Doesn't Fall camp start today?
- Thread starter RickinDayton
- Start date
Yes.
QB Allar
RB Singleton - Allen shared
WR1 Flemming
WR2 Wallace
WR3 Saunders
TE Warren
LT Shelton
LG Ioane
C Dawkins
RG Wormley
RT Rucci
Others with significant time - Evans, Clifford, Williams, Cousins, Donkoh, Dinkins, Pribula, Wallace, Martin
DE Dennis-Sutton
DE Carter
DT J-Thomas
DT Durant
MLB King
OLB Rojas
OLB ??? Deluca (not sure we see 3 LBs as much)
CB Harris
CB Miller
S Winston
S Wheatley
Others with significant time - Beamon, Izzard, Vanover, Vilbert, Elsdon, Keys, Kimber, Collins, Payne
I don't see a lot of opportunity for true freshman to start or even contribute until mop up time. Probably a good thing. Lots of established veterans and heavy favorites for certain positions up for grabs. Maybe Cousins or Martin. Then maybe Harvey or Denmark/Gonzalez if one of them flashes in camp.
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I think you have everything about nailed down outside of injuries or somebody does something we don't see to move up/down.
Just some wild stabs here but...
1. Rucci ends up back at LT, Donkoh taking over RT. I'm not certain Shelton is 100% ready until reports say he is.
2. Reed over Wheatley, but I think we see more of them together in the 5 DB look than not.
3. Denmark pulls a PW3 and starts the WVU game in the slot as a freshman.
Is J-Thomas the DT formerly known as Devon Ellies? If so, I agree with his selection.
I think Reed gets the other Safety spot over Wheatley.
Whoa, Denmark to start. Bold prediction. I agree with you about Reed but him and Wheatley probably end up with lots of reps (close to equal amount)
How about Lyons @ DE? He should see time in two deep.
Sorry, missed him. He is definitely going to be a big part of the regular game reps IMO.
Gotta have some fun with this. Denmark seems to check a couple boxes that we need. Hagans needs somebody to step up. If it's close, I'd go with a kid I recruited.
Yep. Threw me for a loop too.
He will play enough that his snap counts mirror the starters. We didn't require him to play last year and he still logged decent time. Expect a good year from him.
On Lyons, not many reps but good production per rep. That's exactly what we saw from Rojas last year. He had a game with like 6 reps and was in on 3 turnovers. That's what I call impact. I think Lyons has that some as well.
In fact, I wouldn't doubt if the discussion of Carter still playing a lot of LB has as much to do with confidence in the 2 deep at DE as the hit in depth at LB when Wylie went down. Also, they sold Carter on it's a lot harder to game plan you when they don't know where you will be. Plus, showing that versatility might get Carter selected even higher.
When Carter initially signed, the staff saw him as a DE. He and his father wanted him to play LB.
Now, he's the one who asked about moving to DE.
I think his role will be very "Parsons at Dallas"-like: you line him up and just let him wreak havoc. He's going to get swallowed up on some plays, but the hope is he can disrupt the game more as a Edge guy without all the LB run/pass responsibility.
Looks GREAT to me!
That would give us...
4 x 5* players starting on offense (Allar, Singleton, Fleming, Rucci)
1 x 5* player starting on defense (Sutton)
1 borderline 5* player starting on defense (Harris)
1 guy playing like a 5* starting on defense (Carter)
Everything I've read has both Ioane and Wormely as the favorites to start but you bring up a good point, there is some talented depth on that OL and potentially real competition in camp.
OTs Shelton, Rucci, Williams, and Donkoh all could be starters if needed
OG Ioane, Wormely, Nelson, Birchmeier, and Cousins all could be starters if needed
OC Dawkins and Cousins both could be starters and I think one or more of the guards have the ability here as well
They'll find their best 5 and if someone goes down, there may not be much drop off other than continuity.
Interestingly, I think you could say the same thing about the depth on the DL.
DEs Carter, Dennis-Sutton are definitely a cut above (maybe above every other starting DE tandem in the nation). But Vanover, Lyons, Vilbert, and Harvey all look more than capable.
DTs J-Thomas, Durant, Izzard and Beamon are really 4 starters and all have tons of experience. Then you have Artis and Ford that maybe are ready to make an impact.
Our lines have talent and depth. I don't see a super high end Fashanu or that big, completely immovable and disruptive war daddy. But there is very good talent and depth. I wish I felt the same about the WR room.
It's possible but more than likely they share snaps anyway. WRs aren't always on the field every down. They go in and out with different packages and concepts. I would imagine that Clifford and Saunders are such different types of athletes that they may be used in different situations to take advantage of their individual strengths.
Really curious if Saunders has developed and will start performing like the highly recruited player he was. Clifford has good hands and shifty moves plus he has good size. He is a classic possession guy. I hope Kotelnicki has some schemes/packages for him.
That would be huge for this PSU offense if Saunders is ready to be that guy we were hoping he was. If he could be a KJ Hamler 2.0 or even lite, it would really open things up for others as well.
Also a likelihood of 3 Safety's starting with King and Rojas as the only 2 LB's on the field. Winston, Reed and Wheatley.
I will be surprised if JB Nelson does not trot out as a starter at WVU at either LG or OT. He has too much game experience to sit in a first game in a hostile away environment. In the toughest environments and battles it makes sense to put the options on the field that have been through it before and contributed to wins.
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It's odd that we haven't heard much mention of JB Nelson but maybe he is solid, ready to go, and CJF is trying to give RUCCI some verbal encouragement via the press?
In coach K's O he might not be just that possession guy, the kid has a knack for getting open and while not a blazer he doesn't look like he's running in mud either. He was one of the guys who I thought didn't get enough snaps or targets last year. I'll just go ahead and blame the previous coordinator who was a nut job, in my humble opinion of course.
That would be nice. I think his 5"10" size might work against him.
Ivey was also highly ranked and I'm waiting for him to break out. Same with Omari Evans.
I don't recall Ivey being highly ranked. Maybe a low 4 star. Evans, I think was a 3 star and showed up with excellent speed and athleticism.
You may correct that the size may have been an issue. But I wonder if with the new OC's ability to scheme players into open space, if the size is less of an issue. If you're putting a smaller guy up on the line one on one against a press defense, they could lock onto him. But if you use shifts and pre-snap movement to give him a little room to work, then maybe the speed and wiggle shows up.
I have read that Clifford has emerged as a leader in the WR room to revamp the culture. I agree with you and think he is underrated and could be a sleeper guy for us.
Clifford might have good leadership skills but I don't think he's is a sleeper on the field. We already know he has good hands but I doubt he got any faster or more elusive. IMO he's a good 3rd or 4th WR. IMO if anybody is going to break out it's going to be Evans, Saunders, or Ivey. Maybe our new OC will surprise us and put Martin in the slot.
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He just seems to be a guy who gets the job done. While maybe lacking great speed he always seems to find a way to get open. He runs very good routes and has a high catch percentage. I would like to see Alar throw him more open giving him the opportunity to get more YAK. I'm looking forward to how coach K might use him this year. I honestly believe our past OC undervalued Clifford.
I see some good possession receiver potential in his highlights. He will definitely help move the chains.
Your breakout candidates seem like a reasonable list. Although true freshmen WR's that contribute much have been rare for PSU lately, maybe Denmark can come in and make some plays. His highlights seem to show a true ability to make catches in traffic which is a skill that has been rare in the WR room for a while......
When I say sleeper I don't mean breakout superstar or even a starter. I mean he will be improved from last year, getting more snaps/plays called for him and making some key plays for us like picking up some big first downs. He will also catch a TD or two. Hopefully Saunders finally shows us something close to his recruiting ranking. Don't hold your breath on Evans and Ivey.
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