catdaddyp

Definitely a run first QB. Rushed for 140 yards and 7 TDs in 2023, while attempting only one pass that season.

Yeah, they’ve seemingly done well. Rivals has them #2 comprehensive behind Toledo. Our class is in the midst of dragging itself out of the doldrums of MAC rankings and is now ranked 4th comprehensive according to Rivals. We have a chance to end up 3rd.

He may be a walk-on, but it’s also possible they just haven’t released his official commitment post yet. If he is a walk-on, he’ll probably be one of the better ones we’ve picked up. I think we’ve added three DTs so far, including the two JUCOs. We still need at least one or two more. All things considered, I like what the new DL coach has done so far with the resources we have.

He’s definitely going to help us. Two veteran DL in the last 24 hours. Let’s get a few more…

Great pickup! Brookhart is loading up the WR room.

DE commit. Started every game for Dayton this past season.

As others have already said, it wasn’t a true spring game—just a “thud” practice—but it was still great to watch the players move and compete. QB: Finley is head and shoulders above the rest. Roggow and Broughton each had some good moments, but if the season started today and something happened to Finley, I’m not sure either one is ready to lead us to a win just yet. Like I mentioned before, Broughton’s smaller frame is probably part of the reason we were able to land him, but he’s special and he’s only going to get better. He also lined up at receiver a bit. RB: There weren’t many run plays, and the few they did call were blown dead pretty quickly, so there wasn’t a whole lot to take away there. That said, the backs caught the ball really well out of the backfield, and you could easily see their talent from that angle. Gant and Patrick are the two to keep an eye on. Patrick still needs to put on a little more mass, but once he does—look out. WR: I’m calling it now—Kyan Mason will be all-conference this season as a redshirt freshman. He’s dynamic, and our defense had a tough time covering him all night. Polk and Davis look like they’ve kept progressing and should both have solid seasons. I was expecting more from Hills. He got separation a few times, but just couldn’t haul it in. His catch radius seems somewhat limited. He’ll probably be used more on the short stuff. It was good to see Adams back out there, but he doesn’t look quite like the explosive receiver he was before the injuries. He’ll help us, no doubt, but expectations should be tempered. And once again, another spring and another strong showing from Walker—caught almost everything thrown his way, including a tough grab against Reed to end the period. TE: Backups Whisner and Witherspoon saw a lot of action at tight end tonight. Witherspoon was a bit up and down as a receiver—dropped a few easy ones but also came down with some tough, contested catches. He moves well and has all kinds of length. Pretty sure I saw Newell and Cravaack out there too, just don’t remember them getting many reps. OL: Western Kentucky transfer Darrell Johnson looks to have the inside track at left tackle. He’s got all the physical tools and should be solid. Morris and K. Davis looked really good at center and left guard. Right guard and right tackle still need to be sorted out. Based on what I saw tonight, I’d say transfer Allen Jones has the edge at right guard. Right tackle looks like it’s between JUCO signee Massai King and Jonas Mann. Pretty sure I saw Mann take a few snaps at left tackle too. DL: There was some good out there, but overall, we need immediate help. Arizona transfer Cyrus Durham is the real deal and will help soften the blow of losing Nunnally. Dall looked ready on the opposite side. Inside, Ronald Hull looks good to go. Beyond that, when it comes to starting D1 talent, that’s about it. The rest of the group has potential and might provide depth in 2025, but that’s where things stand for now. The portal and JUCO are going to be critical for our D-line moving forward. LB: Similar to running back, it’s tough to get a full read in this type of practice. That said, our backers move well and can fly downhill when needed. Spriggs came up with an interception when a receiver wasn’t expecting the ball. DB: The defensive backs rotated a lot and played all over the place. I actually thought Jarmon looked the best tonight. If I had to guess, I’d say the starters will be Jarmon and Reed at corner with DeWalt at the nickel. Tranfer Ben Kamara looked good too. We might not have an elite secondary, but we’ve got guys who move well and have plenty of length. The safeties rotated quite a bit too. The biggest thing that stood out to me was seeing Daymon David on the sideline in a red jersey. ST: Wiley looks like a completely different kicker than he was a few years back. When he connects, the ball jumps off his foot. I’d be surprised if he’s not our starter. Hard to say much about the punting, other than there was plenty of hang time—kicks kept smacking the ceiling. I came away feeling really good about our offense. This group has a real chance to be the best we’ve had under Moorhead. Defensively, though, I’m not too confident about our D-line depth. There’s too much youth and inexperience, and we definitely need more help for this season. I think we’ll be solid at linebacker and in the secondary. Now we just have to wait and see who hits the portal and who we can bring in.

Yeah, it looks like D. Lewis entered the portal this week. I don’t have much issue with this one. He was a Zip for 4 years and is probably looking for some kind of $ in his final season. I just hope he doesn’t land on one of our opponents’ rosters.

Played in two games for Marshall. Not sure what went on there, but he’s a great athlete with plenty of potential. High upside, low-risk, reward type pickup.

Already in on a visit.

Gathings also back in the portal after a year at UCONN.

It’s been reported that 615 players have entered the portal today.

Marcus Moore joining Nunnally at Purdue. We should have won more games last season with the amount of players we’ve had transfer to P4.

Thanks for all the info @Captain Kangaroo! Looks like we have several guys with new numbers that are not updated on the official roster. From the limited social media clips, Hull looks like he’s going to make some noise this year. How did he look in the scrimmage? Was DeWalt playing Nickel? It would be exciting if he could lock that spot down with his size and athleticism. I’m glad reinforcements are on the way along the DL. Too many walk-ons listed on the two deep at the moment. Did you happen to catch whether Shor (OL) or Graham (DE) were involved in the scrimmage—either on the field or even just present on the sideline? With the recent offers going out to DEs and OL, I’m wondering who has left.

Offer to OL Javirea Moore of East Texas A&M.

Take it with a grain of salt since he played at the FCS level, but PFF actually graded Thompson higher than any of our D-linemen last year not named Nunnally.

DE Jamall Thompson from Stamford visited.

The amount of spring coverage we’ve gotten from the program has been disappointing. To be fair, spring coverage across college football has taken a hit in general. As of this writing, only two SEC schools are even televising their spring games. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a vote next year to allow schools to play other programs during the spring. Colorado and Syracuse gave it a shot, but the NCAA shut it down, saying it wouldn’t be fair since other schools had already wrapped up spring ball and didn’t have the same opportunity. In any case, here’s my take on the current roster and what I’ll be keeping an eye on during our spring event. QB: Finley is one of the few returning starting quarterbacks in the MAC, and with a full year in the system under his belt, he should be in the mix for an all-conference season—assuming he stays healthy. With Bullock hitting the portal, the QB-run threat takes a hit, so that element of the offense will have a different feel in 2025. Roggow didn’t look like an overwhelmed freshman during spring ball in 2024, and there's a good chance he’s ready to lock down the backup role as a redshirt freshman. Then there’s true freshman Cibastian Broughton. He’s a bit undersized for the position, but he’s physically gifted and could force his way into the conversation if he puts it together quickly. RB: Top rushers Simmons and Kellom have moved on after the 2024 season, opening the door for new faces to step up and take meaningful snaps. Jordan Gant, a transfer from Tennessee State, looks like the best bet to grab the starting job, while Chris Gee out of Colgate might end up being a sneaky good pickup. Don’t sleep on redshirt freshman Sean Patrick, either. He was electric in high school and may be ready to make an impact this season. WR: Golden and Norton decided to go portaling, which leaves a production void—but honestly, I don’t think we’re looking at much of a drop-off. Adams returns, and if he can stay healthy, we’re getting back a former 1st team All-MAC player. Polk showed real growth late in the season, and that development should keep trending in the right direction. Walker, Louis, and P. Davis should be ready to step in and contribute. Redshirt freshman Kyan Mason was an absolute nightmare to cover in high school. He flashed that ability with a tough touchdown grab last year, and if he’s added some mass, he should start seeing regular snaps. And I’m pretty high on the upside of Brandon Hills, the Washington State transfer. He’s got the physical tools to become a big-time player in this offense. TE: Newell and Cravaack form what is likely the best tight end duo in the MAC. I’m curious to see what strides redshirt freshman Khalil Witherspoon has made. OL: What the starters at this position will look like is anyone’s guess. Coach JRod has done a fantastic job recruiting the high school ranks since he got here—but keeping those kids around has been a challenge. We lost starters James and Williams to the portal, and Blanchard is out of eligibility, but we might actually be in a spot where we can replace them without too much of a drop. The new additions don’t lack size or athleticism, that’s for sure. Morris and K. Davis will be locked in as starters somewhere on the interior, and we’ll have to see how the tackle spots shake out. If he’s healthy, Mann could be ready to make a push at right tackle. DE: 1st Team All-MAC Nunnally took advantage of his extra year and hit the portal to Purdue, and his running mate Adler is out of eligibility—so we’re looking at some new faces at this spot. Arizona transfer Cyrus Durham will battle it out with redshirt sophomores Cheatom and Dall for the starting jobs. Right behind them are the Frazier brothers, both redshirt freshmen. None of these guys are short on length or athleticism. DT: This position probably concerns me the most on the defensive side right now. Moore surprisingly moved on to Bowling Green, and Kapongo is out of eligibility, so we’re thin. This would be the perfect time for Murphy to finally tap into his potential and lock down a starting role. Redshirt freshmen Ronald Hull and Elijah Davis definitely have the talent, but the question is whether they’re ready to handle the workload. Madden flashed at times last season, but even as an upperclassman, he’s still pretty green. We’ve added two JUCO signees, but I don’t know when they’ll actually get on campus. We probably need a few more DTs before we can start feeling good about depth. LB: Starters McCoy and Fish have moved on—Oklahoma State and Sam Houston snagged them—but there’s some good news: Cooper looks to have been granted an extra year, and Summers is listed on the spring roster. I’m actually really high on this group. All the young guys have a ton of upside—it’s just a matter of when the light comes on for each of them. If it clicks, this unit could surprise. NB: D. Lewis and Greenwood will once again handle the snaps at Nickel, barring injury. They have plenty of experience and provide stability to the secondary. CB: Golden-Nelson transferred out, but outside of his departure, we didn’t really lose much at this spot. Reed, DeWalt, and White are the top returners and should collect the meaningful snaps. Upper Iowa transfer Ben Kamara is definitely one to watch. He has all the physical tools to be a really good player—it’s just a matter of how quickly he adjusts to this level. S: P. Lewis is off to try his hand at the pro level after a one-and-done, all-conference season. David and Anderson should be the starters heading into the year. Quality depth was a real issue last season—once David went down or anyone else missed time, it really showed. We’ve added two transfers to help shore things up: Jamarii Somerville from James Madison and Mehki Flowers from Penn State. I’m not sure if Flowers is on campus yet, but if he’s able to pull it all together as a former 4 star, he could be a game-changer. ST: We fielded one of the best special teams units in the conference in 2024, but now we’re looking at a full reset—our starting kicker, punter, kickoff specialist, and long snapper have all moved on. Wiley and Castle will both have shots to earn starting roles. They have been in the program for several years now and should be noticeably improved from their freshmen campaigns. I’d imagine we’ll see a few more specialists brought in after the spring for competition purposes. Ending Thoughts: I’m sure we’ll lose a handful of players after the spring when the next portal window opens. By my count, we still have nine scholarships to fill, not counting the three usually allocated to special teams. There are still plenty of players out there who could help us, whether from JUCO or the portal, so we’ll see how everything shakes out over the next few months.

Bump for update. We’ve moved up to 7th in conference rankings. If Rivals would include UMASS, we’d be sitting at 8th. Toledo and Miami’s classes are clearly a step above the rest. Bowling Green is probably locked in at the third spot, but after that, it’s really just a toss-up. I don’t think this class is as strong as our last two, but that might not matter much if we hit at a high rate on positions of need.

This is one I thought was coming. He dominated at JUCO this past season. 42 total tackles and 5 sacks. Really agile for a guy his size and has been well coached. Not sure why he didn’t have more offers.

Spring dates posted after the first day of practice.

Rivals listed him as a JUCO 3rd team All-American.

My only issue with this year’s schedule is our 2nd bye is on the final week of conference play. Outside of that, great schedule. Miami and Toledo probably have the most overall talent…again. 4 of our MAC opponents will have new head coaches. I doubt that many of them will be situations like Lembo’s first year with Buffalo. We still have some areas that need addressing on the roster, but this program is far ahead from when Moorhead took over. 6 wins minimum has to be the expectation this season. And who knows when we’ll have a schedule this manageable again.

With our need at DT, I hope he’d be welcomed back. I don’t know in what manner he left though. He seemed like a good kid from his high school recruiting days, so I wouldn’t think he would have burned bridges on his way out. I also dont know what he’s looking for at this point in his career. If he did return, it’d certainly give us a boost at a position that is currently full of question marks.

Already back in the portal.