These are very good points. And while we see articles coming out about guys gaining weight, theyāre still undersized as compared to P5 comp. If this team is unsuccessful (meaning less than 5 wins) I fully believe it will be because the OL still isnāt up to a competitive level. Fix that and weāll be on to somethingā¦ they got better as the season went on last year (minus the colossal failure that was playing VPISU), but theyāre still starting out from a disadvantaged point.
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Iām hopeful about some of the younger guys weāve added in the trenches. Problem is it will take time for those guys to really make contributions and Elliott doesnāt really have time. Hammond, Britton, Jones, Buchanan, and Simmons are all DL guys I really liked out of HS. Hammond and Britton showed some flashes last year. Those two are most likely to potentially breakthrough this year. They have the size to make us more formidable too.
On OL, Surber, Adair, Reid, and Harris are all promising but itās probably 2+ years before we see them on the field. Maybe Surber will get an opportunity but thereās obviously a lot of guys in front of him.
We really just need the older guys like Butler, Chico, Jahmeer, Josey, Boley, etc to stay healthy and play to their potential.
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DL Iām not as worried about, staff has shown they can get decent production out of the group while also having a pretty good eye for transfer talent/fits. Just need some more depthā¦
OL is my worry but I do agree there are some intriguing future prospects in the group. Losing Metcalf really dampened expectations for the group this season.
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The DL needed depth injuries ravaged them last season. They should be able to hold up this year.
Iāll go out on a limb and say the OL will be okay this yr. They geled well in oct early Nov. But injuries ahead of the VT game left them worthless and thats what everyone remembers. I expect them to be the 82 Hogs but they will be reliable
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If Stevens, Boley, and Josey can remain healthy, thatās an extremely solid top 3/core to the unit. We have enough options to fight out the other 3 spots.
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Donāt forget about Steen, teammates are very high on him. Weāll see what this unit can do. Avoiding anymore long term injuries is crucial.
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Agree on Steen at RT, very promising. RG is really the only spot on the starting OL going into camp Iām nervous about, then of course need some backups to step up as well. Furnish is just too damn small to play in the ACC, if heās starting it means no one could beat him out and thatāll be a red flag.
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Forsure biggest issue with Metcalf getting hurt in the spring. Just had enough to form a sound starting lineup. 1 injury and already a legit question mark spotā¦ canāt afford anymore of that while we work to build depth.
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As per kitchens Ty is over 290 and looks the best he ever has. We will see.
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In which case I think he can be serviceable as Stevensā backup at Center. No P5 guard should be under 300#.
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He does look noticably bigger in pics. Iām more worried about his penalties than his size. I donāt trust him. All that said, as an emergency option, heās not a terrible backup.
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I think Steen is a better fit at tackle than most but with Sipe and Christ hanging around, itās always an option to slide him inside. Itās really up to those two to initiate that though as it sounds like the staff views Steen as the starting RT.
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Iāve been hoping Nnanna, who was a starter against Tennessee last year, would manage to seize the RG spot, as heās got good size and obviously enough experience. Doesnāt sound like heās wowing the staff enough, though. Still four weeks to go I guess.
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See this is my issueā¦ StLou said it right (per usual), you just canāt be that small at that position at this level. Even with his gains heās still 10+ undersized.
Embrace is right as well, he hasnāt shown to be a trustable player. An argument could be made that most penalties came from major size disadvantage, but Iām not sure on thatā¦ would prefer a different option.
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Alters and Curry, two late adds by Elliott the offseason he was hired, havenāt really panned out either. Wouldāve hoped at least one of them would have been starting by now but they were more of flyer adds after we saw the exodus of OL leave.
Thatās the crux of the issue right now in the trenches, itās split into four groups: Guys who have been in the program for 3+ years and havenāt made any progress in rising up the depth chart (Patterson/Alters/Curry/Witmer), guys who have played but didnāt perform well (Christ/Furnish/Nnanna), guys who could end up being good but are underclassmen who need added strength and conditioning (Surber/Ellinger/Wlelinski/York), and then the guys who are actually solid that should start (Boley/Josey/Stevens/Steen). Thatās basically all you have available not counting walk-ons or transfer Ethan Sipe, who was a late addition that had only preferred walk-on offers from other P-5 schools. Virtually all of our depth behind the starters either consists of players who for some reason or another havenāt been able to log much in game action, havenāt looked like they belong when they have played or 1st/2nd years who are highly likely to not be ready if theyāre called into action. This is why injuries have been and are gonna be killer for us throughout the season.
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Ouch! Hope theyāre back in time for the season opener but thatās not encouraging.
Somewhat promising. Hoping none of them are serious or become lingering
losing Boley would be a killer given our OL depth; glad it sounds not serious.
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