I’m not going to try to convince anyone that there aren’t problems with this team, certainly there are several, but there are also a lot of things I saw that give me tremendous hope for the future. The obvious is Saquon Barkley, he was a beast v. Buffalo, but there were a lot of other young players who give me hope that, if we’re patient, we’re going to be rewarded.
I’ve stated several times that the offensive line is the most difficult to develop. In fact, I’ve posted that college coaches are able to predict future success at about a 30% rate, it’s really hard for coaches to predict who will do well and who will be a bust. We’ve been recruiting better talent the last 2 years and have a number of other, excellent, guys coming in 2016 so I believe that position will take care of itself in time. As for other players, just look at many of the stars from yesterday’s game... on offense, besides Barkley, Chris Godwin, a true sophomore, is on his way to being a great receiver at Penn State. Brandon Polk, a true freshman, has impressive speed and is exciting to watch. Mike Gesicki had a rough day yesterday but I think his upside is tremendous and we’ll see nothing but good things from him in the future- he’s a true sophomore. Hamilton is only a sophomore, Blacknall is only a sophomore, and we haven’t even seen guys like Johnson and Charles yet- we don’t know what they’re capable of but from what we have heard, the skill positions should be set for now and into the foreseeable future.
On defense, you could not help but smile watching sophomore Jason Cabinda, freshman Troy Reeder, sophomore Garrett Sickles, sophomore Marcus Allen, freshman John Reed, sophomore Christian Campbell, freshman Torance Brown, sophomore Troy Apke and freshman Antowain White contribute and get experience in yesterday’s game. Reeder and Cabinda really made me smile, LBU is alive and well. Not only are we young, this should be a signal to guys like Ferns and Hansford that there’s room for guys to contribute early at LBU.
The kickoff and punt return guys haven’t looked this good in as long as I can remember, no matter the opponent. Yes, I know, it was Buffalo, but all in all, after thinking about the team, I got the sense the future is really bright... but we’ll have to put up with growing pains, we’ll have to deal with an offensive line that is still not yet up to snuff, however, there were improvements. In my humble opinion, the best is yet to come on the offensive line- so how can you not get excited about the future? Oh, I know, after the next loss, everyone will forget about all this—for me, I’m going to keep my eye on the ultimate prize. As this team matures, as other top talent joins the party, we’ll be in the hunt each and every year. The problem is “now”. People expect immediate results, there is no such thing as patience anymore, it’s immediate gratification or bust. I’m suggesting everyone put that immediate gratification concept aside in favor of reality and where we’re heading.
I’ve stated several times that the offensive line is the most difficult to develop. In fact, I’ve posted that college coaches are able to predict future success at about a 30% rate, it’s really hard for coaches to predict who will do well and who will be a bust. We’ve been recruiting better talent the last 2 years and have a number of other, excellent, guys coming in 2016 so I believe that position will take care of itself in time. As for other players, just look at many of the stars from yesterday’s game... on offense, besides Barkley, Chris Godwin, a true sophomore, is on his way to being a great receiver at Penn State. Brandon Polk, a true freshman, has impressive speed and is exciting to watch. Mike Gesicki had a rough day yesterday but I think his upside is tremendous and we’ll see nothing but good things from him in the future- he’s a true sophomore. Hamilton is only a sophomore, Blacknall is only a sophomore, and we haven’t even seen guys like Johnson and Charles yet- we don’t know what they’re capable of but from what we have heard, the skill positions should be set for now and into the foreseeable future.
On defense, you could not help but smile watching sophomore Jason Cabinda, freshman Troy Reeder, sophomore Garrett Sickles, sophomore Marcus Allen, freshman John Reed, sophomore Christian Campbell, freshman Torance Brown, sophomore Troy Apke and freshman Antowain White contribute and get experience in yesterday’s game. Reeder and Cabinda really made me smile, LBU is alive and well. Not only are we young, this should be a signal to guys like Ferns and Hansford that there’s room for guys to contribute early at LBU.
The kickoff and punt return guys haven’t looked this good in as long as I can remember, no matter the opponent. Yes, I know, it was Buffalo, but all in all, after thinking about the team, I got the sense the future is really bright... but we’ll have to put up with growing pains, we’ll have to deal with an offensive line that is still not yet up to snuff, however, there were improvements. In my humble opinion, the best is yet to come on the offensive line- so how can you not get excited about the future? Oh, I know, after the next loss, everyone will forget about all this—for me, I’m going to keep my eye on the ultimate prize. As this team matures, as other top talent joins the party, we’ll be in the hunt each and every year. The problem is “now”. People expect immediate results, there is no such thing as patience anymore, it’s immediate gratification or bust. I’m suggesting everyone put that immediate gratification concept aside in favor of reality and where we’re heading.
