Preseason '24

[The Jackal]

I noticed that a number of what I assume are walk-ons have been added to the roster.

One guy that sort of jumped off the list was Kevin Everhart, a 5'8 220 lbs RB that appears to be another IMG product. Looks like a solid player.

[AstroDin]

There is another interesting player addition…
Landyn James a 6-2 180 WR from JL Mann, James previously played for Byrnes.
It looks like he was a 2023 graduate and, I think, tried to walk on at Clemson.
His film is impressive…

[The Jackal]

Not sure what to make of this, but Furman has 18 wide receivers listed on the roster. Just seems they keep adding bodies to that position. That's not even counting Joshua Burrell, who was a wide receiver at Florida State.

Just for curiosity's sake,I went back and looked. Last year, Samford (who throws the ball nearly every play) listed 17 wide receivers.

I guess also notable that a lot of this stock pile of wide receivers are in the last two classes. 11 of the 17 are listed as freshman and redshirt freshman. That does not count Hinton, who played last year as a freshman and now is a true sophomore.

I wonder if with Jones, Garcia, and Hedden we are anticipating an offense that will be looking to throw the ball more.

[AstroDin]

I'm curious, too.
I thought breaking WR down by Scholarship and Non-Scholarship might be worth it.

Scholarship 9
J Harris Sr 6-2 192
B Hughes Sr 5-11 211
B Ferguson Jr 5-11 195
E Harris RsSo 6-2 191
C Hinton So 5-11 175
J Holbrook RsFr 6-4 200
J Hamilton RsFr 6-3 190
D Hester Fr 5-10 165
S Varvell Fr 6-3 180

Non-Scholarship 9
R Clark RsSo
G Smithson RsSo
B Whitmer RsFr
W Wood RsFr
J Walker RsFr
T Hendley RsFr
M Moss RsFr
L James Fr
C Smith Fr

In Furman's case, you must also look into the TE position.
B Chappell So 6-5 240
J Burrell Transfer 6-2 216
J Graham RsJr 6-2 215
A Beylin RsSo 6-3 217
B Tormey RsFr 6-7 226
J Bryor Fr 6-5 210
Two of these have played on the outside: Burrell and Tormey.

Furman has built a diverse group of players that can catch the ball; it has size, speed, and great hands.

[bigpurple75]

Nice to have a large number of wrs and tight ends, but we really need some defensive linemen and maybe another offensive lineman or two. Was really hoping for a few transfers.

[Afurmanfan]

Talking with the coaches a month or so ago, they are definitely excited as to how much bigger a field that opponents will now have to defend. Tyler was a great leader and runner and could throw certain passes, but apparently the talents we now have at qb along with the wr and te talent has a whole new playbook possible.
It will be a different team with obviously less experience- i think more talent in certain positions and less in others. But overall, the staff really likes this team. Only playing time can provide experience but I like where this program is. Will have to be patient with this team but excited to see what we look like this year.

[Davemeister]

It will be a different team with obviously less experience- i think more talent in certain positions and less in others. But overall, the staff really likes this team. Only playing time can provide experience but I like where this program is. Will have to be patient with this team but excited to see what we look like this year.

Well said.

[apaladin]

Nice to have a large number of wrs and tight ends, but we really need some defensive linemen and maybe another offensive lineman or two. Was really hoping for a few transfers.

Agree, the OL will be the key. Having a bunch of WR’s will mean little if we can’t run the ball and give the QB’s time to throw.

[gofurman]

[quote=Afurmanfan post_id=88149 time=1718548595 user_id=101]
Talking with the coaches a month or so ago, they are definitely excited as to how much bigger a field that opponents will now have to defend. Tyler was a great leader and runner and could throw certain passes, but apparently the talents we now have at qb along with the wr and te talent has a whole new playbook possible.
It will be a different team with obviously less experience- i think more talent in certain positions and less in others. But overall, the staff really likes this team. [b][u]Only playing time can provide experience but I like where this program is. Will have to be patient with this team but excited to see what we look like this year.[/u][/b]
[/quote]

Agree. One place we are very short on at key positions is PLAYING TIME…. GAME DAY TIME. not practice. Just can’t be replicated. QB. OL. DBs. The QB combined with OL concerns me. I expect a little less than last year. Hope we contend for SoCon title and BEAT WOFFORD

[apaladin]

Biggest concern on offense: OL completely new unit, with some experience.
Bigeest concern on offense #2: QB virtually no experience. Someone will have to step up.
Biggest concern on defense: Secondary completely new unit with little experience.
Biggest concern on defense #2: DT only 3 listed, small, young, no experience.(2 freshman, 1 soph.)

[bigpurple75]

Largest concern I have are the defensive linemen - number and size.

[The Jackal]

You all are operating with only part of the picture.

Two seasons ago we were stressed about replacing Cam Coleman. Xavier Stephens put on 20 pounds and we picked up an "undersized" DL from a D2 school (Sirod Cook) and those two guys anchored the interior of arguably the best Furman defense in 20 years.

Jeremiah Jackson essentially won the starting job at DE two seasons ago before losing that year to injury. He basically split time with Jack Barton (who was the technical starter) last year.

Some of the linemen on the roster like Bussey and Stoneking were big recruits for us. Just for comparison sake, Barton came to Furman as a 225 lbs freshman and ended up as a 265 lbs wrecker on the defensive line. Bussey arrived as a freshman at 270+.

We haven't even seen what two years in our S&C program are going to do to some of these guys.

The way I look at it, we have a bunch of guys that were not needed day 1 to play meaningful reps on the defensive line. Instead, they were learning and hitting the weight room. Remember, some of these guys can come back with 15-20 lbs of muscle and weight added to their frame. A lot of them are 6'2 or 6'3 and will bulk up during the offseason.

[apaladin]

I hope you are right but on the surface it looks bleak along the DL:
NG One good experienced player, zero experience for backup.
DE One good experienced player, zero experience for backup.
DT Two freshmen, one soph no experience with all 3 30-40 lbs undersized.
This is an area that needed to be addressed in the portal but wasn’t.

[The Jackal]

I hope you are right but on the surface it looks bleak along the DL:
NG One good experienced player, zero experience for backup.
DE One good experienced player, zero experience for backup.
DT Two freshmen, one soph no experience with all 3 30-40 lbs undersized.
This is an area that needed to be addressed in the portal but wasn’t.

Again, you aren't operating with a complete picture.

1. There's not "zero" experience. Many of the guys you are saying have no experience literally played last season.

2. You don't know which players may move around. Prior to last season, Xavier Stephens moved from backup DT to starting NG after gaining 20 lbs.

This is just my opinion, but this coaching staff has put a quality roster together every single season. If they aren't heavily shopping for defensive linemen in the portal, it may be because they don't feel like they need to.

Oh, here's one of the "zero experience" guys, Malakai Dudek, who gained 20 lbs before last season, squatting 600lbs.

[apaladin]

I hope you are right but on the surface it looks bleak along the DL:
NG One good experienced player, zero experience for backup.
DE One good experienced player, zero experience for backup.
DT Two freshmen, one soph no experience with all 3 30-40 lbs undersized.
This is an area that needed to be addressed in the portal but wasn’t.

Again, you aren't operating with a complete picture.

1. There's not "zero" experience. Many of the guys you are saying have no experience literally played last season.

2. You don't know which players may move around. Prior to last season, Xavier Stephens moved from backup DT to starting NG after gaining 20 lbs.

This is just my opinion, but this coaching staff has put a quality roster together every single season. If they aren't heavily shopping for defensive linemen in the portal, it may be because they don't feel like they need to.

Oh, here's one of the "zero experience" guys, Malakai Dudek, who gained 20 lbs before last season, squatting 600lbs.

Not to argue lol but except for the 2 mentioned starters every NG, DT, DE on the roster have a total of 11 tackles, 8 by Dudek in 6 games. To me that is zero backup experience but I could be wrong.