Well good to see you back. What's your assessment of this year's FB team? Exciting results so far, no?!
Oh there's a lot of reason for optimism. I always said even when Marrone was the head coach, when we get to a point where we see 3-4 true freshman playing each year because of ability and not because of lack of depth, that we'll have turned the corner. And we're seeing that this year, Howard and Cisco were physically ready to play from day 1 and are making an impact, and Taj Harris, although imo still not completely physically ready, has the talent to jump the depth chart and make plays already. It really speaks volumes to the turnaround that Babers has been working on, young guys are playing not because of a lack of talent or lack of depth but because they are THAT talented.
And arguably our two best recruits from last year - Adams and Jackson, haven't been able to touch the field yet and will be physically ready from day 1 to challenge for starting roles next season.
Other promising things - D Line is a beast right now and I expected that, as long as they remained healthy I thought we had a top 3 D Line in the ACC this year. And that sets up your defense so well, it makes things so much easier for the backers when the D Line is commanding double teams on the line and wreaking havoc.
Tommy D looks as good as advertised, we are finally at a point with the QB depth chart where we have a person who can come off the bench, that was recruited for this system, and has proven that he can WIN games. Another turning the corner sign.
A lot to be excited about and I think 7/8 wins and a bowl game, barring any significant injuries, is extremely realistic looking at the rest of the schedule. This is definitely a down year for the ACC and is a fantastic year for us to be on an uptick. This type of season optically looks great and will help a great deal with recruiting down the stretch.