I like that the amount of playable depth we have now could essentially make a clear 2 deep for each position. Maybe donāt need to have guys playing multiple positions at points throughout the season. Could be huge for protection.
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V4 of a preseason depth chart.
Loving what weāve been able to do the last couple of days.
Really pleased that weāve been able to add a couple of guys in the slot. Gibson a nice add and had almost 1/3 of the production on an awful UMASS team that produced some really horrific offensive statistics last year. Last in total offense, tied for 118th in sacks allowed, only 165 yards passing per game (just below the Hokies, which made me happy). If you donāt have a competent QB or line, none of the skill player will look good. Looking at their stats, heās the only guy with legitimate production and could be a real sleeper pickup.
Feel like weāre a solid 2-3 players deep everywhere in the secondary assuming Morris and Jackson both recover from their injury. Havenāt seen them play coming off injury, but between adding some quality starting depth and our returners, Iām high on that group.
Only areas of concern for me are at WR and on the defensive tackle spot. I really like the dudes weāve brought in but feel like weāre an injury away from being really thin or reliant on an unproven player.
I think the staff did a really exceptional job creating versatility. The offense changed a lot when we lost X and Twitty last year. Those dudes could do multiple things and forced the defense into some bad spots matchup wise. For next year picked up two guys who should be able to play the same type of role X did last year in Middlebrook and Beebe. Beebe can motion out to the slot or move from the slot to WR. Des should have the ability to get some nice matchups, especially if we are playing with tempo.
The sheer number of options in the backfield should help with load management. I thought the staff did a really good job with that last year. Our top two backs only had 62% of carries on the year and we ran the ball a lot. 21st in the country in rushing attempts and 38th in yardage. Counting Davis weāve got 6 guys who should compete for carries at the RB position.
Behind what looks like one of the best offensive lines in the ACC and a QB that is a real threat to run, Iām pretty excited to see our rushing attack. I think weāll be able to put a lot of different packages on the field, be able to take advantage of Edrineās abilities as a blocker on the outside, and force defenses into some bad spots. Give me a couple drives like those 3Q drives against FSU and Missouri and Iāll be thrilled.
They might be done but even if they arenāt I think this team might have a higher ceiling than last yearās. Weāll see how healthy they are coming into August and how some of these ACLs heal, but I havenāt been this excited going into a year in a couple of decades.
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Damn this got me excited. Thatās a hell of a squad, especially on the defensive side. Really hope we can keep Mathis because I love having the extra depth at edge.
Thanks for putting this together.
Only thing that concerns me long term is the OL is all seniors. Wouldnāt hate another upside add on the OL for depth, in the Alex Payne mold. But we are probably done and thatās more than fine
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Yeah the offensive line this year is a one hit wonder. I like some of the younger players but feel like we bring in 3-4 linemen in next yearās portal class.
Last year was a pivotal year building a competitive program in the new landscape but feel like thereās just as much riding on this year. We should start the season in the top 25 and there is a real opportunity to prove we can be a consistently good program. Schedule may be a little harder than last year but there isnāt a single game on the schedule we canāt win.
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Optimistic view is we have plenty of guys this year who will get game action and be ready for larger roles in 2027. Payne, York, Adair, Surber, Hartsoe, Elinger as examples. But yeah, will need a few portal splashes again. Noticed youāre missing Jim Harris from the OL too ā staff is really high on him from what I recall.
Also noticed Anyanwu is listed with 1 year of eligibility but heās only a sophomore.
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The foundation was laid last year and this years portal class is a strong start to build on that foundation.
Good teams are deep teams. Past year the team was good but it had some breaks and (I know this is hard for some to accept) the staff did a helluva job managing lineups when the injury bug hit.
The 26 roster will have a lot more flexibility which should keep the team from becoming one dimensional when the injuries occur.
Speaking of flexibility, Iām not as concerned about the WR room given the options in the backfield. Itās clear the offense will run through thr ground game and then scheme to create efficient passing situations. Thereās enough depth and versatility to create different looks to keep opponents off balance.
The OL pipeline will beef up some with the 26/7 recruiting class but the portal will contiue to be the driver for depth and impact. Older Oline ia just better.
Overall this ia how you build sustainability in the modern era. Do they reach 11 wins again? Probably not is this an 8+ win roster with the schedule? Yea. Iād place the O/U at 7.5 right now with the opportunity to jump it as the spring and preseason works through.
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I donāt believe in Metcalf
Why? He played very well at C when Wilson was out.
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He wasnāt as good as Wilson but few in the country were. He was fine. And now heās got the rust off (recall he missed 2024 entirely and was only healthy enough for 9 games the two seasons prior to that), and given a full off-season working at center instead of RG, no reason to think he canāt take his game up one more level.
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Did you watch him fill in for Wilson? Was very solid and will be a great starting center for us. Have zero concerns about Metcalf
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I need to get a PFF sub, curious how he graded out the weeks he was filling in for Brady.
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Thanks, I appreciate the QA and will add in. Iām certain Iāve messed up more years of eligibility but also feels like that might be the most useless stat in the sport right now.
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Moderately hot take. Wilson wasnāt standout this year due to injury. He was out of shape and flat out awful against UNC and Cal
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Iām really happy with the portal performance all around. I note that unlke our first time at it for real a year ago we are getting reach into P4s for targets. That means our GM staff and the player agents are good with each other. We also have established that our packaged pay (that is revshare+school NIL+commercial NIL), while not at the big power levels is more than a heck of a lot of others. Including VT and Pitt for that matter.
This was a terrible QB class in the portal with no real stars like a Cam Ward or Carson Beck. So I think we did just fine. Pribulaās running ability and accuracy short/intermediate will fit into our offense in a bit of different way than with Chandler. Though some people crack on Holstein, I was thrilled. That guy has skills, size and an arm. I watched a lot of Pitt games too, and really he was fine in 2024 and in 2025 his OL did him no favors and he got injured. Turns out that the frosh backup came in and was on fire, and thatās the way it goes. Both QBs have a lot of game experience in that alone ought to make people feel good.
Our defense will be better. A lot of what happened last lseason was Rud finally had the pieces that he needed to run more than basic packages. Depth and the ability to have pass rush packages matter, and we used them. I see a reloading, and some competition in the DB among guys whoāve played, shown well, and are leaders. That said, Costner is going to be a star. While weāve totally forgotten about the 2025 recruiting class, I hear that Montino WIlliams and Persinger are names you should know, and weāre going to see CJ Spence for the first time. Should be fun.
On offense we are not only loaded on the OL now but also for the out years. Like with the DBs, this is the offseason for Abdullah, DNS and IR to advance, and the competition will be brutal. The one piece weāre missing right now is another TE to go with the kid from UNC. I want Twitty at full go, but we canāt afford getting caught short again. We saw how this offense can perform and mess with defenses with great diversity out of similar looks out of 12 personnel. When Twitty went down the offense had to change too, and you saw some searching and sputtering. Give me that 2nd playable TE and the playbook is open - and I think Priblua will fit comfortably into that (ex long ball, that is not his game).
Go Hoos!
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Iād be curious to see our grades in pass-blocking v. run blocking.
I think the line was good but I also think Morris was exceptional in terms of avoiding negative plays.
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Chandler getting out of pressure was huge for this team.
I watched the Pitt game from 2024 a few months ago. When AC was pressured he made so many negative plays running out of bounds instead of evading pressure and throwing it away. Chandler didnāt kill drives regularly and either got the ball out or got it away.
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Crazy idea - 12 personnel with Twitty and Edrine. Or go even crazier and make it 22 with two pass-catching backs.
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https://x.com/coach_mims2/status/2012948892229275729?s=46&t=lMa7F-gR141SbjqqmdY87A
Mims strikes again?!?!
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Nico brown is my guess. If true, thatās a massive pull!!!
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What happened to the indie rock references? And does Mims know Nastanovich was not in the Minutemen? Does he know Bob is a UVa grad? Am I the only one thinking of this stuff?
No wonder you all yada yadaād our 90s football history. Am I the only one who remembers the nineties?
Does anyone even remember the Corner parking lot?
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