Strengths, weaknesses, newcomers and surprises

[Hesperian Death Horse]

I’ve been out of the UK football loop for a bit dealing with work and life but now we’re officially one week from kickoff and I’d like to get some idea of what to expect from the Cats this year.

What position group do you think is the strength of this squad?

What group is projected to be the weakest?

Outside of Vandagriff, which newcomer is going to make the biggest impact right out of the gate?

And who would you predict is going to surprise people that have not been closely following the recruiting and off season developments? This can be an incoming freshman or a player that was on the team last year but played sparingly.

Thanks for your replies and GBB!

 

[The-Hack]

(1) What position group do you think is the strength of this squad?

Looks to be the D-line with strong LB’s behind them. Walker is on everyone’s preseason AA list, and Stoops/White have enough bodies to absorb the loss of Hayes, this season. And along with numbers, versatility is a key. Look at Walker. Is he a very big Tackle, a very big Nose or a very big End? He can do it all and will be a very big headache if he lines up at Safety (and he won’t line up at safety). TE’s deserve an honorable mention here.

(2) What group is projected to be the weakest?

With injury to the Ohio State tailback transfer, most feel this position to be the weakest, from the lack of experience. Several former highly ranked recruits populate the room, along with some transfers, so I expect one of them to emerge, but won’t guess which.

(3) Outside of Vandagriff, which newcomer is going to make the biggest impact right out of the gate?

Look for LB “Pop” Dumas-Johnson, a former Georgia collegiate AA on a title team, to shine. This guy just has too many quality snaps and prior recognition on the highest level to ignore. He has made AA teams playing for rings at UGA and knows the rigors of SEC play. Supposedly his weak link is pass coverage, but we’ll see.

(4) And who would you predict is going to surprise

Part of the reason I look for the Defensive front to shine is my hope/expectation that a dominant Weaver emerges at Jack. His total numbers from last year trail Josh Allen’s from Josh’s Junior year, but not by all that much. Weaver looked like a monster against U of L and played well in the Bowl against Clemson, finishing the season at a strong level. I have heard little talk about him (frankly all pre-season chatter has been very muted this year), but I think he continues his strong finish from 2023, to post double-digit sacks.

 

[Soupbean]

For surprises I’m going to pull out a veteran, who started his career hot then stalled a little lately.

Eli Cox was getting freshman all American talk his freshman year then got moved to center and had a different coordinator and QB each year to deal with and many say he’s been a disappointment. But I’ve always thought he’s made for the center position and is as athletic a lineman as we’ve had, so I’m looking for him to go out perhaps a big last year and get drafted next spring.