Fanfest Observations

[bnoro]

Bailey wasn't good last year. I would say he was a poor RB. Any of the players on this years roster are a significant upgrade. Bailey was one of the biggest reasons SU didn't make a bowl game.

He fumbled a lot and at critical points of games. He didn't even block well. IMO is that losing him is a gain by attrition. He simply wasn't good.

You have to be joking. By far our best blocking running back, sure he got run over when he had to block a DE but he picked up almost every linebacker or defensive back. He had one bad fumble against Rutgers but can't remember any other game losing fumbles. While I think Jerome is better, I disagree that any of the others on the roster RIGHT NOW are a "significant upgrade".

 

[jekelish]

Ant ran for 1051 yards and had 29 catches last season, and was 5th in the conference in all purpose yards per game and. That was with a poor offensive line.

If we get a "significant upgrade" from that we will have the best running game in the league.

 

[SUFan44]

WR is the only area where we may have made a slight upgrade, but I personally don't see it.

How on earth can you "not see it"? Let's take a look at the roster:

Lost
Dorian Graham - Extremely replaceable. Good kickoff return guy, but couldn't beat press coverage and struggled getting in and out of his routes.
Van Chew - When healthy, was a pretty good WR. But he was very rarely healthy.
Kyle Foster - Injured. Coaching staff was high on him, disappointed he will miss a golden opportunity this season.
Michael Acchione - Walk-on who saw playing time. That should tell you how poor our WR corps was last year.

Added
Marcus Sales - 4-star recruit - Always has had talent. Breakout game in Pinstripe Bowl, have to think he will give everything he has with his second chance...
Christopher Clark - Not sure what we will get from him. Has a lot of speed, and from his film it looks like he has more natural receiving ability than Graham did. How quickly he adjusts both from CC and from injury will be interesting to see.
Alvin Cornelius - Big, strong receiver that will most likely redshirt. Hopefully. If he's in the mix for playing time then I will be disappointed.
Ben Lewis - More of a possession type of receiver. Again, like Cornelius I like his future but I think he needs to redshirt as well. If he plays, we have some injuries and

Returning
Alec Lemon - He is healthy this season, and primed for a great year IMO. With Sales returning, the two of them can help each other create mismatches for defensive backfields. He is a very good football player, and I don't think people give him enough credit.

Jarrod West - Coming off injury last season was very inconsistent. Should be fully healthy now, and with a full year in the system and spring ball, I expect that he will become a viable option in the rotation.
Jeremiah Kobena - Was also nicked up last year. From reports, he's running extremely well. Hope he can remain healthy this year, he has legit top-flight speed and if he can get into open space he can become one of the "playmakers" that so many are longing for.
Adrian Flemming - Third year in the program after having his redshirt season (mistakenly, IMO) burnt for a game or two. Big kid, can potentially be a red-zone option similar to what the staff had hoped Foster would become last/this year.
Keenan Hale - Haven't had a chance to see him play yet, but similar frame as Flemming - big kid, can really jump (HS champion in high jump in GA)... Don't expect him to have much impact but you never know.

So in conclusion, I would have to think this year's version of Alec Lemon will be better than last year's version if he remains healthy.

Moving down the list, last year's #2 - for argument's sake, we'll say Van Chew, is replaced by Marcus Sales. I don't think there's any doubt that Sales is better than Chew. And potentially by a long shot.

#3 - Dorian Graham vs. Jeremiah Kobena. Remains to be seen how Kobena can catch the ball, but as a football player I like his shiftiness and ability to make a play more than Graham's. Give Graham the edge with experience. Both have had their issues catching the ball. Both are/were good KO return guys. We'll give slight edge to Graham.

Obviously not having Foster this year is disappointing, but he wasn't a factor for the team last year either. That's a wash.

Then you add Clark, who has speed, and then the rest of the guys are a year older and presumably more adjusted to D1 football. And hopefully in better shape and bigger. The two freshmen are a bonus.

I'm not sure how anyone could "not see" how this year's WR corps is improved from last season.

 

[Orangetradition44]

Pretty simple. I don't see it. But we'll see. I hope you are right and our WR corps is in the top half of the BE.

How on earth can you "not see it"? Let's take a look at the roster:

I'm not sure how anyone could "not see" how this year's WR corps is improved from last season.

 

[anglerman]

You have to be joking. By far our best blocking running back, sure he got run over when he had to block a DE but he picked up almost every linebacker or defensive back. He had one bad fumble against Rutgers but can't remember any other game losing fumbles. While I think Jerome is better, I disagree that any of the others on the roster RIGHT NOW are a "significant upgrade".

He wasn't good sorry but I think he badly hurt the team. He wasn't a playmaker at all. He bilked up too much and that took away his best attribute and that was speed. He looked slow and still couldn't break a tackle despite the increased weight.

I think the oline got too much of a blame for the less then stellar running game.

I think he fumbled twice against rutgers thus literally costing SU a bowl game.

 

[kcsu]

Provo will be missed but that is about it. If PTG can hang onto the ball he adds speed that we have not had in a long time. Morris will end up being our best back since a healthy Carter. Smith and AAM are battering rams that will do well in the short yardage game and AAM has a chance to be special if he continues to dedicate himself.

At WR we are 1000% better. I dont give a about Sales and practice the kid only gets free, makes huge catches and scores touchdowns. As to his speed again i believe that when the lights come on and he isnt being timed in the 40 at manley that he is plenty fast. That he has game speed. Same with Jerry Rice wasnt a burner but i never saw him get caught from behind during a game. Sales is a gamer a lights on prime time player.

Lemon is much better this year as he will get the others team second CB sorry Tom i know you love Lemon but when the lights come on and it is game day lets see who the opposing team places their number one CB on. My bet is that it is on Sales which will make Lemon a star. Given what he accomplished last year with double coverage most of the time and no other threat other than Provo on a dump off Lemon could be in for a monster year. As to the backups i will take an improved West and Flemming along with the bow legged Kobena any day over DG.

If our line can hold up we should be in for a major improvement this year.

 

[SoBristol]

You have to be joking. By far our best blocking running back, sure he got run over when he had to block a DE but he picked up almost every linebacker or defensive back. He had one bad fumble against Rutgers but can't remember any other game losing fumbles. While I think Jerome is better, I disagree that any of the others on the roster RIGHT NOW are a "significant upgrade".

I agree with this. Bailey was among the better RBs in the league. Our problem wasn't Bailey -- it was the lack of a second or third effective RB so you could rotate Bailey out, or shift him to wing back to mix things up. Our rivals typically could rotate RBs.
If we are better this year (and I believe we will be) it will be because we have enough depth at RB to give Smith a rest every 3rd series, or on third downs.