Before we go into hibernation on football and focus on bball and recruiting, I put a little thought into what the depth chart would look like in the spring. I'm pretty pumped about next year's team although we definitely have some holes to fill/depth to add in a few areas. Any mention of players that may or may not leave is pure speculation – I have no opinion on who should and shouldn’t. For the record, I hope they all stay.
QB: Put the green jersey on Dick and let him get as many reps as possible. Who stays and will Johnson possibly change positions? Personally I like the QB list of Dick, Mortensen and Barthel with Johnson at WR and Mitch redshirting.
HB: McFadden, Hillis and Jones are the strength of this team. Assuming Hillis does the smart thing and stays. Assuming everybody has the right "team" oriented approach (team is more important than individual stats). With Sutton and M. Smith chasing playing time, will both stay? One is only an injury away from significant playing time. Maybe Smith could provide the punt returner we all are looking for.
FB: Important role in our run offense. Farod Jackson takes over and has a lot of talent. We need depth here and not sure who will provide that. Kyle Payne needs to step up.
WR/FL: We need more weapons here. Either new faces in recruiting or players to step up/coaches to believe in some folks. Monk and Washington are solid. Baker will be back, and I think we will realize how much he was missed this year. Logan, Fish, Thompson and Coleman most likely candidates to be the 4th WR. S. Johnson, only a soph seems to be odd man out.
TE: Murphy, Winston and Templeton all return. Will any of these guys become a go to guy? So far each has their issues (hands of stone, inconsistent blocking, penalties, etc.). Another year in the weight room makes Winston the best candidate as he has the most potential.
OL: Potential here for 5 returning starters, not to mention Tubbs’ hopeful return. Throw in 4 talented frosh that redshirted and the future looks bright here. Will Ugoh return, will Tubbs be healthy and will a Tucker or a Valdez push for a starting spot? May be most interesting battle in the spring. Also, will Bledsoe contribute at this position?
DE: J. Anderson is a stud. Sims and A.Brown are coming on and both are situationally very good. It will be interesting to see what A. Robinson does with a year in the weight room. M. Hall and D. Bryant come back from redshirt years with a ton of talent. Will Snider stay at DE? Many think he should still be at LB. Will Hall and Bryant be physically ready to contribute? Will Tate and D. Moore contribute or are they odd men out? It seems so if the Hogs get a couple of big recruits.
DL: Jackson Jr. and Harrison are anchors. Harrison, especially should get better and better. Can Mitchell and Shavers provide quality depth? Also C.Grey coming off of redshirt needs to contribute minutes. At least one big recruit is needed here.
LB: Worries me. Sammy O won me over and Fairchild is future all SEC. But then what? Does Snider move back to LB? Will Graham work out his off field issues? Can Dacus and Stolz step up? Huge recruiting need here.
CB: A lot of depth here. Vinnett returns hopefully at 100%. Grant, Richardson, Coe and Houston return. Throw in a redshirted D. Washington, J. Love and a constantly improving J. Johnson (very active on special teams) and you’ve got depth. Will any of these move to safety to shore up depth there? Is Rick Culbert the odd man out? Next to OL, CB could be one of the more competitive battles.
S: Hog fans seem divided over R. Kelly. Either way, he will be the anchor of what could be the scariest position to have inexperience. Who replaces Vaughn – Forte or Thornton? Will D. Williams live up to the hype and finally contribute to the defense? K. Woods and M. Harris also fight for time, although Woods is a valuable special teams player.
P/K: Skinner gets better each year. K is wide open, which scares you, but then again it's been awhile since we had full confidence in our kicker. Vavra or J. Davis could get the longest looks.
This post was edited on 11/26 9:15 PM by HendrixHogif(GetAdminCookie() != 0) {document.write(' (Revisions[/URL])');}
QB: Put the green jersey on Dick and let him get as many reps as possible. Who stays and will Johnson possibly change positions? Personally I like the QB list of Dick, Mortensen and Barthel with Johnson at WR and Mitch redshirting.
HB: McFadden, Hillis and Jones are the strength of this team. Assuming Hillis does the smart thing and stays. Assuming everybody has the right "team" oriented approach (team is more important than individual stats). With Sutton and M. Smith chasing playing time, will both stay? One is only an injury away from significant playing time. Maybe Smith could provide the punt returner we all are looking for.
FB: Important role in our run offense. Farod Jackson takes over and has a lot of talent. We need depth here and not sure who will provide that. Kyle Payne needs to step up.
WR/FL: We need more weapons here. Either new faces in recruiting or players to step up/coaches to believe in some folks. Monk and Washington are solid. Baker will be back, and I think we will realize how much he was missed this year. Logan, Fish, Thompson and Coleman most likely candidates to be the 4th WR. S. Johnson, only a soph seems to be odd man out.
TE: Murphy, Winston and Templeton all return. Will any of these guys become a go to guy? So far each has their issues (hands of stone, inconsistent blocking, penalties, etc.). Another year in the weight room makes Winston the best candidate as he has the most potential.
OL: Potential here for 5 returning starters, not to mention Tubbs’ hopeful return. Throw in 4 talented frosh that redshirted and the future looks bright here. Will Ugoh return, will Tubbs be healthy and will a Tucker or a Valdez push for a starting spot? May be most interesting battle in the spring. Also, will Bledsoe contribute at this position?
DE: J. Anderson is a stud. Sims and A.Brown are coming on and both are situationally very good. It will be interesting to see what A. Robinson does with a year in the weight room. M. Hall and D. Bryant come back from redshirt years with a ton of talent. Will Snider stay at DE? Many think he should still be at LB. Will Hall and Bryant be physically ready to contribute? Will Tate and D. Moore contribute or are they odd men out? It seems so if the Hogs get a couple of big recruits.
DL: Jackson Jr. and Harrison are anchors. Harrison, especially should get better and better. Can Mitchell and Shavers provide quality depth? Also C.Grey coming off of redshirt needs to contribute minutes. At least one big recruit is needed here.
LB: Worries me. Sammy O won me over and Fairchild is future all SEC. But then what? Does Snider move back to LB? Will Graham work out his off field issues? Can Dacus and Stolz step up? Huge recruiting need here.
CB: A lot of depth here. Vinnett returns hopefully at 100%. Grant, Richardson, Coe and Houston return. Throw in a redshirted D. Washington, J. Love and a constantly improving J. Johnson (very active on special teams) and you’ve got depth. Will any of these move to safety to shore up depth there? Is Rick Culbert the odd man out? Next to OL, CB could be one of the more competitive battles.
S: Hog fans seem divided over R. Kelly. Either way, he will be the anchor of what could be the scariest position to have inexperience. Who replaces Vaughn – Forte or Thornton? Will D. Williams live up to the hype and finally contribute to the defense? K. Woods and M. Harris also fight for time, although Woods is a valuable special teams player.
P/K: Skinner gets better each year. K is wide open, which scares you, but then again it's been awhile since we had full confidence in our kicker. Vavra or J. Davis could get the longest looks.
This post was edited on 11/26 9:15 PM by HendrixHogif(GetAdminCookie() != 0) {document.write(' (Revisions[/URL])');}
