Since we all got a chance to evaluate the Zips....

[InTheZone]

What positions do you guys feel like we are weakest at, and which positions will freshman be depended upon to come in and play right away?? From what you saw at the spring game and other practices, is this team ready for a successful season as is, or will new players be depended upon??

[Kangaroo Craig]

OL and WR. QB is talented, but inexperienced. Defense overall looks good, but could be lacking depth on the DL.

[Zipsrifle]

Well, I didn’t really see any practices so I can only comment on what I’ve read. I think the weakest position is the OL. Sounds like we might be able to pass block, but no run blocking. Since it appears there will be a bigger than expected drop in the QB position from Frye, this could be a bad thing. I think the Montgomery and Hixon will be able to catch the ball, but we need to get it to them and with minimal turnovers. Appears we will have a good backfield with Biggs and Kennedy, but there might not be any holes to run through. If the pass blocking sucks, then we’ll be in trouble. IMHO, good work ethic this summer by the offense will result in a 3rd place finish in the East. Bad preparation means we’ll struggle even against the bad teams.

I’m really excited about the defense right now. Reports seem to indicate that though they are smaller, they really get after the ball. This raises a question…..do we need to worry about over pursuing plays? In addition to this, the small size makes me think we’ll get pushed down the field by good old 3 yards and a cloud of dust teams. Not many reports on the D backfield that I’ve seen but from what I can tell, they’ll be pretty good. I would think special teams would be consistent with last year since Hixon, Biggs, Swiger, and Sullivan are all back.

So, though I am far from being as knowledgeable as others on this board, I think we’ll have a mediocre year. I think JD uses this year to break in his guys and get some experience. Lots of mistakes early on. I would say there are 7 winnable games on our schedule. Hard work and lady luck will get us 7 wins. I would guess right now we’ll come away with 5 wins, I don’t see MTSU as a W (inexperience) and I think we’ll drop one to CMU, OU, BSU, or (gasp) Can't. Like I’ve said before, if we come away with a winning season, I’ll be seriously impressed with the coaching staff. I think that they can continue to win the close games, unlike LO. Lots of hard work needed over the summer. The first time I will get to see these guys play will be in West Lafayette.

[InTheZone]

Well, I didn?t really see any practices so I can only comment on what I?ve read. I think the weakest position is the OL. Sounds like we might be able to pass block, but no run blocking. Since it appears there will be a bigger than expected drop in the QB position from Frye, this could be a bad thing. I think the Montgomery and Hixon will be able to catch the ball, but we need to get it to them and with minimal turnovers. Appears we will have a good backfield with Biggs and Kennedy, but there might not be any holes to run through. If the pass blocking sucks, then we?ll be in trouble. IMHO, good work ethic this summer by the offense will result in a 3rd place finish in the East. Bad preparation means we?ll struggle even against the bad teams.

I?m really excited about the defense right now. Reports seem to indicate that though they are smaller, they really get after the ball. This raises a question?..do we need to worry about over pursuing plays? In addition to this, the small size makes me think we?ll get pushed down the field by good old 3 yards and a cloud of dust teams. Not many reports on the D backfield that I?ve seen but from what I can tell, they?ll be pretty good. I would think special teams would be consistent with last year since Hixon, Biggs, Swiger, and Sullivan are all back.

So, though I am far from being as knowledgeable as others on this board, I think we?ll have a mediocre year. I think JD uses this year to break in his guys and get some experience. Lots of mistakes early on. I would say there are 7 winnable games on our schedule. Hard work and lady luck will get us 7 wins. I would guess right now we?ll come away with 5 wins, I don?t see MTSU as a W (inexperience) and I think we?ll drop one to CMU, OU, BSU, or (gasp) Can't. Like I?ve said before, if we come away with a winning season, I?ll be seriously impressed with the coaching staff. I think that they can continue to win the close games, unlike LO. Lots of hard work needed over the summer. The first time I will get to see these guys play will be in West Lafayette.

I think that's a pretty good assessment.

[InTheZone]

OL and WR.  QB is talented, but inexperienced.  Defense overall looks good, but could be lacking depth on the DL.

I agree with you on the O-line, but I don't see a WR coming in here and playing in front of Hixon, Montgomery, Long, or Brandon Williams. Hixon and Montgomery are proven, and everything I've heard about Long and Williams is that they're going to be great players for us this season. Throw Jabari Arthur in there, and we're pretty set. We've got the targets, including Kasparek, we just need the guy to get them the ball.

As for the DL, I too thought we'd be pretty thin on depth there at the beginning of spring, but after taking in a few practices and that spring game, I was really impressed with the new faces along the second unit and actually think we'll be better at the position that we were last year.

[Captain Kangaroo]

What positions do you guys feel like we are weakest at, and which positions will freshman be depended upon to come in and play right away?? From what you saw at the spring game and other practices, is this team ready for a successful season as is, or will new players be depended upon??

I look at the past and say that somehow we'll be ok. We won't be great, but we'll be ok.

Lee Owens took over a team that had absolutely nothing but Jason Taylor and won two games. The following year, with a very unheralded recruiting class to bolster the smattering of Faust leftovers, he won 4 games. The team JD Brookhart returns in 2005 is FAR superior in talent to the 1996 LO team, and his new recruiting class is also FAR superior.

Regarless of how much we "pimp" the MAC, reality is the bottom-feeder teams are very bad. OU, Buffalo, Ball State, Central Michigan, Can't...these are alll very beatable teams, even in a "down/rebuilding" year. Add MTSU and Army as non-conf opponents, and I gotta believe 5-6 wins isn't only possible...it should be expected.

The QB position will be solved. Between Getsy and Arthur, one is going to emerge, and the other will put pressure on the #1 to keep the job. BTW: If Arthur gets the job, does Getsy transfer to YSU or Slippery Rock?

OL is going to be rough. If the present guys can get into top shape...get strong...and run block...we can move the ball. That will eat up clock and win some games. I think we're a year away from being able to have a QB toss the ball 30+, or even 25+ times.

WR's will be fine. The tapes I saw of all the new guys were great stuff. One or two of the Fr's should see a lot of PT (Cruz and Poindexter are my two favorites, with Jaqumain as a darkhorse).

Kicker & Punter are solid. That is a HUGE plus for a team that's going to struggle at times to move the ball.

RB is solid if the Kennedy emergence is for real. Biggs and Ringer are good MAC backs and Allen may surprise if given a chance.

FB: McDaniel? Spalding? Tuzze? The Colorado transfer? The Baltimore kid? Buehler? Buehler?

DL: Small, not much depth. Need some darkhorses to emerge.

LB: Very young. If Rohr were to happen to get hurt, we'd be in big trouble. New guys need to catch on FAST. Is the Rice kid a player? He looked good in practices.

Secondary: Our top 4 CB's could have started ahead of our #2 CB in 2003 (Jesse Smith). If the DL can get some pressure, we'll get our share of INT's in 2005. I love our corners and I'm cautiously optimistic about the safties. I wish we had some bigger hitters there.

That's what I see in April. If JD is the coach we all think he is, I firmly believe 6 wins is to be expected based upon our opponents. I hope we can "steal" a win vs BG, NIU, Miami or Purdue. Of those, I NIU is our best shot. They eeked out some very narrow victories last season vs some of the MAC's worst teams, so they could be "had" at the Rubber Bowl.

[Zipsrifle]

You know, I don’t know which way this will go. Can someone clear something up for me? From a strictly QB point of view, who’s better? Is it the case now that Luke is the better QB, but Jabari’s athleticism makes him more likely to “Make things happen�

[zipboy]

Great comments. I worry bout OL the most. The receivers are small but solid. With the OL being questionable, we really need a strong blocking back. Not sure if McDaniel is ready to step up or not. On D, I worry about the size of the line. I was pleasantly surprised with them at the spring game but worry about teams overpowering us. But we should be able to pressure the ball. Akron did all the little things right last year, not many penalties, created turnovers, great special teams, good field position. That goes a long way into having a successful season.