Position Group Status After Gasparilla Bowl

Lagway and Baugh both have a very long way to go...and I say that not because they are that bad but because they are that good. I dont think we've even come close to scratching the surface of just how good they will be. It's going to be a ride if we run an offense which can play to their strengths.

 

I'm to the point of asking if James stays have we ever had 5 for the 2 ilb positions as athletic as James, Robinson, Graham, Chiles, and Sanders. CBN said Sanders may be the best football player he's seen. The junior year highlights of Robinson and him are amazing. Graham and Chiles are elite talents as well. You have to wonder if Chiles can help at Jack also. Train that talent, and our team is good.

 

My bad for leaving out Howard. He is probably the most disciplined of them, and a sure tackler. Yes, I think Howard can help at Jack too. Somehow we need the best 22 players to see the field regularly (not so much in the secondary imo). I am surprised at how well Graham and Chiles have been integrated. Although on the smaller side, Gumbs has incredible athleticism for the position and is just scratching the surface of what he can do at Jack.

 

Let's beef up our offensive line by adding some depth and the whole picture changes!
Folks... for Lagway and Baugh...
It's ALL about our offensive line!!
Trust me.
Just imagine if Lagway had another 1.5 to 2 seconds more to pass?
If Baugh, Webb, Jackson, Daniels and our other backs had just a bit better holes to run through?

 

The question is can the roster go from 4-4 in the SEC to 6-2.

QB: Lagway, sums it up.

RB: Elite

WR: Ton of production to replace, capable but still a question mark, a bit concerning.

TE: for how much we showcase this position, it still might be the weakest on the roster

OL: Slaughter singlehandedly changes it from being a huge question mark again to can we please find a RT and we should be decent to good.

DL: Interior looks like it could be a strength, need some guys to step up at edge to replace leaving production. Overall looks like a capable SEC DL.

LB: from worst to best in 1 year, with all indicators saying the future will be even better.

CB: Replacing Marshall will be no easy task. Actually my biggest question mark on D for next year. Who is it gonna be? Marshall gone, Moore is always hurt, Jackson transfer... Dijon and Cormani? Scary.

S: Do we get early season worst position by a wide margin or end of season solid group? Hopefully the later.

I think the talent is capable, can the coaching get it there is still my biggest queation. Could really use a guy on both sides to ascend to that guy who gets talked about pregame alongside DJ. Dream was Jeremiah Smith would look to leave after a loss to UTk, that dream is dead and was murdered by Rocky Top.

 

Does anyone have info on the progress/playing time expectations for OL Jason Zandamela and CB Jameer Grimsley?

 

I saw a little package of Westphal highlights at LT against Tulane. He was a bull dozer. I had forgotten all about this kid 6 8" according to the roster. He really showed up. Anybody know anything else about him. True freshman?

 

Surprised not to see Jackson at all at tight end. And you failed to mention how awesome Watson and Rubio were at running back

 

Grimsley flashed really well at the end....think he missed bowl w injury
Gates recovery from injury is important imo....kid is a stud

 

lol, another 2 seconds?! You know the goal is about 2.5. I believe the average D1 pocket is about 2 seconds and you want an ADDITIONAL 2! lol. I mean heck yeah, we’d be the best passing team in history with 3.5-4.5 seconds to pass. Not to mention run.

 

Thanks for the info…. Gates wasn’t on my radar, but now that I look him up he led the team in tackles (8) in the UTx game. Anyone know what his injury was (season ending vs strain)?

 

Gates was just an incredible surprise and was clearly outplaying Denson....and Gates goes down and Denson really picks up his game several notches. Props to the kids and coach Harris

 

We can dream, can't we?

 

Seems like he played a lot in spring game, but struggled. I’m pretty sure he was a four star out of Virginia and the staff was/is very high on him.
He was true freshman this season and I’m not sure if he burned his redshirt this year but, I’m glad you posted the info about his highlight video against Tulane. He could be a really good OT for us and those are hard to find.

 

Good analysis. My two cents.

QB: lagway has to stay healthy or the season is kaput. If he takes the usual sophomore jump, we are set. With lagway, we are in SEC top 2.

running back: top 3 in the SEC. We may not have an elite back but we have two very good ones. KD may add to this puzzle.

tight end: Hanson is reliable but not very dynamic. He’s a good blocker. I’m not sold on Livingston yet. He missed some key blocks against Tulane and has had issues with drops. I would have to rank this position lower tier of SEC.

offensive line: recruiting misses have cost us here. While it developed into a capable line, I still would put it in the SEC middle tier. I like Harris and slaughter but other positions are up and down.

wide receiver: obviously the most to replace here. We will miss dike and badger. I expect this position to struggle early and get better as season progresses. Wilson is a huge get. We really need an elite receiver for lagway. VB should be really good as well. For now, this is SEC middle tier but chances to shoot up.

defensive line: we have some players here but maybe a bit thin. Great to see banks back. We will need mccrae to really develop next year. He has the size but is the twitch there? I liked what I saw from boireau and Robinson. Gumbs is becoming a player. I would put this group in the SEC top 5 range.

linebacker: huge upgrade here. Graham will be all SEC before he’s through. Really like Robinson and Howard. Chiles should be a player. This unit is top 3 in the SEC.

defensive back: safety has really improved. Early on it was a disaster. We have some good talent coming in as well. Hopefully gates recovers from his injury. Corner is concerning. Dijon can be good but other is a complete question mark. Can cormani develop? For now I would have to rank this group SEC middle tier.

Overall, I would say we should be a contender next year but we are not yet championship level. Hopefully we can get to 10 wins and a playoff spot. The coaching is a whole different discussion.

 

Gates just tackles so well and seems to support the run better than Denson, but I do think Denson has great moments as well. Gates just seems to be around the ball more, hope he's ready to go and doesn't miss most of 25 recovering from injury. I hope he isn't Devin Moore because both of those guys can play, but Moore just can't seem to shake the injury bug.

 

We need more guys tgat love contact and can tackle. If we dont have that, you get majled on the ground and being good in coverage doesn't really help too much. Stopping ol miss on fouth and one do many times was the difference in our defense from previous years. Coverage was better also but you have to have front seven first.

 

I agree and I'd take it a step further, I would be fine with less cover skills for open field tackling. I have seen it posted that Dijon Johnson is too slow in coverage. I see that at times, but I also love his ability to come up and make the tackle in the open field. Guys are going to get open, can you make solo tackles when they do. With Dijon I see him getting beat at times, but I also see that guy making tackles afterwards. Something we have also lacked for years.

One of the reasons I wasn't too upset with losing Jackson in the portal. He got beat too, and too often he got beat again trying to make open field tackles.