Some of this is a few days old but it got an overly positive response on HOB so I figured I'd bring it over here too and add some new things that I've heard over the past few days
The staff believes we have at least 4 sure fire next level guys catching the ball this year.
WR has been the most impressive group by far. Juice, badet, timmons, and Baker are all really good players. Baker has really stood out since the pads went on.
Flannigan is going to be the big surprise of the defense. Forrest will be much improved which is nothing new. Mike Edwards may end up splitting some time at corner due to his cover ability and the fact that the seniors are just so limited athletically. Kengera Daniel may be a kid they can't keep off the field although they'd like to redshirt him. LB is our biggest concern, mainly depth...
They knew the recievers would be good, but not this good this quickly. Guys that haven't been mentioned at all come out of nowhere to have big days(Bone),
Also the staff is elated with the overall level of fitness right now.
Stoops is doing everything in his power to find and develop a boundary corner. They believe Chris Westry is a first round talent and at 6'4" running in the mid 4.4s I'm not sure there are many CBs around like him from a pure talent standpoint. Think of it like Karl Towns this year in basketball, he struggled at times early but you could see how talented he was, then by the end of the season he put everything together and was dominant. I would expect Westry to follow this path and to start getting press clippings...this would be huge for recruiting.
Forgot to add ---> expect us to have over 20 picks as a team this year. These guys are not being taught to play soft coverage(IE keep everyone in front of you, which allows a bunch of easy quick outs and dump offs), they're being taught that if the ball is coming your way GO TAKE IT. There's a very big emphasis on keeping proper technique while letting your instincts take over when the ball is in the air.
Also expect more CB/S blitzs this year. We were too unathletic last year at CB to do much of it, and the guys at S were both first year starters that had other things they needed to focus on. We have enough speed/depth in the secondary to do this effectively. Big ? here is whether the freshman corners can be physical enough.
Hatcher is eating people up and should have 5+ sacks and 10+ TFL if he can keep focused on football.
The injuries are *not* a big deal...these are the typical dings that come with playing football and if it were a game week all of these guys would be playing.
The staff believes we have at least 4 sure fire next level guys catching the ball this year.
WR has been the most impressive group by far. Juice, badet, timmons, and Baker are all really good players. Baker has really stood out since the pads went on.
Flannigan is going to be the big surprise of the defense. Forrest will be much improved which is nothing new. Mike Edwards may end up splitting some time at corner due to his cover ability and the fact that the seniors are just so limited athletically. Kengera Daniel may be a kid they can't keep off the field although they'd like to redshirt him. LB is our biggest concern, mainly depth...
They knew the recievers would be good, but not this good this quickly. Guys that haven't been mentioned at all come out of nowhere to have big days(Bone),
Also the staff is elated with the overall level of fitness right now.
Stoops is doing everything in his power to find and develop a boundary corner. They believe Chris Westry is a first round talent and at 6'4" running in the mid 4.4s I'm not sure there are many CBs around like him from a pure talent standpoint. Think of it like Karl Towns this year in basketball, he struggled at times early but you could see how talented he was, then by the end of the season he put everything together and was dominant. I would expect Westry to follow this path and to start getting press clippings...this would be huge for recruiting.
Forgot to add ---> expect us to have over 20 picks as a team this year. These guys are not being taught to play soft coverage(IE keep everyone in front of you, which allows a bunch of easy quick outs and dump offs), they're being taught that if the ball is coming your way GO TAKE IT. There's a very big emphasis on keeping proper technique while letting your instincts take over when the ball is in the air.
Also expect more CB/S blitzs this year. We were too unathletic last year at CB to do much of it, and the guys at S were both first year starters that had other things they needed to focus on. We have enough speed/depth in the secondary to do this effectively. Big ? here is whether the freshman corners can be physical enough.
Hatcher is eating people up and should have 5+ sacks and 10+ TFL if he can keep focused on football.
The injuries are *not* a big deal...these are the typical dings that come with playing football and if it were a game week all of these guys would be playing.
