A Sea Of Red

There is no "pick up where we left off", it's "pick up where we started from". But you know what? With Rocco at the helm, that's a great starting place. We have an awesome coaching staff and great talent, and I know we'll be a force for years to come. 2009's team can stand on the shoulders of giants.

Guys, the FCS selection committee is comprised of douchebags, but still, don't hang your head. You guys should be proud. Don't let anyone ever say otherwise.

we get an automatic bid next year.

coolhandluke wrote:we get an automatic bid next year.

No we don't. It's 2010

Not until 2010.

I am going to need a day to decompress before I think about 2009.

oh okay. I thought it was next year.

Isnt Mike Brown supposed to be QB next year, but hasnt he been playing just about every other position the last few weeks

I don't want to go there till I calm down. My brain just went down a scary road, and I'm going to wait and see if my calmer self tomorrow thinks it should be posted. Suffice it to say the prospects for playoffs in 2009 are not good, so all we have to play for is 3 BS championships in a row. Other than that I'll save my real comment.

He's been playing WR all year. I see him staying in that position because he is a good QB but probably a better WR. I think either Spencer or Brennan will be a good QB for us and he will make our receiving core better. Think of the Michael Crabtree situation at Texas Tech. He was recruited as a QB but they found out he was a better receiver. I think we will do so stuff with him taking direct snaps like we did this year and he will probably through from that formation some, but I think most of his snaps will be at WR.

Everybody wants to point our how much talent we are losing in this year's class, and it's a ton, but at the same time, we have a lot of good players returning. Here's how I think things will play out next year:

QB - Spencer Landis. Barring Tyler Brennan making an exceptional leap during spring ball, Spencer is our QB. Spencer would've started at any other Big South school the past two years. He's very mobile and has a good arm. His arm isn't as strong as Brock's, but he can do other things Brock couldn't. As for Tyler, the kid is going to be very good. He ran the scout team offense this year in one week better than some of the team's did during the game. Now it's a question of him learning our offense more and more. Spencer will take the job next year, and then Tyler will likely be the starter in 2010.

RB - This is a tough one. Obviously Danny Broggin will take the staring role into spring ball followed by T-Bone. Holloway looks to be very good though and could possibly beat them out in the spring or during training camp of next year. We've also got some other running backs coming in next year. While we don't have anyone proven coming back, we do have a ton of talent back there.

WR - Your two starting WRs are likely going to be Mike Brown and Jimmy Eden in my opinion. Eden is ready to play right now. He's going to be very good. It looks like things are very close to clicking for Chris Summers to make the leap into a productive player. I think he'll be the 3rd WR. At the 4th and 5th positions I think you'll see BJ Hayes and Pat Kelly. Kelly is right out of the Jonathan Crawford mold and I think he's going to be a great pickup for us.

OL - We return a lot of talent here. Josh Weaver, Alex Stadler, Brian Mosier, and Justin Vargas are all coming back. All of them have started games and played significant minutes. The only question mark right now is at center and that could very well be taken care of very soon. Can the young guys who are all really talented but unproven step up and provide depth is the biggest question mark.

TE - We've got Will Quarles and Tommy Shaver back. Both of them are very athletic, can block, and can catch. I think we're more than set at this position.

DL - This is probably our deepest position going into next year. We only lose three players out of eight that played. We return Trey Jacobs, Asa Chapman, Daryl Robertson, Terry Adams, and Tim Smith. Add to these guys the two freshmen we redshirted and our DL will be very talented and experienced next year.

OLB - We lose Ian Childress which is a big loss, but we return Wes Cheek, Pat Bannon, and Jamal Giddens. Wes was great this year after switching to LB halfway through the year. Given an entire year to learn the position even better, big things will be expected out of him. Pat Bannon is just good, plain and simple. Giddens is extremely talented and will be a difference maker. He's freakishly athletic and the words Vince Jr have been said about him. Mike Connolly is also back and has shown improvement as the year went on.

ILB - We lose Hursky which is huge. However, over the past two years he's missed a couple games which has led to a couple other guys getting valuable experience. We return Chad Brown, Kyle O'Donnell, and Doncel Bolt, all of which got significant time this year.

DB - This is going to be our most significant loss. We've got some talent who has shown flashes at times waiting in the wings, but a lot of them are unproven. Chris Rocco is the only starter who is returning. Donny Manns will likely start at one CB spot with one of the Brandons starting at the other (Saunders or Robinson). Al Bailey is now back to being healthy after hurting his knee in spring ball so he will definitely be in the mix somewhere. Add to all of them Larry Claiborne who showed what he can do when Greiser was hurt, and it's safe to say being cautiously optimistic about this group isn't out of the question.

K - We return all of our kickers. And they're all really good.

Thanks for the breakdown, Supe. Spring ball is going to be a bit more interesting this year. Hopefully, we can also get some transfers in to fill some of the positions.

Excellent breakdown... one question lingers: What can we expect from our Big South opponents?

Stony Brook has a GREAT freshman running back and finally started playing better at the end of the year.

Coastal may have some talent, but they've completely imploded. I don't expect anything out of them next year unless major changes are made.

G-W is middle of the pack at best.

CSU will have an unproven QB yet again. What little we have seen out of him hasn't been good.

VMI may be better, but will they keep the triple option?

All of Presby's disciplined players graduate. They shouldn't be that good.


Needless to say, even in a "rebuilding" year we shouldn't have too much trouble in the Big South.

SuperJon wrote:Needless to say, even in a "rebuilding" year we shouldn't have too much trouble in the Big South.

But that game at the end of the season at Stony Brook could decide it. It will be tough to win up there.

SBU looks like the toughest challenge.

And I wouldn't be shocked if we didn't add some quality transfers again this spring or summer.

While next year stills a lot of question marks in our lineup, I don[t see a huge dropoff collectively. A great deal will depend on how Spencer handles the reins and how our secondary steps up. I saw some nice thing out of both of the Brandons late int he season in tv games.

Spencer is a big question for me too. He showed some flashes in his playing (mostly in mop up duty) so having him get most of the snaps will be interesting. Id like to see how Tyler Brennan does as well. I know we have some QBs in the recruiting pipeline so itll be interesting to see if we land at least one. Now I will say though did Brennan redshirt this year? If so itll be nice to have a QB for 3 years as the starter

SuperJon wrote:
All of Presby's disciplined players graduate. They shouldn't be that good.

Excellent insight into PC's program. Most insiders don't understand what you have grasped. (These Srs. are pretty much the end of the Tommy
Spangler era).

LU should be in the playoffs this fall. Understand your feelings but have to move on.

I feel the same, we have a lot of talent coming back next year, we just won't be as experienced. We should see a fine product on the field next fall, and be in contention for a third straight BSC championship. Though missing out on the playoffs is rough, I'm excited for next year!

in light of the discussions the last 24 hours here are some teams (conference aside) that we ought to be on the phone with about scheduling a game.

(Not necessarily listed in order of importance)

1. Furman (SoCon)
2. The Citadel (SoCon
3. William and Mary (CAA)
4. Northwestern State (Southland)
5. Maine (CAA)
6. Tennessee-Martin (Ohio Valley)
7. Jacksonville State (Ohio Valley)
8. Prairie View A&M (SWAC)
9. Jacksonville U. (Pioneer)
10. Dayton (Pioneer)

Why not the Pioneer League teams? Even non-scholly...they are D1.

Sadly Fumbles is dead on.

Sly Fox wrote:Sadly Fumbles is dead on.

Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every once in a while.

Fumblerooskies wrote:

Sly Fox wrote:Sadly Fumbles is dead on.

Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every once in a while.

Blind, Bald, Squirrel!

Fumblerooskies wrote:Why not the Pioneer League teams? Even non-scholly...they are D1.

GENIUS

Does the same apply to the Ivy League? Are they D1 and non-scholly?

BJWilliams wrote:in light of the discussions the last 24 hours here are some teams (conference aside) that we ought to be on the phone with about scheduling a game.

(Not necessarily listed in order of importance)

1. Furman (SoCon)
2. The Citadel (SoCon
3. William and Mary (CAA)
4. Northwestern State (Southland)
5. Maine (CAA)
6. Tennessee-Martin (Ohio Valley)
7. Jacksonville State (Ohio Valley)
8. Prairie View A&M (SWAC)
9. Jacksonville U. (Pioneer)
10. Dayton (Pioneer)

There is only one team we should schedule from this list. I think you all know what that team is.

#5?