With this new coaching staff everything is up for grabs. We’ve most likely added all that we will take in till the beginning of spring practice as well. During the off-season we have added 11 players (correct me if I’m wrong) for spring with 6 from the class of 22’ and 5 from the portal.
Now that we have been told of our Offensive/Defensive coordinators and their schemes it’s time to figure out who fits those schemes best and who I (we) believe will rise to the top following the spring game.
*These will be under the assumptions D Chaney, J Williams, B Balom, J rivers, J J Campbell, Al Blades are all healthy for spring* (any in the know about if any of the players listed above aren’t available for spring feel free to correct me)
QB: 1. Tyler Van Dyke 2. Jake Garcia
Explanation: not really any needed, we have a top 10 QB on our roster and he isn’t going anywhere until the draft.
RB: 1. D Chaney 2. Henry Parrish/J knighton 3. T Franklin
Explanation: I firmly believe Chaney is the type of back to run the type of offense Gattis/Cristobal envision because of his size, speed and ability to be a receiving threat and although Parrish/Knighton are better receiving backs they don’t have the size/power of Chaney to implement the physical portion of the run game that Mario is known for. ( I also believe when citizen comes onto campus in summer he will surpass Franklin & Brown)
WR 1. Frank Ladson, M Redding, R Brinson
WR 2. K smith, J George
Slot. X Restrepo, B Smith
Overall Explanation: This will be one of the biggest battles in spring as we have a lot of talent and very little PROVEN talent statistically. I believe K smith & Restrepo are next in line to be very productive receivers this year and if Ladson stays healthy he has the opportunity to be the next big transfer WR impact because he has plenty of size/speed. J George and B smith will end up being solid contributors imo but I think Restrepo/K Smith are farther ahead. I could envision Restrepo having a berrios type of year this year as well. Depth is a bit of an issue so hopefully Horton comes in ready to compete or we pick up maybe a rotational WR.
TE: 1. W Mallory 2, E Arroyo 3. D mammerlli 4.J skinner
Expalantion: In my opinion Mallory/Skinner will primarily be used as receiving TEs as Mallory has never been a strong blocker and Skinner needs to add strength/size. I believe by the end of Fall Arroyo will be the one to rise to the top as he is physically built as a blocker and is a very capable receiver. Arroyo, Brantley & Mammarelli are all sizable TEs that are capable blockers so Gattis/Mario will be able to pick their poison. (Especially with a top 3 of Mallory, Arroyo & Skinner).
O-Line
LT: Z Nelson, J Campell
LG: J Rivers, L seymore
C: J Clark, R Rodriguez, DJ Scaife/L Seymore
RG: L Sagap.., J oluswean
RT: DJ Scaife, M Mclaughin, J oluswean
Explanation: I ain’t gonna lie I know jack **** about O-Line outside of very little. It’ll be VERY interesting to see who rises to the top with Mirabal coaching this O-Line as he is one of the best in the business. We most likely need another Transfer O line as I do not believe any of the freshman will be ready to play big minutes. We lose 2/3 Centers who played last year in Gaynor (transfer) and Donaldson (eligibility) so Center will be very interesting for the spring in regards to who is tested out there. The OLine will make or break our offense this season but this is the first time in a WHILE we have had a top tier Oline coach not to mention Oline being Cristobals speciality. Pass blocking was ahead of our run blocking so it’ll be interesting to see what magic can be done between now and the end of fall camp.
DE J harvey, C Moss, Q, Williams, T Davis
DT A Moultrie/L Taylor, A Haye
DT JHH, J Litchenstein, J miller
DE C Williams, E Roberts, J ishmael/N Kelly
Explanation: Losing Ford, Silvera, C Williams, Z McCloud, D Johnson is gonna hurt this group. We have very little experience/production returning. I believe our DTs will be the strength of the D Line with Taylor, JHH, Moultrie and Litchenstein. DE will be an interesting battle (would like to see a portal DE) but we don’t seem to have much depth there so we CANNOT afford injuries.
Linebacker:
SLB (striker type?) 1. G Frierson 2. J Williams 3. J harrel
MLB 1. C Flagg 2. W Steed/Chase Smith 3. T Austin-Cave
WLB 1. Keontra Smith 2. Chase Smith 3. S Brooks 4. Wesley Bissainthe
Explanation: Definitely need a portal MLB, especially at Middle. I also believe we will use J Williams more closer to the line of scrimmage and will be used similarly to Isiaiah Simmons from Clemson. I think Bissainthee has a great opportunity to come in and earn himself a spot in the rotation. But Keontra Smith was our best LB last year when healthy and unless we bring in a top tier portal LB I don’t see that changing for this year. Definitely an area of weakness for us as of now (thanks Manny…)
DB:
CB 1. T stevenson 2. DJ Ivey 3. T couch
SS 1. J Williams 2. B balom
FS 1. K kitchens 2. A Williams 3. K Washington
CB 1. Al Blades 2. M Clarke 3. I Dunson
Explanation: T Stevenson is really the only solid CB 1 we have to be honest. After that Cornerback is a big jumble. Especially since everyone is on a legitimately CLEAN slate. Out of Blades, Ivey and Couch I have to go with Blades because when he DID play he was at least more reliable than Ivey/Couch who each have MAJOR flaws that need to be fixed (if even possible at this point) between the two I see Couch coming on top over Ivey. I honestly expect Rogers, Harris and Graves to compete for playing time immediately given our lack of established playmakers. If I had to guess I would say Harris would make a name for himself first due to his speed + already weighing in at 185Lbs while Rogers is coming off an injury and is barely 160. When it’s all said and done Rogers will have the better Career IMO. We are pretty deep at safety with J Williams, K Kinchens, A Williams, and B balom. It’s been a while since Balom played meaningful snaps but he had a solid freshman campaign. Williams came in after week 6 and easily held his own. I can see the coaches putting J Williams, A Williams and K kitchens all on the field at once.
Special teams:
K: A Boregalas
P: Lou Hedley
What y’all think ?
