Either a money grab or running from the competition. If I had to bet I'd say worst case this time next year Julian sayin is no longer at osu and Moore wouldn't surprise me if he bounces again either.
Yeah I’ll never tell someone I think they’re wrong for wanting 5 star elite high school QBs. I mean of course. It’s a strange market though for sure.
This is exactly where I'm at too.
Key is to realize, like you said it'll be that way at EVERY POSITION for most teams. We are witnessing free agency in its most distorted form. This is what fans wanted and until there's serious regulations in place for the portal and nil, this is what we got. Year to year any team can completely flip. Remember when I told yall this time last season bama was falling apart & everyone said their just rebuilding. How did that work out? Unless a team is all in yearly on its roster than nothing is a given any longer.
In practice
I'm not worried about running back. We do have to be careful with devoting too many numbers to undersized speed backs. Biggest factor this year at rb is how does fletch come back & just as importantly when from lis franc. That injury can seriously linger if not given enough time. Citizen is fully healed and he seems to be embracing the work and has learned his lesson from the kiddie games. That is huge for us if he stays healthy. He's a 3 down back far more than anyone else on the squad. Lyle probably being the closest if he's what he's been forecast as. The rest I agree. Cb we have two front line corners in brown and Stafford. But they need time. Harris and powell are best options at safety to start the season cause at this point we don't know what zaquan is gonna turn into physically. We don't need to feature anymore safeties primarily in the box. That's all I care about.
In season the #3 or #4 qb get very few reps. He may run scout team. But not likely cause his skill set doesn't really match the skill sets of any qbs were gonna be playing outside of possibly VA tech off the top of my head. So he's not gonna have many chances to show that
Do you know how these guys are doing in the weight program? in the nutrition program? in class in the film room? nah you know you don’t… also there are hundreds of stories about guys taking spots in the mythical spring depth chart because of exactly those things and nothing else. It’s done for a reason… you’re literally acting like Lou is going to start and then saying things like amazing when dudes call you on it.
I hear that. I just look at the clemson model and think think that's the model to follow. You don't need to stack up talent level wise across the board or with depth but you need a special qb that's a difference maker and can win games you shouldn't. To me that's our fastest way to the top but if Mario can continue to get and stack gobs of elite talent a game manager might be all we need. appreciate the different perspective!
Yeah it's damned if you do damned if you don't. It would be nice to not need the portal to restock or upgrade. Hopefully something happens where hs kids stick around for a minute.. whether it be a one time only free transfer or an end loaded NIL deal..something. In a perfect world I'd like to see a team full of developed hs talent and only a few portal guys to fill holes or provide a gap filler when you're talent isn't quite ready. At this point I don't think we're quite there with developed hs talent so I think we'll be back in the portal for qb talent. Things change tho and I'll flow with it either way.
I'm just saying I'd like to be a 5 star qb destination because of our offense and not because of NIL. Come to Miami cause you'll get developed and put up gaudy numbers .. best path into the league so to speak. I think at this point qb's are looking here for NIL.. hopefully that'll change soon.
Nephew shouldn’t even be on the roster
You think qb play is why Clemson was able to win? Clemson won because of superior dline play and a physical oline capable of moving the chains. Only difference maker they had at qb was sunshine. Maybe you could say Watson but I wouldn't. Games aren't won or lost typically by skill position players(that happens when the decks are evenly stacked)what separates the boys from the men begins and ends with oline & dline play. Qbs very rarely do you have a DOMINANT TEAM with a dominant qb. Because a coach wants to limit his risk. It's fans who want to see the highlights etc. Coaches simply want to win the simplest way possible. 9 out of 10 the teams that have those really high level qbs need that level of play out of them because they lack elsewhere.
It's definitely our fastest way. But that's because as a squad we still aren't a finished product. We have issues. You get around those issues by having high level qb play. It makes up for the deficiencies. But long term it's not sustainable. Look at all of the schools who prove this model annually. Georgia basic qb play,bama basic qb play,osu basic qb play and on and on. Opposite side of the coin lsu had a trash defense, jayden Daniel's played out of this world. Washington basic d, penix played out of this world. Bo nix at auburn was asked to carry the team. He was expected to be a 5 star qb. He was viewed as a jag cause that ain't him. Now bring him to Oregon and control the expectations. Make his route tree more qb friendly high percentage throws so he can find comfort. What does Oregon do by dialing him back? They Excell. More often than not that's the recipe for success.
If it weren't the first week of spring I'd fully agree with you. But it is.
25. It all depends on if I'm right that Brown & Stafford are what I think they are with real coaching. Same with Patterson. Long as we get relatively high level stability at db & we stay healthy at rb then we're just about there.