NEXT YEAR

[gofurman]

Long post warning.

Hope this answers some of your questions apaladin. I think there are some guys you are assuming are leaving who might have another year. I've tried to focus on the guys we expect to be back right now. Just my opinion on this. I spend a lot of time looking at recruiting stuff, so I'm always up for looking at the future. Hopefully Astro can add to this when he's ready.

Note: Several guys on the team are listed as redshirt seniors, so based on the covid year, I think they all have a year they can still use. I'm basing some of this off of that assumption.

I think we'll still be a pretty good football team, but I also think there will likely be some growing pains just because it's hard to replace the experience of some of the guys we could be losing. Thankfully, some of the less experienced guys who could be starting next year have already played a decent amount of football for Furman.

QB: This will always be a question mark when you lose a multi-year starter. I think it's good that Jones did get a few starts this year. Mixed results, but that's not unexpected with a young guy's first extended playing time and the pressure that goes along with that. I think you can infer from Jones's good throws that he has arm to be successful. It will come down to how quickly the recognition part of it comes along I suppose. I'll also be interested to see if he's used at all in the run game. I've not seen anything of Garcia except his HS tape, and I'm not sure it's ideal to have a true freshman (Hedden) getting a lot of playing time. Furman had to go that path several times in the last 15 years and it usually didn't work out well. I would not be opposed to bringing in a transfer QB but it would have to be a guy like Sluka. A bonafide starter looking for a 1 year stint.

RB: Based on the seriousness of Smith's injury, it's probably going to be Grant Robinson as the featured back next year. KT tested the portal last year, but he should be in line for more carries next year assuming he stays. Hicks has been such a good blocker for us and has run hard when he gets the ball so hopefully he stays as well. I've said it every week in the recruiting thread but I'm really excited to see Gavin Hall get on the field. He's producing at a high level at the highest level of GA football. I think he's going to be a really good player for us. That would give us 4 guys next year. The way this year has gone, not sure if they would look to bring a portal guy in here or not. That's assuming Smith isn't ready to go next year. If he is, then I doubt they bring anyone else in besides Hall.

WR: Assuming everyone returns, I think we'll be ok with Harris, Harris, Ferguson, Hinton, Hughes (?), Holbrook, and Hamilton (we have a lot of WR's with a last name that begins with H...). We're also bringing in two guys, Varvel and Hester (another H). I'm shocked we haven't seen a few more jump balls to Josh Harris this year. He's so good at going up and grabbing them when he's had the chance. I've heard the coaches are high on the guys we have there now, so I don't see a portal addition but who knows.

TE: This spot is interesting. Chappel played a lot as a true freshman, but with Pline and Gissinger moving on, we're going to have two guys who need to put on some weight in Tormey and Pryor. Not sure if Youngblood is coming back. Preferred walk-on Ruckh has the size but I haven't seen much of him. I wouldn't be surprised if we tried to grab another portal TE.

OL: Brasher, Hundley, Wilson, Petit, and Lamb should all be back and have started. Several of them have played a decent amount. Johanning, Hughes, and Toomey are all listed as RS seniors. I think they each could have 1 more year left. If all those guys came back our depth would be fine here I think. After that though, there isn't a lot of playing experience. Elliot will be a RS SR but from what I can tell he's never played a snap at CSU and he hasn't played this year according to the participation report. After that we'll have RS freshmen Balliew, Garner, and Luna and true freshmen Akinsola, O'Dell, and Gregory. If the 3 RS SRs don't/can't come back, then I think we may look for at least 1 guy in the portal.

DL: DE Jackson, DT Stanfield, and NG Stephens should all return. Barton is listed as a RS Sr so he might have another year? Returning at DE would be RS freshmen Bussey and Stoneking. Additional DT returners would be RS sophomore Dudek and RS freshman Vincent. Additional NG returners would be RS sophomore Harrison and RS freshman Hernandez. Incoming freshmen are Dobbins, Edwards, and Knauber. I like what I've seen from all of them but I really love watching Knauber's film. That guy seems relentless. Not really sure what they'll do here. If Barton isn't back, they might target a guy in the portal. Not sure.

BAN: Both Clark and Maier could return. In addition to them, RS freshman David Alabi returns. Dobbins or Edwards could possibly move here as well. If both Clark and Maier are back, we're absolutely fine here.

LB: Gilby moves on, but we should return DiMaggio and hopefully McCormick will be able to and want to return. If they're both back, our starters will be pretty good. In addition to them, Achina, Chiedo, Earl, and Herbert return. Not sure if the coaches will be looking for a portal guy here. May depend on if Scianna and Kuzemka have an extra year and return. I think there is a lot of potential here, so I don't foresee a portal addition.

CB: We could have both Yates and Robinson back which would give us two good starters. I think they've both upped their games this year and would feel good about this position with them both back. With that said, like several positions, there are some unknowns after them. Ingram has played some but not a ton. Dalton and Moson both have have a lot of potential but will have been relatively untested. Both played in the VMI game. Holmes is listed as a DB, so I'm not sure if the coaches see him here or at a safety position. There are 3 potential DBs committed currently: Den Johnson, Jordan Miller, and Fredrick Logan. Might bring in a portal guy here, but my guess is they roll with Yates, Robinson, and Ingram as the rotation unless one of them leaves.

FS: This is going to be an interesting spot. Ryan possibly has the 6th year he could use and would be huge if he returned. Jack Rhodes went from a RS sophomore last year to a Senior this year, which makes me think he's planning on leaving. Seth Johnson did something similar last year. AK Burrell would be next in line and has played some this year, but if both Ryan and Rhodes leave, this could be a spot for a portal guy. They may feel good about Burrell taking over though. Will still need another guy here for depth purposes.

SS: Like Ryan, I think Brinson might have a year left he could use? If he does leave, then I think Caleb Williams will likely slot in to start here. He's played the last two years and has looked pretty good. Tre Mcleod and Justin Hartwell would be the back ups here. I'd expect one of the true freshmen might slot in here as well.

K/P: All specialists will hopefully return so we should be ok here.

This. I was a little surprised when people were bragging on next year when we played our backups for a half and tied VMI 3-3

More than that we SAW next years team (PLUS a lot of guys next year will not have !!) vs wofford. That was horrible. And that was with numerous strong guys we will lose.

Particularly I hope we can keep some of the OL ! Any of Toomey Hughes etc. I do think it hurt losing our center Jumper to Coastal Carolina this year

Just a warning. Enjoy this year. Sure there will be growing pains next year

[apaladin]

Thanks Wolfpacker, very good!

[The Jackal]

It is certainly worth remembering that this is an experienced Furman squad, but that's in no small part due to COVID. You see this all around football - guys playing out 5th, 6th, or 7th seasons of eligibility. So, the loss of "experienced" players will be nation-wide for many programs.

I think we'll be fine next year.

Offensively, we're going to have an open competition at QB and will need to replace Roberto's carries. The offensive line will lose some guys, but there are a bunch of OL in the program that have been here a while and should be veterans by this point. WR should still be deep.

Defensively, we'll return a lot of solid players up front. I think we should have a few good CBs back and a couple of the guys that seem heir apparent at safety have played a lot to this point, particularly on special teams. I feel like we always have guys that step in at linebacker. That's a position we've always done well developing.

Our defense still has the potential to be really good next year and going forward. We've developed a lot of depth on that side of the ball.

Our offense may look a little different in the post-Huff world. Just from what I've seen, if Jones is the guy, our offense may have more of a passing attack than using the QB as a second or third running back/battering ram.

[gofurman]

Long post warning.

Hope this answers some of your questions apaladin. I think there are some guys you are assuming are leaving who might have another year. I've tried to focus on the guys we expect to be back right now. Just my opinion on this. I spend a lot of time looking at recruiting stuff, so I'm always up for looking at the future. Hopefully Astro can add to this when he's ready.

Note: Several guys on the team are listed as redshirt seniors, so based on the covid year, I think they all have a year they can still use. I'm basing some of this off of that assumption.

I think we'll still be a pretty good football team, but I also think there will likely be some growing pains just because it's hard to replace the experience of some of the guys we could be losing. Thankfully, some of the less experienced guys who could be starting next year have already played a decent amount of football for Furman.

QB: This will always be a question mark when you lose a multi-year starter. I think it's good that Jones did get a few starts this year. Mixed results, but that's not unexpected with a young guy's first extended playing time and the pressure that goes along with that. I think you can infer from Jones's good throws that he has arm to be successful. It will come down to how quickly the recognition part of it comes along I suppose. I'll also be interested to see if he's used at all in the run game. I've not seen anything of Garcia except his HS tape, and I'm not sure it's ideal to have a true freshman (Hedden) getting a lot of playing time. Furman had to go that path several times in the last 15 years and it usually didn't work out well. I would not be opposed to bringing in a transfer QB but it would have to be a guy like Sluka. A bonafide starter looking for a 1 year stint.

RB: Based on the seriousness of Smith's injury, it's probably going to be Grant Robinson as the featured back next year. KT tested the portal last year, but he should be in line for more carries next year assuming he stays. Hicks has been such a good blocker for us and has run hard when he gets the ball so hopefully he stays as well. I've said it every week in the recruiting thread but I'm really excited to see Gavin Hall get on the field. He's producing at a high level at the highest level of GA football. I think he's going to be a really good player for us. That would give us 4 guys next year. The way this year has gone, not sure if they would look to bring a portal guy in here or not. That's assuming Smith isn't ready to go next year. If he is, then I doubt they bring anyone else in besides Hall.

WR: Assuming everyone returns, I think we'll be ok with Harris, Harris, Ferguson, Hinton, Hughes (?), Holbrook, and Hamilton (we have a lot of WR's with a last name that begins with H...). We're also bringing in two guys, Varvel and Hester (another H). I'm shocked we haven't seen a few more jump balls to Josh Harris this year. He's so good at going up and grabbing them when he's had the chance. I've heard the coaches are high on the guys we have there now, so I don't see a portal addition but who knows.

TE: This spot is interesting. Chappel played a lot as a true freshman, but with Pline and Gissinger moving on, we're going to have two guys who need to put on some weight in Tormey and Pryor. Not sure if Youngblood is coming back. Preferred walk-on Ruckh has the size but I haven't seen much of him. I wouldn't be surprised if we tried to grab another portal TE.

OL: Brasher, Hundley, Wilson, Petit, and Lamb should all be back and have started. Several of them have played a decent amount. Johanning, Hughes, and Toomey are all listed as RS seniors. I think they each could have 1 more year left. If all those guys came back our depth would be fine here I think. After that though, there isn't a lot of playing experience. Elliot will be a RS SR but from what I can tell he's never played a snap at CSU and he hasn't played this year according to the participation report. After that we'll have RS freshmen Balliew, Garner, and Luna and true freshmen Akinsola, O'Dell, and Gregory. If the 3 RS SRs don't/can't come back, then I think we may look for at least 1 guy in the portal.

DL: DE Jackson, DT Stanfield, and NG Stephens should all return. Barton is listed as a RS Sr so he might have another year? Returning at DE would be RS freshmen Bussey and Stoneking. Additional DT returners would be RS sophomore Dudek and RS freshman Vincent. Additional NG returners would be RS sophomore Harrison and RS freshman Hernandez. Incoming freshmen are Dobbins, Edwards, and Knauber. I like what I've seen from all of them but I really love watching Knauber's film. That guy seems relentless. Not really sure what they'll do here. If Barton isn't back, they might target a guy in the portal. Not sure.

BAN: Both Clark and Maier could return. In addition to them, RS freshman David Alabi returns. Dobbins or Edwards could possibly move here as well. If both Clark and Maier are back, we're absolutely fine here.

LB: Gilby moves on, but we should return DiMaggio and hopefully McCormick will be able to and want to return. If they're both back, our starters will be pretty good. In addition to them, Achina, Chiedo, Earl, and Herbert return. Not sure if the coaches will be looking for a portal guy here. May depend on if Scianna and Kuzemka have an extra year and return. I think there is a lot of potential here, so I don't foresee a portal addition.

CB: We could have both Yates and Robinson back which would give us two good starters. I think they've both upped their games this year and would feel good about this position with them both back. With that said, like several positions, there are some unknowns after them. Ingram has played some but not a ton. Dalton and Moson both have have a lot of potential but will have been relatively untested. Both played in the VMI game. Holmes is listed as a DB, so I'm not sure if the coaches see him here or at a safety position. There are 3 potential DBs committed currently: Den Johnson, Jordan Miller, and Fredrick Logan. Might bring in a portal guy here, but my guess is they roll with Yates, Robinson, and Ingram as the rotation unless one of them leaves.

FS: This is going to be an interesting spot. Ryan possibly has the 6th year he could use and would be huge if he returned. Jack Rhodes went from a RS sophomore last year to a Senior this year, which makes me think he's planning on leaving. Seth Johnson did something similar last year. AK Burrell would be next in line and has played some this year, but if both Ryan and Rhodes leave, this could be a spot for a portal guy. They may feel good about Burrell taking over though. Will still need another guy here for depth purposes.

SS: Like Ryan, I think Brinson might have a year left he could use? If he does leave, then I think Caleb Williams will likely slot in to start here. He's played the last two years and has looked pretty good. Tre Mcleod and Justin Hartwell would be the back ups here. I'd expect one of the true freshmen might slot in here as well.

K/P: All specialists will hopefully return so we should be ok here.

Fuwolfpacker, I wanted to thank you for doing this. That took a lot of work. Thank you!!!

My big concern would OL. You hint at the same mentioning if all 3 leave then we might hit the portal. I hope at least one (would kill for two) of Johanning, Hughes, Toomey return. Just one would make such a difference. You could tell when Johanning came back during conference play.


Do we lose Fred Norman the huge ETSU guy too ???

[The Jackal]

We're going to lose some offensive linemen. Not sure how many, but that will happen.

Again, it's worth remembering that it does not mean we are going to turn the offensive line over to a bunch of inexperienced players. Furman has built a lot of depth along the OL.

There's a second line of guys - Blake Hundley, EJ Wilson, Ryan Lamb, Luke Petit - who are by no means newbies. Hundley only has a few starts, but has played close to 30 games for Furman and over 500 snaps. I also see true freshman Chris Luna dressed out every game, so he's probably going to be in the mix next season as well.

I suppose it's also worth noting that these guys probably take a lot of practice reps together with Carson Jones as QB2. So, while they won't have the starting experience of, say, Johanning or Toomey, they will have played a lot of football for Furman and, importantly, played a lot of football together.

That said, it wouldn't surprise me to see us take a grad transfer on the OL. I forget the exact class, but I know one of our recent signing classes had a few offensive linemen transfer out, so there's probably a game in the recruiting that needs some bodies.

[FUwolfpacker]

There's a second line of guys - Blake Hundley, EJ Wilson, Ryan Lamb, Luke Petit - who are by no means newbies. Hundley only has a few starts, but has played close to 30 games for Furman and over 500 snaps. I also see true freshman Chris Luna dressed out every game, so he's probably going to be in the mix next season as well.

This was kind of the point I was trying to make with my long post. Throw Brasher in and you have a full starting 5 back with experience regardless of if the other 3 come back.

Jackal alluded to the class that lost some OL. Think it was 21 but not sure. I have a class attrition list I’ll post later to show where we’ve lost guys over the years.

[The Jackal]

There's a second line of guys - Blake Hundley, EJ Wilson, Ryan Lamb, Luke Petit - who are by no means newbies. Hundley only has a few starts, but has played close to 30 games for Furman and over 500 snaps. I also see true freshman Chris Luna dressed out every game, so he's probably going to be in the mix next season as well.

This was kind of the point I was trying to make with my long post. Throw Brasher in and you have a full starting 5 back with experience regardless of if the other 3 come back.

Jackal alluded to the class that lost some OL. Think it was 21 but not sure. I have a class attrition list I’ll post later to show where we’ve lost guys over the years.

I think it was '21. http://www.furmansportsreport.com/2022/ ... -line.html

Furman's offensive line depth also took a hit with three departures this offseason. Sophomore Dylan Davis transferred to Illinois in April. December signees Maddox Epperson and Caleb Lyons, who each participated in summer drills at Furman, left the team before preseason camp opened.

I had forgotten about Dylan Davis. Looks like he transferred to Illionis and is now a 6'4 310 defensive lineman for the Illini.

[FUwolfpacker]

Been wanting to post this for a bit, but never could find the right place/time. I had 2017 and 2018 at one point, but there were so few of those guys left that I finally cut them. Plus, if we're talking about the future, 2019-2023 will be the base of the team next year.

I did green for guy who graduated and moved on, blue for guys who transferred out, red for guys who left the program, and italics for current starters.

Some of the guys who left may be playing elsewhere, but haven't checked those names in a while.

Other thoughts on the roster in the next post.

2019 Furman Football Signing Class (5/17)
TB Wayne Anderson Jr.
RB Dominic Roberto
WR Jake Kimmelman
OT Pearson Toomey
OG Dan Dodd III
OG Jacob Johanning
C Evan Jumper @Coastal Carolina (grad transfer)
DL Jack Barton
DL Devonte Jones
LB Josh Agbenou @Kennesaw State
LB/TE Bryce McCormick (would be starting)
SPUR Jalen Miller
CB Kam Brinson
CB Cally Chizik
S Austin Jones
S Hugh Ryan
WR Luke Shiflett (MTSU)

2020 Furman Football Recruits (2/18)
LS Julian Ashby
DE Luke Clark
OL Dylan Davis @Illinois
ILB Evan DiMaggio
WR Kelton Gunn
WR Noah Henderson
WR Bailor Hughes
OL Blake Hundley
DE Jeremiah Jackson
DL Seth Johnson (Graduated Early)
P Ryan Leavy
S Jack Rhodes
S Caden Richards
CB Micah Robinson
RB Kendall Thomas
OL E.J. Wilson
CB Ivan Yates
LB Ty Youngblood


2021 Furman Football Signees (7/15)
OLB Amaah Achina
ILB Tommy Beuglas
OL Alex Cain
TE Jack Healy
WR Joshua Harris
RB Myion Hicks
OL Ryan Lamb
LB Alex Maier
CB Dominic Morris @ Colorado State
DE Christian Paraison
OL Luke Petit
RB Grant Robinson
DE Bryce Stanfield
TE Landon Whittemore @Tennesee Tech
QB Jace Wilson @Texas Southern

2022 Furman Football Signees (4/20)
OT Eli Brasher
DL Jordan Bass
ILD Dylan Chiedo
C Maddox Epperson
WR Ben Ferguson
WR Ethan Harris
DL Malachi Harrison
CB Charles Ingram V
QB Carson Jones
OG Caleb Lyons
DB Tre' McLeod
DL Thomas Pilon
TB Jayquan Smith
DB Caleb Williams
DT Xavier Stephans (Lehigh)
WR Kyndel Dean (James Madison)
QB Tyler Huff (Presbyterian)
BAN Emmanuel Adebayo (Northern Colorado)
K Ian Williams (NC State)
TE Parks Gissinger (Michigan St)

2023 Furman Football Signees (24/24)
BAN David Alabi
OL Brody Balliew
DB AK Burrell
DE Caldwell Bussey
TE Brock Chappell
CB Hysan Dalton
LB Ryan Earl
QB Nehuel Garcia
OL Hayden Garner
WR Ja'Keith Hamilton
LB Raleigh Herbert
DL Marc Hernández (Army-West Point Prep)
WR Colton Hinton
WR John Holbrook
DB Brayden Holmes
OL Chris Luna
CB Jaylen Moson
DL Joshua Stoneking
TE Brennan Tormey
DL Marquis Vincent
OL Tex Elliot (Colorado St)
OL Fred Norman Jr (ETSU)
TE Mason Pline (Ferris St)
DL Sirod Cook (Wingate)

[FUwolfpacker]

Everyone knows this, but Furman has been fortunate that it hasn't had bad attrition except for the 2021 class. That one is clearly the outlier. Only 2 real starters in that group but a lot of the guys still on the team there do play a lot and could be starters next year.

Ivan Yates's father made a post the other day that reminded me that our 2020 class was considered a top 3 class by at least one site. Assuming no one leaves, at least 5 defensive starters could come from that class.

Of the 11 guys still on the roster from the 2019 class, all of them play a ton of football for Furman. No dead weight and high preforming guys left from that class. Not sure if any of those guys will come back. They've already given a lot to Furman, so wouldn't begrudge any of them if they moved on to what's next. Any of them that come back would be a big bonus.

Likely due to the higher number of guys no longer on the roster from the 2021, but the 2022 class will likely be stepping into a lot of starting roles next year

[AstroDin]

Excellent detailed work, FUWolfpacker.
We've heard very good things about this year's scout team being Clay's best at Furman.
I don't know who the standouts are; I'm guessing the line plays on both sides.

Furman's recruiting has been very strong, especially in the last few years. With the departure of a large graduating class, this year's class could play a larger role than average in getting playing time.

Our O-Line commits are big dudes: Steven O'Dell 6-7 305, Chase Gregorek 6-5 290, and Noah Atkinsola 6-5 260.
It wouldn't surprise me to see O'Dell get a lot of PT next year.

[gofurman]

Everyone knows this, but Furman has been fortunate that it hasn't had bad attrition except for the 2021 class. That one is clearly the outlier. Only 2 real starters in that group but a lot of the guys still on the team there do play a lot and could be starters next year.

Ivan Yates's father made a post the other day that reminded me that our 2020 class was considered a top 3 class by at least one site. Assuming no one leaves, at least 5 defensive starters could come from that class.

Of the 11 guys still on the roster from the 2019 class, all of them play a ton of football for Furman. No dead weight and high preforming guys left from that class. Not sure if any of those guys will come back. They've already given a lot to Furman, so wouldn't begrudge any of them if they moved on to what's next. Any of them that come back would be a big bonus.

Likely due to the higher number of guys no longer on the roster from the 2021, but the 2022 class will likely be stepping into a lot of starting roles next year

And I would add Jalen miller 2019 as a starter. Pretty sure he starts 1/2 the games or so.

[AllTimeFU]

Long post warning.

Hope this answers some of your questions apaladin. I think there are some guys you are assuming are leaving who might have another year. I've tried to focus on the guys we expect to be back right now. Just my opinion on this. I spend a lot of time looking at recruiting stuff, so I'm always up for looking at the future. Hopefully Astro can add to this when he's ready.

Note: Several guys on the team are listed as redshirt seniors, so based on the covid year, I think they all have a year they can still use. I'm basing some of this off of that assumption.

I think we'll still be a pretty good football team, but I also think there will likely be some growing pains just because it's hard to replace the experience of some of the guys we could be losing. Thankfully, some of the less experienced guys who could be starting next year have already played a decent amount of football for Furman.

QB: This will always be a question mark when you lose a multi-year starter. I think it's good that Jones did get a few starts this year. Mixed results, but that's not unexpected with a young guy's first extended playing time and the pressure that goes along with that. I think you can infer from Jones's good throws that he has arm to be successful. It will come down to how quickly the recognition part of it comes along I suppose. I'll also be interested to see if he's used at all in the run game. I've not seen anything of Garcia except his HS tape, and I'm not sure it's ideal to have a true freshman (Hedden) getting a lot of playing time. Furman had to go that path several times in the last 15 years and it usually didn't work out well. I would not be opposed to bringing in a transfer QB but it would have to be a guy like Sluka. A bonafide starter looking for a 1 year stint.

RB: Based on the seriousness of Smith's injury, it's probably going to be Grant Robinson as the featured back next year. KT tested the portal last year, but he should be in line for more carries next year assuming he stays. Hicks has been such a good blocker for us and has run hard when he gets the ball so hopefully he stays as well. I've said it every week in the recruiting thread but I'm really excited to see Gavin Hall get on the field. He's producing at a high level at the highest level of GA football. I think he's going to be a really good player for us. That would give us 4 guys next year. The way this year has gone, not sure if they would look to bring a portal guy in here or not. That's assuming Smith isn't ready to go next year. If he is, then I doubt they bring anyone else in besides Hall.

WR: Assuming everyone returns, I think we'll be ok with Harris, Harris, Ferguson, Hinton, Hughes (?), Holbrook, and Hamilton (we have a lot of WR's with a last name that begins with H...). We're also bringing in two guys, Varvel and Hester (another H). I'm shocked we haven't seen a few more jump balls to Josh Harris this year. He's so good at going up and grabbing them when he's had the chance. I've heard the coaches are high on the guys we have there now, so I don't see a portal addition but who knows.

TE: This spot is interesting. Chappel played a lot as a true freshman, but with Pline and Gissinger moving on, we're going to have two guys who need to put on some weight in Tormey and Pryor. Not sure if Youngblood is coming back. Preferred walk-on Ruckh has the size but I haven't seen much of him. I wouldn't be surprised if we tried to grab another portal TE.

OL: Brasher, Hundley, Wilson, Petit, and Lamb should all be back and have started. Several of them have played a decent amount. Johanning, Hughes, and Toomey are all listed as RS seniors. I think they each could have 1 more year left. If all those guys came back our depth would be fine here I think. After that though, there isn't a lot of playing experience. Elliot will be a RS SR but from what I can tell he's never played a snap at CSU and he hasn't played this year according to the participation report. After that we'll have RS freshmen Balliew, Garner, and Luna and true freshmen Akinsola, O'Dell, and Gregory. If the 3 RS SRs don't/can't come back, then I think we may look for at least 1 guy in the portal.

DL: DE Jackson, DT Stanfield, and NG Stephens should all return. Barton is listed as a RS Sr so he might have another year? Returning at DE would be RS freshmen Bussey and Stoneking. Additional DT returners would be RS sophomore Dudek and RS freshman Vincent. Additional NG returners would be RS sophomore Harrison and RS freshman Hernandez. Incoming freshmen are Dobbins, Edwards, and Knauber. I like what I've seen from all of them but I really love watching Knauber's film. That guy seems relentless. Not really sure what they'll do here. If Barton isn't back, they might target a guy in the portal. Not sure.

BAN: Both Clark and Maier could return. In addition to them, RS freshman David Alabi returns. Dobbins or Edwards could possibly move here as well. If both Clark and Maier are back, we're absolutely fine here.

LB: Gilby moves on, but we should return DiMaggio and hopefully McCormick will be able to and want to return. If they're both back, our starters will be pretty good. In addition to them, Achina, Chiedo, Earl, and Herbert return. Not sure if the coaches will be looking for a portal guy here. May depend on if Scianna and Kuzemka have an extra year and return. I think there is a lot of potential here, so I don't foresee a portal addition.

CB: We could have both Yates and Robinson back which would give us two good starters. I think they've both upped their games this year and would feel good about this position with them both back. With that said, like several positions, there are some unknowns after them. Ingram has played some but not a ton. Dalton and Moson both have have a lot of potential but will have been relatively untested. Both played in the VMI game. Holmes is listed as a DB, so I'm not sure if the coaches see him here or at a safety position. There are 3 potential DBs committed currently: Den Johnson, Jordan Miller, and Fredrick Logan. Might bring in a portal guy here, but my guess is they roll with Yates, Robinson, and Ingram as the rotation unless one of them leaves.

FS: This is going to be an interesting spot. Ryan possibly has the 6th year he could use and would be huge if he returned. Jack Rhodes went from a RS sophomore last year to a Senior this year, which makes me think he's planning on leaving. Seth Johnson did something similar last year. AK Burrell would be next in line and has played some this year, but if both Ryan and Rhodes leave, this could be a spot for a portal guy. They may feel good about Burrell taking over though. Will still need another guy here for depth purposes.

SS: Like Ryan, I think Brinson might have a year left he could use? If he does leave, then I think Caleb Williams will likely slot in to start here. He's played the last two years and has looked pretty good. Tre Mcleod and Justin Hartwell would be the back ups here. I'd expect one of the true freshmen might slot in here as well.

K/P: All specialists will hopefully return so we should be ok here.

In looking at the OL depth we have 2 from the 2022 class that both red-shirted last year. #61 played in 25 plays last year and #66 who played in 23 plays last year. My recollection is that they have dressed for every game this year. Both look to have come from championship winning high school teams. We've heard from CCH that CMM has built depth and we've seen the ability to move our linemen from position to position when needed. Both also look to come from high school programs with coaches with high level college and pro football coaching experience. #61 had Trent Dilfer as his head coach in Nashville. Depending on returning seniors we should be able to fill spots with players that have been in the program. The only freshman that has dressed with any consistency after #51 went down was #72 and transfer #71 hasn't dressed with consistency. Based on this I think we have 3 that have risen to the top and waiting in the wings, #61, #66 and #72 + upper class with playing experience. I wouldn't be surprised to see another transfer or 2 in the off-season.

[FUeveryday]

[quote} In looking at the OL depth we have 2 from the 2022 class that both red-shirted last year. #61 played in 25 plays last year and #66 who played in 23 plays last year. My recollection is that they have dressed for every game this year. Both look to have come from championship winning high school teams. We've heard from CCH that CMM has built depth and we've seen the ability to move our linemen from position to position when needed. Both also look to come from high school programs with coaches with high level college and pro football coaching experience. #61 had Trent Dilfer as his head coach in Nashville. Depending on returning seniors we should be able to fill spots with players that have been in the program. The only freshman that has dressed with any consistency after #51 went down was #72 and transfer #71 hasn't dressed with consistency. Based on this I think we have 3 that have risen to the top and waiting in the wings, #61, #66 and #72 + upper class with playing experience. I wouldn't be surprised to see another transfer or 2 in the off-season.
[/quote]

#61, #66, #72 and #71 all look good. #71 has played some and comes from a Nationally ranked program similar to #61. He might be biggest player behind Fred. Of those 4 above not sure if there is a clear LT...that might be your Portal pick-up target. Winning a championship wouldn't hurt the prospects there.

[gofurman]

[quote} In looking at the OL depth we have 2 from the 2022 class that both red-shirted last year. #61 played in 25 plays last year and #66 who played in 23 plays last year. My recollection is that they have dressed for every game this year. Both look to have come from championship winning high school teams. We've heard from CCH that CMM has built depth and we've seen the ability to move our linemen from position to position when needed. Both also look to come from high school programs with coaches with high level college and pro football coaching experience. #61 had Trent Dilfer as his head coach in Nashville. Depending on returning seniors we should be able to fill spots with players that have been in the program. The only freshman that has dressed with any consistency after #51 went down was #72 and transfer #71 hasn't dressed with consistency. Based on this I think we have 3 that have risen to the top and waiting in the wings, #61, #66 and #72 + upper class with playing experience. I wouldn't be surprised to see another transfer or 2 in the off-season.

#61, #66, #72 and #71 all look good. #71 has played some and comes from a Nationally ranked program similar to #61. He might be biggest player behind Fred. Of those 4 above not sure if there is a clear LT...that might be your Portal pick-up target. Winning a championship wouldn't hurt the prospects there.
[/quote]

Is Fred Norman definitely gone ?

[Purple rain]

We have the best OL coach in the Southern Conference and the best HC OL coach in the Southern Conference. We have built depth and we will be fine.
Go Dins!