Lmao. Whoa, I thought the Kool-aide I drank was Orange, give me some of what you’re drinking. I appreciate the optimism but there was nothing their post that was completely out of bounds.
1.) The staff may high on JW but he’s never taken a snap of College ball and didn’t crack the depth chart last year. Throwing him into the fire against a stacked schedule is… tough. Lots of growing pains. Then there’s Rickie. Is he good? Maybe. No clue. But banking off an SEC transfer with a strong high school pedigree, hasn’t exactly worked out for us recently. Carney is a true freshman. Either way, curbing expectations is extremely justified.
I have said repeatedly that you’re not going to replace McCord. It’s actually asinine to think we will. It’s not fair to the players, coaches, or fans to think that. He had a legendary season. JW Redshirted last year but practiced everyday and Kyle mentored him. The QB spot is for grabs, with JW having a slight advantage because of last year. Either way,the best one will win. I’ve also said, sometimes the system makes the QB. Yes, McCord was great, but the system definitely helped mask his inefficiencies. The same can happen this year. Nixon is one of the best play callers I’ve seen.
2.) WR depth is good. No clue if Zeed is actually going to play for SU again… but still good squad.
We Agree here
3.) Down playing losing OG in any way, shape, or form, is wild. Good blocker, not a good blocker, whatever. Huge loss. Can Tremble fill those choose? Lofty expectations. I’m more relaxed about this because I’m high on Villari, if he’s healthy.
Villari is one of my favorite players on the team. He’s an athlete and a tough competitor. He’s not a great TE, but will play a similar role as this past season. Hopefully he will be able to be slightly more productive as a pass catcher. I never said replacing OG was easy. Tremble and Villari will be fine, we may not use the TE as much as we did in the pass game, that could open up for more production for the WR group.
men
4.) Willis will be fine.
Again, we agree. And Will Nixon was very good before he got hurt. He should be just as good this year and split time with Willis.
5.) Defense as a whole got dogged a lot this year and we lost a lot of talent. Don’t agree the CB room is somehow stronger now than it was last year? I’d be interested to see what mental gymnastics you did to land there. KJE should be a good one. He flashed. Hopefully he can gain weight and be an every down player. Banking on a freshman LB to step in a lead the defense is tough, despite being physically ready.
Mental Gymnastics? The dline returns almost everyone with another year of experience. Plus they added a bunch of depth from the recruiting class and Chris Thomas via the portal. Eric Thomas, Quante Gillians, Jalen Pray, and Nathan Nyandoro should all see time. They added tremendous size and athleticism. Nyandoro was the number one player in Canada. They are deeper and bigger! I’ve also said, they should add a LB via the portal. I think they will. Deslauriers is a freakish player who is rare to find - there’s a reason he had offers from over 17 schools including the likes of ND, Tennessee, Miami, Florida State etc. He will play. He’s 6’1 235lbs benches over 400lbs and runs a 4.6 40yd dash. He’s ready. Now, onto DB. Marcus Washington the recruit we landed from Louisville and UGA was hurt last season and medically redshirted. He’s a 4 star that can play. The staff loves Kerr. Grant and Duce are back. That leaves one spot to fill- Martin and McDaniel both improved as the season went on. It’s also a position that Fran has prioritized. He works directly with them had has the confidence in them, why shouldn’t we? Not too mention Demetres Samuels and Kalib Singleton are both highly touted recruits that the staff loves!
6.) I disagree we’re 2-3 transfers away from being great.
Depending on Petry and Bradford, we may need an OL that can play immediately. We can use a LB (already mentioned) and Fran may want to add an interior DL OR S.
I think we’re going to be a young team, who is above average, with a very difficult schedule. I think Bnoro is pretty spot on. I will watch 2025 and support the boys but look to 2026 with excitement. I hope I’m wrong but with how great Fran is building and recruiting, this cycle has been strange.
We are going to be young in spots, but the talent level is there. I believe in this staff and they’ve done nothing to make anyone feel different. Is the schedule tough, yes. Do I think we will be a playoff team- NO. I think 7-8 wins is a good prediction as of today. As we get closer to August, we will see how things develop. The doom and gloom from some people is unwarranted. All I’m doing is trying to put things into perspective and be a realist. When you look deep into the roster they really don’t fall off as much as some think!
