Next Year

[The Jackal]

I'll also go out on a limb and say we really missed Bryce Stanfield's motor against WCU. Stanfield is All SoCon caliber. J Jackson is proving to also be a valuable asset. I hear great things from a player's parent about Alex Maier, he did play in one game made an impact on special teams.

CCH has spoken highly of; Lex Capitano (WR) and Ryan Lamb (OG) we have several other players that I think we see contribute in 22.

Stansfield looked very impressive this year.

With Coleman, Sochovka, Jackson, and Stansfield, we'll see a strong core. Seth Johnson, Trey Rogers, and Jack Barton also saw a good bit of time. There are a few other highly regarded recruits we've yet to see.

As I noted above, it wouldn't shock me to see some shuffling up front. We've got some good depth at ILB and could potentially move one of those guys to Bandit, similar to what we did with McKoy.

You could also potentially see one of the Bandit guys like Maier or Clark move inside.

It's sort of a misnomer though to put these guys in specific positions. Furman is very multiple on defense, and moves guys all over the place depending on the opponent and situation.

[Sad Din]

Only 286 days until '22 Kickoff!

[youwouldno]

The Paladins should have enough talent to be successful. But ultimately it doesn't really matter unless the offense can still move the ball when good defenses (e.g., UTC, ETSU) sell out to stop the run.

This has been a total showstopper for 3 straight seasons. It's great that folks are so optimistic that it will magically stop being a problem. There is absolutely zero actual evidence to support that notion - in fact, the evidence is overwhelmingly in the other direction, that countless tweaks have done nothing to address the issue, over a span of dozens of games.

But that's the pattern here - 15 years of disappointment, 15 years of excuses, 15 years of hearing how next year will be the year. Truthfully I wish I could be so easily optimistic even when there is zero reason to be.

[furmandad]

The play by play guy, who, admittedly, got A LOT wrong on the broadcast, did note that Hendrix had said they'd wrapped up their 2022 recruiting. Not sure if everyone is in the boat or not.

The ESPN+ announcers were laughable at best. I'm wondering whether they just pulled a couple guys from the crowd. It began as back up QB Hank Simpson, then "improved" later in the broadcast to Hamp Simpson. The guys had Wynn listed as #22, so maybe were using a 2019 roster?

[FurmAlum]

The play by play guy, who, admittedly, got A LOT wrong on the broadcast, did note that Hendrix had said they'd wrapped up their 2022 recruiting. Not sure if everyone is in the boat or not.

The ESPN+ announcers were laughable at best. I'm wondering whether they just pulled a couple guys from the crowd. It began as back up QB Hank Simpson, then "improved" later in the broadcast to Hamp Simpson. The guys had Wynn listed as #22, so maybe were using a 2019 roster?

They also said Florida was beating ChasSouthern and Miss State was beating Tennessee.

[FurmAlum]

And if you look in the box score, a lot of the info is wrong on the starters and player participation.

A reflection on Sammy's lack of interest.

[Affirm]

The Paladins should have enough talent to be successful. But ultimately it doesn't really matter unless the offense can still move the ball when good defenses (e.g., UTC, ETSU) sell out to stop the run.

This has been a total showstopper for 3 straight seasons. It's great that folks are so optimistic that it will magically stop being a problem. There is absolutely zero actual evidence to support that notion - in fact, the evidence is overwhelmingly in the other direction, that countless tweaks have done nothing to address the issue, over a span of dozens of games.

But that's the pattern here - 15 years of disappointment, 15 years of excuses, 15 years of hearing how next year will be the year. Truthfully I wish I could be so easily optimistic even when there is zero reason to be.

Be realistically optimistic.

[jesse174]

I thought Jace had a nice game and the Offense looked very good...the left guard and left tackle were wiping out the defense and Roberto was running over people....so I am optomistic for next year....we have talent and just need to be consistent....and our offensive coaches have done a good job with plays the last few games. I've felt this way before and have been disappointed with the results....but I feel we'll make the jump next year...

[FUBeAR]

Other than 1988, Next Year has always been FUBeAR’s favorite year.

[Paul C]

Truthfully I wish I could be so easily optimistic even when there is zero reason to be.

We were literally 2 possessions away from 8-3, a SoCon championship and a playoff berth.

Your comment says more about your mentality than the state of our program.

[Affirm]

We are slightly below .500 cumulative for all our FB games over the last 15 years. Some will say that’s good; some, mediocre; some, bad.
I do not expect the number to change much over the next 15 years.
I do hope it will not go down.
The same applies to our success in playoffs. In the last 15 years, we’ve had 3 playoff seasons. 1 win. 3 losses.
Finished first in the conference twice in the last 15 years, though both times we were tied for first. First is is good, but 15 times out of 15 we were not in sole possession of first, and 13 out of 15, we were not in first. The average place we finished those 15 seasons is 4th place in the conference. That’s better than 5th!
We may be just barely good enough to avoid being in a situation currently where I am possibly the only person suggesting the Pioneer Football League idea for Furman Football.

[apaladin]

I will add we need to learn how to finish games. If we finish the ETSU game and the Western game we would be 8-3. Even in games we won we failed to put teams away. Citadel, VMI and Samford. Yesterday we got outscored 24-6 the last quarter plus. We need to develop that old killer instinct.

[The Jackal]

Went back and watched a few plays posted by Samford.

It's hard to sometimes see in real time, but Furman was frequently playing with a defense where 8 of 11 players were freshmen or sophomores.

[AstroDin]

Looking at the core of the team returning and with a focus on the offense what are realistic expectations for the next two to three years? From my point of view, the offensive upside is leaning forward. Jace will be a sophomore, and hopefully, Furman can get out of the hole on quarterbacks. I think it's critical to the future success of the program to be able to redshirt Carson Jones. This will put two class years between Jace and Carson. During Furman's most successful periods Furman was starting QBs as juniors, not freshmen.

Based on our returning roster, and a belief in our coach's recruiting for the next several years I see 6-5 as the bottom, and I see 2023-2024 as the pinnacle years of this phase for Furman.

Furman's offensive line is going to have a say in this, with only one senior leaving the program, Furman's offensive line is on the cusp of being the strength of the team.

[The Jackal]

I know there was some eye rolls with the pass defense, but I had neglected to note that Furman played nearly the entire season without two CBs they expected to have in the rotation - Yates and Chizik. Furman also played much of the season without Dae'one Wilkins, who is their best coverage linebacker out of the spur position.

Blackshear went out of the Samford game early and most of the contest Furman played with two freshmen corners.