The 2020 Offensive Attack

[AstroDin]

Finally starting to get a handle on this entrepreneur-thing - the first morning in a long time I can enjoy some "UFFP" with my coffee.

Before I get to the point of starting this thread, I want to give a big shout out to the coaches and players that have stayed connected and focused through these very challenging times. If you're not following and listening and watching what's swirling around on Twitter these last several months - you're missing out. The spirit of team and supporting each other gives me a lot of faith in this team. Lastly, I've been impressed with two coaches in particular on social media; Ken Lamendola and David Sims. IMO both have stepped it up - connecting with the players and being leaders.

On to the offense - with the Media channels posting all-American teams, and seeing Devin Wynn's name popping up as a 3rd team all-American, Wynn is Furman's only player listed so far on any of these lists.

One of the main reason's Furman showed up in Hero Sports Top 15 pre-season list is the depth of what Furman returns. Of all 2019 playoff teams, Furman comes in at #2 Most Rushing Production returning (99.7%). Furman leads all 2019 Playoff teams on most returning rushing yards returning at 3,444.

This should be Wynn's year after coming off a junior season rushing for 1182 yards and 14 touchdowns. But - Furman also brings back 6 more players that rushed for at least 2 touchdowns (22 total TDS and over 2,000 yards). To say I'm bullish on the Paladin Rush Attack is an understatement.

Who's upfront? My take is this Paladin offensive front will start out underrated but finish with paving the way for a dynamic offense. The 2020 front will be a mix of veterans (Harris, McKinney, Neely, Kroeber, Daniell, Detamore - I'll include Jumper and Tomlin) and a highly recruited group of redshirts and newcomers (Toomey, Johanning, Wilson, Hundley) - that's a whopping 8 players with live game snap experience and a group of 4 nasty, hungry young offensive linemen.

I need more coffee — to collect my thoughts on the receivers, tight ends, and quarterback…

[The Jackal]

My two cents:

1. RB group should be among the nation's best.

2. WR group loses Thomas Gordon, but I think we'll be deeper than last season. At times, last year we were the Thomas Gordon or bust passing game. This year, I think we will have a lot more guys to whom we can spread the ball around.

3. Looking at recruiting trends, I think we are trying to develop some "slash" type players - RB/WR hybrid guys that can play both inside and outside, run the ball, line up in the slot, and catch passes.

4. Our offense will go the way of our QB play. When our QBs are playing well, we are a 30-40ppg offense. Then not, we struggle to move the ball.

Bottom line, if we get consistent QB play and completion percentages ticks up around 60%, our offense will be tough to slow down.

[fufanatic]

I made the prediction when Wynn was a freshman, but if he's given the touches, he'll be SoCon Player of the Year in 2020. He has 1,500+ yards written all over him.

[AstroDin]

Jackal mentioned the 2020 receiving corps having more depth. I've broken the receiving corps into three groups. The group of six, the core group of receivers who saw the bulk of the action in the spring and are on full scholarships. The walk-on group of four (remember DeLuca was a walk-on) and the duo (incoming freshmen).

After I put them in a list a few things are noticeable.
At wide receiver, we have a young squad (one SR, one RSJR, four SO, four RSFR, and two FR).
Four receivers are 6-1 — 6-2.
Two receivers were highly recruited (3 stars) players that have transferred to Furman from an FBS school.
The depth of athletic receivers has made a dramatic jump.

In the later part of the season, Furman at times struggled to get the ball to receivers, and Gordo became a one-man show. Getting bigger-bodied athletic receivers like Shiflett and Henderson into the mix should make shifty receivers (DeLuca and Bell) match-up problems.

Final note - the Tenessee duo of Bailor Hughes and Kelton Gunn. Jackal calls them "slasher players" I agree with that description. Both are fast, track guys, that played all over the field in high school. I could see both of these guys play a specialist role in certain game situations and play up to the redshirt game limit.

Group of Six
Ryan DeLuca 6-0 177 SR
Dejuan Bell 5-9 160 SO
Luke Shiflett 6-2 205 RSSO
Noach Henderson 6-1 200 SO
Zach Peterson 6-2 187 RSSO
Jake Kimmelman 6-2 185 RSFR

Walk-Ons
Jackson Dozier 6-0 174 RSJR
Luke Bynum 5-11 170 RSFR
Luke Wilson 5-11 180 RSFR
Sam Whitney 5-8 165 RSFR

Incoming
Bailor Hughes 5-11 203 FR
Kelton Gunn 5-10 170 FR

[The Jackal]

Hendrix commented after signing day that Furman should have a chance to start running 3 WR sets - what was formerly a staple of our offense.

Just for reference, this is our 2005 game at Georgia Southern (

Bad memories, sure, but just watch Furman's offensive formations.

Our fullback (Felton) was almost always in the game except for obvious passing situations. In two back sets, Felton generally played the prototype fullback. In one back sets, he was often the single back. The threat of him running the middle was present on every play.

We ran a lot of three WR sets (Sprague, Brigham, McKie, Stepp, Stone, etc.). Sometimes you'd see Felton used as almost a second TE - offset behind the OT.

We have that sort of depth now. To me, Hendrix is trying to recreate that offense. When you start doing a 1:1 comparison, you see a lot of similarities to the personnel we had in 2005 to the personnel we have now.

[FurmAlum]

Really enjoyed reading your analysis Astro and Jackal. Keep it up. I'm looking forward to your upcoming reports on the defense.

This is much better than all that drivel on the General Idiocy thread! I'm in a much better frame of mind now.

[AstroDin]

With a juggernaut runningback crops and restocked diverse receiving corps, the tight end position is the overlooked position in the 2020 offense.

Garland Greenway's move to offensive line leaves Furman with three tight ends on the roster.

Jake Walker 6-4 231 SR / Ryan Miller 6-1 214 JR / Ben Page 6-3 235 RSJR

Miller was third in receiving yards and touchdowns in 2019 and averaged a whopping 21.55 yards per catch. Miller is a true hybrid tight end he can line up at WR, he can play as a traditional tight end, and he can tote the rock.

Walker IMO was still getting back to form last season and only had two catches in 2019. Walker has shown the ability to be a game-breaker mismatch with his size and athletic ability.

Ben Page started 2019 injured and changed positions from defensive end to tight end. I like what I've seen in practice/scrimmages from Page. My guess is Page could play a role in traditional tight end formation sets.

Miller and Walker are an interesting duo at TE, they're both skilled receivers and they can get a lot of yards after the catch. As Jackal mentioned with Abrams and Roberto, Furman has two big-backs that can play the single back role and they both can slide out offset as a second tight end.

The tight end position could be a dynamic position in 2020… definitely a position to watch.

[The Jackal]

Scanning back through Furman's twitter feed, I think this is sort of a good example of how things might slightly change:

Furman - Mercer, 2nd Q. Furman facing a 3rd and 12.

Furman looks to be in 21 personnel here - two backs, 1 TE, 2 WRs.

Devin Abrams shifts out into the slot. We aren't fooling anyone doing this - it's 3rd and 12 and Mercer is already conceding everything but the first down line. They've dropped 8 and are rushing 3.

Furman pushes the Mercer safeties with Gordon and the Bears lose track of Ryan Miller for a long touchdown on a pretty throw. Even then, I would have to think that Furman would prefer someone other than a fullback lined up in the slot on an obvious passing down, even a competent pass catcher like Abrams.

With improved depth, I think Furman will be able to add more receivers to that formation. Same play - maybe same result - but more pressure on the defense. Take out the fullback and substitute a receiver and that will increase the difficulty level.

[AstroDin]

I'm curious about the slot in 2020?

Bell basically had zero impact in 2019 - in the spring scrimmage, he was all over the field making catches and of course, he's got jets. Wayne Anderson is a weapon as a receiver too.

I'm curious if we will see Kendall Thomas stay in the arms of a redshirt season or will his obvious talent and skillset earn him a lot of time playing the slot position in 2020?

[Furmanoid]

May turn out that who starts where will be heavily influenced by weekly cv testing. And depending on what day of the week they decide is gonna be results day, lineup decisions might be last minute. There could be OL guys in the backfield before it’s all over. This might be a very entertaining season in a crazy way. I wouldn’t let anybody room together if they play the same position.

[The Jackal]

I'm curious about the slot in 2020?

Bell basically had zero impact in 2019 - in the spring scrimmage, he was all over the field making catches and of course, he's got jets. Wayne Anderson is a weapon as a receiver too.

I'm curious if we will see Kendall Thomas stay in the arms of a redshirt season or will his obvious talent and skillset earn him a lot of time playing the slot position in 2020?

My guess is Bell will be the heir apparent to Gordon's flanker position - speedy player that becomes top pass catching threat.

With Henderson and Shiflett on the roster, it also wouldn't surprise me to see Deluca moved to flanker. He's not as big as the other two and is an excellent route runner. You may then see a rotation of Bell/Deluca and Henderson/Shiflett/Peterson, which will keep a lot of receiving talent on the field at the same time regardless of substitution.

While I still think you will see Furman line the TBs up in the slot based on situations, my read is that you will more often see Furman substitute a WR for a RB/TB. For the last few years, we almost always have two backs on the field. I think we'll move away from that some.

[AstroDin]

Quarterback…

Furman comes into 2020 with two quarterbacks that have seen a lot…

Darren Granger comes into 2020 as a redshirt sophomore with 17 games played experience. Hamp Sisson comes into 2020 also as a redshirt sophomore with 12 games played experience.

It’s no secret that every preview that has been or will be written about the 2020 Paladins lists quarterback as the question mark.

In 2019…
Granger rushed for 316 yards (5 TDs) and passed for 1222 (5 TDs). Sisson rushed for 147 yards (2 TDs) and passed for 679 yards (2 TDs). Both combined for 2354 total offensive yards and 14 touchdowns.

The spring game feels like a lifetime ago… but I do remember coming away from the scrimmage feeling like both quarterbacks looked comfortable and were in control of the offense, and both made few if any mistakes handling the ball in the running game and the passing game.

Whoever is behind center in 2020 has an arsenal around them - a physical offensive line, a five-player deep running back corps, a six-pack of receivers and two tight ends that can catch, block, and run.

2019 showed the potential of the Furman offense being led by both of these quarterbacks - this season we should see two men with more physical and mental maturity, another year of coaching, and that should lead to a more diverse offense in 2020.

With the weapons Furman has on offense the quarterback doesn’t have to be the star just the man who makes solid decisions, takes care of the ball, and hopeful those fingertip misses on so many big throws last year are completed in 2020.

[The Jackal]

I do not believe there's any great secret that the offense is going to rely heavily on our young QBs taking a step forward. Grainger specifically. When Grainger was on his games last year (Samford, Mercer, Georgia State, etc), Furman's offense was electric.

Furman is usually only going to ask for 15-20 throws a game. We need around 60% completions, good decisions, and few, if any, turnovers. We do that, we'll score 30-40 a game.

[gofurman]

Quarterback…

Furman comes into 2020 with two quarterbacks that have seen a lot…

Darren Granger comes into 2020 as a redshirt sophomore with 17 games played experience. Hamp Sisson comes into 2020 also as a redshirt sophomore with 12 games played experience.

It’s no secret that every preview that has been or will be written about the 2020 Paladins lists quarterback as the question mark.

In 2019…
Granger rushed for 316 yards (5 TDs) and passed for 1222 (5 TDs). Sisson rushed for 147 yards (2 TDs) and passed for 679 yards (2 TDs). Both combined for 2354 total offensive yards and 14 touchdowns.

The spring game feels like a lifetime ago… but I do remember coming away from the scrimmage feeling like both quarterbacks looked comfortable and were in control of the offense, and both made few if any mistakes handling the ball in the running game and the passing game.

Whoever is behind center in 2020 has an arsenal around them - a physical offensive line, a five-player deep running back corps, a six-pack of receivers and two tight ends that can catch, block, and run.

2019 showed the potential of the Furman offense being led by both of these quarterbacks - this season we should see two men with more physical and mental maturity, another year of coaching, and that should lead to a more diverse offense in 2020.

With the weapons Furman has on offense the quarterback doesn’t have to be the star just the man who makes solid decisions, takes care of the ball, and hopeful those fingertip misses on so many big throws last year are completed in 2020.

Spot on. We were a tale of two cities last year. The MO - per Citadel - became STACK THE BOX and make that durn QB play with a little pressure on him. Instead of 4 yard runs... give em 1 or 2 yard runs and make the QB make a play. Unfortunately, this worked. It was that simple . When our running game was super strong - say vs Samford and man was that sweet - then Grainger was a force and it is a cycle. When our QBs felt the running game wasn't helping them much and more weight was on their shoulders that's when things got ugly. I even felt the VT and GSU games you could view in a similar light.. the qb can say "no one expects me to win so let's just have fun and play " - and play well we did. We can't have all the pressure on our QBs. I was still amazed how some games we had super stars with weekly awards and some games we literally couldn't hit wide open 7 yard passes. Weird.

It will all depend on the QBs

Beat Wofford !

[Furmanoid]

Yep, I wish we could get 4 yds against that stacked box. Lots of plays are designed to do that. And if you can do it, everything else falls into place.