From watching the replay (I worked on Saturday) of the Spring Game...

Randall will not last out the 1st game if selected the starter. He has shown no improvement in 2 years and would cost us 2 or more games if he played the whole game. Russell is the man and only Perrilloux in two years will stand in his way. Russell needs to get 1st team practice time. Wilkerson is considered by the pros to be the number one center in the country.

 

I didn't take the time to read all of TE's novel but what I did read it looks like he and I are on the same page. One point TE pushes home that I whole-heartedly agree with is our 2004 success resting with Randall. Neither of the 2 frosh need to be starting, period. I don't care how long they have been in the system they haven't set foot on the "real" field. That's a huge difference. Through fall and spring practice they have worn red "no-contact" jerseys which can most definitely make a person not flinch or react to an oncoming rusher. I though it was evident in the scrimmage.

Our best case scenario is for Randall to continue to develop as a manager of the game. Nothing flashy. ala Matt Mauck. Let the frosh get their mop up duty to gain that on the field experience. Then 1 or both can take over in '05.

Other things that caught my eye at the spring game:

>Alley B has converted baby fat to muscle. Looks much better.
>Mario Stevenson, Claude Wroten and Ali Highsmith look to be serious players
>Kenny Hollis looks good.
>Justin V is still Justin V
>Dwayne Bowe has super-glue for palms of his hands
>And last but most important......the Golden Girls are hot........

 

That is the problem. You have to know the game and know your reads to be a ame manager. I am not sure that there is an effective game manager on the team and while I agree with you that this team has the defense to run that type of game plan, I seriously doubt you are going to keep stockpiling offensive talent playing keepaway. I also don't see MR as a game manager nor do I see JR as a game manager. I just think that you have got to stick with someone in game 1 and let it ride if you plan on trying to win at Florida or Georgia. I am sure Saban and Fisher will do what is best for the team, this is just my opinion and I think that JR is the man.

 

your right on te, zinger and hebert looked good too.
wr/fl- davis looked good too i think it will be bowe,hill,davis,skyler, addia, and the freshman
fb- right on
DE- too close to tell
rt- wroten
SLB- ali and ingram looked the best
fs- daniels
just as you said on the line
db- mario is awesome plain and simple, zennon looked really really good, child looked amazing too, gordon looked pretty good and the same with prude. we have so much talent here its insane.

 

Well, if you ask me, it's inevitable, and not unlikely, nor should it be surprising...

Randall Gay and Travis Daniels, as well as Prude all played some safety last year...Hell, even Clayton did for about a series or so...

It's not so much about being a run supporter or a hard hitter anymore, to be totally honest. That's taken care of by our front seven for the most part. It's also not about providing so much over the top help, as our corners can DEFINITELY wing it alone out on the islands...

I think it's more about just a knowledge of the gameplan, and a knowledge of the defense, which most of those defensive backs have in droves. To get onto the field, they've got to have mastered a large volume of defensive information in terms of the playbook, schemes, and our strategy.

As long as they get us in the right alignment, it's not necessary for them to be heavy hitters, have great cover skills or even come up to stuff the run. They just have to have speed, know the defense, and be able to check in and out of our calls. Period.

 

I want to see fast heavy hitters with great cover skills who know the defense