|
|
Post by easmus on Apr 28, 2022 19:25:25 GMT -6
Hunter Push in portal.
|
|
|
|
Post by nccyote on Apr 29, 2022 7:30:23 GMT -6
Writing might have been on the wall with 6 OL coming in and many young returning starters. I wish the young man good luck and hope he finds the right spot. |
|
|
|
Post by geoffjellic on Apr 29, 2022 22:15:08 GMT -6
I’m not sure I understand what’s going on in the WR room. I think there are 6 that left the team from last year? That’s not normal folks!
|
|
|
|
Post by easmus on Apr 30, 2022 14:58:26 GMT -6
Also doesn’t seem coincidental that the former WR coach has taken another job.
|
|
|
|
Post by geoffjellic on Apr 30, 2022 16:21:17 GMT -6
Also doesn’t seem coincidental that the former WR coach has taken another job. Maybe, but they moved him to special teams coach early and then became the head coach at Peru State. Lots of movement after that happened |
|
|
|
Post by bobo on May 1, 2022 12:07:54 GMT -6
There is not enough space nor is it worth writing a dissertation about the WR room at this point, but one thing is quite clear after the influx of kids bailing out (portal or quit). Whatever the dynamic was in that room caused a lot of resentment and lack of belief (as shown by the defections) in the ability to put the best kids on the field and utilize the talent that was there. As I’ve said many times before, start and play your best kids (the ones that produce, get open consistently, get yards after the catch, and understand the game) the most and use the backups to spot duty those top kids when needed. From what I saw, there was a distinct difference on who was out there and who should have been out there (based off statistical data) in the beginning of games and throughout the course of a game. The lack of continuity and ability for guys to get into a groove due to irrational substitution patterns caused major issues in trust in the position coach from what I’ve heard. Hopefully, problem solved with a new WR coach and especially one that was a QB and an offensive coordinator. It’s not a hard equation to figure out, make sure you target your best receivers schematically and guarantee at times that they get enough touches to influence a game. Whatever those touches look like.
|
|
|
|
Post by Yote 53 on May 1, 2022 20:16:26 GMT -6
That would make sense except that the position coach is long gone and players are still entering the portal from that position.
Maybe it's as simple as they defecting players don't like the depth chart. Maybe there is young talent pushing for touches and taking playing time.
|
|
|
|
Post by bobo on May 2, 2022 16:05:12 GMT -6
Unfortunately, decisions aren’t made typically as a knee-jerk reactions. I would assume that these festered over time and couldn’t be repaired With a position change and a new coach. If you dig deeper into the data, the significant kids that left had already established themselves in the lineup in some capacity, so being pushed by younger players probably wasn’t a factor. Water under the bridge at this point, but does now limit the available talent pool and experienced depth going into the fall
|
|
|
|
Post by geoffjellic on May 2, 2022 16:54:31 GMT -6
Certainly some good points by bobo…. Losing 6 from the WR room seems like it was something bigger… culture, offensive philosophy change, etc…. But the bottom line is it just doesn’t look good. I still think their two deep will be fine….but the new landscape of college football with the transfer portal certainly lends itself to our best WR/slots testing those waters. Certainly Bell has enough on tape to open the eyes of a few FBS schools. With a difficult schedule coming up in the fall it may require a strong adhesive from the coaches to keep things together.
|
|
|
|
Post by fightsd on May 2, 2022 17:05:36 GMT -6
Unfortunately, decisions aren’t made typically as a knee-jerk reactions. I would assume that these festered over time and couldn’t be repaired With a position change and a new coach. If you dig deeper into the data, the significant kids that left had already established themselves in the lineup in some capacity, so being pushed by younger players probably wasn’t a factor. Water under the bridge at this point, but does now limit the available talent pool and experienced depth going into the fall Next man up as far as I'm concerned. WR is the most replaceable position on the offense. If guys want out, see ya later. |
|
|
|
Post by bobo on May 4, 2022 18:37:07 GMT -6
I’d agree with that to some extent, but I’d say by far the easiest positions to recruit and find year to year is RB and LB. But it is extremely vital to have at least two major weapons at WR (not just guys that fill the position) to have even a chance of being successful in the passing game and especially in this league. And if there’s also a TE that can control the hashes, then you are very tough to defend. We will have to see if we have a 2nd WR now, that can consistently can get open and make plays. I’m extremely confident that we have a TE or two.
|
|
|
|
Post by coffeedrinker11 on May 4, 2022 19:06:10 GMT -6
I find it interesting that you say running backs and linebackers are by far the easiest to recruit. I tend to agree with running backs but I would add as easy to recruit, wide receivers. That's one of the reasons we've had so many in the room and that's 1 of the reasons so many of the Missouri Valley teams have a large number of quality wide receivers. Linebackers to me are a different animal today than what they used to be. Too many guys wanna look at what we call alligator speed which is straight ahead speed. but todays backers have to be able to move side to side as well and finding someone in the 6'1" to 6'3" category, 220 to 235 and that has quickness speed strength and can be the defensive quarterback is tough. I would put finding good linebackers right behind finding good Lyman and corner cornerbacks as far as difficulty goes.
|
|
|
|
Post by fightsd on May 4, 2022 20:52:07 GMT -6
I’d agree with that to some extent, but I’d say by far the easiest positions to recruit and find year to year is RB and LB. But it is extremely vital to have at least two major weapons at WR (not just guys that fill the position) to have even a chance of being successful in the passing game and especially in this league. And if there’s also a TE that can control the hashes, then you are very tough to defend. We will have to see if we have a 2nd WR now, that can consistently can get open and make plays. I’m extremely confident that we have a TE or two. I disagree that line backers are easy guys to recruit and plug in to a scheme. Even if you have the most vanilla defense imaginable, finding a guy with the right build to be a solid D1 LB is not easy. You need somebody that can meet a 240 lb RB in the hole, then be able to drop into coverage the next play. You are correct that it's important to have a couple weapons at wide out, but it's way easier to grab a guy off the portal and tell him what routes to run than it is to plug in a brand new LB and have him be gap sound. I'm more concerned with the low numbers of WRs we have at this point than I am about the quality of guys we lost to the portal. Case was OK but he hasn't had a good season in like 3 years, no real loss there. We just need some bodies in that room. |
|
|
|
Post by bobo on May 5, 2022 8:56:08 GMT -6
Definitely not worth arguing about, but if you are talking about plug and play guys, yes the portal makes it easy to find that type of LB for sure. There are tons of 6'0, 6'1, 6'2 that are 210-220 lb (in high school and/or college) out there that fit that criteria that were big safeties in high school or terrific athletic LBs in high school. Just look at Jack Cochrane, he was 6'3 195-200 coming out of high school or Adam Bock at SDSU, who was 6'1 215 out of high school and both have developed into two of the best in FCS. Dime a dozen to recruit, to be honest, just like the RB position because there are tons of good ones out there that fit the criteria of toughness and athleticism. The issue is, you just don't know exactly which ones are going to develop into studs until you get them out there.
Anyone can run a route, yes, but it's about who can get open, who understands spacial awareness on the field with a ton of moving parts, and understands the nuances of the game. You don't know that until you see them play in a live game setting, so just finding a guy to fill a spot isn't the answer because there are a lot of 6'1, 6'2, or 6'3 fast dudes that don't understand how to play WR at all and can't get open or make the competitive catches when it matters. But, I agree, there are a lot of really good WRs out there in the portal right now because of the emphasis on 7 on 7 football and training out there.
|
|
|
|
Post by easmus on Aug 8, 2022 15:35:03 GMT -6
Anyone have a clue why KIAN REXROAT-POTTS is not in the spring roster? I suppose this is his 4th year and he could be graduating, although, I believe that he has two years of eligibility remaining. I noticed that too and wondered what was up. Two year starter. This is probably why recruiting classes are so heavy in offensive linemen. Graduated. Decided to get onto life even though he had eligibility left. |
|
