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2017 Offensive pre-season summary

Started by bennyl08, July 20, 2017, 04:46:52 pm

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bennyl08

QB: Austin Allen is our starter. Rated by pro football focus as the 8th best returning talent in the entire SEC. Despite being the most hit qb in the early part of the season, he still had about the 4th most prolific passing season in school history. Completed 61.1% of passes for 3430 yards 25 td's and 15 int's with an 8.55 ypa average his first year as a starter. He was also sacked 35 times.

What to expect moving forward: Ignoring changes to the rest of the team, he should be better at reading defenses, quicker at making decisions, and better understanding when to just take an incompletion or a sack. This should cut down on sacks and interceptions thrown. One would also expect some more yards, and deeper throws, but he is already very good in both of those departments and the quality of receiver play and OL play will be important factors there as well.

What do we have behind: Ty Storey at 6'2 212 has good size, had exceptional mechanics coming out of HS, and a pretty good arm. He has been one of the smartest qb's behind Allen as well. Competing for the backup spot with Ty is Cole Kelley, a 6'7 268 pound qb who is essentially a larger Mallett. Not terribly athletic, but like Mallett can be elusive in the pocket and has a rocket arm.
Quote from: PorkSoda on May 05, 2016, 09:24:05 pm
damn I thought it was only a color, didn't realize it was named after a liqueur. leave it to benny to make me research the history of chartreuse

bennyl08

RB: Whaley is our main guy here. Last year, we had Rawleigh Williams the III who led the SEC in rushing for the regular season and was only barely beaten out at the season end. Due to serious health concerns, he is no longer able to play football. Losing him does not help the hogs in any way. However, coming into 2017, we are in better shape than we were coming into 2016. Last year, Whaley gained 602 yards on 110 carries and 3 td's. He was virtually on par with Rawleigh in ypc, though with a much lighter workload and much less success in the red zone where RW3 was heavily favored. Like all young backs, Whaley will need to improve on finding the end zone and pass blocking. However, he has the speed and showed a surprising amount of toughness on his runs though he is not as physical a runner as Williams. Whaley has a similar style to McFadden with very little wasted motion, instead preferring to go N-S with a lot of speed, though Whaley does not have McFadden's insane levels of speed, he looks to have the best tool set of a back we've had so far under Bielema, which is saying a lot.

What we have behind: First, we have Maleek. He might end up being our biggest freak at RB since Knile. He was SEC sized in HS, and has a very good blend of strength and speed. However, he's closer in style to a Marcus Lattimore/Trent Richardson than a Knile Davis because while he has good speed, it is not sub 4.40 speed. He has a leg up on where Whaley was last year since he was an early enrollee and went through spring drills. Furthermore, we don't have to rely on just projecting what he did in HS to the SEC as the coaching staff and fellow players have done nothing but sing his praises as well.

Behind Maleek, we have a collection of players. First up is TJ Hammonds who will split time at WR and RB this year as a jack of all. We saw last year how quick and explosive this player is and he has a fair amount of wiggle as well. He needs to carry the ball tighter, but could be key weapon in our arsenal. David Williams from SC just transferred in. It does concern me that SC hasn't had a good RB since Mike Davis and Williams wasn't able to rise to the top there. Thus, I don't expect him to rise to the top here either. However, in the 3 seasons he was there, he was the 3rd leading carrier each season with 187 carries, 794 yards (4.2 ypc) and 5 td's along with 27 receptions for 264 yards. Worst case, he gives the room a veteran voice. However, if he can give us some pass blocking and the 250 yards and a couple td's he's done each of his past seasons, that's exactly what we need. In limited highlights, he shows good burst and speed and has had a solid impact in the passing game. Lastly, we also have some extra players who can help. Conner McPherson is a somewhat Dennis Johnson esque walk on who earned the trust of the coaches. Hobbs is a bigger walk on who can carry the ball and Chase Hayden is coming in, though expect him to redshirt if possible.

What to expect in the upcoming season: A lot depends on how the individual players develop. With David's experience in the passing game as a blocker and receiver, look for him at least early on to be the favored 3rd down back. Whaley will likely be in a role similar to Collins and RW3 the past two years early on at least as the sole feature back. However, I expect to see a 1a/1b by at least mid-season with Maleek coming in to give us some power at the position. Those three will be the primary rotation with a sprinkling of Hammonds on some toss and screen plays or with him lined up as receiver but coming around on a reverse.
Quote from: PorkSoda on May 05, 2016, 09:24:05 pm
damn I thought it was only a color, didn't realize it was named after a liqueur. leave it to benny to make me research the history of chartreuse

 

bennyl08

FB: We have two good fullbacks this season in Kendrick and Johnson. Both played a good amount last year, though it looks like Kendrick's window to go back to LB has sailed. Perhaps he was simply never meant to play there. Kendrick is more of a pure FB. Somebody to bock and that is it, in contrast to Johnson who is a more of an all purpose full back who can carry the ball in his own right or swing out wide and be productive in the passing game as well. I.e. think Van Stumon vs Kiero Small.

What to expect next season: Johnson is just now a sophomore while Jackson is a Jr. Last year, Kendrick had 2 starts while Hayden had 7. Probably will be seeing more of Hayden this coming season as well. If the OL makes the improvements that they should be expected to make and nothing more, that will free up the FB on passing plays to be a release valve more. Hayden had 2 receptions for 25 yards last year.

What do we have behind: On the roster nobody. However, 2 scholarships for FB is pretty much as much as any team will have. Perhaps there is a walk on or two not listed. We also have a gluttony of TE's .
Quote from: PorkSoda on May 05, 2016, 09:24:05 pm
damn I thought it was only a color, didn't realize it was named after a liqueur. leave it to benny to make me research the history of chartreuse

bennyl08

WR: This is perhaps the most exciting offensive group to write about because there is so much reason for optimism, but so little in the way of actual answers. First, who we have up front: Cornelius, Martin, Jones, Pettway, and Stewart. Cornelius reminds me of a Marvin Jones type of receiver. Good size at 5'11 212, good speed, sharp routes, and consistent hands. When he is on, he has been unstoppable for us. PFF rated his as the best slot receiver in the nation, with only 2 drops on the 68 catchable passes thrown his way. He also has 3.48 yards per route run from the slot which was the best mark in the nation. While that doesn't sound like a lot, he had 19 receptions on 109 routes for 379 yards. However, behind Cornelius lies a bunch of talented question marks. Brandon Martin is a 6'4 219 JUCO receiver. While it is listed that he runs a sub 4.4, his tape doesn't show that and he looks to be more of a 4.5 runner on par with NFL receivers like Brandon Marshall. Coaches immediately spoke well of his route running and hands as he had the benefit of going through spring drills. Jordan Jones is going into RsFr season. His HS tape reminded me of Amari Cooper. Not quite the physical freak of a Julio or a Green, but just very crisp, precise, clean, fast, and productive. He is mentioned as one of our faster players and was heavily recruited by alabama as well. Lastly in this first part, we have Stewart and Pettway. Pettway's HS tape reminded me a lot of Jarius Wright. Good routes, consistent hands, and then up the field with little wasted motion. However, Pettway is listed 6'2 220, a fair bit bigger than Wright. Stewart's play also reminded me of Joe Adams in that he is smaller, a bit quicker than fast, and has wiggle in spades. He was also our main KR last season though only averaged about 20 yards per return. Cornelius, Stewart, Martin, and Jones are the top 4 guys listed on the depth chart.

What we have behind: A lot. Nance and Kolian Jackson are two to talk about first. Nance is the other JUCO we signed. His JUCO tape doesn't look better (or worse) than the guys mentioned above so if he were to come in and play, I don't think we'd lose much of a step at all. Kolian I single out because his tape reminded me a lot of Cobi. He isn't terribly explosive off the line of scrimmage and takes a bit to get up to full speed like Cobi, but he is graceful and smooth once he does get going. Warren and Barnes are both in a similar mold to Stewart being small, quicker than fast, and full of wiggle. Barkley is like a smaller Pettway or Nance. Enlow is a talented walk-on.

What to expect next year: Who really knows? In terms of athletic ability, we definitely had addition by subtraction this year. As we saw and should have expected, Hatcher and Morgan were not particularly fast or explosive (though neither are their NFL dopplegangers in Welker and Boldin). I'd expect a few more drops than we are used to having and perhaps some qb/wr not being on the same page. However, recall that Allen was throwing to the likes of Pettway and Stewart while he was waiting behind Brandon so he already has a leg up on building chemistry with them. Further, we aren't relying on any true freshmen here either. Cornelius is a 4th year senior. Pettway and Stewart are 3rd year sophomores. Jones is a 2nd year player now and Martin and Nance are coming from JUCO. So, while we are very green in terms of actual playing experience behind Cornelius, I expect the dropoff will be minimal for the same reason that it was minimal going from Brandon to Austin due to Austin being a 4th year junior.
Quote from: PorkSoda on May 05, 2016, 09:24:05 pm
damn I thought it was only a color, didn't realize it was named after a liqueur. leave it to benny to make me research the history of chartreuse

bennyl08

TE: This is another fun one. Gone is Sprinkle to the NFL. Now is the time for the big trio to really take charge as the big dogs. No longer behind Henry or Sprinkle but able to learn from both. First up is Cantrell who led this group last year as our #2 TE and registering 13 receptions and 2 td's. He is the do it all TE who is good at blocking and receiving though perhaps not a master at either. He is a bit short at 6'3 for a TE, but weighs 264 pounds while still having a surprising amount of speed that he showed off on a 32 yard catch and run. Behind him in the trio is then O'Grady who came in as a passing specialist but has developed his blocking as well. Coming on strong towards the end of the season, he only had 3 receptions, but averaged 21 yards per while also scoring a td. Gragg completes the trinity of TE's as a blocking specialist with soft hands, but has yet to see the field. He is included up here just because they all came in the same class.

Who else do we have: Gunter has to be the first mentioned here. Grayson came in as a true freshmen last year, and despite having the likes of Sprinkle, Cantrell, O'Grady, Gragg, and Kraus all ahead of him on the depth chart, he showed too much for the coaches to redshirt him. It is also his name that keeps getting mentioned by the coaching staff about the TE's and he will likely be a special one. He even nabbed one pass last year for 29 yards. Patton is the next to be listed. The #1 JUCO in the country, he is coming in similar to O'Grady as a very dangerous receiving weapon with a very large frame at 6'6 252. Kraus rounds out the list, but despite being the oldest TE on our roster, is buried at the bottom of the chart. I will say I'm surprised he hasn't transferred out to find playing time though perhaps he values what he is getting here more than he values playing time.

What to expect next year: With an experienced OL, there should be much more room this season for the TE's to run routes rather than having to stay home and help protect Austin. In '14 and '15, the TE's combined for nearly 1k yards each season, dropping down to 500 in '16. With a new crop of receivers, look for the TE's to argue their use in the passing game this season. Perhaps not 1k combined yards, but at least 750.
Quote from: PorkSoda on May 05, 2016, 09:24:05 pm
damn I thought it was only a color, didn't realize it was named after a liqueur. leave it to benny to make me research the history of chartreuse

bennyl08

Last but probably most importantly, the OL.

Current starters look like this

LT: Colton Jackson
LG: Hjalte Froholdt
C: Frank Ragnow
RG: Johnny Gibson
RT: Brian Wallace

Jackson was the LT for virtually all of last spring and summer before coaches Skipper into that spot in fall camp noting that while Skipper was better at RT than LT, Colton as a redshirt freshmen was still too inexperienced to play there. A year older and wiser, Colton has re-earned the coveted LT spot and held on onto it through summer again. Out of Conway, he was somebody our coaching staff targeted early on with a leg injury his senior year keeping his recruitment lower than it otherwise likely would have been. A good blend of strength and athleticism. Wallace, otoh, was recruited by virtually everybody and likewise is a good blend. He probably could be a LT if he wanted to, but is more at home and comfortable on the right side. Froholdt struggled last year in the switch from DL to starting LG. When he knew who to block, he was an unmovable object. In the run game, he was blasting defensive lineman more often than not. However, he was easily confused, moreso early in the season, but even as late as the bowl game and when he made a mistake, it usually led to an untouched rusher getting straight into the backfield. However, physical weaknesses take longer to correct while mental challenges are the easiest and most likely to be corrected from your first season starting to the next. Coaches hyped up his potential last season and when he wasn't confused, you could see why. They've hyped him up this season and others agree as he is on the same watchlist for best OL player as Ragnow. Gibson came into the starting lineup for the Florida game against a very good DL and helped the offense do very well, particularly in the run game. Not terribly athletic, the former walk on has relied on working on his technique and becoming incredibly strong. Lastly, there's Ragnow who doesn't need his accolades repeated.

Who's behind them: We almost have a full 3 deep worth of scholarship players on the OL so too many to talk about each individually. Paul Ramirez is a JUCO we signed last year and a senior now. He has a very good blend of strength and athleticism, particularly the latter and he has added 10 pounds of muscle this off season. Should either of our tackles go down, we will be just fine with him. He even spent at least one practice last fall camp as the starting left tackle after Colton lost the job. Raulerson was a starter early last season but was replaced by Gibson. He too has added strength and is probably the biggest threat to the starters (namely Gibson) listed above. Rogers is the heir apparent to Ragnow and was frequently in the starting lineup last off season while trying to find the best 5. He would likely be the next in line behind Raulerson to replace an injured interior lineman being able to play all 3 interior positions. While we signed some very promising OL players this year, I'll lastly mention Heinrich who's tape showed a lot of athleticism but was a bit raw. Likely will start out at guard when his day comes but certainly has the ability to play tackle if needed.

What to expect this coming season: Much fewer mental errors. Much of the pressure last year on Austin didn't come from one of our guys getting beat at the line and then Austin pressured, but one of our guys on the line flat out not blocking a rusher thinking they were supposed to block somebody else. That is sometimes what happens when you are replacing 3 new starters on the OL. This year, we are replacing only one while also returning the best center in all of college football. 3rd year players are the youngest that will be starting for us in contrast to last year. Physically I don't expect a whole lot of difference from last year to this year. A bit more athleticism at the LT spot, a year of improved mechanics, particularly among Jackson and Froholdt. And fewer penalties from the OL this coming season as well as fewer missed blocks. Not to mention that last year the SEC had uncharacteristically good pass rushers, which for the SEC is saying something.
Quote from: PorkSoda on May 05, 2016, 09:24:05 pm
damn I thought it was only a color, didn't realize it was named after a liqueur. leave it to benny to make me research the history of chartreuse