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.

I read some posts by knowledgable posters on ISD that really echo your sentiments. Reid is slightly more ready now but White has a bigger upside. The fact that VT was after White was considered a huge endorsement. Apparently VT talent assessment at CB is top notch. Should be a 4 star from the posts I have read. Can play either CB or safety. The theme in this class seems to be get the athletic guys who can play more than one position. Find the right position later. White fits right into that theme.

I have read 275 to 285. Those are board posts weight. I guess we won't know until he ways in to get the real number. Has that happened yet? I really have not heard much chatter about Hayes to DE. In part, that might be because Trumbetti, Blankenship, Williams and Bonner are headed there. Even Hill maybe. I have always read DT for Hayes. Hayes may be like Treadway whom I have read could play SDE or DT but the better bet is he outgrows SDE in the 4-3. I believe the same for Hayes. Both Hayes and Treadway only look like DEs to me if we play a 3-4. I do not think we will see that very much under BVG.

Did he give a reason or is it just intuition? He has been told it is a first come situation and Both Hilliard and Coney have expressed interest. Hilliard announces next week. Maybe it is putting pressure on him? Maybe Sampson's team is hearing rumblings? Did he give any explanation? I don't think Bilal gets enough credit for how good he is so I hope he does commit shortly. He does not seem to be in a hurry to decide though.

I really want a healthy Springmann with endurance and strength to be in the rotation. Can he play both 1T and 3T to back up Day and Jones? Cage could break through but no one mentions Hayes. Why is that? Hayes strikes me as the best DLmen coming in. I think he has good 3T skills now yet we only talk about Cage. If we have 4 guys rotating into the interior DL, that could be huge to stop the run and help some DEs be disrupters. It is almost like we have forgotten Hayes. Why is that? Elston has some players to work with to implement BVGs defense. Rochell actually could be at 3T. He could be very good there I believe.

A nod of respect to position players and not the guy who rarely plays more than 8 plays a game.

He is considered a great kicking talent. Plus Newsome from last year can kick as well as punt. Good depth for when we lose Brindza. Can Yoon punt? I guess you cannot assume that if you have the leg for one that you can do the other. Newsome and Brindza can though. Now, with Newsome and Yoon on board, we can continue moving forward on improving special teams despite losing Brindza next year. Actually, the players in the last two classes should give Booker a lot of special team talent to work with. Hunter and CJ sanders are both return guys I believe. Is Fuller a candidate? Frittata and Crawford are two good gunner types. I must be missing more players. Who else in the last two classes might be special there? If Hill is considered a heat seeking missile for QB but is undersized at DE, is he just the right size for blocking punts? Everyone agrees we need more special team production.

I saw some ISD film on him. I was a little stunned. Small guy but read the play quickly then pursued like a heat seeking missile. Laid out a number of opponents with his aggression. Size and speed wise he does seem very Toma or Collinsworth like. But he really hits like a hammer. Maybe the best comparison is a Cam on defense. Plus, Fertitta really may be a superior Nickel who can stop the run and Cover a Slot. It was almost as if it was the position he was being recruited for.

I don't have a list of those we are looking at. Plus QBs are going through their senior year when the light often goes on or they finally get a chance to play. KLM is an example of a guy with so so junior film and then lights out senior film. I am not thinking that this staff should lower their standards. I think there are more QBs who have the requisite talent we need than we have offered. If they can't find that type of quality QB recruit, well they gamble with their PWO guy for the depth.

Plus we have a coach (Lafluer) dedicated to developing backups and BK works with the starter. That is a clear indication BK wants a pool of quality QBs to be developed. BK's offense needs superior QB play. That requires competition and depth. Competition requires numbers. Depth to deal with injuries, suspensions, transfers and slow development requires numbers. We need 4 QBs on scholarship.

Any such delusions I had in that regard were buried after we were "Leaked". Since then we have lost Omar Hunter, Trattou, Little, Vanderdoes, Anzalone, Tee Sheppards cousin (WR), Hood, Yergin, Dickinson, Darby and more.