We should know more Friday but doing some Dinoology I think he wants to get down to a five or six core rotation. Looks like they are thinking a good way to get the best athletes on the field is using Alford as a move TE, which gives gives the team formational flexibility . I think they’d like Pena to be primarily the return guy and the third slot receiver.
The obvious call is CJ and Cooper as the slot guys. Assuming Alford stays at TE the outside receivers is where the uncertainty and competition is. It would be easy to slot Queeley in based on experience but in my opinion he hasn’t done enough to lock up a spot.
There are a bunch of young guys with legit P5 size. Who has the hands, speed, route running, guts, hops, savvy, and heart is the question. Reliability and smarts, let the best men win.
Here is a list of all the candidates:
Kendall Long RF 6-2 214
CJ Hayes RSr 6-2 208
Anthony Queeley RJr 6-2 198
Umari Hatcher RF 6-3 178
Oronde Gadsden II So 6-5 215
DeVaughn Cooper 5-11 180
Trevor Pena So 6-0 176
Isaiah Jones RSo 6-4 204
Damien Alford So 6-6 211
Courtney Jackson RSo 5-11 175
Ja’Vontae Williams RF 6-1 203
Donovan Brown Fr 6-3 173
It sounds like the staff is looking at a lot of players and the competition for OWR and IWR is wide open.
Just based on the few pictures and videos that have gotten out from the spring practices, it would seem Gadsden and Williams are getting a lot of PT. I see Queeley and Cooper in some shots too. Then maybe Hatcher.
I beiieve Pena was just released for contact a couple of days ago so the OC is getting his first look at him this week.
It is weird seeing so little of Jackson and Alford in what we can see from practice. They might have distanced themselves from the rest and the staff is focusing on building depth.
Surprised CJ Hayes is getting so little visibility. Dino has said repeatedly he does not take transfers unless he thinks they can start. Maybe he is rusty. Maybe he isn’t as good as expected. Or just as likely, Dino is playing games with us (and our opponents).
Looking at Anae’s history at UVa, he typically has 4 or 5 players with more than 20 receptions a season. One is always a TE. Really only 3 or 4 WRs that play a lot. Will that happen here?
Go mentions he thinks Alford might be in line for a pseudo TE role. That would surely be in part because the staff sees no TEs on the roster capable of being a reliable receiver. And that might well be the case right now. Could change completely if we are able to add an experienced TE from the portal before the fall. That has to be an objective for the staff and given their success featuring TEs in the passing game, I think it is likely they will be able to get a decent one out of there.
Anyway, enough rambling. I think we will have 6 receivers with more than 20 catches this year.
I think one will be Sean Tucker. It just seems like he is getting the ball thrown to him a lot. Anae has a rep for adapting to what he has to work with and even though he hasn’t been throwing to RBs a lot in recent years, he hasn’t had a Sean Tucker to work with.
I think one will be a TE from the portal. If we fail to get one, that might end up being Alford. But again I feel good about our chances here.
I think Courtney is a lock for one and will probably lead the team in receptions.
Let’s put the 2 young bucks with the speed and size in the mix as well. Talking about Alford and Gadsden. Hopefully they get the mental side down and show they can consistently catch it. They are big enough and strong enough and fast enough so that they should be the best at getting open.
That leaves 2 spots left. Could be Queeley or Cooper or Hayes if the staff values experience. I think it will be Pena and Hatcher but think Williams might also force his way into the conversation. Guessing the staff wants to focus on getting players out there that will be the toughest to cover in press and they are my choices.
But I reserve the right to totally change my mind on everything when I actually get to see these guys play in what is hopefully a game like setting Friday night. ;(
