1. We have speed at WR. A number of our group were high school track stars. Even our TE is one of the fastest players on the field.gofurman wrote: ↑Thu Mar 03, 2022 10:29 pmSo I am to assume the top FBS ' guy Bennett did choose to go elsewhere? EDIT - looks like he chose the Gamecocks... the JSU Gamecocks. Boo...AstroDin wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 7:17 amI'm not sure - I believe CCH did say they left a few slots open to fill.
Fast Forward with a new OC coach having some open slots to fill with a few offensive players can help jump-start what Roper and Bratton want to do.
Ferguson WR — COMMITTED
Harris WR — OFFER (I hope we've got a great shot of landing Harris)
I have no idea which school Bennett will choose. He's an explosive athlete and I don't blame him if he feels he deserves an FBS shot. Would be a versatile weapon for the DINS.
Reggion Bennett ATH — OFFERED (19 offers, de-commit from Buffalo, teammate of Tre McLeod)
WIldcard to keep in mind. Furman also brought in a young, highly-successful OL coach with his own recruiting connections. Coach Cutch! Cutch is followed by some very interesting players not sure if Furman has offered any.
I still think we need a little more speed at WR. Look what Harris did for us ! We need two of those. We had that with Bratton and Ike West - what a tandem. Now that is recruiting. I think the optimum is two flat-out burners and one 'catch everything that is thrown his way' guy (like a Ryan DeLuca). That is hard to stop. WIth the loss of DeLuca we have Harris as a burner and need at least Two others to step up - one speedster and one 'DeLuca' !
Anyway, so glad Blackshear and Sochovoka returned.. those are HUGE
Still, My main concerns are PASS RUSH and WR. I think it's clear we have lost more on DL than we gained. that was one of our best DL in a good while last year. Well, and we really need a more consistent running game of some sort to take pressure off everyone. Whether it be the RB or Jace keeping the ball or someone. We need to average about 4 yards per run. That will win a lot of games. I think we averaged about 2 yards per rush in a lot of games last year.. that just will NOT cut it. Put a hat on a hat and knock them off the ball !! Great to hear about WRs but I wouldn't mind if we never threw the ball ever... JUST WIN. Run it every time for 5 yards and keep their O on the sideline
Speed is great, but it's just part of the equation. A lot of success at WR is getting the ball out on time and on target, which we've struggled to do.
2. We did have some losses along the DL and EDGE, but I think we'll be fine for a few reasons.
First, we rotate A LOT of players on defense, especially up front. That has built a good bit of depth, but also made it so the loss of any single player at any position isn't necessarily crippling. So, yes, we've lost some bodies but also return a lot of experienced players.
Second, our defensive backfield, at least on paper, looks like it could be the best we've had in a long time. Last season we played without several key defensive backs for long stretches of the season. With all of those guys healthy, we're going to have a lot of depth there and that will allow our defense to really match up with teams on third downs.
One of the best ways to help a pass rush is to not have anywhere to throw the ball.