Guys,
Few things. Saying there is a QB battle imho is lip service by the staff. We have heard for months on end Trace has the buy in and respect of the team and as leader of the team/offense this matters greatly. I do believe Stevens can be very good, but i believe it will be McSorley. I think he has a bit more poise from being there longer.
No one should care about current OL depth chart. It is fun to speculate but Franklin said it will be tweaked until they get the best 5. We know the only jobs really up for battle are:
LT - Beh or Mahon
RG - sounds like any one of Mahon, McGovern, Menet, Dowrey.
The other line spots are locked up. This group still greatly concerns me as i didn't like the play of some of the OL in spring game. Dowrey was bad against a walk on, he whiffs a lot because he lacks athleticism. McGovern was at tackle and was poor but that was an experiment and i believe he was a bit out of place, Gaia was actually decent and snapped it really well even though the one practice video showed other wise. I still do not see a mauling OL and perhaps that isn't totally necessary for success in this type of offense although i do not know? Moorhead certainly ran it a lot at Fordham. It appeared to me the center in a Moorhead spread offense blocks down a lot, has double team help, and moves a bit so perhaps this helps a kid like Gaia from head to head match ups.
The skill positions on this team are really loaded and i am far far from a homer. When you consider a mix of Godwin, Hamilton, Blacknall, Barkley, Allen, Sanders, Polk, Thompkins, Charles and Johnson on the field! I am trying to recall a time in the last 20 yrs where PSU had that much firepower. I honestly do not believe PSU ever had that much skill. That really should make life easier on an OC and on installing a new system.
Defense: Only position up for grabs is really the one DT spot. We know P. Cothran is a lock and either Givens, Cothren or White at the other. This means very little because we know we will sub in a bunch of guys here. This is one area i wish recruiting could pick up.
Safety is not up for grabs it will be Golden along side Allen. Not sure i love Golden there but assuming Tim Banks knows the kid can cover. Barring injuries (sigh) this defense could be pretty good. Does it have to be as good as last yr? I do not think so it is about time a PSU offense bails out the defense right? Seems every y defense does it part and offense fails us.
Special teams: KR - assuming a mix of Farmer, Sanders, Barkley & Polk. I do not like Saquan there simply because Moorhead pounds the ball and we need this kid.
PR - i hope Allen gets a strong look as well as Sanders.
Kicker - Davis bank on it.
Punter - I hope Gilken !
Anyhow, lets chat it up what do you guys think?