AstroDin wrote: ↑Tue Jul 18, 2023 7:14 am
^^^ that is a lot of players to work with along the defensive front.
As practice starts next month I'll be watching; receivers, tight ends, defensive backs, linebackers, and running back groups.
I'm very interested to see how Holbrook and Hinton look, as well as Chappel, Tormey, and Pline at TE.
The incoming group of corners are impressive on paper; do they push for PT?
With Gilby and McCormick playing their last season; the new guard is going to start getting PT; Chideo, Earl, Herbert, are up next.
This is Roberto's and Anderson's last season; who steps up? I'm putting my chips on Redshirt Jaquan Smith. That said the upside of Hicks and Robinson, as well as keeping KT on the roster is going to make this an interesting RB/Slot group.
Just a few thoughts on these:
RB:
I don't think it would be any surprise to see Roberto be "the guy." I thought Furman did a good job balancing him last year. He had roughly 36% of Furman's carries last season. Huff is not a running back, but shoulders a good bit of the run game work load himself.
I think the question is going to be who picks up Abrams carries? Abrams handled about 18.4% of Furman's carries and was frequently used as a lead blocker.
Probably worth noting that Furman did not take a RB in the '23 class and does not appear to have any walk-ons assigned to that position. I suppose that indicates the coaching staff feels good about the depth chart there, though one of our first commits in the '24 class is a RB.
TE:
There has been a complete renovation here as, it would seem, Furman is moving more to a group of bigger/in-line TEs. As I've noted before, I don't think you'll see Furman try to replace Ryan Miller, but divide his duties up among a variety of position groups.
Gissinger seems like the odds on favorite to be the starter. I cannot imagine Furman brought in a grad student transfer in Pline to sit the bench, so he seems like a likely #2 option.
I'm really interested to see if Furman can use a player like Ty Youngblood, who was a high school FB/LB and was the reserve TE last season to be a 3rd TE/Hback in certain sets. Other than him, how creative Furman can get here may well depend on how quickly some of these new recruits develop this fall.
WR
I'd have to expect you'll see Harris, Shiflett, Dean, Anderson, and Ferguson as the first guys out there.
Ethan Harris got in a few games last year. As a '21 grad that went to Air Force Prep, he's a player that now has two years of college football under his belt as a redshirt freshman. Holbrook and Hamilton are both exciting looking prospects that we may see at some point.
LB
I suppose Gilby is now in his 6th season in Duane Vaughn's defense. I suspect it is difficult to get a more veteran player than he is at a keystone position. Lot of veteran depth there and, I agree, some younger guys need to start stepping into the rotation.
