What's the most interesting position battle/player emergence you're watching for leading up to next season? Me personally, I'm really interested to see who develops on the defensive line, and the battle at linebacker piques my curiosity as well. Of course the tailback battle is a big one, and the wideouts are all vying to fill the big shoes of MC and Devery... But, I think the biggest thing I'm interested to see is whether Ronnie Prude can get onto the field somewhere. Saban kept him in the doghouse for much of last year after the Georgia game (With Randall Gay out with a broken arm, Prude showed me SERIOUS talent, with raw speed and breaking ability, as well as that elusive "baiting" speed, where a DB feigns the throw from the QB and then turns on the jets to make the play), and he never really saw a whole lot of action. With Daniels and Webster looking to lock down the islands, I am wondering if he can break through as the nickel back, or perhaps even come in as a safety. I just see his talent as being so great, it's a shame he's on the sidelines. I'm also wondering if he can get back into Saban's good graces this spring and offseason...
I agree about Prude, I think he just made some rookie mistakes, but he will see time at nickel. Although, I wonder if he will even get that since Mario Stevenson is rumored to have great talent. I also heard he will be used as a safety, but probably as a backup to JD. Antoher question is, what is going to happen with the other young guys like Childs, Francis, and Zenon? Don't forget about C Steltz coming in too. I predict LaRon to make All-American next year BTW. My other comment is that Darius Ingram sounds like he is the real deal, but I am still curious about Ken Hollis who was the #1 JUCO LB for the 2003 class. I would like to see another E Alex with the speed and hitting power step up on the weakside. I feel like RB will take care of itself. I think addai is kind of like our next K Faulk but not as good.
I have my eye on the D-Line as well. I want to see who will step up when Spears draws the double team. Who will emerge much like the way Jarvis Green broke out when Booger demanded double teams. At the risk of sounding Pac-10, I am curious to see who will earn the job of placekicker. I believe that both of our kickers are in the same class/year and they both played last year and lacked consistancy. UGA and Ole Miss showed us what can happen when great kickers go bad, so I want our good kickers to get better. Also, Donnie Jones will be hard to replace in the punting game and I think he was like having a 12th defender on that #1 defense. I am also looking at the FB position. With changes on the O-Line I think the FB position will be important early on in terms of blocking assignments and general leadership - if we end up starting one of the Freshman QB's this is even more relevant.
Here's a Trojan on the OSU board tellin em how to beat the Tigers: Seatrjn -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ok Beavs, I'm curious to know what your thoughts are on your opening game next year. I think the key for you is going to be your RB's and TE's in the passing game. After watching LSU, it seems their D is based solely on the blitz. Chokelahoma never passed to their TE's the whole season, and it came back to haunt them in the Sugar. Their RB was worthless in the passing game. Do you have anyone to step up to replace Jackson? What is your TE situation next year? I don't think your D will have any problems with LSU, with a green QB in his first game. Should allow you to put 8 in the box with your CB's. I see a major upset coming. Of course I see that LSU wouldn't return the game back to Corvallis. They must have some pressing games against Louisiana Monroe, or some other 1-AA school. kersting13 BeaverFootball.com Regular Reply Re: LuckySuckU -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I’m not sure if I buy your argument that their D is based solely on the blitz and that our TE’s & RBs will be the key. I think if a team can go deep against that type of “D” they’d do themselves a huge favor and perhaps slow down that blitz. But here are your answers from my perspective: The loss of Jackson was big, but most followers of the Beavs don’t view it as that big of a deal because there are several good runners returning. The questions the RBs will have to answer are: Can they catch passes out of the backfield? Can they pick up the blitz effectively? Those would definitely be keys against a blitz-happy team like LSU. Tight end is OSUs deepest position. It’s sick how many guys are there. Riley ran several plays last season that included 4 tight ends (one lined up as a FB). There are two really good pass-catching TE’s in Newton & Haines, while Loney & Weldon have been mostly used as blockers. The biggest question for OSU this season, and probably at LSU will be WR. One 1,000 yd receiver returns, while the other two WRs will be new. I think a WR who can stretch the field or is big enough to outfight a CB for the ball is as effective against a heavy dose of blitzing as RB’s and TE’s who can be “hot” receivers or pick up the blitzes. If a guy can emerge from the new WR group as a big-time receiver, Derek Anderson has the arm to get the ball downfield. Anderson is a surprisingly accurate thrower on bombs, but has his problems with the shorter stuff (think Jeff Blake). The other big question for OSU, especially in the first game, will be the run Defense. We lose Dwan Edwards & Richard Seigler to the NFL, and you know that LSU will rely heavily on their running game with a new QB. There are several returning players on the D-line, but maybe not enough depth to handle hot/humid weather conditions. The Beavs will probably start a relatively undersized (under 250 Lbs) DE at one of the ends. That said, I believe that OSU is an extremely talented team that can play with anyone as long as they keep glaring mistakes to a minimum. OSU ranked in the top 10 nationally in both offense and defense in 2003, typically a formula for a better record than 8-5. But leading the nation in penalty yards and being in the bottom 10 in turnovers wiped out at least 2 wins. With a positive turnover margin and fewer than 75 yds in penalties, the Beavs would stand a really good chance of beating LSU. Negative turnover margin and more than 75 yds in penalties would spell almost certain defeat.
The most important position to fill will be safety. I don't see an obvious choice here. Jesse Daniels saw extensive PT last year, but I am not sold on him. I think Mario Stevenson is your nickel and Prude will be your dime. Look for Kirston Pittman to be a nightmare for opposing offenses on the D-line. He is the real deal, and will have us soon forget that Marquise Hill left. Wideouts will just be out and out fun to watch as these kids get better week after week. Speed, speed and more speed.
The question is can Pittman become an every down player like Hill. Pittman can certainly put pressure on the QB in passing situations, but is he big enough to stop the run?
The D-line intriques me also. Pittman and Spears will be flip-flopped with Spears moving to right DE to take Hills place, which I think will be great as Spears is much faster than Hll was. Pittman doesn't seem to have body that puts on weight for some reason as they are feeding him like the devil and he has evidentally worked out a lot but can't seem to keep extra weight on. Maybe during the summer he can add a few pounds. Oliver really has me excited as he has been incrdible in a limted role and should be great in a starting position. I'm wondering which back ups are going to step up as Saban likes to rotate at least 2 guys into the mix and we really need for at least 2 of them to become good real fast.
Somebody has to replace Lavalais as the 900-pound gorilla. It won't be easy. Much of our defensive success last year was because Lavalais owned the middle. I'll be watching all of the defensive linemen for signs of potential dominance. I guess I don't understand Nick's fullback philosophy. We've never had a fullback in the Saban era that excelled or even got much playing time. They only block, they never carry the ball or receive, and on many plays the fullback is replaced by a receiver. I'm not even sure why they consider it a starting position. I'm always looking for a fullback to emerge. A powerful blocker to be sure, but also an effective inside runner that's always good for one yard when you need it. I'm also looking for development and competition on the offensive line. Not only do two new starters have to step up, but several veteran reserve linemen are ready to get some playing time this year. It is important to be 2-deep on the offensive line and I'm hoping to see that develop this year. I want to see a punter who is automatic for 42+ yards and can occasionally really boom one. I really wouldn't mind seeing a pooch punter emerge either, someone who can drop them consistently inside the 10.
From what I've heard this spring both Jackson and Fisher have had trouble punting the ball so far. Replacing Jones will be very important. Both have very strong legs as we saw from Jackson last year on place kicks, but they have had trouble adjusting to getting more height with good hang time. We have that freshman from Louisiana coming in next fall also so if these guys don't improve he may be thrown into the mix immediately. And of course we had the inconsistency from Jackson and Gaudet last season so I was hoping that fisher would be as good as advertised coming out of high school so that Jackson could concentrate on place kicking.
I agree with the punter concern. Have you all noticed how pany P's and PK's are on the roster? I would hope that either the schollie guys or the walkons can emerge. By the way, anybody have any info on teh TE Andrew Wright (?). He is rumored to be really good, but I haven't found anybody with more info. He is a walkon from what I hear. David Jones is used as a FB b/c he is more effective blocking with a running start. So we still need someone to take EE's spot.
