Some thoughts going into camp

[sutomcat]

Cruz is a legit 6’6”, legit 300 lbs. Solid athletic 300lbs. Smart kid too. Sure he works hard, most importantly he’s made huge physical strides since last year.

He’s ALWAYS first in all drills with his unit. Both in sprints/run drills, and with agility drills as well. Translation: coorrdinated, fast and athletic and now very strong. That’s a great combination that spells into great potential.

That potential has showed now in practice such that he’s getting notice now. That includes Bergeron seeing the potential/performance such that he’s taken him under his wing.

All this makes it a logical progression to figure that will translate to success on the field, at least one would think so, certainly hope so.

Agree with all of this. Enrique is our most athletic OL. He has the highest ceiling. Even higher than Berg.

When Berg got banged up, it was Enrique who moved to LT. I think that is telling.

Hoping he gets the RT job. Hope Bleich wins the center position. Hope everyone stays healthy. Looks like we might have 2 backups with a lot of starting experience. The depth isn’t great but it is a lot better than it has been in quite a while.

 

[CbusCuse]

Agree with all of this. Enrique is our most athletic OL. He has the highest ceiling. Even higher than Berg.

When Berg got banged up, it was Enrique who moved to LT. I think that is telling.

Hoping he gets the RT job. Hope Bleich wins the center position. Hope everyone stays healthy. Looks like we might have 2 backups with a lot of starting experience. The depth isn’t great but it is a lot better than it has been in quite a while.

Agree. Love Cruz's potential. I think all that he's missing is experience. For that reason I think Vet wins the starting RT spot as he has tons of experience. Bergeron is obviously LT. Bleich mans the C spot. Dakota Davis and Ellis both at Guard. Then for back-ups you have Cruz for both T spots. and Tisdale and Illaoa as the main back-ups inside.

Unless by the end of fall camp Cruz ends up looking too good to keep off the field. Then you would have him at RT and Vet in the middle pushing Ellis to a back-up roll. I just really like the thought of having Bleich at C.

Would be awesome if we can get to the start of the season with no injuries on the OL.

 

[CbusCuse]

Agree. Love Cruz's potential. I think all that he's missing is experience. For that reason I think Vet wins the starting RT spot as he has tons of experience. Bergeron is obviously LT. Bleich mans the C spot. Dakota Davis and Ellis both at Guard. Then for back-ups you have Cruz for both T spots. and Tisdale and Illaoa as the main back-ups inside.

Unless by the end of fall camp Cruz ends up looking too good to keep off the field. Then you would have him at RT and Vet in the middle pushing Ellis to a back-up roll. I just really like the thought of having Bleich at C.

Would be awesome if we can get to the start of the season with no injuries on the OL.

With what Dino said about Bergeron getting on the field in 2019 starting at RT and wondering why he wasn't starting earlier if he played so well to end that year, I think Cruz probably has a shot to earn a starting spot. My only concern is if there is any growing pains we really can't afford it in the first few games of the season. For that reason I think he has to light it up in fall camp to earn a starting spot.

 

[CbusCuse]

Maybe Cruz starts the second game against Uconn. Give him that game to get adjusted. Not sure about starting him against Louisville as we really have to win that game. OK not necessarily have to but its a huge opportunity game as far as the season goes.

 

[JRHEETER]

Maybe Cruz starts the second game against Uconn. Give him that game to get adjusted. Not sure about starting him against Louisville as we really have to win that game. OK not necessarily have to but its a huge opportunity game as far as the season goes.

No it’s an absolute must win game

If we lose to Louisville, we aren’t going bowling

 

[AngryOtto]

Agree. Love Cruz's potential. I think all that he's missing is experience. For that reason I think Vet wins the starting RT spot as he has tons of experience. Bergeron is obviously LT. Bleich mans the C spot. Dakota Davis and Ellis both at Guard. Then for back-ups you have Cruz for both T spots. and Tisdale and Illaoa as the main back-ups inside.

Unless by the end of fall camp Cruz ends up looking too good to keep off the field. Then you would have him at RT and Vet in the middle pushing Ellis to a back-up roll. I just really like the thought of having Bleich at C.

Would be awesome if we can get to the start of the season with no injuries on the OL.

I am not in favor of moving Vet to C. There was a reason he was moved to T last year after two games. Even with how bad some of AS snaps were he remained at T. Hoping Bleech at center and Illola as backup.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

No it’s an absolute must win game

If we lose to Louisville, we aren’t going bowling

Agree.

 

[FrancoPizza]

No it’s an absolute must win game

If we lose to Louisville, we aren’t going bowling

I hear what you're saying, and yes, the prospects are a lot harder when you drop a perceived toss-up. Unless they look like complete dog poo it's too premature to cancel the season. A lot will depend on how the team gels with the new offense, how the question marks get filled on the roster, same as every year. Maybe there will be good surprises as well. Add to this the unpredictable trajectories of other opponents.

I love AND hate that the opener has relatively high stakes. But we all need to take a chill pill.

 

[JRHEETER]

I hear what you're saying, and yes, the prospects are a lot harder when you drop a perceived toss-up. Unless they look like complete dog poo it's too premature to cancel the season. A lot will depend on how the team gels with the new offense, how the question marks get filled on the roster, same as every year. Maybe there will be good surprises as well. Add to this the unpredictable trajectories of other opponents.

I love AND hate that the opener has relatively high stakes. But we all need to take a chill pill.

What’s the path to 6 wins if we don’t beat Louisville?

That’s what I look at…

 

[CbusCuse]

I am not in favor of moving Vet to C. There was a reason he was moved to T last year after two games. Even with how bad some of AS snaps were he remained at T. Hoping Bleech at center and Illola as backup.

This could be correct but i'm not positive on this. Was Vet not holding his own in the middle, or did this change happen as Servais was not getting it done at Tackle? Or was it a combination of both maybe?

 

[javadoc]

What’s the path to 6 wins if we don’t beat Louisville?

That’s what I look at…

Beating 6 other teams? The team has enough upside that they can win any game on the schedule.

 

[All4SU]

No it’s an absolute must win game

If we lose to Louisville, we aren’t going bowling

I just don’t see how an absolute statement like that is accurate. Teams get better during the season. Teams get worse during the season. What the landscape looks like on 9/1 will almost certainly be different on 11/1.

 

[Chip]

Bergeron specifically mentioned him (and only him) in yesterday's interview, as well.

I think Josh Black specifically mentioned him last year too as someone to watch.

 

[cusefan88]

I just don’t see how an absolute statement like that is accurate. Teams get better during the season. Teams get worse during the season. What the landscape looks like on 9/1 will almost certainly be different on 11/1.

There's a late stretch where they get NC St, Clemson, and Pitt right in a row. So I'm guessing the hope is win our early games and sneak what we can on the back half.

 

[FrancoPizza]

What’s the path to 6 wins if we don’t beat Louisville?

Louisville isn't a swing state. This isn't an election.

 

[money3189]

I just don’t see how an absolute statement like that is accurate. Teams get better during the season. Teams get worse during the season. What the landscape looks like on 9/1 will almost certainly be different on 11/1.

Louisville is a big game no doubt but things don’t always go as plan. We can win that game and lose to UConn. That’s just the game of football. There’s always a surprise loss or win. I’m not sure how anyone can say a Louisville loss determines the rest of the season. There’s plenty of time to make up for it. Teams change throughout the course of a season. Adjustments are made. The ball can bounce different ways in those swing games.

 

[PhatOrange]

What’s the path to 6 wins if we don’t beat Louisville?

That’s what I look at…

outside of Clemson and ND, this team could beat or lose to any other team on the schedule. So the path is every other team.

 

[PhatOrange]

I think people should temper expectations on an offensive lineman. If Cruz is 'this good' he'll be the starting RT.

Every season redshirt freshman lineman start at the factories so while I love Vets experience and think he'll be a decent RT, talent and potential should win out in the end.

 

[All4SU]

Louisville is a big game not doubt but things don’t always go as plan. We can win that game and lose to UConn. That’s just the game of football. There’s always a surprise loss or win. I’m not sure how anyone can say a Louisville loss determines the rest of the season. There’s plenty of time to make up for it. Teams change throughout the course of a season. Adjustments are made. The ball can bounce different ways in those swing games.

Exactly.

 

[All4SU]

outside of Clemson and ND, this team could beat or lose to any other team on the schedule. So the path is every other team.

Personally, I would go so far as to say SU could win or lose every game on the schedule.

 

[rrlbees]

I think people should temper expectations on an offensive lineman. If Cruz is 'this good' he'll be the starting RT.

Every season redshirt freshman lineman start at the factories so while I love Vets experience and think he'll be a decent RT, talent and potential should win out in the end.

I don’t know why everyone is getting on Vet. He graded overall higher than Davis and Ellis last year and better as a pass blocker than Bleich.

 

[Doc5120]

Personally, I would go so far as to say SU could win or lose every game on the schedule.

We aren't losing to Wagner or Uconn. And we're not beating Clemson. Any other game, I can see going one way or the other.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

I don’t know why everyone is getting on Vet. He graded overall higher than Davis and Ellis last year and better as a pass blocker than Bleich.

The concern was about him playing center which, from what we've heard, will likely not happen.

 

[PhatOrange]

I don’t know why everyone is getting on Vet. He graded overall higher than Davis and Ellis last year and better as a pass blocker than Bleich.

I thought Vet played very good at RT last season and I've said as much. I feel good about him at the position.

There is soo much hype on Cruz (deserved or not) that if he were superior to Vet he would be starting.

 

[TheCusian]

We aren't losing to Wagner or Uconn. And we're not beating Clemson. Any other game, I can see going one way or the other.

I get that they out-talent us - but they lost both coordinators and had a really bad offense last year. We lost by 3, decided at the end of the game.

I'm not scared of them.