How do you feel our position groups stack up in conference and nationally?
QB: TBD
WR: 1st/2nd in conference (If Malcolm Lewis and Scott both play to their talent, I'll take our group), top 15 nationally.
RB: 2nd in conference (Duke and a whole lot of question marks: Yearby is a bonafide stud, but coming off major injury, Gus continues to show flashes, and Tucker is very interesting)... Duke is a top 10 running back, but the unit as whole somewhere in the 20's.
OL: 3rd in conference (Flowers is a first-rounder and Feliciano is excellent, but RT makes me nervous and our center play has been solid but unremarkable), top 25 nationally.
TE: 3rd/4th in conference (Walford is slightly above average, Dobard had an excellent spring and shows great promise, and Beau has been more talk than walk so far), Top 30 nationally.
DL: 4th in conference (AQM, McCord are going to be very good by the end of the year, Kamalu is a talented kid that had an excellent spring, Earl Moore and Corey King have no business in a UM DL 2-deep, Chad Thomas is the best DE prospect we've had in many years, Pierre is inconsistent, Hamilton is the wildcard) Top 40 nationally (Thomas may change this to top 20 nationally if his body can take the beating).
LB: 2nd/3rd in conference (Perryman is great when attacking downhill, but still busts assignments more than you'd like for a leader of the D, Kirby and Figueroa have potential for days but more needs to be seen, Grace is undersized but had a very good spring, Armbrister is middling, Owens and Young are super talented but there is going to be some learning curve) Top 30 nationally but could end up much higher.
DB: 1st/2nd in conference (Howard is very good, hoping he takes the next step to elite, Gunter is above average, Crawford is good depth, Burns is a 1st day pick in the making, Bush busts coverages at an alarming rate but no denying the talent, Crawford is going to be excellent in run support, Carter has had some problems picking up the scheme but he seemed to be turning a corner in the spring, and Jenkins is a solid player. Hester has a ton of potential. Top 15 nationally with a chance to be top 10.
I see a Defense with increased athleticism all over the field, another year of experience, and an influx of some truly talented freshman. No reason this should not be a top 40 unit this year. Offense has playmakers all over the field, a legit Heisman candidate running back, the deepest wr corps we've had in a decade, and solid OL. All comes down to QB.
Thoughts?
QB: TBD
WR: 1st/2nd in conference (If Malcolm Lewis and Scott both play to their talent, I'll take our group), top 15 nationally.
RB: 2nd in conference (Duke and a whole lot of question marks: Yearby is a bonafide stud, but coming off major injury, Gus continues to show flashes, and Tucker is very interesting)... Duke is a top 10 running back, but the unit as whole somewhere in the 20's.
OL: 3rd in conference (Flowers is a first-rounder and Feliciano is excellent, but RT makes me nervous and our center play has been solid but unremarkable), top 25 nationally.
TE: 3rd/4th in conference (Walford is slightly above average, Dobard had an excellent spring and shows great promise, and Beau has been more talk than walk so far), Top 30 nationally.
DL: 4th in conference (AQM, McCord are going to be very good by the end of the year, Kamalu is a talented kid that had an excellent spring, Earl Moore and Corey King have no business in a UM DL 2-deep, Chad Thomas is the best DE prospect we've had in many years, Pierre is inconsistent, Hamilton is the wildcard) Top 40 nationally (Thomas may change this to top 20 nationally if his body can take the beating).
LB: 2nd/3rd in conference (Perryman is great when attacking downhill, but still busts assignments more than you'd like for a leader of the D, Kirby and Figueroa have potential for days but more needs to be seen, Grace is undersized but had a very good spring, Armbrister is middling, Owens and Young are super talented but there is going to be some learning curve) Top 30 nationally but could end up much higher.
DB: 1st/2nd in conference (Howard is very good, hoping he takes the next step to elite, Gunter is above average, Crawford is good depth, Burns is a 1st day pick in the making, Bush busts coverages at an alarming rate but no denying the talent, Crawford is going to be excellent in run support, Carter has had some problems picking up the scheme but he seemed to be turning a corner in the spring, and Jenkins is a solid player. Hester has a ton of potential. Top 15 nationally with a chance to be top 10.
I see a Defense with increased athleticism all over the field, another year of experience, and an influx of some truly talented freshman. No reason this should not be a top 40 unit this year. Offense has playmakers all over the field, a legit Heisman candidate running back, the deepest wr corps we've had in a decade, and solid OL. All comes down to QB.
Thoughts?
