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Message: [QUOTE="RF2044, post: 5104495, member: 40"] Thanks to everyone for their thoughtful write-ups. IMO, projecting lineups is going to be VERY difficult, because we don't have a good sense yet of the systems, and what the coaches may value in players manning certain positions. The spring game provided SOME evidence, but not enough to slot guys in with confidence. Here's what I have to say about the OL. The staff went out and recruited an impressive group of transfers, several of whom come in with experience. Essentially, they went out and pulled in a potential full starting unit of guys. [LIST] [*]Washington started at Colorado [LT] [*]Weatherspoon started at Howard at RT [*]Hornsby started at Grambling at OG [*]Miller redshirted at Georgia -- looks like an OG, but played LT in spring practice [/LIST] Now, I wouldn't be surprised to see any of them / all four of them in the starting lineup. The coaching staff didn't bring those guys in to sit, and three of them are experienced starters. But is a guy like Weatherspoon too slow to play RT in the ACC? Not suggesting he is, just saying it's a question mark. Does his size help him win out and man RT adequately, or does he kick inside as a massive RG? But it's important to note that while OL hasn't been a strength of the Syracuse Football Program [understatement], last year's group had better depth / talent than we usually have -- and we needed every bit of it to deal with the injuries that wracked up over the season. Without that depth, we would have been sunk. Which means that even with the players who portalled out, there is still a decent [U]nucleus[/U] of returning players: [LIST] [*]J'Onre Reed -- started every game at center [*]Enrique Cruz Jr. -- returning starter at LT, who has struggled a bit [*]Jakob Bradford -- returning starter at RG who was solid [not great] [*]Mark Petry -- emergency starter at RT who filled in due to injury, was at least decent [*]David Wohlabaugh Jr. -- initial starter at RT who missed almost entire season due to injury [/LIST] That's five [5] guys who've started games here during their careers, and at minimum a full season of starting [except for Wohlabaugh, who got injured game 2]. Beyond them, we have four other guys who seem to be squarely in the mix, based upon spring practice: [LIST] [*]Joe Cruz -- valuable reserve who's played quite a bit over his first 2 years, poised for bigger role? [*]Josh Ilaoa -- backup C/G [*]Lysander Moeleo -- injured last year, played a lot in the spring game, looks like he's in the mix [*]Trevion Mack -- high caliber athlete who could be poised for bigger role [/LIST] I'm going to leave the incoming true frosh out of the discussion for now, as they probably have an uphill climb. I readily acknowledge that just because guys started in the past, that doesn't mean that they should be penciled in to the starting lineup. New coaching staff, new systems, clean slate. But would anyone really be surprised if someone like Cruz, Jr. hangs onto a starting role? Or if Bradford doesn't surrender a starting spot easily? What if Wohlabaugh bounces back fully [kid began his career as a starter in the SEC]? I also think that some will dismiss the returnees as "...not good enough," and pencil new faces into roles. But I'm guessing that the starting OL and positions on the two deep will be a mixture of incumbents and new guys. I also think that our depth is going to be VERY solid at OL, even moreso than last year, with even better quality. And depth / competition is a good thing for performance. If I had to guess -- and I fully qualify this by acknowledging that we won't know until we have a better sense of what the new OL coach / OC are looking for, here's what I'd predict: LT -- Washington -- 6-8 and massive LG -- Bradford for now, he'll have to fight off Miller C -- Reed -- better in his second year now that he's experienced and has better personnel around him? RG -- Hornsby, an experienced transfer RT -- Wohlabaugh, unless he's impaired -- if so, then Weatherspoon or Cruz Second unit: LT -- Cruz Jr. LG -- Miller C -- Ilaoa RG -- Moeleo RT -- Watherspoon Third unit: OT -- Petry G / T -- Cruz T / G -- Mack That's just my opinion, of course, I could be wrong. But it is EXCITING to think that we'll field a competent, huge, powerful OL for the first time in... damn, 2012 -- then back to the late 90s? And we have the depth / positional versatility to not have the entire unit sunk by a key injury or three. I expect some FIERCE camp battles. And they'll have a good DL to square off against in practice to get ready, which is also good. [/QUOTE]

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