Our incoming portal WRs plus Denmark can effect those odds a great deal up or down.
My big concerns are defensive tackle and wide receiver. You have to have men at d-tackle and we need a wideout who can make plays against anybody.
I agree that DT is a question mark but I'd put LB as a bigger concern. I just don't think we can win a championship when our two best returning LBs are bad tacklers.
Good point about Linebacker. That's is a weakness and Rohas needs to take a tackling class of very the summer. Perhaps Shane Conlan or Baurer can teach a class on toughness and linebacker play.
I thought that Rojas played his best football at the end of the year. Based on his lack of bulk, he shouldn't be expected to take on o-linemen and make a lot of tackles in the middle of the field. Rather, he needs to play in space and cover backs out of the backfield and tight ends, and he's done a good job when he's been asked to do that and has made several INTs. The staff must find at least two linebackers who can fill the gaps in the middle of the field and make tackles.
I posted this in the Kobe King thread last week, but according to ND's scouting report before the semis, Rojas had a 22.2% missed tackle rate which was 9th worst for Power 4 LBs. He also had a 31.4% missed tackle rate vs the run which was the worst out of all Power 4 LBs.
Yes, he was a poor tackler this past season and also took bad angles to make tackles. I don't know if he's ever going to be a great tackler, but he's really good in coverage, and you need some linebackers to do that. If you're looking for the next Poluszny, Connor or Lee, that's probably not going to happen with Rojas.
Out of the 3 2024 PSU class freshmen DT's that redshirted this past season (Gilliam, Cook and Andrews), Gilliam was the one the staff believed earned true DT snaps during the season, and the one most likely to break into the 2025 DT rotation. How many of the young DT's that will be needed in 2025 will be based on if Ford returns and if they can get a more experienced DT in the transfer portal in the Spring. If not the 2025 DT's will come from Durant, Ford, Artis (RS-Jr), Blanding (RS-So), Mupoyi (RS-So that moved to DT from DE last off season), and the 3 redshirt freshmen plus the incoming transfer Wafle who is also a redshirt freshman.
This is the most talk I have ever heard about a sophomore wide receiver who wasn't good enough to play behind the worst wr room in Power 4 football, and whose first pass bounced directly off his face mask, and second was dropped at the line of scrimmage. 😂
What does OSU’s starting 22 look like. They lose a ton. I know they just plug and play but they basically lose their entire defense, no?
You're probably right and God willing they take a big step back on defense. As you mentioned they'll probably hit the portal if necessary and they recruit at an elite level.
