Confirmed: Brad Hawkins will play Safety
This is probably good. We need depth there, and I don't think he would play much at wide receiver, at least not for a few years.
There's an obvious abundance of talent at the WR position and Hawkins appears to be a "plus" athlete. How do people feel about his potential at safety? (I'm not sure.)
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I read on another site that coach Brown got to him. I guess there saying he saw the potential in Hawkins to play safety and pursuaded Harbaugh to let Hawkins switch positions. It also sounds like Hawkins is all in and this may end up being a career changer. I think with the athleticism and ball skills this kid posesses he could really end up being a good one.
JH seems to love him at the position. I suspect he'll see some snaps this year and after Poggi and Hill move on, may be a 3-year starter. Not bad.
what other fullbacks get so many carries, receptions, and TDs? I imagine no one outside the service acadamies is even close.
Unless you're running a wishbone, it's basically just a battering ram.
the flexbone offense, FB is the B-back and is more of a big back who can push the pile, not a true FB who can block.
I'm a little disappointed to see Mason only at FB. I am in full agreement he seems to be just what you want at FB, but I thought he looked pretty darn good at LB. I could see him as a perfectly reasonable starting MLB in a year or two. Given the LBs we brought in, maybe they beat him out but give the kid a chance.
I'm hoping he's a full time FB in the fall to learn the position and Harbaugh lets him rep at both longer term.
Agreed, but give the kid a chance? He played there all spring. Now he's going to play all fall at FB.
He's a freshman and we're not relying on him to play either position. I'd think you'd want to go into next spring having a feel for what he can do at both positions.
Also from a recruiting standpoint...if he can't block or play FB like you want...you better know now. By spring ball next year it's too late.
You had me until the comment on Mason. He's a 3rd string freshman FB and you listed both RS Senior FBs ahead of him. Why and how is he going to help open a few more holes when the team needs a sustained drive?
this is a message board in full OT season things aren't supposed to make sense
...and we are 100% going to be undefeated through August.
Great news...he looks like he could be a solid LB, but we need a starter at FB next year. He can still get some snaps on defense in certain sets if he deserves to see the field.
I like the direction the team is taking! Hawkins will make an excellent safety - he understands routes, knows how to catch, and isn't going to be relied on to shut down a WR. Excellent move for the kid because, while I think he would have otherwise been a really good WR, he would be parked behind the current group of freshmen wideouts.
Same with Mason - he'd probably be a really good LB, but given who we have already, including the incoming freshmen, FB is a good move. He'll also see the field immediately...
Have to be RS right?!? Who will this likely be? I wouldn't think and of the EE so: Nico, & Martin?
the field early (beyond being ready to play physically and knowing the playbook) depend a lot on Perry's status? I don't think there's clarity on the latter, but perhaps I missed it. Nice to have some options and depth, though, albeit mostly young. Shoenle seems like a contributor too.
Edit: just saw other thread on Perry. Doh. Mea culpa.
Why do they have to redshirt? We don't have any depth there without them.
We just moved Drake Harris to CB.
They should all play, there's only 4 of them (DPJ, Black, Collins, and Martin). Here's what I had back in April (removing Harris and Hawkins). They're all going to get snaps even with Perry coming back. Crawford/Black/DPJ feel like locks for the top 3 outside WRs - it's just a matter of nailing down position and order. McDoom is still running gadget plays and I think Martin may be the most college ready of the bunch - even if he's #3 at SLOT, he's still going to get snaps.
Then the big thing is...NONE of this includes special teams. Martin and/or DPJ may help you in those areas as well. No redshirts are needed now that Hawkins has moved.
WR1
1. Kekoa Crawford (So.)
2. Tarik Black (Fr.)
3. Nico Collins (Fr.)
WR2
1. Donovan Peoples-Jones (Fr.)
2. Maurice Ways (RS Jr.)
3. Nate Schoenle (RS Fr.)
SLOT
1. Eddie McDoom (So.) / Oliver Martin (Fr.)
3. Nate Johnson (So.)
susp: Grant Perry (Jr.)
But 10 players contributing at WR is a little much to expect. Depth charts can be misleading, since the positions are somewhat interchangeable. A 3rd string WR may be behind 8 players, not 2.
But a 3rd string WR could also be #5 or #6 just as easily.
For example, Martin...he may be behind Perry and McDoom and the #3 SLOT. But if McDoom is only running end arounds, quick hitters, and other plays to get him touches...Martin really isn't behind him as a pure WR.
Collins could be #3, but he could be one of the top 3-4 WRs in the redzone.
Also, like I said...special teams. If Martin is one of your best punt returners....why redshirt him just because he may be #3 at SLOT?
My point was...having freshman 4 WRs in our situation...losing Darboh, Chesson, Butt (which IMO means more SLOT opportunities rather than as many 2 TE sets), Peppers (offense and special teams) isn't absurd or too many.
Also toss in that one guy who seemed to be in the mix to fight for a starting spot just moved to CB because 2 of the freshman rose up the depth chart so quickly this spring.
to contribute this season. One thing to consider is that we have a lot of potential red zone targets at TE. Gentry and Eubanks may be TEs on this roster, but I expect they will be used a lot like like WRs. They'd probably be called WRs on a lot of teams. Then there are the traditional TEs and Hill. Tough for a freshman like Collins to surpass them plus the other WRs. He might be too good a WR to keep on the bench, but I doubt it will be just because of his ability in the red zone. He would seem to have a tougher path to playing time than Martin.
I expect McDoom's role to expand greatly as well as Crawford's. That's pretty typical for WRs good enough to carve out a role as true freshmen. It's obvious that DPJ and Black are going to play a lot. Perry should too. It should be a good battle among the others.
I'll be very interested to see who wins the punt return job. Hawkins' highlights as a returner were impressive, but I'm wary of putting a true freshman in that role.
for true freshmen to step right in and contribute at a starting or even quality backup level. Getting it done against real competition is huge step about showing promise in practice against your friends and teammates. And when was the last time we had a significant contribution from anything but our top 2 or 3 WRs? It's very unlikely that we'll see more than one true frosh making an impact this year (i.e. 20+ catches).
Or maybe the Patriots will become the Michigan of the east.
Harbo's offensive makes FB & TE important and fun positions to play. Moving to FB will be great for Mason and get him on hte field.
Could be a really good move. Hope it works out for Hawkins.
GO BLUE!!
Did you just confirm info you broke on here 2 months ago?!
Kidding - but still a good move, however, I DO think he would've got some run at WR. Just not enough for it to make a huge impact. And there's not enough separating him from other options at WR.
We have about a dozen options at WR... Only 4-5 at safety. Love this move!
Hawkins is a very good athlete. He'll provide excellent depth and competition at Safety.
Ball Hawkins
hope that he thrives under Don Brown,