- Thank god we got Cam. The alternative is scary. Amazing what one player does. I hope we take the collective pool and overpay for a big time QB. Use 20%.
- this could be Mario Cristobal’s best team ever. Better than 2019 Oregon that won the Rose Bowl w/herbert.
- Cam Ward and the 1st team oline can keep us in any game
- a ton of the young players flashed big time
- we need to develop some of the younger receivers. X is great, JG and Horton are serviceable but we need some serious contested catch guys and some YAC guys.
- Sam Brown is incapable of winning a contested catch. Incapable.
- Armando Blount needs more time. Hands down the most impressive freshmen linemen today. Cole was a big disappointment after reading all the practice reports.
- shout out to Aaron Feld for creating a Ted Hendricks clone in Chase Smith. I’m sure he needs work but he looks the part.
- I’m not sure what is going on with Pancake. But I remember when he was being recruited DMoney was saying 1st overall pick type talent. Same thing we heard about Dylan Stewart. Dylan looks the part. But we’re 8 deep at oline which is nice.
- what’s going on with the Washington brothers?
1)Agree on Ward. QB is without a doubt the most important position and should be treated as such going forward. I fully expect to get the 2025 starting QB from the portal and if Cam keeps this up and stays healthy there will not be a shortage of interested parties.
2) Yes this could be Mario's best team.
3)Exactly! Cam, the OL and the DL will keep us in any game.
4) Many flashed Saturday. Among my favorites were..... Zaquan Patterson, Cam Pruitt, Adarius Hayes, Armando Blount, Marquis Lightfoot, Jordan Lyle and Nino Francavilla(Nobody has mentioned him but he stood out to me Saturday).
5) Agreed! We will lose X and George for sure so it's imperative we develop the young kids. Jojo Trader, Ny Carr, Ray Ray Joseph and Chance Robinson all need to improve throughout the year. I'm not exactly worried as we have Kevin Beard plus very competent coaching at the position.
6) Yes. See #5
7) Rough start for sure. We'll see.
8)They both need more time. Both are true freshmen! Give Cole a break. You mean he didn't perform like JJ Watt? How dare he! Kid is a true freshman. Give him some time to develop for cryin out loud! Yes Blount looks like a huge athletic freak or maybe I should say he looks like an "Avatar". Give them time Hoss.
9) Chase Smith? A Hendricks Clone? WTF? Are you on bath salts?(I mean that in the nicest way possible lol).
10) Samuel Okunlola is an interesting subject. To me, he is for poster child for the high school All American 5 star who looks like a future first round pick who then goes to college and has the realization that he isn't going up against the Timmy's of the world anymore. He realizes that everyone on this level looks and trains like
@JHallCanes . That is a very sobering realization for someone for whom everything has been easy to this point. Now he knows that in order to fulfill his immense potential, that he is going to have to train and work harder than he has ever imagined doing. From what I understand of the situation, he has finally submitted to the process. It's going to take longer with Pancake because he didn't posses the natural core strength that someone like Cici Mauigoa had coming in plus he suffered a bad injury in fall camp last year. If Samuel Okunlola works tremendously hard this year then he could be a good player next year but in order for him to be exceptional we will have to wait for the 2026 season. His redshirt junior year. This program and staff will make him a man if he truly gives it all he has and is committed to becoming the best version of himself. This is where veterans like Cam Ward, Tyler Baron, Kiko Mauigoa and Meesh Powell lead by example.
11) The Washington brothers. Such a talented pair of siblings. What's going on is likely the typical college struggle. Not everyone is going to wow people coming right in from high school. As far as Robbie is concerned, he has great speed but is learning the fundamentals of playing the WR position for the 1st time in his career. That and he is absolutely surrounded by competition. Robbie Washington had the talent to be a weapon offensively or a CB on defense. He had 6 snaps at CB Saturday likely because of our low numbers. Whether or not he stays at CB going forward is anyones guess. He can develop into a very good player and perhaps more but again he needs to be able to submit to the process and not fall into the trap of thinking that the grass is necessarily greener at another program. He may come to the point where making a decision to go somewhere where he is able to get more live reps like maybe Syracuse is a valid option but IMO it's not that time yet.
With Bobby at LB it's quite similar. Bobby has the kind of tools that anyone here would program an AI LB with. At 6'3" 230 lbs having the natural strength, length(pause) agility, lateral quickness and explosion, B.Wash is obviously a freakish prospect. However he has another tool which takes him into another galaxy as a LB prospect. Kid has absolutely legit 4.4 speed(fully automatic). So what is he doing on the bench? All those attributes don't mean much if you don't master the playbook, are not able to properly read your keys and/or shoot the wrong gap(we all saw what a simple mistake like that can do in the Florida game on that 71 yard td run by UiF). I honestly don't know but I would suspect that we may see him more in certain situations later in the year such as blitzing from his nickel LB position or wherever they put him. He like Robbie is only a redshirt freshman so he has plenty of time to develop if he chooses to use it and I truly hope he does as he is one of my favorite developmental players who I keep track of.
I have heard whispers on this board about his father Bobby Washington Sr. not being happy with the situation but I know absolutely nothing about if that is a legitimate concern of just a baseless rumor. Would be a shame if true because I don't understand what more he could possibly want more that the opportunity to develop at a storied program in your backyard with an A+ coaching staff and a true family atmosphere. That my sound a bit pie in the sky but I truly feel that way.