catdaddyp

Since we’ve hit a slow period and the majority of roster turnover is complete, I thought I’d take a look at where things stand going into the summer and fall. Hopefully, this topic will give the board a conversation topic over the coming months. Under 100 days until kickoff…. QB Redshirt senior DJ Irons will be QB1 as long as he is healthy. Irons was voted 3rd Team All-MAC in 2022 and landed on Athlon’s Preseason 2023 All-MAC 4th team. Those recognitions came despite missing two full games and parts of a few others. Coach Moorhead gave DJI high praise by saying Irons “played as well as any first year quarterback in his system.” Unlike last year, there is now multiple talented quarterbacks behind QB1. Former Albany transfer Jeff Undercuffler had a solid showing in the spring game and looks ready to lead the offense if needed. He will likely be pushed by incoming Virginia Tech transfer Tahj Bullock. Bullock brings a different skillset to the offense as he has a big frame and is a powerful runner for a quarterback. Bullock is not as refined of a passer as Irons or Undercuffler and still needs to learn the system. That being said, his potential cannot be ignored. Redshirt freshman Dijon Jennings and true freshman Steele Wasel had their moments in the spring game and gave reason for future excitement. RB Florida transfer Lorenzo Lingard may be the playmaker the run game was missing last year. Despite not breaking any long runs in the spring game, his ability was noticeable. Athlon recognized his potential and listed Lingard as Preseason All-MAC 3rd team despite yet playing a down. Coach Moorhead also likes to use his running backs in the passing game and Lingard has the speed, power, and vision to do damage in the open field. Behind Lingard there are several options. Incoming Arizona transfer Drake Anderson has proven success against a handful of P5 defenses and fits this offense. Charles Kellom is a redshirt freshman biding time before his opportunity arises. Junior Blake Hester will mostly be utilized on special teams, but can contribute out of the backfield. Former Kansas State transfer CJ Price has the capacity to be a load coming downhill (when he’s not hit immediately on the handoff), but will miss substantial time due to injury. WR Wide receiver is where the strength of the offense lies. What percentage of credit should go to the play calls creating so much stress on the defense versus attributed to the players themselves can be debated. Regardless, there is a ton of talent in this group. Former LSU transfer Alex Adams is the headliner out of the slot and may be the most explosive player in the MAC. He is an easy All-MAC 1st teamer no matter who is voting. Sophomore Bobby Golden will split snaps with Adams and has already demonstrated he can be a difficult cover from the spring game. Former Penn State transfer Daniel George was oddly left off an All-MAC team last season, but was added to Athlon’s Preseason All-MAC 3rd Team and looks ready to have a monster year. Former JUCO Caleb Anderson will split snaps with George and managed to get open several times in the spring game. However, the young QBs missed him when those opportunities arose. Redshirt sophomore Myles Walker made a case to takeover SJL’s role during the spring game. He may not have been the best receiver on the field, but he caught the ball when it came his way. Redshirt sophomore Jasaiah Gathings and incoming Grambling transfer Phaizon Wilson will toss their name into the competition to see who can claim the starting spot. The question marks are converted running back Anthony Williams and the incoming freshmen. There is so much talent here, yet only so many snaps to go around. TE Former West Virginia transfer TJ Banks is the unquestioned starter. He split snaps about 50/50 last year and should collect a heavier amount in 2023. Banks has proven to be a solid blocker and also a reliable target in the passing game. Athlon named Banks to their Preseason All-MAC 3rd team. The backup spot is wide open. Incoming Arizona State transfer Jacob Newell will have a chance to claim playing time if he can beat out redshirt junior Nik Ognenovic. Former Alabama transfer Caden Clark is unfortunately injured and incoming freshman Conner Cravaack did not enroll early. OL The offensive line should be improved. Junior right tackle Nate Williams has been named to Athlon’s Preseason All-MAC 3rd team and is considered the emotional leader of the OL. If redshirt freshmen Tyhler Williams and Keylen Davis are ready to start (as seems to be the case from the spring game) they will give the OL some athleticism that was missing last year. Couple their insertions with another year of development from the players already in the system and it makes sense that the OL will perform at a higher level. However, a number of combinations might be fielded before a final five is determined. The most likely starters (from left to right) to begin the season may be Chambers, Kilbane, T. Williams, K. Davis, N. Williams. Maryland transfer Keon Kindred is talented and will probably push for a starting position. South Florida transfer Joshua Blanchard could make a difference if healthy (he dealt with multiple injuries during his time at USF). Transfers Ben Frank and Andrew George will provide more size and competitive depth. The freshmen certainly have athleticism and potential, but should not be expected to provide significant contributions right out the gate. DL The defensive line has seen as much of an overhaul as any other position since coach Tibesar took the reins as DC. The only two DL from the previous regime that are expected to contribute significantly are seniors Julian Richardson and (former JUCO) Ryan Johnson. Coach “DeBo” landed two portal transfers (all-conference at a lower level) and three freshmen during this cycle. Coach Wart finished the class with another portal transfer and four JUCOs. DT Despite currently flying under the radar, Tennessee State transfer Terray Jones seems like the real deal and probably has what it takes to make an All-MAC team. A blend of returning and new faces will join him on the interior. Redshirt seniors Devon Robinson and (former JUCO) Kyle Thomas will attempt to end their careers on a high note, while redshirt freshman Kiawan Murphy will compete for a larger role. Incoming New Mexico State transfer Lama Lavea provides another strong option up front and JUCO Tyler Carter may surprise. Freshman Marcus Moore will be developed and likely redshirt. Holt and Harper moving on hurts, but this group has the potential to be substantially better than 2022’s lot. DE There are a number of question marks with this position. Even though the athleticism and talent level has been increased, will the production follow? No one stood out during the spring game in the pass rush department. However, redshirt senior transfer Ahmad Rabah was not 100% healthy, Julian Richardson did not play, and Bruno Dall is a freshman with a high upside. JUCOs CJ Nunnally, Antonio Smith, and LaJoshua Jackson (assuming he is truly a DE and not DT) will have the opportunity to claim playing time. Johnson, Rabah, and Richardson are currently in line to start, but they need to show significant growth from the spring. Expecting any of the freshman to play major roles is probably not realistic. LB This position has the potential to be one of the best in the MAC as the linebackers have become a collection of explosive and physical players. The LBs flowed quickly to the ball in the spring game and had very few missed tackles. All-MAC 1st teamer Bubba Arslanian returns for his final season and will, at least initially, be flanked by sophomore Bryan McCoy. Returning juniors and former JUCOs Antavious Fish and Andrew Behm look more comfortable, while true sophomore Jaharon Griffin will have a chance to make an impact on more than just special teams. They will be joined by JUCO tackling machine Gage Summers and talented Illinois transfer Shammond Cooper. Freshman Melvin Spriggs will likely redshirt. CB Considering the situation, Coach Bell probably got about as much as he could out of the cornerbacks last season. Now fast forward a year where the depth and talent level has been increased. Junior Tyson Durant will do his best to hold down a starting spot and former Memphis transfer Devonte Golden-Nelson looks ready to live up to his potential. They will be pushed by South Carolina transfer Joey Hunter, Pittsburgh transfer Judson Tallandier, and JUCO Silas Proby. Returners Rishad Hence and former JUCO Cam Threatt will attempt to work into the rotation as well. Although the issues have seemingly been addressed, the incoming freshmen will also have a chance to compete for playing time. NB Redshirt sophomore Darrian Lewis was one of the biggest surprises in 2022. He was physical and may have been the best blitzer on the team. While there is some crossover to this position, it seems Lewis will be challenged by Purdue transfer Terence Thomas. Thomas is extremely athletic and kept making his presence felt at the spring game. S Safety play went from inconsistent early in 2022 to some of the best in the MAC by the end of the season. Expect the physicality level to pick up where it left off with Athlon Preseason All-MAC 4th teamer (former Duke transfer) Nate Thompson leading the way. He will be joined by former West Virginia transfer KJ Martin who may be ready to push for All-MAC status himself. Former Eastern Kentucky transfer Jaden Woods forced his way into the rotation as the top backup. Out of the younger returning players, redshirt sophomore DiMarco Johnson may be ready to contribute in 2023. The incoming freshmen are talented and built in the same vein as the current starters, but significant playing time will likely be hard to come by. ST Blake Hester is a core special teams player and was recognized as a kick returner by Athlon, landing on the preseason All-MAC 3rd team. The kicking game started off slowly in the spring game, but picked up steam as the event wore on. Sophomore kicker Noah Perez connected well on the majority of his attempts, while freshmen Owen Wiley and Joey Castle showed promise. The staff also brought in JUCO scholarship kicker/punter Dante Jackson.

Bump for update. Although multiple players have positional flexibility, I separated them into groups by cornerback, nickel, and safety. One note here is the high amount of scholarship defensive backs on the roster. Most programs keep around 15 scholarship DBs and we have 20 at the moment.

I’m behind on updating this list and trying to get all the new offers into the Rivals database. I expect we will see a few more 2024 commitments and a number of new offers in the coming weeks. Especially with the camps kicking off next weekend.

I believe that’s Julian Richardson pictured second from the left. If so, that would confirm he is officially a DE now (Corey Thomas was pictured with the safeties), so I assume they will remove the “OLB” tag from those two at some point on the official roster. I hope Richardson gets fully healthy and can give us some pass rush from the weakside that we often lacked last year.

I’d also like to see him push for the backup spot and expect he will, especially as the season progresses. That being said, I actually came away from the spring game feeling good about Undercuffler. He’s not DJI by any stretch, but I liked the way he commanded the offense and made fairly quick decisions with the ball. I feel comfortable with Undercuffler leading the way if he has to play significant snaps. Bullock has some serious size for a QB and would certainly be more of a threat in the run game. We’ll have to see how quickly he picks up on the offense. There’s a lot of talent in that QB room. Time for coach Fess to coach them up.

Still early and we’re probably not completely finished with roster turnover, but here’s a potential projection going into the summer. There are a number of different possibilities, which is exciting considering the upgraded roster talent. I’m sure this is not how the depth chart will finish in 2023, but interesting to look at during the slow summer months. OFFENSE QB: Irons Undercuffler RB: Lingard D. Anderson WR: Adams Golden WR: George Anderson WR: Gathings P. Wilson TE: Banks Newell LT: Chambers Kindred LG: Kilbane Robarge C T. Williams Georges RG: K Davis Blanchard RT: N Williams Frank DEFENSE DE: R Johnson Nunnally DT: Robinson Lavea DT: T. Jones K. Thomas DE: Rabah Richardson LB: Arslanian Summers LB: McCoy Cooper Nickel: Lewis T. Thomas CB: Durant Tallandier SS: Thompson Woods FS: Martin D. Johnson CB: Golden-Nelson Hunter

Position has been updated. This group has a chance to be insanely good.

Well that didn’t last long. Guess we are back on the market for another OL. Too bad, despite coming from a D3, I thought Castro had a chance to help us this year.

I hope somebody gives him a shot. My fear is he will not test well and that will be frowned upon. His game speed is much faster than what a lot of players would test at because he reads and reacts so quickly. If that makes sense? It’s what separates many incoming freshman and younger players from the veterans. The vets can typically play faster because they are more comfortable and react quicker. I forgot to add his size would be a disadvantage as well. 5’10” 215 isn’t exactly what most pro teams are looking for. Assuming that’s his actual size at this point.

Former walk-on Emmett Harris is missing from this graphic. Not sure if that’s because he missed spring ball or if he is no longer with the team. I’ve updated the position and I’m really excited to see them in action. If they are able to build on what was displayed at the spring game, this defense is going to give opposing teams issues in 2023. Tim Tibesar has collected a physical and athletic group of linebackers.

Agree with @LZIp. Pretty sure he’s on scholarship. Other offers from Portland State, Weber State, UNLV, Tennessee Tech, Alabama State, Murray State, and Western Carolina.

Probably ok. Castro looks better suited at guard to me.

https://twitter.com/jayyc_22/status/1662215933128232961?s=46&t=i28PJ0RreaRA57i6LfDzUA

A couple guys made the 3rd and 4th team that I thought should have been on the 3rd team at the end of last year in Daniel George and Nate Thompson. Nice to see Hester as a KR, Nate Williams, and Banks get a little recognition. Lingard on the 3rd team too and he hasn’t played a down. If this team plays up to their talent level, this list will be flipped on its head. I’m betting we have several defenders make an all conference team by the end of the year too.

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/mac-football-2023-all-conference-team Some interesting selections on 3rd and 4th teams.

Oh man. Thomas we hardly got to know you. Seeing this happen often now. Guys transfer in for the spring and then transfer out again for whatever reason. Believe Bone was still a walk-on.

All great questions and, unfortunately, I don’t have any concrete answers to any of them. It’s possible Landers entered the portal, but more likely a grades issue. Not sure what this staff requires in that situation. I wouldn’t count on him being back, although I’d really like to see it happen at some point. I figured Holt would end up on Minnesota’s roster, but the longer this goes on it seems less likely. There’s a chance he’s already landed somewhere and it hasn’t been reported. Would love to say I have access to the NCAA portal, but I don’t. I don’t know how the staff feels about taking guys back who have already entered the portal. I know some coaches are more forgiving than others. He’d definitely help us and a team can’t ever have enough talented defensive linemen. Although, there could be another issue going on we don’t know about?

I got so focused on Landers, I forgot to even mention Howard. I’m with you, I’m thinking he’s probably a PWO. He was listed with NIU’s initial 2023 signing class, so I think he was on scholarship there. Wouldn’t be surprised to see a few more unannounced roster departures and the scholarship chart line up closely.

Oh wow, you’re right. I could be wrong, but I thought I saw Landers on the sideline during the spring game, just not in pads. That’s a big loss. Suppose that means we’ll see Chambers and Kindred battle it out at LT now. Maybe James will come along quicker than expected? I think that’s now 4 players gone from the 2022 HS/JUCO signing class.

And after checking the online roster, TE Darnell and OL Hale-Frater are no longer listed.

Going with C. Imagine some players are being encouraged to look around.

Love this pickup! Cooper was flipped between inside and outsider backer in Illinois’ 3-4 defense and wasn’t able to carve out a starting roll. No shame in that as Illinois will have one of the best front sevens in all of college football this year (barring multiple injuries). Cooper was initially recruited by Lovie Smith’s staff to play in the 4-3 scheme, so it stands to reason he will have a chance to excel in our 4-2-5.

Good question. I’m not sure if there is any one player with the ability to make a bigger difference for their team than Lingard. Especially considering how inept our running game was during portions of last year. Each MAC team has landed at least a few good players in portal. I can’t point to any one team and say that’s probably an awful portal class. However, CMU has collected the least amount of portal players. The teams I’m most interested in are: Ball State - A new QB and some nice additions at receiver. Wouldn’t be surprised to see them steer in a new direction offensively. They lost Carson Steele at RB and replaced him with Kent State’s Marquez Cooper. Bowling Green - They’ve added some athleticism and size at the OLB position. Just not sure what to expect from the rest of their defense. Connor Bazelak could be a wild card if he has time to throw the ball. OL is still an issue. BGSU has some solid talent at WR. Kent State - They are going to be awful, but got off to a hot start initially landing Jalani Williams, Dallas Craddieth, Devin Nicholson, and Mattheus Carroll. The recruiting of late has been unimpressive to say the least. Miami - Rashad Amos is a good back that never really got an opportunity at South Carolina. He could potentially make a difference for what should be a solid Miami squad. Western Michigan - What are they going to be? I like what they’ve done in the portal and they had a top heavy HS class. Keshawn King, along with the two freshmen RBs, could make some noise and provide a strong running game.

A few updates: - All 2023 high school MAC commits now have ratings. - A number of JUCOs still need ratings, which is skewing the rankings. Teams with JUCOs that still need a rating: Akron = 5 Eastern Michigan = 2 Kent State = 2 Northern Illinois = 2 Western Michigan = 2 Ball State = 1 Bowling Green = 1 Ohio = 1 Rivals plans to incorporate the HS/JUCO rankings with the portal rankings at some point during the summer. I’m not sure how that will look with so many unrated portal players, but I strongly feel Akron has the best portal class in the MAC (regardless of ratings) and it’s not that close.