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Coach Bell
Oct 29, 2023 18:32:26 GMT -5
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Post by catamountalum04 on Oct 29, 2023 18:32:26 GMT -5
I did not catch Bell's comments after the game to Hook but do you think Bell will make any changes with the game plan the rest of the season, coaches in the off season or hit the transfer portal hard for experienced defense? I looked back on the recruiting post and it did not seem like we had many commitments so far and the ones we did I don't think were defensive players
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Coach Bell
Oct 29, 2023 21:04:09 GMT -5
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Post by wcugrad95 on Oct 29, 2023 21:04:09 GMT -5
On defense we should have quite a few guys coming back. I also think we should have 2 guys we are sorely missing this season return from injury - Micah Nelson was a pre-season all conference pick and Mateo Sudipo is an FBS transfer from a couple of years ago who got hurt in the first game as our starting Safety. Assuming both heal up, I believe both would return as RS Seniors in 2024. McQueen and Williams have been playing better at LB and I think Hayward as he gets bigger is only going to get better.
No doubt it would be good to get a few big D-lineman that can help take up space and cause problems for teams running the ball, but I would expect a defense who is at least statistically better this year to make some more improvements next season. Those guys mentioned above along with other returning starters like Ed Jones, Andreas Keaton, etc. means we will have a good nucleus and experience - something we usually don’t have on defense where forever it seemed like we were starting over with new FR and SO every season during the Speir years.
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Post by wcugrad95 on Oct 30, 2023 7:24:06 GMT -5
I know this is more of a “next year” and off-season topic, but adding other guys who have been getting lots of playing time who will return on Defense.
D-line:
Micah Nelson (injured this year)
Curtis Fann (FBS transfer)
Caleb Fisher
Malik Richardson
Jaquarius Guinn
Need to add some more size, and for some of the reserves to step up (guys like Wilson as a 325-lb RS Senior next year could help)
LB:
McQueen
Antoine Williams (was all-American at APSU)
Ed Jones IV
We need all 3 of those guys to get bigger and stronger, and need more depth. We have a couple of young and highly recruited guys I don’t think we have seen play much (they are all smaller and similar builds to the 3 listed above), and one guy who will be a RS Sophomore next year who looks the part (6’ 1” 220 lb Christian Murphy).
Back end:
Sudipo (got hurt but was the starting Safety)
Samauri Dukes (a CB who has played S a lot)
Lee Campbell (heard his name a lot recently)
Andreas Keaton (all-SOCON type player)
We have a lot of young guys on the roster listed as DBs, and many of them are FR or RS FR from Florida. Looks like we will need some of those guys to step up losing Gattison and CJ Williams.
So yes - we need some help getting bigger in the front-seven and having some experienced guys in the back-end. But for looking ahead, that does sound more promising than when we looked ahead to our D in years past.
On offense, we will need a new TE (both guys are Seniors). We have several O-line starters returning, and of course if we keep them all and they are healthy we have nearly all of the skill guys back other than White. So roughly 8 starters back. Injuries obviously are a concern at positions like RB and QB. We have a bunch of heralded guys at both positions, but we know what we have with Dez and Cole if they stay and are healthy.
I have said it in a couple of places, but honestly I thought next year would be the break-out year versus this season.
And again, I know we are all down because we lost 2 in a row. We should have lost to Furman. We could have certainly won against Mercer with either a healthy Reid or cutting out all the awful turnovers. This team is more than capable of winning these last 3 games, staying ranked, and making the playoffs. I think next year can be special, but that doesn’t mean this season is not special, too.
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