REMND

I think we gained more than we lost last year Golson over Rees. Bryant and Folston will carry the ball from the beginning and we still have Cam. McGlinchley and Lombard and the others with a year of armour and technique. Might assuage the loss of Martin and Watt. Did and Tuitt play a game where one was not injured last year? Some say a healthy JJ is better that a dinged up Nix. Ishaq and Okwara finally play where they belong. LB is tough but with Jaylon in the middle of the action at Will we might be better off. Losing Fox and Shembo is tough. Secondary is better hands down. The consensus opinion is that we can replace both Bennett and Mathias. Brindza is back and. Newsome can take pressure off of him. Added depth should increase Special teams but until we see it, we will not know.

I do not believe that MZ's redshirt cost us any games. It would have been nice to have some playing time under his belt though. When is the last time that we had a QB go into his 5th year? Hendrix is going to do really well I think at Miami of Ohio although he sure seemed to take a step back in 2013. I think the motivation that he will get from the real prospect of starting is going to pay dividends for Coach Martin, Miami of Ohio and himself. On Golson, I think he has handled his suspension pretty well. I believe some would have felt better if he had attended some classes but I like his commitment to increasing his QB skills. I believe that he has and the team will benefit. I do not believe that he is at risk of not having the necessary credits to graduate in 4 years.

Based on the article, he might be more comfortable in the state of Washington or Colorado. Less chance of suspension. He might be a good fit with the Pirate at WSU.

The Sam position seems to really emphasize speed over size. I guess it is because they police the field side of the offense. The position appears to favor Big safety types. Onwuala was moved there for spring training. Bilal who is better known for speed appears to be a Sam if we get him. It would be a great story if he could have high productivity there. The BVG change really has given a number of players a better chance to succeed. Turner has a better chance to produce as a Sam. Rabassa is better off as a rush end Williams is better off as a SDE. Day is better off as a 3T. DE in a 3-4 just did not seem to be the best place for him. Utopo can be productive as a 3T but never fit into Diaco's scheme. Schmidt has a role but not so much with Diaco. Of course, there are losers as well.

I think Boykin is a huge pickup because he is versatile with his size, speed, blocking and hands. BK must love this commit because it gives him the ability to change looks for the defense without substituting. This may be hyperbole but as Jevon Kearse was a freak on defense, Boykin is a potential freak on offense because he can play so many roles.

I have read a number of times that VT's interest in White was one of the best endorsements out there. VT apparently has a great track record for finding CBs. Film fanatics speak very highly of him. Came to the II to earn an offer so he is motivated. The staff saw him in person and offered the next day or so. Look at the man to man cover corners we have stockpiled. Russell, Luke, Watkins, Coleman, Crawford and White. BVG should have 5 or 6 years of good CB talent to choose from. Fortunately, Coleman and Crawford can play safety as well. Lots of opps for these guys to earn playing time. P.S. I left out Butler who is also supposed to be in the mix. Lots of competition to hone those skills.

If we get White and Boykin this week to go with Adams, that would really take away the sting of probably not getting Hilliard. Then, maybe Bilal will feel the pressure and commit in the face of dwindling slots. Is Bilal the LB we want now that we are probably losing Hilliard? Bilal strikes me as a Sam. Speed to cover the field I believe is his forte. Fighting in the scrum is more Barajas I believe. Is he next on our LB wish list? It is really good that we get to see how Adams recovers from the torn ACL next year. If he has fully recovered, we may not need another one. The more I read about him, the more impressed I get about his skills. This really is shaping up to be a good week for the irish.

ESPN has him at 6'1 175. Everyone else has him at 6'2 to 6'3 and over 200. Rivals has him at 6'3 210. He is headed to 220 to 230 I read and will be a big back. Can't say who us right on the measurables. Look at his film though. He looks bigger than 6'1 175.

That was out of the blue it seems. We were hearing about other RBs but not him so much. Anyway, I have seen some really good write ups about this 6'3 and probably headed to 225 LBs RB. The knee injury is a little concerning.

I feel similarly. My idea for a DL rotation is that a player gives 5-10 plays of all out effort in a series then gets a breather. Plus, there will be some situational substitutions.

Jones is the one that I feel the best about. He just has to gain more upper body strength. I have also read that Day could really explode at 3T because of the lack of double teams. Our interior DL is a much more known quantity.

I should add that we should shoot for 3 sacks a game. The leader last year had almost 4. 1.5 interceptions a game would be very healthy. I am hoping to hold the opponent to under 350 yards a game but that will be tough if we play hurry up on offense and our special teams don't improve.

If you add Hounshell and Rabassa to the depth chart, we have 8 guys with experience to man the rotation. Two, Springmann and Hounshell, are coming off injuries but the reports on Springmann have been good. Also a number of those guys can play two positions. Springmann can play either DT and maybe SDE. Rochell can play SDE or 3T. Can Matusak play SDE as well as 3T. WDE is the position where only Okwara and Rabassa are upperclassmen. This is the first year they will play their proper position so they might blossom. I do think some freshman are going to break into the rotation. From the comments I have read, Cage, Trumbetti and Blankenship are the likely candidates. The staff seems to have told Cage to be ready because he is going to play.

I knew I was forgetting some. Hounshell just strikes as jinxed with injuries. He just has not been able to produce and his strength and endurance probably won't be there. Hope I am wrong because I thought he showed a lot of promise his freshman year. Rabassa finally plays the 4-3 DE which is where he belongs. I don't recall hearing a lot of progress from him though in spring practice. He could be a factor since he has had lifting and practice experience. He would be a WDE. I left out Hayes as well whom I think will be a 3T. Bottom line is that there is even more depth than I mentioned. That is a lot of options for the staff to see who picks up the new defense mor quickly to earn playing time.

I was worried but I am starting to think it might be very good. Does anyone have a sense of how many sacks we might get? How many yards per carry we hold the opponent to? There is depth and talent. Some players can play multiple positions. I think Elston is a good DL position coach. SDE Ishaq Rochell Blankenship Trumbetti 1T Jones Springmann Maybe Cage because he is over 300 now. 3t Day Matusak Cage Rochell Springmann WDE Okwara Trumbetti Hill Bonner Williams I am guessing the core group rotating in will be: Ishaq, Okwara, Day, Jones, Rochell, Springmann,Trumbetti. They were all in spring training. Cage and Blankenship may be in the rotation be the end of the year. Not sure about guys like Matusak, Bonner and Williams. Hill is a wild card because he is mostly slotted for LB but he developed his reputation as a heat seeking missile at DE. Is that DL just potential or is it one to be excited about? Oh, my candidates for breakout players are Ishaq and Okwara because they are finally playing positions that they belong at.