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Message: [QUOTE="0.2 YNdeeR, post: 5403844, member: 8125"] Interesting points, thanks for the .02. From my seat in 115 I saw many of the same (positive) things you saw: bigger, more athletic linemen on both sides; talent at WR (JRS, Ross, Pena of course, and some exciting newcomers like Russell and Johnson); and speed in the defensive backfield with an unsettling mix of experience (safety) and inexperience (corner and backup star). The youth is at corner with K-1 and Samuel (backed up by Singleton and Andrews). At star, I saw Martin and McDaniels - both are fast and rangy. The young guys will be swimming in the deep end very soon. The OL line of Mack, Miller, Petry (at Center!), Cruz and Spoon looked good. Hornsby subbed in with the 1's at center, and played in the same spot on a big second unit (Betrand, TBM on the left and huge BW and ECruz on the right). The areas of concern: 1) QB. We didn't even get to see the likely starter (no film for Tennessee), and the guy Collins was "even" with (if that's accurate and not just coach-speak) did not inspire a lot of confidence. Clearly, JW has talent. He's athletic, he can zip the ball. But, perhaps because of the format and the time of year, he was out of sinc with his receivers, lacked "touch" on layered throws, and had little success connecting on 'over the top' passes. He has lots of time to improve and get more comfortable and I'm sure he will. But this position, for me, remains a major area of concern - even if Tennessee and its QB are having an NIL spat and may part ways - because a "dual threat" QB will always have a dual risk of injury. 2) LB. The good news is that, if our base D is a 4-2-5, the LB's (MacDonald/Sparrow backed up by Heard/ZMG) won't get as dirtied up as they have in the past behind guys like Watson and Thomas (Hastings, WIlson, EFC, etc). The main concern is speed. We didn't see Deslauriers, and the cat from Cal isn't on campus. It'll help that we're deep and talented at star (Martin, McDaniels and maybe Grant depending on where they slot him), but clearly there's a void that will hopefully get filled by one of the younger players, Reese, or a portal. 3) TE. Yes TE. Very few targets for Tremble and not much for Clement (wearing "0"?). This is a major weapon that I hope we didn't lose when OG walked out the door. The staff might have been hiding this part of the offense, but i'm just nervous about what I saw; and 4) FG/Kickoff. Not much scoring (so few KO's), but once again, very unsettled position with nothing past the 5 yard line and < 50% successful FG's. Woody and JO looked decent in practice but when the scrimmage started - same old problems. If we are to have aspirations for a winning season, this part of ST's has to get cleaned up - unless there is spectacular improvement it looks like the portal might be the only option. Overall, a great experience. The quad was full of recruits and their families. When the players hopped out of the trolley and began the walk, they passed the look test with flying colors. Because of the long lines, Fran walked down to offer apologies and mug for photos with those of us who couldn't make it to the tent in time. I asked Grant how his leg was on the way by and he said it was "great" (no limp at all). Also, my 13 y/o was lucky enough to get a selfie with a very special (former) QB who was sitting (mostly unnoticed) in our section. [/QUOTE]

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