Looking at the roster...

[RF2044]

...it is hard not to be excited about the depth / talent we're stockpiling at just about every positional unit. This is not a "wait until next year post" -- I'll go on record right now as saying I think we will get to 7-8 wins and a bowl in 2012. But heading into next season, here is how the positional units look to me breaking each one down:

QB--big question mark. Replacing a 3 year starter, but we've got some outstanding athletes in Hunt, Broyld, Wilson, and Allen vying to replace Nassib.

RB--solid. If Smith plays as well as I think he will, and if Ameen-Moore is really 225, we will have all three of our top guys back next year. Plus Morris. Plus Gus [who hopefully reshirts]. And I haven't even mentioned McFarlane, who could factor at a defensive position.

WR--solid. Lose two starters, but solid nucleus of Hale / Kobena / West / Cornelius / Funderburk [?] / Lewis to build on, plus class of 2013 recruits. And Foster returns, too.

TE--solid. Lose Stevens [who I expect to have big year], but return Wales / Thompson, and Paris [3-star] who should redshirt this year.

OL--big question mark. Lose Pugh / Chibane / Alexander. If the Hickey / Curtis / Trudo / Foy / Robinson group emerges this year, we'll FINALLY have an OL that approaches average. If not...

DT--awesome. Bromley / Crume should be our starters this season, and both return. Sloan is big and athletic. Add Wayne Williams and Coleman [redshirt presumably]. Only lose Goggins.

DE--question mark going into this year. Lose Sharpe, but return MPB, Raynor, Simmons, Robinson, plus Washington, Hilliard and the kid from Georgia. Could emerge as a position of strength this year and next, especially if we add EO.

LB--very solid. We could have Spruill / Davis / Lynch firmly entrenched as our starters for two seasons. Add Vigille and the two recruits. Future looks bright as hell.

CB--Lyn and Reddish could both be pros. If they play like it, the pass defense improves immensely. Behind them, we have Morgan, Wigham, George, Desir, and Anderson. Wow.

S---solid, possibly dominant. The big question is: how good is Eskridge? Wilkes is back, Ford looks like a solid prospect, and I'm eager to see what Mungwa can do.

We seem to have FINALLY overcome all of the roster attrition from when Marrone took over. Most importantly, we're going to have year-over-year continuity at MOST positional units, which is generally a formula for success. The two big keys [in my mind] are OL, OL, OL, and who will the replacement QB be?

I honestly believe that we are on the cusp of this thing taking off.

FINALLY!!!

Let's Go Orange!!!

 

[SU2NASA]

But what about Macky?!?!?!?

Who else is going to slightly slow down defenders before they clobber the quarterback?

 

[RMH44]

...it is hard not to be excited about the depth / talent we're stockpiling at just about every positional unit. This is not a "wait until next year post" -- I'll go on record right now as saying I think we will get to 7-8 wins and a bowl in 2012. But heading into next season, here is how the positional units look to me breaking each one down:

QB--big question mark. Replacing a 3 year starter, but we've got some outstanding athletes in Hunt, Broyld, Wilson, and Allen vying to replace Nassib.

RB--solid. If Smith plays as well as I think he will, and if Ameen-Moore is really 225, we will have all three of our top guys back next year. Plus Morris. Plus Gus [who hopefully reshirts]. And I haven't even mentioned McFarlane, who could factor at a defensive position.

WR--solid. Lose two starters, but solid nucleus of Hale / Kobena / West / Cornelius / Funderburk [?] / Lewis to build on, plus class of 2013 recruits. And Foster returns, too.

TE--solid. Lose Stevens [who I expect to have big year], but return Wales / Thompson, and Paris [3-star] who should redshirt this year.

OL--big question mark. Lose Pugh / Chibane / Alexander. If the Hickey / Curtis / Trudo / Foy / Robinson group emerges this year, we'll FINALLY have an OL that approaches average. If not...

DT--awesome. Bromley / Crume should be our starters this season, and both return. Sloan is big and athletic. Add Wayne Williams and Coleman [redshirt presumably]. Only lose Goggins.

DE--question mark going into this year. Lose Sharpe, but return MPB, Raynor, Simmons, Robinson, plus Washington, Hilliard and the kid from Georgia. Could emerge as a position of strength this year and next, especially if we add EO.

LB--very solid. We could have Spruill / Davis / Lynch firmly entrenched as our starters for two seasons. Add Vigille and the two recruits. Future looks bright as hell.

CB--Lyn and Reddish could both be pros. If they play like it, the pass defense improves immensely. Behind them, we have Morgan, Wigham, George, Desir, and Anderson. Wow.

S---solid, possibly dominant. The big question is: how good is Eskridge? Wilkes is back, Ford looks like a solid prospect, and I'm eager to see what Mungwa can do.

We seem to have FINALLY overcome all of the roster attrition from when Marrone took over. Most importantly, we're going to have year-over-year continuity at MOST positional units, which is generally a formula for success. The two big keys [in my mind] are OL, OL, OL, and who will the replacement QB be?

I honestly believe that we are on the cusp of this thing taking off.

FINALLY!!!

Let's Go Orange!!!

Unless Pugh decides to leave early (after this year) he will have another year of eligibility left.

 

[RF2044]

Unless Pugh decides to leave early (after this year) he will have another year of eligibility left.

Is Pugh a junior [I had him lumped with Chibane, who I think played his true frosh year]?

Good news if that's the case.

 

[All4SU]

Good post. I think this year will be exciting and revealing. My assessment of the last 3 years:
2009 - Year 1 - The Shakeout Season. Clean house. New culture. Try to get buy-in from GRob's guys. (4 - 8 equals GRob's best year)
2010 - Year 2 - The Payoff Year. The year that GRob's guys who stuck it out got the payoff for all of their hard work. (8 - 5, and a bowl game. Two steps forward. SU back to respectability.)
2011 -Year 3 - The Transition Year. The year that remaining GRob guys played in front of younger HCDM guys (with some HCDM guys beginning to litter the lineup.) (5 - 7, one step back.)
2012 - Year 4 - Getting Traction Year. Roster starts to fill out. Still lots of youth in the depth chart, but more depth than we have had at key positions in several years.

I'm thinking 6 - 6 and a trip to another bowl game. But like you, I would not be surprised one bit to see SU better that mark.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Is Pugh a junior [I had him lumped with Chibane, who I think played his true frosh year]?

Good news if that's the case.

Pugh is a 4th year Junior. Redshirted in 2009.

 

[RF2044]

Pugh is a 4th year Junior. Redshirted in 2009.

Very good--thanks for the clarification. So if Pugh returns [no guarantee, but if he does], my assessment of the OL above doesn't change. We need that group of young, Marrone-recruited guys--Hickey, Curtis, Trudo, Foy, and Robinson to demonstrate that they have the chops to play this year, bolster depth, gain experience / PT, and position themselves to play even bigger roles down the road.

Because if that happens, and then you add Pugh [4 year starter] and Mackey [3 year starter] into the mix, we'll have a really nice nucleus at OL. AND we'd be adding class of 2012 recruits [who hopefully all are redshirted this year] into the mix--Emerich, Palmer, and Knapp.

A couple of things would need to fall into place, but it isn't hard to envision the OL going from a huge liability to a position of strength in upcoming seasons. Wouldn't that be a welcome change?

 

[money3189]

basically the postions of strength are RB, TE, LB, DB. Weak- OL, QB, Average- WR, DL QB is average this year but heading into 2013 is a question mark until we start seeing game action of hunt, ashton, etc.. Hard to get excited about anyone including Allen until we start seeing them get meaningful reps. Rt side of the OL is unproven. Having Pugh out hurts but hopefully this allows a guy like hickey to get meaningful game action. Hopefully he can be marginally good as his replacement. I actually have a good feeling about the RB's. We may possibly be upgraded. I think the combination of Smith, PTG, and AAM can produce more than what bailey gave us. IMO

 

[RF2044]

basically the postions of strength are RB, TE, LB, DB. Weak- OL, QB, Average- WR, DL QB is average this year but heading into 2013 is a question mark until we start seeing game action of hunt, ashton, etc.. Hard to get excited about anyone including Allen until we start seeing them get meaningful reps. Rt side of the OL is unproven. Having Pugh out hurts but hopefully this allows a guy like hickey to get meaningful game action. Hopefully he can be marginally good as his replacement. I actually have a good feeling about the RB's. We may possibly be upgraded. I think the combination of Smith, PTG, and AAM can produce more than what bailey gave us. IMO

I have a feeling that Smith is going to be pretty darn good. If he is, we're really solid at RB, even though it is a total question mark right now.

And if Ameen-Moore picked up some speed as he shed pounds, he's going to be a heckuva backup. Imagine a big, bruising back like Smith coming out of the game and we replace him with an even bigger back, with PTG as the change of pace guy.

And with Morris [hopefully in camp this fall] and Gus Edwards getting "next," we have a lot of talent infused into the pipeline at RB for years to come.

 

[money3189]

I still want to see more consistent play from our Corners. I think B Reddish is our next Will Allen. Though Im not sure if B Red had the same speed as Allen. We need a lockdown corner to emerge. With an improved DL that provides pressure on the QB, who knows that could be the difference in secondary play this year

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

I would rather have an outstanding quarterback who is athletic than an outstanding athlete who is a quarterback

Sent from my Vortex using Tapatalk 2

 

[MattyL]

The future of the secondary excites me most. With Reddish, Desir, Morgan, Whigham, Eskridge, Mungwa, Ford and George, all have 3-4 years of eligibility. The future is BRIGHT for DBs.

 

[JrodCuse]

I said it before and I'll say it again, I wouldn't be surprised if we beat USC. Cross country flight to play us, then fly back across country to play Stanford the following week. Trap game written all over it. Factor in they trounced us last year and are 28 point favorites, they'll definitely be overlooking us. Cuse just needs to come out and throw a few haymakers early and let them know its a real game.

 

[RF2044]

I would rather have an outstanding quarterback who is athletic than an outstanding athlete who is a quarterback

Sent from my Vortex using Tapatalk 2

Agreed, but those things aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.

And I don't say that lightly, as we sit here still waiting for a game changing playmaker to fill Donovan McNabb's shoes 13 years later [and I am highly, highly a fan of Nassib--he's been the best we've had since #5 by a mile].

 

[ImperialOrange]

No more wait til next year posts. I'm forever the optimist but I've been waiting for this year. 8+ wins this year with a SR QB and much improved defense and the same or better next year with a dominant defense while the new QB figures it out. The ACC won't know what hit them.

 

[money3189]

Agreed, but those things aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.

And I don't say that lightly, as we sit here still waiting for a game changing playmaker to fill Donovan McNabb's shoes 13 years later [and I am highly, highly a fan of Nassib--he's been the best we've had since #5 by a mile].

It would be interesting to see what perry patterson could do under this coaching staff. I could be wrong but I dont recall Perry having much around him during his time on the hill. . Not saying he would have been like mcnabb but he could have been alot better thn he was

 

[jekelish]

Thanks for the Kool-Aid, Ryan! It tastes delicious!

 

[JoeSU]

I just hope our DL can put some pressure on the QB, which makes the pass coverage that much more effective. An NFL secondary would have problems if the QB is given all day to throw, or is allowed to escape containment and take off down the field.

 

[All4SU]

It would be interesting to see what perry patterson could do under this coaching staff. I could be wrong but I dont recall Perry having much around him during his time on the hill. . Not saying he would have been like mcnabb but he could have been alot better thn he was

Agreed. And it would have been great to see PP healthy. I think all of the knee surgeries just took their toll on his ability to move around, reducing him to just a passer.

 

[jekelish]

I just hope our DL can put some pressure on the QB, which makes the pass coverage that much more effective. An NFL secondary would have problems if the QB is given all day to throw, or is allowed to escape containment and take off down the field.

Agree entirely. Doesn't matter how well we cover if we have to cover for 10 seconds, or if we can't stop a broken play because we can't finish a tackle, which has been a major problem for years. I never feel comfortable on 3rd and long. That's not good.

 

[ImperialOrange]

I said it before and I'll say it again, I wouldn't be surprised if we beat USC. Cross country flight to play us, then fly back across country to play Stanford the following week. Trap game written all over it. Factor in they trounced us last year and are 28 point favorites, they'll definitely be overlooking us. Cuse just needs to come out and throw a few haymakers early and let them know its a real game.

Not that they needed it but we gave them alot of help last year. We very much looked like we belonged on the same field though. We left points on the field with dumb mistakes and gave them alot of points with youthful errors. These 4 plays go differently and it's a different ballgame. 2nd and goal from their 2 pass play for -3 (score was 0-0, net -4), 15 yard defensive pen on 2nd and 19 play that got 3 yards at the USC 25 (3-0, drive ended net -7), true frosh DB losing coverage (10-24, net -7), and the Nassib fumble at USC 17 yard line (38-17, net -3 or -7). We lost by 21 and there is 22-25 points from 4 plays.

 

[Rocco]

Good post... Dont sleep on zian jones and mpb.

There isnt a line on USC yet...

 

[JeremyCuse]

Not that they needed it but we gave them alot of help last year. We very much looked like we belonged on the same field though. We left points on the field with dumb mistakes and gave them alot of points with youthful errors. These 4 plays go differently and it's a different ballgame. 2nd and goal from their 2 pass play for -3 (score was 0-0, net -4), 15 yard defensive pen on 2nd and 19 play that got 3 yards at the USC 25 (3-0, drive ended net -7), true frosh DB losing coverage (10-24, net -7), and the Nassib fumble at USC 17 yard line (38-17, net -3 or -7). We lost by 21 and there is 22-25 points from 4 plays.

What you say is true but a lot of those errors were forced by USC, not all of them but when you see a true freshman corner come in the game even Kiffin is going to go for the Juggular. I know theres hope out there we can keep it close but I dont think people realize how good USC's offense is, were talking 2001 Miami good with all americans all over the place. If we keep it within 21 consider it a victory.

 

[Kalima45]

Is Addazio still a factor at TE or is he doomed to being on the bench injured for his tenure here?

 

[kingottoiii]

I have a feeling that Smith is going to be pretty darn good. If he is, we're really solid at RB, even though it is a total question mark right now.

Question why are so many here so high on Smith? I like that the kid runs hard, but so did Kareem Jones. He wasn't highly rated and has had very little PT thus far. Up until the Pitt game he was used mainly as a short yardage guy. So why are so many here assuming he will beat out PTG or AAM?