So, sense we have some down time and fingers crossed everything works out and we have football this coming year. Which players, either players coming off redshirt season or true freshman will play and have an impact this year? Obviously Jordan will be one of the most impactful players. Any other True Freshman or Redshirt Freshman you guys see playing a big part this year?
Okay I will respond seriously to this post.
There are a lot of redshirt frosh on the two deep likely to make an impact. I will list them in terms of what I think their impact will be in descending order. It should be noted that with almost no film, almost no spring practice reports and no spring game, there is little to go on for a bunch of players where this spring was going to be our first chance to really see them play. So there is more guesswork than normal here.
Aman Greenwood FS
He is listed as the starter at FS right now. Pretty impressive for a RS frosh to beat out several veterans for a starting position. That said, the staff has been known to use the depth chart as a motivation tool and maybe this isn’t real.
Steve Linton SLB
Another frosh who was listed as a starter in the last spring depth chart the staff provided. Steve was a highly regarded recruit and I think if you look at the success rate for players from different states, it is pretty rare when we take a player for Georgia and he does not develop into a reliable starter relatively quickly. Not sure if he can play OLB for us but I know he is really athletic and the one thing that would have probably kept him on the bench at DE (strength) is much less of an issue at LB,
Courtney Jackson WR
I am a big fan of Courtney, who was given a half a slot on the second team depth chart last put out by the staff. He is a play maker. Get get open, has great hands and will get yards after the catch. I think he will break into the WR rotation early and stay there.
Drew Tuazama DE
He is actually listed on the first team at DE right now though it is only because Kingsley Jonathan is out for the spring. That said, he is a legitimate second team DE and I expect him to get a lot of playing time this season. I see him playing that 3rd DE role than Kingsley played last season.
Adrian Cole, Garrett Williams, Neil (don’t fall me Cornelius) Neal CB/FS
Three talented DBs who all made 2nd team on the defensive depth chart. Cole and Williams are CBs. Neil is a FS. Neil in particular has a real chance to beat out Greenwood and win the starting job here.
Joe Rondi NT
He likely has to beat out veteran Curtis Harper to get playing time here. Not sure if that is in the cards for the coming season but I have great confidence Joe is going to a key member of the SU defensive line and he will be for a long time. This isn’t a question of if, but when.
Anthony Red and Josh Kosciol OT/C
Two RS frosh who have cracked the two deep on the OL. I think both are legitimate second team guys but am hoping neither are needed in the coming season.
There aren’t as many true frosh likely to make an impact. But one is already penciled in as a starter: punter James Williams. He is a lock to make an immediate impact.
Edit: I meant to include a paragraph on Latarie Kinsler here. I assume he is going to play OLB. Both positions are, I would guess, wide open and there is a real chance he could come in as a true frosh and at least get some playing time. No doubt he has top level talent and there is some opportunity too for him.
After him, I would say Damien Alford, a WR out of Canada by way of Florida, Kevin Mital, a WR out of Canada and Ben LaBrosse, a safety out of Canada, are the true frosh most likely to get some playing time next season. This is partly because they are physically mature, partly because they are all really good athletes and partly because the positions they play provide some opportunity for immediate playing time.
