Honestly? I think 7-5 or 8-4 this year. Concerned about recruiting under Kelly so far, great OOS TE, but we should be better than 42nd nationally at this point. There is nothing exciting about the old ND coach BK, known for losing big games. But the coaching staff looks to have some very good coaches though. I guess when you consider we've had 2 losing, unranked seasons, 8-4 is a huge improvement.
Max is solid, but Weigman is next level good! I remember first watching Weigman on ESPN and his team was playing another nationally ranked team and he was unbelievable! His accuracy and ball placement was something I've never seen another HS QB do. That saying "throw the receiver open" is exactly what he did. He threw the ball where only his guy could catch it and it was quite impressive!
5 losses would be a disappointment. 9-3 would be pretty good, 8-4 meh. Curious to see the coaching aspect. If the coaching is smart but we are missing talent, could probably stomach 4 or 5 losses.
Anything less than an 8-4 season would be a major disappointment. Maybe i have been out in the sun too long or maybe I’m just drinking the cool-aide, but I’m now thinking a 9-3 or even a 10-2 season is possible. I have been really impressed by the new coaching staff. I am expecting that we will see a noticeable difference in team discipline. On offense we have quality and depth at the skill positions. As usual, the O-line will be the concern, but I expect it will be an upgrade over the past 2 seasons. The D-line will be be really good. Both the secondary and LB positions will be adequate, but staying healthy will be the biggest issue as depth is questionable.
I also think the OL and LBs are two key positions that will determine how well we do. If the OL can't block, it doesn't matter who is QB and if the LBs can't play solid assignment football, it could be a long, long season. I definitely think if those two positions can hold their own, we could win 9/10 games.
We could sleep walk our way to five wins. We still have talent on the team, just not the depth we are used to. If we can get off to a good start, there's no telling how things could unfold the second half of the season. Just like any sport, momentum breeds confidence and that's a hard combination to stop!
My expectations are that we will win the games we are supposed to win and play competitive in the others. We were not doing that under the last coaching staff. We had 1 good year, one, and it proved to be great. But since O took over we have been getting worse at level of play, commitment, training, and all the other things that make good programs. I think that changes with Kelly. That is the first step, then he needs to prove he can get over the hump and be a championship coach. We play hard, tough football good things will happen. We do need a deeper roster if we are going to play for championships. It took Georgia a few years but look where they are now. Kirby had to build depth and toughness before he was able to have a chance to win it all.
It sounds like there are early alarm bells about recruiting. We aren’t doing great on the best in-state kids. Maybe BK is targeting players who aren’t money grubbing whores, but can we compete with that kind of talent?
