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Message: [QUOTE="RF2044, post: 2338658, member: 40"] The pedantic spelling correction doesn't change the fact that your assessment about the secondary completely missed the forest through the trees. Dowels and Cordy barely played before getting injured and missing >90% of the season. Insert the shaking head icon here. But thanks for the spelling correction. Freshman being tossed to the wolves in the secondary and improving the next year is similar to having freshman start this year at OL and struggle, projecting that they will be better for it in the long run... which was the point. In much the same way that players like Heckel was forced into the starting lineup due to injury, Bradshaw was forced to play substantial minutes at CB due to injury. Frederick was another freshman who entered camp at S, but became a starter at CB for the last third of the season. I readily acknowledge that there are other factors contributing to improved play in the secondary [especially pass rush, improved depth, and avoiding injuries outside of Cordy], but the tangible improvement at corner cannot be disputed. And it also helps that we have stabilization at safety, where a young player like Foster who played as a freshman last year and struggled despite having the tools is now thriving. That's three starting members of our secondary this year, for those keeping count, who struggled as frosh but are killing it in year 2. Remember last year when we gave up big play after big play, with broken coverage after broken coverage? A big part of why we're not seeing those same big plays given up this year is improved play from those three sophomores, who struggled [immensely, at times] last year, but who are more battle tested and physically mature this year. Just like I would expect that the redshirt freshmen OL who are struggling this year will be more battle tested and physically mature next year, after another offseason of being in a collegiate S&C conditioning program, film study, and chemistry as a experienced unit used to playing together. [/QUOTE]

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