Pre-Season Rankings

[The Jackal]

Might be wrong from drinking too much grape kool-aid but I think Roberto is going to be at the top of the pack as far as SoCon RBs go.

Alex Ramsey at the Citadel is an interesting choice. Honestly, I didn't even realize he was still in the SoCon.

Ramsey was an excellent back in VMI's offense in 2019. He had something like 70% of VMI's carries that season.

He then transferred to rival Citadel. He opted out of the '20-21 season and announced he was going to transfer again.

Apparently the market wasn't great and he stayed at the Citadel. He suffered a season ending injury before last season. As best I can tell, he hasn't carried the football in a game since 2019.

So, this writer decides that a guy that literally has not played in two seasons and coming off an injury is a more deserving preseason selection than a handful of other SoCon backs that were excellent just last season.

[FUBeAR]

DELETE

[FUBeAR]

Might be wrong from drinking too much grape kool-aid but I think Roberto is going to be at the top of the pack as far as SoCon RBs go.

Alex Ramsey at the Citadel is an interesting choice. Honestly, I didn't even realize he was still in the SoCon.

Ramsey was an excellent back in VMI's offense in 2019. He had something like 70% of VMI's carries that season.

He then transferred to rival Citadel. He opted out of the '20-21 season and announced he was going to transfer again.

Apparently the market wasn't great and he stayed at the Citadel. He suffered a season ending injury before last season. As best I can tell, he hasn't carried the football in a game since 2019.

So, this writer decides that a guy that literally has not played in two seasons and coming off an injury is a more deserving preseason selection than a handful of other SoCon backs that were excellent just last season.

…and playing in a completely different style of Offense. He was a single back zone read & draw RB in VMI’s O. He will do neither of those things as a RB in the bellhops’ O.

He was the SoCon’s leading rusher in 2019 though…so guys just ‘stat watching’ see that and HAVE to put his name on the list(s).

[The Jackal]

Might be wrong from drinking too much grape kool-aid but I think Roberto is going to be at the top of the pack as far as SoCon RBs go.

Alex Ramsey at the Citadel is an interesting choice. Honestly, I didn't even realize he was still in the SoCon.

Ramsey was an excellent back in VMI's offense in 2019. He had something like 70% of VMI's carries that season.

He then transferred to rival Citadel. He opted out of the '20-21 season and announced he was going to transfer again.

Apparently the market wasn't great and he stayed at the Citadel. He suffered a season ending injury before last season. As best I can tell, he hasn't carried the football in a game since 2019.

So, this writer decides that a guy that literally has not played in two seasons and coming off an injury is a more deserving preseason selection than a handful of other SoCon backs that were excellent just last season.

…and playing in a completely different style of Offense. He was a single back zone read & draw RB in VMI’s O. He will do neither of those things as a RB in the bellhops’ O.

He was the SoCon’s leading rusher in 2019 though…so guys just ‘stat watching’ see that and HAVE to put his name on the list(s).

This is true. He also had 266 carries. You could give a number of guys 266 carries and they'd be at or near the league lead in rushing.

Honestly, the news reported that his decision to transfer from the Citadel had something to do with an ill fit in their offense. So, odd that he'd stay there.

When he announced his intent to transfer to the Citadel, I wondered about the fit. While at VMI, Ramsey struck me as more of an upright/downhill runner with good field vision in a type of zone read offense. That's not exactly the bread and butter of Citadel's scheme.

[gofurman]

The Bluebloods (those guys again?) have selected their Preseason All SoCon Team
https://thebluebloodspod.com/the-bluebl ... Vmw2yEh6D8

Offense:
QB: Tyler Riddell (East Tennessee State; So.)
RB: Ailym Ford (Chattanooga; Jr.)
RB: Jacob Saylors (East Tennessee State; Sr.)
RB: Alex Ramsey (The Citadel; Gr.)
WR: Raphael Williams (Western Carolina; So.)
WR: Ty James (Mercer; So.)
WR: Will Huzzie (East Tennessee State; Jr.)
TE: Ryan Miller (Furman; Gr.)
OL: McClendon Curtis (Chattanooga; Sr.)
OL: Anderson Tomlin (Furman; Sr.)
OL: Tavon Matthews (East Tennessee State; Jr.)
OL: Pearson Toomey (Furman; Jr.)
OL: Gavin Orr (Samford; Gr.)

Defense:
DL: Devonnsha Maxwell (Chattanooga; Sr.)
DL: Solomon Zubairu (Mercer; Sr.)
DL: Ben Brewton (Chattanooga; Jr.)
DL: Chris Hill (Mercer; So.)
LB: Stone Snyder (VMI; Jr.)
LB: Ty Boeck (Chattanooga; Sr.)
LB: Jay Person (Chattanooga; Jr.)
DB: Lance Wise (Mercer; Sr.)
DB: Destin Mack (The Citadel; Sr.)
DB: Mike Price (East Tennessee State; Jr.)
DB: Travis Blackshear (Furman; Sr.)
DB: Aljareek Malry (VMI; Sr.)

Special Teams:
K: Jerry Rice (VMI; Jr.)
P: Jack Culbreath (VMI; Jr.)
RS: Jacob Saylors (East Tennessee State; Sr.)

I love our guys but have to admit Ailym Ford (Chattanooga; Jr.) and WR: Will Huzzie (East Tennessee State; Jr.) have tortured me at times... lol . Those guys are good. When healthy, I think it was Ford that killed some teams with a strong physical run. Man, and both have two years left... drats

An, as always, Chatt with two great DL. They always have the DL there. year after year....

[cavedweller2]

Give Roberto 266 carries and he runs for 1500 yards.

[The Jackal]

Give Roberto 266 carries and he runs for 1500 yards.

Roberto had double digit carries 4 times last season.

In those games, he went for 132, 196, 100, and 216 with 6 touchdowns.

[AstroDin]

Jackal and FuBear both brought this up…
I doubt Furman will run Roberto as a feature back like Ford, Saylors, and Ramsey.

Roper has a diverse stable of running backs to use in many ways.
Big backs, a scat back, a power back, even a slasher-type back.

Still I wouldn't be surprised to see Roberto have six or more double-digit rushing games.

The Furman player who will probably see a major uptick in his overall numbers is Jace Wilson.
I'm really curious to see how Justin Roper implements the QB in the running game.
The HC QB was a big dude, not as swift as Jace, but he was a weapon running the ball.
Huff and Jones have the size to help shoulder the load.

[AstroDin]

One more thought concerning pre-season rankings (SoCon).
Cam Coleman is no slouch. Cam was 2nd team All-SoCon last season.
If we can get a full year out of Sochovka, Furman could have two of the best defensive linemen in the league.

Not sure if this has been mentioned…
Dae’one Wilkins is now listed at SS with Kam Brinson. Wilkins IMO is underrated.
That move opens up the Spur position to Miller, Richards, and Achina.
Like the RB position, Furman rotates a lot on defense and there is a lot of talented depth.

[The Jackal]

Jackal and FuBear both brought this up…
I doubt Furman will run Roberto as a feature back like Ford, Saylors, and Ramsey.

Roper has a diverse stable of running backs to use in many ways.
Big backs, a scat back, a power back, even a slasher-type back.

Still I wouldn't be surprised to see Roberto have six or more double-digit rushing games.

The Furman player who will probably see a major uptick in his overall numbers is Jace Wilson.
I'm really curious to see how Justin Roper implements the QB in the running game.
The HC QB was a big dude, not as swift as Jace, but he was a weapon running the ball.
Huff and Jones have the size to help shoulder the load.

By the numbers, Holy Cross QBs attributed for about 33% of all rush attempts. By comparison, Furman QBs last year handled about 18% of the carries (I don't know if those are sack adjusted, but it wouldn't move the needle too much).

So, I would definitely expect to see an uptick in carries from the QB.

The single back offense really needs the threat of the QB run to be at its most effective. The QB is able to freeze unblocked backside defenders who have to maintain discipline against the QB pulling the ball and running the opposite direction.

Frankly, we attempted a similar offensive approach in the Fowler years with Reese Hannon at QB. In my opinion, we just really lacked the right personnel to make the system work. Now, we have a much stronger supporting cast.

[tim]

Its good there is more depth at qb. Running the qb that much makes me nervous.

[MNORM]

The Bluebloods (those guys again?) have selected their Preseason All SoCon Team
https://thebluebloodspod.com/the-bluebl ... Vmw2yEh6D8

Offense:
QB: Tyler Riddell (East Tennessee State; So.)
RB: Ailym Ford (Chattanooga; Jr.)
RB: Jacob Saylors (East Tennessee State; Sr.)
RB: Alex Ramsey (The Citadel; Gr.)
WR: Raphael Williams (Western Carolina; So.)
WR: Ty James (Mercer; So.)
WR: Will Huzzie (East Tennessee State; Jr.)
TE: Ryan Miller (Furman; Gr.)
OL: McClendon Curtis (Chattanooga; Sr.)
OL: Anderson Tomlin (Furman; Sr.)
OL: Tavon Matthews (East Tennessee State; Jr.)
OL: Pearson Toomey (Furman; Jr.)
OL: Gavin Orr (Samford; Gr.)

Defense:
DL: Devonnsha Maxwell (Chattanooga; Sr.)
DL: Solomon Zubairu (Mercer; Sr.)
DL: Ben Brewton (Chattanooga; Jr.)
DL: Chris Hill (Mercer; So.)
LB: Stone Snyder (VMI; Jr.)
LB: Ty Boeck (Chattanooga; Sr.)
LB: Jay Person (Chattanooga; Jr.)
DB: Lance Wise (Mercer; Sr.)
DB: Destin Mack (The Citadel; Sr.)
DB: Mike Price (East Tennessee State; Jr.)
DB: Travis Blackshear (Furman; Sr.)
DB: Aljareek Malry (VMI; Sr.)

Special Teams:
K: Jerry Rice (VMI; Jr.)
P: Jack Culbreath (VMI; Jr.)
RS: Jacob Saylors (East Tennessee State; Sr.)

Not a single Wofford player....

[FUBeAR]

The Bluebloods (those guys again?) have selected their Preseason All SoCon Team
https://thebluebloodspod.com/the-bluebl ... Vmw2yEh6D8

Offense:
QB: Tyler Riddell (East Tennessee State; So.)
RB: Ailym Ford (Chattanooga; Jr.)
RB: Jacob Saylors (East Tennessee State; Sr.)
RB: Alex Ramsey (The Citadel; Gr.)
WR: Raphael Williams (Western Carolina; So.)
WR: Ty James (Mercer; So.)
WR: Will Huzzie (East Tennessee State; Jr.)
TE: Ryan Miller (Furman; Gr.)
OL: McClendon Curtis (Chattanooga; Sr.)
OL: Anderson Tomlin (Furman; Sr.)
OL: Tavon Matthews (East Tennessee State; Jr.)
OL: Pearson Toomey (Furman; Jr.)
OL: Gavin Orr (Samford; Gr.)

Defense:
DL: Devonnsha Maxwell (Chattanooga; Sr.)
DL: Solomon Zubairu (Mercer; Sr.)
DL: Ben Brewton (Chattanooga; Jr.)
DL: Chris Hill (Mercer; So.)
LB: Stone Snyder (VMI; Jr.)
LB: Ty Boeck (Chattanooga; Sr.)
LB: Jay Person (Chattanooga; Jr.)
DB: Lance Wise (Mercer; Sr.)
DB: Destin Mack (The Citadel; Sr.)
DB: Mike Price (East Tennessee State; Jr.)
DB: Travis Blackshear (Furman; Sr.)
DB: Aljareek Malry (VMI; Sr.)

Special Teams:
K: Jerry Rice (VMI; Jr.)
P: Jack Culbreath (VMI; Jr.)
RS: Jacob Saylors (East Tennessee State; Sr.)

Not a single Wofford player....

Nope - their RB, Mulligan, is the only Tearyer that FUBeAR thinks might garner some preseason accolades. He’s really a good Player, but there are so many good SoCon RB’s, he may get shut out also.

FUBeAR was surprised to see him not hit the transfer portal in the off-season. As noted, he is very talented…and he is also a demonstrative, emotional Player. It was very easy to see that he was quite unhappy with the efforts/abilities of some of his Teammates last season, as well as Coaching decisions/play-calling. Guess he likes SparkleCity a lot…or, maybe, young love, paradoxically, kept him outta the portal…so to speak.

[FUBeAR]

From 3 guys claiming to be voters in the FCS Stats Poll

3 “Usual SoCon Suspects” (ETSU, Chatt, Mercer), it seems at this point in preseason polling season, also ranked by this poll

[The Jackal]

As is typical, I think what you get is writers trying to publish a poll, and basically using other people's polls to do it.