So we are losing on D:
-our two starting DEs - Chandler is a good player. We'll miss him. Marinovich? Meh.
-our two starting Ss Both good players. Thought they both underachieved this year. Shamarko was hurt a lot. Hoping he comes back. P. Thomas had a lot of picks and a lot of missed tackles and bad angles that led to huge plays. I'll give you this one.
-at least one if not both of our starting CBs. Kevyn Scott? Desir and Reddish, after spring ball, will be upgrades. Lyn is talking like he'll be back. I'm probably in the minority but I think Anderson, Reddish, Desir, George, and Lyn will end up being a solid group. Young, but solid.
-we also lose Fisher from our Okie package. Fisher? Replaceable. There's probably 2-3 players on the current roster who can play the Okie as well as Fisher.
Our DEs coming back showed nothing this year. And we could have 4 new starters in the secondary. Who are our leaders? Could be a long year on D next year. DEs are a concern for sure. They weren't great this year either. I like the idea of moving a DT (Goggins) to the strong DE spot in situations. He can get to the QB. Again, some will disagree, but we're not losing All-Americans in the secondary and there's talent coming up. We will end up being excited about Reddish, Desir, Eskridge, Mungwa, George, Anderson, Wilkes and hopefully Lyn. In the long run, this will end up being an upgrade. Hopefully sooner rather than later. Leaders? Who were they this year? Teams need new guys to step up EVERY year. It's college football. Your best players are only here for about 2-3 years anyways. Some names though - Spruill, Brantley, Goggins, Lynch, Vaughn, D. Davis, Wilkes, Sharpe. I don't know if any of these guys have leadership qualities. But nobody here can tell me that they don't either.
On O we lose:
-the right side of our OL Excited to see a RT tackle not named Hay. Tiller is a big loss.
-our starting WR and our #3 WR Graham and Chew? That's not Harrison and Moore. Both can be replaced.
-our starting TE Loved Provo. Really gonna miss him.
-our starting RB Loved Bailey. Gonna miss his pass protection. Gulley, Smith, AMM, and possibly freshman can make up for the rushing yards and TDs.
Our skill positions coming back showed nothing this year. And we will have two young inexperienced guys stepping in on the right side of the OL. Who are our leaders? Could be a long year on O next year. Our skill position players leaving didn't show a hell of a lot either. Already commented on right side of line. Leaders? Senior QB has to step up. Pugh and Lemon can play. It's imperative that some playmakers step forward.
Final comment: There is talent coming back. The sky isn't falling. We NEED offensive playmakers in the worst way. The defense isn't going to be nearly as bad as some people think.
