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Message: [QUOTE="steve deberg, post: 5467180, member: 2856"] Should be a very exciting camp with real position battles throughout the depth chart. Outside of the much discussed battle for QB1 between Angeli and Collins, I think there are two areas of this team that will dictate our season. [B]1. Offensive Line[/B] [LIST] [*]Last year we had a great [I]Offence, [/I]we didn’t have a great [I]Offensive Line. [/I]Nixon’s week-to-week/ in-game scheme adjustments and play calling + McCord’s ability to process and distribute faster than anyone in the country might have given us the illusion of a good offensive line, but I think they were average at best. [*]Nixon and that big brain of his are back, but even the most orange-tinged Cuse fan knows that neither Angeli nor Collins will be at McCord’s level of quick processing and quick trigger throws. [*]Thankfully the staff spent a lot of time at the stockyards and brought in some quality bulls and steers through the portal: Rice (Former 5 Star), Ferguson & Pringle (Former 4 Stars), Collins & Bertrand (High 3 Stars) and True Freshman/ Bi-pedal Mountain Byron Washington was here for the Spring (if Matthew Bergeron could effectively start as a True Freshman, why can’t Washington get in the mix?) [*][B][B]I think we’ve built solid depth here over the last couple classes, and injected some more seasoned beef to the unit through the portal. I have faith we will have a deeper and more talented top 10 O-lineman this year than last year[/B][/B] [*][B][B]Will a solid top 5 separate themselves and gel by August 30th?[/B][/B] [/LIST] [B]2. Pass Rush[/B] [LIST] [*]We basically averaged only 2 sacks a game last year, and we lost arguably our two best pass rushers to the NFL (Diggs & Wax). [*]I don’t have data to support this beyond the eye test and my questionable memory, but it seemed like Robinson wasn’t big on blitzing to get pressure and wanted to rely and his front four to generate a pass rush. [*]Will Robinson come into 2025 with a similar approach? Or will he let the dogs eat and get more aggressive and creative with pressure? [*]We brought in David Reese through the portal, who had 16 TFLs and 11 Sacks over the past two seasons with Cal. I think he will be relied on as our best “twitchy” pass rusher. [*]Redshirt Sophomore “Slimy” David Omopariola seems to have all of the tools needed to be a great pass rusher. Does he make a jump and settle in as a mainstay on passing downs? [*]We also had four True Freshman DL enrolled in January, so maybe one or some of those guys will surprise and shoot up the depth chart. [*][B][B]Overall, I think we have a lot of depth and talent for 3-tech & 5-tech DL (think traditional DTs and traditional 3-4 DEs), but do we have guys who can lineup outside the tackle and quickly beat their man off the snap to cause some chaos?[/B][/B] [/LIST] Overall I’m optimistic, but unfortunately OL and DL are the hardest position groups for the media and us keyboard warriors to evaluate before August 30th. Go Cuse! [/QUOTE]

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