September Depth Chart
Being painfully aware of the usual caveats (like we haven't even had spring practice let alone August) I venture this projection as a template for the type of team that we need to inaugurate the Big House and launch us back to our accustomed heights (and beyond). It is time to throw out the conventional wisdom and get the best players onto the field, regardless of experience. These are the athletes who have the physical abilities to implement Rich Rod's vision.
Notes: I refer to the "Stevie Brown/spinner/SAM position as "WOLF". I show two inside linebackers and no Mike as that is my take on Gerg's system. Going along with Gerg's counter-intuitive labeling my FS is more for run support and the SS is the center fielder. I have moved Roundtree outside to allow PT for Odoms and Gallon. We need receivers that get open. I kept C. Gordon at WR because his move to LB is in limbo and I think he is a god fit at receiver.
QB: Tate, Denard, Gardner (RS)
SB: Smith or Shaw or Toussaint, Teric Jones
PB: Hopkins, Cox
FB: Moundros, ?
TE: Webb or Koger, Moore
WR: Roundtree, Stokes or J-Rob
WR: Hemingway or Stonum, Ricardo or C. Gordon
SL: Odoms, Gallon, Grady or T-Rob
LT: Lewan, Dorrestein or Schofield
LG: Schilling, Washington
C: Molk, Khoury or Ferrara
RG: Barnum, Mealer
RT: Omameh, Huyge or Schofield
DE: RVB, LaLota, Patterson
NT: Campbell, Sagesse
DT: Martin, Banks
Death: Roh, Herron or Obi
Wolf: M. Jones or Hawthorne
ILB: Mouton, I. Bell
ILB: Fitz, Demens
CB: JT Turner, Floyd or Christian
CB: Dorsey, Floyd or Christian
FS: M-Rob, Williams or T. Gordon
SS: Woolfolk, Vlad or Carvin
K and KO: Gibbons
P: Hagerup
February 8th, 2010 at 8:15 AM ^
Over/under on these kinds of threads before August: 350?
At the moment you wrote your first parenthetical, you should have realized the exercise in futility you were undertaking.
Especially since you didn't put RAY VINOPAL on your depth charts anywhere.
February 8th, 2010 at 8:35 AM ^
Also missed Cone(lius) I think.
February 8th, 2010 at 8:29 AM ^
We really need to get some quality DL and ILB's in the 2011 recruiting class. I think with the exception of OL, we are pretty much set on offense. Other than Demetrius Hart and DeAnthony Arnett, we could probably get away with not offering any more skill positions.
February 8th, 2010 at 8:40 AM ^
Since it was a topic a couple of days ago i thought i would ask. What is the current weight of our O lineman and what do u guys think its going to be when september rolls around?
February 8th, 2010 at 8:49 AM ^
compete for the starting job this summer. I don't think it really matters who starts, because it's probably going to be a "running back by committee" this year. This means we will have all kinds of fresh speedy ninjas ready to break one for a big play. The freshman who enrolled early will have a huge advantage over the rest of the newbies as far as breaking the two-deep.
February 8th, 2010 at 9:21 AM ^
Those two are starters I think. Also, I think it is wishful thinking to start Barnum and Lewan over Dorrestein and Huyge. Finally, I would suspect Koger will split time w/ Odoms, Roundtree and Gallon where they switch between two slots vs. a slot and TE. Other than that, I think you got it right.
February 8th, 2010 at 9:37 AM ^
The absence of Ezeh, Dorrestein and Huyge from the starting lineup is exactly what we need. Each of these guys has proven themselves to be merely adequate (perhaps less than that for Obi) which relegates them to back-up status. We need difference makers, thus the hope that players recruited by RR are ready to step up and excel in his system. With regard to Vlad I would be happy to see him as a starter. The whole slot/TE thing is a work in progress so point well taken.
February 8th, 2010 at 9:48 AM ^
Did you like Stevie Brown's performance last year?
If you did, I don't get why you'd dump a three-year starting linebacker without giving him the benefit of a second year of continuity in his coaching - something he's never had here.
Further - Huyge was actually pretty GOODT as the RT.
February 8th, 2010 at 10:01 AM ^
...Fitzgerald steps up this year. Ezeh will be a starting ILB again. He's been a starter for 3 years. No there's not been much improvement, but he was great until Jay Hopson was his coach. This also happened to coincide with Lloyd leaving. In other words, Ezeh was expected to be one of the best defensive players on the team after his freshman year, which was a great year by the way, and then when Hopson became his coach, he showed no improvement. Hopefully with GERG coaching him this year, he'll live up to the potential that he showed his freshman year. Furthermore, Huyge was a really good RT for us, and you also have to remember he was just a sophomore. You do know that players progress and improve throughout their careers right? Why would you say that you don't want a player that was good enough to start as a sophomore to not see the field anymore? That's just plain dumb. Sorry for bluntness, but it is. Huyge will see the field more and should be pretty good, unless he regresses and stops working. But from everything Rich Rod has said about Huyge, he's one of the hardest workers on the team and this will not be likely.
February 8th, 2010 at 10:08 AM ^
Ezeh's not moving, he'll probably start, and if he doesn't start, he'll probably at least be 2nd on the depth chart.
February 8th, 2010 at 10:09 AM ^
Haha your defense is all messed and you have guys playing positions on offense they don't play. Someone pays a little too much attention to recruiting with some of these starters and two deep players.
February 8th, 2010 at 10:11 AM ^
I would expect a fair amount of four-wide sets with Hemingway and Stonum on the outside, to go along with Odoms and Roundtree in the slots.
February 8th, 2010 at 10:56 AM ^
Re: the offensive line. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Dorrenstein and Huyge relegated to second string this year. There are three redshirt sophomores besides Omaneh from the '08 class and three very highly thought of redshirt freshmen from the '09 class. At some point talent wins over experience. We have seen a lot of redshirt freshmen win starting jobs on the OL over the years and it might happen again this year.
February 8th, 2010 at 12:12 PM ^
that stuck with me was ESPN saying he'd remind us a lot of Jake Long. Does anybody have any idea how he's progressing towards that rather lofty plateau?
February 8th, 2010 at 12:16 PM ^
Well, he plays guard (not tackle) and he didn't start a single game as a redshirt freshman (Long started most of the season).
So...he doesn't remind me of Jake Long at all.
February 8th, 2010 at 10:59 AM ^
Not sure why there's a "or" between Webb and Koger. Koger proved himself to be superior the last two years.
February 8th, 2010 at 11:04 AM ^
How is one superior when both treat the ball like a hot potato?
February 8th, 2010 at 12:06 PM ^
One occasionally makes one-handed grabs of the hot potato which end up on SportsCenter. Granted, this does make the drops that much more infuriating.
February 8th, 2010 at 10:08 PM ^
The way I saw it, at the games last year, was that Koger was out there on more pass-friendly downs, while Webb was out there for mainly rushing attempts. I think the coaches found Webb to be a better run-blocking TE, as opposed to Koger?
February 8th, 2010 at 11:14 AM ^
I tried to put it as nicely as I could without being specifically cruel. Webb has one of the worst cases of stone hands I've ever seen. While Koger is no Jay Novacek he's much better. He's even pulled off a couple highlight catches. I think you just have to be respectable to beat Webb out for the job. I didn't want to kill the guy but you asked me to be more specific.
February 8th, 2010 at 12:04 PM ^
Why in the world would Webb be in instead of Koger? Koger is a man-beast who can catch and run. Webb seems not to have these particular talents in his skill set. Is Koger like Vernon Davis in his first two NFL years - supremely physically gifted but unable to grasp the nuances of the offense? I haven't broken down the film to see whether Webb is a more punishing run blocker, but even if that's the case, can we all agree not to throw to him?
February 8th, 2010 at 11:24 AM ^
How many passes did Koger drop last year? I don't remember many, but I do remember him being a big part of the offense in September and then disappearing after that. He is also a great blocker.
February 8th, 2010 at 11:28 AM ^
I believe I read that he dropped five.
February 8th, 2010 at 12:25 PM ^
I like him and think he has the potential to be a very good player, but I wouldn't say he is a great blocker based on the UFR's Brian did last year.
February 8th, 2010 at 12:21 PM ^
"the best players onto the field, regardless of experience."
head asplode!
February 8th, 2010 at 12:30 PM ^
"It is time to throw out the conventional wisdom and get the best players onto the field, regardless of experience. "
I'm still trying to figure out what conventional wisdom this is. Must be a Charlie Weis thing.
February 8th, 2010 at 12:33 PM ^
Even though Huyge played well at RT, I feel like once Omameh stepped in, the O-line progressed much faster, even more when you factor in that Molk was out.
Omameh > Huyge...IMHE
February 8th, 2010 at 12:35 PM ^
god-damned scary.
It's full of truth, however. Unfortunately, I prefer deception and lies during times like these.
February 8th, 2010 at 12:40 PM ^
The O-line situation is particularly interesting to me. The only starters I can predict with any conviction are C (Molk) and LG (Schilling).
After that who knows? Omameh started at RG a few games at the end of the year, but AFAIK most people see him as a tackle rather than a guard. Huyge started at RT much of last year as a RS Soph, and I'm not sure about him holding onto that spot. Either way I'm not too concerned, as I think someone will emerge at RG (Omameh/Barnum/Washington) and RT (Huyge/Dorrestein/Omameh).
My biggest concern is LT. IIRC, Lewan was pretty raw last year and will probably need another year before making the kind of impact we're hoping. So that leaves...? Dorrestein? Omameh? Who else can play LT?
February 8th, 2010 at 6:11 PM ^
Dorrestein at LT, Schilling at LG, Molk at C, Omameh at RG and Huyge at RT. As the year goes on we might see Washington or Lewan pushing for playing time.
It'll be interesting seeing how much Washington develops, maybe allowing Schilling to slide to LT and move Dorrestein to RT. I like Schilling more as a guard but I think having Washington in and sliding Schilling over might make for a better overall line.
February 8th, 2010 at 6:36 PM ^
I sincerely doubt Dorrestein is going to play LT, and Schilling almost certainly won't - they moved him away from RT because he wasn't playing well. Why would they essentially fire him from protecting the quarterback's front side in order to make him the QB's blind-side protector?
February 8th, 2010 at 8:52 PM ^
Then who do you think starts at LT? Omameh? Lewan? There really aren't many(any?) options who will be ready come this fall.
Edit: I don't disagree with your assessment of Schilling, but I think you have to consider Dorrestein a possibility.
February 9th, 2010 at 12:25 AM ^
I think it will be Omameh. Dorrestein lacks the athleticism to play LT, in my opinion.
February 8th, 2010 at 12:57 PM ^
Offense: Omameh will play RG where he played last year, not tackle. This will allow him to get downfield with his athleticism and punish linebackers on run plays. Huyge will start at RT. Dorrenstein and Lewan fight it out at LT. Cox will be ahead of Hopkins for sure. Two slots will start instead of one with one TE, and Stonum and Hemingway will start on the outside, with the best pass blocker of the RB's starting (Cox?) so that Tate can throw it all over the yard to start the games, then we'll smash the bits out of the other team once we get a 3 score lead by rotating in 4 capable RB's and running the ball down their throats.
Defense: Ezeh will start at ILB. Gerg will purge all the bad thoughts and habits this spring, and we'll see a resurgence of both Ezeh and Mouton (who will greatly benefit from not missing the offseason like he did last year) this year. Roh will put on 15 pounds and be a monster. Christian will for sure be ahead of Floyd on the depth chart. I think Kovacs really has a shot to start at FS and wreck shop on the run with capable lock-down corners and Woolfolk playing center field behind him. Spinner is a huge question mark. Anyone know if Bell is being considered there since he has some experience playing safety?
February 8th, 2010 at 2:05 PM ^
Doesn't experience factor in to who the best players are? That's like saying you want to play the best players, regardless of talent. Experience is very important.
Also, I like Jake Ryan at MIKE. Not as a starter as a true frosh, but maybe a year or two down the line. He's my sleeper pick for best player out of this recruiting class.