November 1st, 2015 at 7:55 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 7:23 AM ^
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November 1st, 2015 at 7:31 AM ^
In Harbaugh we trust
November 1st, 2015 at 7:37 AM ^
Another positive is this tells me Newsome won't be a bust. OL is prob the most difficult position to project from HS to college. So like Cole we have a guy good enough to get on the field as a freshman (granted Cole started). But there is a daily depth chart and Newsomme is ahead of JBB - a guy in the program multiple years. We have more than our share of busts so be happy.
As someone else said in the thread now you have a legit guy who can play next year if he is getting love now and that means Magnuson (who I felt had a rough game last week vs MSu despite Brian's positive grade) has to look over his shoulder next yr and/or Kugler is not a guaranteed center next year - maybe Newsome takes over LT and Cole to center.
Also keep in mind this is coming off a bye week where they had a chance to evaluate guys a lot closer as opposed to only looking at MN.
Also some people act as if we have a stellar OL and this is a waste. The OL in 1st half was struggling badly IMO vs a mediocre DL (MN's D strength is secondary). In the 2nd we had some gaping holes (that Drake hit) and it looked better. No idea if Newsome was in on those plays. But its not like this is a top 20 OL and we burned a rs when 5 guys are playing awesome.
I think WD posts every offensive and defensive snap each week so I will be curious how he did in isolation.
November 1st, 2015 at 9:34 AM ^
It would be great if we kept Newsome's redshirt, but it's fun to think of what it means for us the rest of the year. We've still got Ohio and a bowl game. Since the loss of LTT, we've been fortunate that no OL have gotten hurt, especially Cole. Happy days if Newsome is now viewed as a reliable backup OT.
Newsome also makes our O harder to prepare for. You can move Cole around (like when we split him wide in our Ghost Peppers, aka wildcat formation), while still having a real LT to block (say) Joey Bosa on the edge.
If you lose Rudock for awhile, this kind of package versatility becomes even more critical. You may be able to use scheme to defeat defenses who stack the box, maintaining some O complexity even with the RS Freshman QB.
I am pleased that Newsome seems capable of backing up Cole, protecting us against catastrophe if Cole gets hurt, while making our O tougher to defend.
Aside: I would love it if one of our Coachy-type contributors would do a post on what it means for a team to be difficult to prepare for due to scheme, and how it affects your practice week. How much harder is it to get a D ready against us, now that we have all those wildcat plays, and the 6 OL package, and the 39 FBs on film? We're a lot different now than under (say) RichRod, where we had the 4 ways Denard could run it.
November 1st, 2015 at 7:38 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 7:50 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 8:02 AM ^
Resdhirts are impossible if he's played in a game past the first 30% of the season. The 8th games is way too late.
November 1st, 2015 at 11:20 AM ^
Learn the rules before jumping in with smart ass crap.
November 1st, 2015 at 7:39 AM ^
I wonder what the chances are that Newsome is the LT or RT next season and Cole moves to Center or a guard position? Seems like that fits Cole better anyway...
November 1st, 2015 at 7:50 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 7:54 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 8:21 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 8:25 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 8:26 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 11:21 AM ^
He likes to take credit for stuff, it's kind of his schtick.
November 1st, 2015 at 11:41 AM ^
Probably saving it for 75,000
November 1st, 2015 at 7:56 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 7:59 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 7:59 AM ^
so...lets see if we can find something to complain about....I got one, lets complain about the fact that the 6th best olineman is only a freshman and as such should not get to play all year but be redshirted. You redshirt kids you THINK may develop, you don't redshirt a kid in your 2 deep.
November 1st, 2015 at 8:00 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 8:02 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 8:46 AM ^
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November 1st, 2015 at 9:22 AM ^
I'm not overly concerned about burning redshirts before or after Harbaugh. If they are good enough to play, let them play. The players are not chattel, and by Harbaugh's own admission, a fifth year is not guaranteed anyways.
There is also a whole host of things that can occur before a fourth/fifth year: injuries (Fox), transfers (Samuelson), rules violation/getting kicked off (Tulley-Tillman) that it's kind of inane in my opinion to obsess about collecting as many redshirts as possible.
EDIT: And I forgot to mention: fifth years who just decide that football is no longer for them (Miller).
November 1st, 2015 at 10:14 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 8:22 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 8:24 AM ^
and not black/white. I don't think Harbaugh and staff just dismissed the importance of a redshirt or aren't aware of it. These guys have coached for a while.
The reality is though that you always have to weigh priorities and I am sure in their heads they have different scenarios and I am sure every year you have a few guys where you go "redshirt if you can get away with it" and then a few where you go "redshirt under any and all circumstances".
At any point during the year you may reach a point where you may realize you can't get away with it. Injuries, depth concerns, urgency. Redshirting is part of a strategy and you know what they say about strategy and contact with the enemy.
Ultimately this is a minor thing - it may come up to hurt us one day, it may open up a range of other possibilities. There's too many "ifs" involved here for us to get bent out of shape over it.
November 1st, 2015 at 8:26 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 8:28 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 8:30 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 8:50 AM ^
If he is good enough to play now, I wouldn't be surprised to see him take Magnuson's job at OT next year after a full year of S&C and have Magnuson compete with the other OGs to find the best two. Not saying it's going to happen, but I also don't think our OL has performed to point where you can say anyone's job is safe next year except maybe Cole.
November 1st, 2015 at 8:58 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 8:47 AM ^
We won the game and it seems like we needed his help to win. I am not going to complain
November 1st, 2015 at 8:48 AM ^
I could understand the bitching about Hoke because it seemed he threw random Freshman out on Special Teams all the time but Harbaugh seems to playing the best players. I'm good with that.
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November 1st, 2015 at 8:51 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 9:16 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 11:08 AM ^
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November 1st, 2015 at 8:52 AM ^
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November 1st, 2015 at 8:58 AM ^
And I wouldn't be surprised to see at least 2 of them play as true freshmen next year.
November 1st, 2015 at 9:25 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 9:35 AM ^
Our depth chart is not very deep, and I wouldn't say our OL play has been outstanding. It is possible that one of those guys could lose their job through competition. We have been relatively healthy on the OL this year, but football is a brutal sport. An injury or two on the OL is always possible. If Bars, Dawson, & Bushell-Beatty were not ready to play this year, they could theoretically get passed over by a talented freshman.
November 1st, 2015 at 9:40 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 9:55 AM ^
If our OL was playing well, I would agree with you. Look at Stanford. Look at Ohio State. Both have multiple starters who played as true freshmen. When you say Cole and Newsome are rare exceptions, I say there is quite possibly one of them every year if you recruit well. And guys sometimes do play a role as reserve lineman as freshmen. It happens.
Add in the fact we are experiencing a coaching transition where the staff has to turn the program around, and there can be a lot of upheaval. Florida has played 3 true freshmen OL this year.
November 1st, 2015 at 9:28 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 9:41 AM ^
What about our OL play has inspired that much confidence in our returning starters? I'm not saying it is going to happen, but I wouldn't be surprised to see one of our returning starters lose their job in offseason camp. OL development is a crapshoot, and there is no guarantee every single redshirt freshman (except Newsome who clearly has the staff's confidence right now) is going to pan out and be good enough to play. And you haven't factored in injuries.
November 1st, 2015 at 10:26 AM ^
November 1st, 2015 at 9:20 AM ^
It's all about winning games, not preserving redshirts at all cost. Whatever it takes to win.
November 1st, 2015 at 9:21 AM ^
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November 1st, 2015 at 9:24 AM ^
I'm fine with Newsome playing and most of Hoke's non-redshirts as well. I believe most coaches philosophy is that if you are in the two deep you will play. This does not mean you play someone on the two deep who hasn't played in garbage time. This is what Hoke did and this is what Harbaugh is doing.
I suspect this means that Dawson and Kugler are not as ready as we would hope (it is possible the 6th OL had to be a tackle for this game but unlikely). Dawson had been the first OL off the bench and has not looked good in my opinion. I suspect if Newsome is ready to play as a true freshman when he didn't have to play that we can mentally pencil him in the starting lineup next year and for the following 2 years similar to Mason Cole.
Clearly with redshirts there is some trade between winning now and winning later. I think the priority should be 80% winning now and 20% winning later. There is so much uncertainty with what will happen 4 years later (injuries/NFL ready/personal problem) that you can't compromise the current year in hope for the future. I also think the true question on redshirt value is comparing the difference between Newsome vs. Kugler/Dawson now to the difference between possible 5th year senior Newsome and the 6th best OL in 2019. If you ask Harbaugh if he plans to have 5 high quality starters at OL by 2019, we all know what he believes. I do recognize it is possible a 5th year Newsome would be the best of that bunch.