Next Year

[SWC75]

I think we'll miss Eric more in the running game than the passing game, which is set to take off with the younger, better players climbing up the depth chart. I think Dino sees DeVito has his new Garoppolo.

I don't think anyone could completely replace Eric's leadership.

 

[StopCoolio]

All is predicated on Dino coming back but off the top of my head...
Pluses:
-Abdul Adams, Trishton Jackson(worst kept secret that he’s our best WR) coming
-Pretty much every skill player minus Strick, Custis, Ravian back and all seem pretty replaceable. A lot of kids coming off redshirt like Hendrix.
-Guys like Taj Harris could take a big leap.
-Devito looks primed and ready now and he has another offseason.
-Schedule looks easier. OOC is @Liberty, @Maryland, Western Michigan, Holy Cross. @Duke is the crossover. We get Clemson at home.
-Our toughest road game will probably be at FSU, who won 5 games.
-Secondary is absolutely stacked with young studs who will get better.
-You know Dino will find a grad transfer or three to fill needs.
-Alton Robinson hopefully back to wreak more havoc.
-I would imagine we’ll see a bump in attendance giving us a real good home field advantage.

Negatives:
-No more Dungey and it’s hard to replicate the rushing yards, toughness, experience, leadership, etc. All time great.
-Turnovers can be fluky. We were like top 5 in the nation or something in generating turnovers. It’ll be hard to get that many turnovers again.
-We need to replace Slayton inside and several O lineman. Not that we can’t but a question mark.

All in all, I think we can get to at least to 8 or 9 again but I would’ve been happy with 6 this year so I am pretty terrible at this.

 

[cuse10]

The offensive line will make or break 2019. The defense, HB and WR will all be better next season with an infusion of proven youth.

 

[Briancuse]

I love Eric and he's great but a friend of mine who coached against devito and knows him well told me he's the best qb we will have since Donovan.

 

[Orijinal]

I think the win total takes a step back next year

There will be a lot of times Devito will have to improvise ...but will he be able to carry that load?

There's no way we are getting as many turnovers next year.

And most importantly, the offensive line will not be as experienced

 

[Orangtiz]

Offensive line is the one glaring group I see right now that isn't all that stable. I am nervous about losing Martin. I know we lose Conway and Roberts, but both have been a disappointment this year IMO. Hopefully guys like D Davis, Vettorello, Heckel and others will step up. Guy I'm looking at is Qadir White. Anyone heard much about how he looks in practice? Guy is a MOUNTAIN and had big boy offers...

 

[Trueblue25]

Defense should be better. RB/WR should be better. DeVito got some key experience and looked great at times this year. With time to throw, he will do well.

As long as the OL plays solid, I think we’re in really good shape.

My only concerns next year are TE, OL, LB (Guthrie deserves far more credit than he’ll get) and DT.

Unfortunately those happen to be hugely important positions.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

Offensive line is the one glaring group I see right now that isn't all that stable. I am nervous about losing Martin. I know we lose Conway and Roberts, but both have been a disappointment this year IMO. Hopefully guys like D Davis, Vettorello, Heckel and others will step up. Guy I'm looking at is Qadir White. Anyone heard much about how he looks in practice? Guy is a MOUNTAIN and had big boy offers...

Exactly? No talk about white which seems odd, he was very highly recruited

 

[CuseOnly]

I think we’ll take a bit of a step back at the beginning of next year, but we’ll look much better later in the year. That @ Maryland game will be tough.

Eric is a huge loss, but Tommy is going to have a great career and shatter some records.

The records he will have to shatter are Dungey's and that is pretty lofty.

 

[JHarris44]

Exactly? No talk about white which seems odd, he was very highly recruited

White will need another year of S&C, IMO. Very difficult for a kid of that size and limited playing experience to transform into a starting caliber ACC lineman in 1 year; especially if reporting "late" for camp, etc. Lets lay off the man-child for another year.

I'm looking for Davis and Davis and Heckel and Clark to be starting caliber in the spring. Put those 4 with Adams, Servais, and maybe a surprise breakout of one of the RS FR or a Duering and think we'll be just fine.

Non-related: Any buzz on Curtis Harper? Will he be counted upon next year in the DLine rotation? With Black out yesterday, was hoping he'd earned some run. Chris Slayton is a guy who will also be missed. Was hoping Bear would take more of a leap forward this season. Does Pickard come back and give the fan-base anything to prove out his "Wisconsin-flip"?

At 9-3 and being "negative", I feel like I'm already that typical half is glass empty SU fan. Except that it isn't. These are the fun things to discuss; not whether or not Akron will beat us out for a 2* "diamond in the rough."

Onward!

 

[Eric15]

I'm very optimistic about next year -- I just hope we can maintain the incredible turnover margin we achieved this year. We finished 8th in the country this year which contributed a lot to our great record.

 

[cusefan88]

Spring Ball is going to be fantastic to follow. You got the OL and LB battles center stage. Not to mention we get to focus on the addition of Adams and Jackson.

That is what makes programs. Intense spring competition where everybody gets pushed and improves.

 

[RMH44]

He's a great player, and would be ridiculous to say he wouldn't be missed, but I think next years team, and the following years teams will be much more prepared to play with more of a pure passer. For as good as Eric is improvising, and making something out of nothing, I think Dino/Lynch, would prefer more of a pure passing QB. Eric's strengths were exactly what we needed the last 3 years under Babers while he built up the OL, and skill positions. Next year we will have the horses to rotate backs to run the ball, and a number of WR's with all sorts of different strengths to toss the ball around to. Eric's improvisation shouldn't be as needed to generate offense as it has in the past. We should have the skill position players where if we can get them the ball where it needs to be they will make plays. Eric will be missed, but TD will be that gunslinger that could put up eye popping passing numbers. Who knows maybe Amie has a chance (thanks for the applause) to come in as that change of pace QB, that can give you a little bit of what Eric did, if the situation calls for it? TD with 3 years of this system under his belt, with weapons all over the field, is going to be pretty fun to watch.

I'm not sure we have the horses yet to succeed with a pure pocket passer. IMO, the OL is the key to next year's success. If they don't play well against quality defenses we could be in for a long year.

People need to understand that ED improvised out of necessity (most of the time) not by design. His pocket presence and feel can't be taught. Without improved OL play, next year's QB's could struggle.

 

[shu 49]

15 practices for the bowl is huge to developer the under belly !!!

I agree wholeheartedly.

 

[kcsu]

The running game will look different next year. I dont expect teams to respect Tommy as a runner so the QB keeper that has been so effective with Eric will probably be tweaked.
Every position on the field with the exception of Slayton should be improved or equal in talent.

Tommy is a completely different QB than ED but extremely talented.

The WR group should be our most talented in years. Same for the DBs.
LBs will be more athletic
DL will be solid on the interior wonder if our FB plays both ways. Hope we land an interior Juco.
DEs will be unreal. All ACC level.
RBs much improved
Specials same. All ACC
Overall depth much improved.

Not sure if this will equal a better record but there wont be any team that we play that we cant beat.
Pre Season i would peg us around 22.

 

[Cusefan69]

As some coaches suggest it starts with both lines. I think on defense our ends are really strong but I think losing Slayton will be tough. We have Mckinely and Black (undersized for NT). Am I missing someone here? That will be a problem I think. Our oline, loses players but also adds some talent. Long run I expect Oline to be better but it will take time for players to gel. Also it will take time for them to adjust to new QB style of play. Note and said it someplace else. Our line was better than last year but it’s relative. We gave up over 35 sacks this year. We need better play to suceed and I think that will ultimately occur with the new line coach but it doesn’t happen overnight. Note: While TD isnt the scrambler ED is, he will be a plus scrambler for us I think. On plus side, we have strong running back group for next year.
Man I said I was going to savor this seasons triumphs longer before talking 2019 and nope...just got sucked in...damn! Back to enjoying 2018!

 

[anomander]

I think the win total takes a step back next year

There will be a lot of times Devito will have to improvise ...but will he be able to carry that load?

There's no way we are getting as many turnovers next year.

And most importantly, the offensive line will not be as experienced

Experience doesn't always mean better. The younger offensive lineman we have been recruiting have been better (as far as prospects out of HS goes). We return 3 guys with a ton of experience, including arguably the 2 best OLineman (Servais/Adams). The Davis brothers got some nice experience this year, plus there are the kids that used a RS, plus a wildcard like Clark, who looks to have the size for the position. Plus, i wouldn't be shocked if we are trolling the PG market, and the off chance we land the stud transfer from Michigan and he some how gains immediate eligibility. I don't think we will know quite yet, for good or bad, how the OL will be. imo next years success will ride on the OL. Right now I think it can at least be serviceable at worst.

 

[anomander]

As some coaches suggest it starts with both lines. I think on defense our ends are really strong but I think losing Slayton will be tough. We have Mckinely and Black (undersized for NT). Am I missing someone here? That will be a problem I think. Our oline, loses players but also adds some talent. Long run I expect Oline to be better but it will take time for players to gel. Also it will take time for them to adjust to new QB style of play. Note and said it someplace else. Our line was better than last year but it’s relative. We gave up over 35 sacks this year. We need better play to suceed and I think that will ultimately occur with the new line coach but it doesn’t happen overnight. Note: While TD isnt the scrambler ED is, he will be a plus scrambler for us I think. On plus side, we have strong running back group for next year.
Man I said I was going to savor this seasons triumphs longer before talking 2019 and nope...just got sucked in...damn! Back to enjoying 2018!

I thought Ruff really started to come into his own the last 3 games. Him and Bear will be fine as starters. Just need to build some depth.

 

[Orangezoo]

We will need depth on the DL however I expect Ruff to take the next step up. He has been showing up more and more as the season progresses and getting a good push. Who fills in around him and for depth is another matter.

On the OL the good news is there will be plenty of competition. From a running perspective, I think we should still be solid in the middle as we were this year. At tackle the questions are more pronounced. We were better than years past but even with Martin we were not great or consistently good at that position all year.

At LB, I think we should be solid but there are questions given the issues defending the run. A lot of young talent with the chance to come in and step up along with returning starters and overall a huge pool of talent to pull from.

Similarly at DB- full cupboard and high end talent. Should be really solid here.

When it comes back to Tommy- I think he needs to get more comfortable with his RPO reads. That and he has to learn to step up into the pocket more vs bailing outside too often. That got him into trouble when he struggled. He also needs to hand it off a bit more in the RPO vs so quickly just getting out there and slinging it. I think that will come. Being the guy vs the relief pitcher can help mentality wise.

 

[Cusefan69]

I thought Ruff really started to come into his own the last 3 games. Him and Bear will be fine as starters. Just need to build some depth.

Forgot about Ruff...good call.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

I think we may pick up a grad transfer to two.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I think the win total takes a step back next year

There will be a lot of times Devito will have to improvise ...but will he be able to carry that load?

There's no way we are getting as many turnovers next year.

And most importantly, the offensive line will not be as experienced

The formula for winning next season probably changes, that does seem likely.

On the plus side though is the schedule. Replacing the game against ND with Maryland is big. We have a great chance to go undefeated OOC.

Conference wise, we get Clemson at home, and while I don't expect Louisville and FSU to be as disorganized as they were this season, they're also probably not back to being top ten teams again next season. BC do what BC do, we play Pitt fine at home, and Duke will likely give us a tough game. I have no idea what NC State brings back. We'll get Wake at home, that feels very winnable.

Looking at what we have returning and where expectations likely could be, I don't think matching or surpassing this season's record is that crazy.