catdaddyp

I thought we would be better along both lines of scrimmage this past year. The most encouraging sign was the development throughout the year. That’s the mark of any good coach. A consistent pass rush left a lot to be desired, but the run defense took a major leap forward.

100%. I like all the DBs in this class, but would like one or two more with productive college level playing experience.

Part of it was injury and part of it was the players ahead of him. Cam Smith and Darius Rush will be drafted and received the majority of minutes at Nickel and BCB respectively. Marcellas Dial collected almost all the snaps at FCB. As the year went on, freshmen DQ Smith and (freshman all-american) Nick Emmanwori took the rest of the snaps at Nickel/FS and SS. O’Donnell Fortune was the top backup at both CB spots. Several other freshmen also leapfrogged Hunter on the depth chart so there wasn’t any room for him. The talent level in the DB room at South Carolina matches any in the country at this point. All that being said, if Hunter can stay healthy he could really help us. Travaris Robinson recruited Hunter to SC and his record for finding CBs with upside and eventually placing them in the NFL speaks for itself. Let’s hope coach Bell can tap into what Hunter brings to the table. A healthy tandem of Hunter and Golden-Nelson could make our secondary look drastically different next year.

Yep, he’s a good one. Probably only a year or two away from losing Renna, Bell, Rodriguez, and Popper too. JoeMo put together a talented staff that will likely go on to bigger opportunities.

For sure. Bilhal Kone said he will have his decision made by tomorrow night. I don’t know if that is literal or if he is announcing his decision tomorrow night with it already made. Could be him. We’ll see. Visited Akron, Montana, and Western Michigan.

Sounds like we landed someone, but no idea who with all the offers out there.

New offer to CB Brian Nelson (TX). I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a few P5 offers before it’s all said and done.

David Jester (FL) is coming in for an official visit this weekend. Rivals has him rated as a 3 star WR, but he played S his senior year. He’d be a great pickup on either side of the ball. Hudl film linked.

OL from West Virginia. Found success with two players out of the portal from WV last year. Why not add a third?

New offer out to 2023 CB. Long and plays the ball well in the air. He would be a nice addition if we were to land him.

Not sure, but I really enjoyed the MAC bowl games. I used to pick bowl games at high percentage rate. Not anymore. The portal (and draft opt outs) has made many P5 teams into either a shell of themselves or different versions of what they were in the regular season.

It’s too bad we didn’t play BG later in the season when much of the tackling was cleaned up. I know we still have a few areas to be addressed through recruiting, but I expect next season’s outcome to be different.

Sounds like he’s feeling the pressure. He has a few players in this year’s class that I’d like to have, but overall I believe our staff has a better eye for talent.

Coach disagrees with me.

Maybe. I haven’t been impressed with their recruiting, so I’m doubtful they are replaced with the same caliber players.

Yep, we probably saw the peak of the program under Loeffler. I believe I saw Brooks declared for the draft. Losing Brooks, Anderson, Anders, and Brown from that defense is going to sting.

Shawn Naim removed.

DB from Houston with 2 years of eligibility. Former JUCO.

He’d be a solid pickup. Legitimate 3 star DE coming out of high school. For whatever reason he wasn’t favored by VT’s new coaching staff. 3 years of eligibility remaining with a nice upside? I’m a fan.

Not sure why he didn’t sign early, especially since he already had a “Top 4.” In any case, he’d be a great pickup. Looks like a natural at free safety but could also play cornerback.

Agree, we are going to land some difference makers. I went back and looked at the commitment timeline (not signing) from last year’s class and it went like this: December: Robinson, Wiley, Threatt, Martin, Harper January: Banks, Jennings, Kellom, Terry, Jacques-Louis, Banes, Jones, Adams, Murphy, Gettman, Golden, T. Williams, Landers, K. Davis, McCoy, Darnell February: Hale-Frater, Stallworth March: N/A April: Price, Thompson, Whigan, Clark, George May: Griffin, Holt, Undercuffler, Woods, Golden-Nelson, Anderson June: Fish, Thomas

Another side effect the portal is creating is making better high school players available to G5 and FCS schools. The portal is hurting high school recruiting when it comes to the P5 level, but players who in previous years would be signing at P5 are now available to G5. (Landers may have been a case here.) On the flip side, there is always the possibility those kids have a great season or two and then transfer up to P5.

We got us a long snapper. Looks like he works with the same kicking academy as Owen Wiley.

I’m not knocking those other schools, but none of them are a step up. Especially if the 2023 team takes the leap I expect them to.

I’m assuming he expected bigger offers when he entered the portal. Instead of helping the Zips win a few more games or being CB1 going into 2023, he’s now deciding between Kent State, Eastern Michigan, Stony Brook, Illinois State, and Bryant.