SportyCock
12-05-2007, 12:20 PM
Reading the article today about questions for next year, http://www.thestate.com/gamecocks/story/248766.html (http://www.thestate.com/gamecocks/story/248766.html) , I couldn't help but ask myself whether we have more questions or more answers for next year.
Let's start with All-SEC first team selections, because those are obviously solid Answers.
Jasper Brinkley should return, better than ever and out to earn a high draft pick. He was a pre-season pick for this year before his injury. He may or may not be a preseason pick but I'd bet the house on him making the post-season selections.
Ryan Succop had a down year this year. Last year was All-SEC first team caliber in punting and field goals. Part of his problem this year was rushed snaps, bad blocking, bad strategy (rugby crap), etc. I expect a special teams coaching change and a no excuses approach to getting the job done there. I also expect Succop to dedicate himself to returning to form.
Kenny McKinley should be back. I don't see him as the super high potential WR that made Rice THINK he would go high in the draft. He is more level headed and less highly rated, so he should be back.
Eric Norwood looked all-world in the first half of the season. I don't know what happened to him in the second half, but it mirrored our defense overall. I think what happened, to him and the defense generally, was the wear and tear of a demanding schedule with no bye week on a very young person/group. As he/they get a year of growth and development under their belts, he/they will be better and more durable.
Captain Munnerlyn's injury is why we lost to Sons of Clem. He is an underrated key to our defense even with his first team selection. He returns with a vengance next year.
Emmanuel Cook dropping to second team All-SEC this year was a crime. Other than injuries at the beginning and end of the year, he was clearly the biggest force on our defense. If players voted for who knocked the snot out of them the most during the year, Cook would be a unanimous first teamer!
Since when have we had six solid pre-season All-SEC picks??? It bodes well for us to have so many "top-drawer" performers to start the season.
But, do we have anybody to support them? Do we have anyone who can become an All-SEC pick with their in-season performances?
Dion Lecorn comes to my mind first. He blocks extremely well and shows strength running after the catch. He has speed and can get open. He got most of the reps for the latter half of the season. Like so many players on our team, he was a freshman playing against Juniors and Seniors. Like most players who start as freshmen, they improve with maturity and experience.
At tight end we have a problem. We can't decide whether to start Jared Cook or Wesley Saunders. Whichever one steps forward to become the starter should have a great shot at becoming an All-SEC player. Both are big, fast and can catch and run. Put em both in coach!
Chris Culliver has perhaps even more potential than Lecorn. He has game-breaker speed. He will be an exceptional return man and should begin contributing big plays as a receiver too. Their are a bunch of other young receivers with tremendous talent, any of which may rise to make big contributions.
Ditto much of the defense that isn't already an All-SEC pick (see above). Darian Stewart showed All-SEC potential in a few games and Addison Williams earned starts over upperclassmen. Addison may take another year to become a star but Darian will be there in 08.
The line was the weakness this year, but this should improve. I am especially hopeful for Kenrick Ellis. His size and build are amazing. He showed flashes of what he can do against Clemson. Nothing will help us more than finding an immovable object to place in the center of our D-line. Ellis should be just that. Nathan Pepper returns from injury. Ladi Ajiboye is more of the same for the center of the line, and Donte Nichols has potential. On the ends you have Norwood and a slew of highly-rated recruits including Clifton Geathers, Quentin Richardson and Travian Robertson. I wouldn't be surprised if we change defensive alignments to get more of these guys on the field at once.
Who do we lose and how will we replace them? Quarterback is essential for a Spurrier team. Smelley was a tossup with Mitchell this year. He should be at least as good next year. Garcia should be ready next year and he brings mobility and a tremendous arm. In short, we get slightly better with Smelley or a lot better with Garcia. At a minimum, we have a mobile option to use as needed.
Cory Boyd will be sorely missed. His effort, commitment and desire were unmatched this year. From a talent perspective though, Mike Davis can fill Cory's shoes immediately. Brian Maddox is reputed to be much better. Again, we are the same with Davis or getting better with Maddox. Taylor Rank and Bobby Wallace are talented as well.
Lanard Stafford was a quiet contributer who could be counted on to get his job done every time. Patrick DeMarco should add some flash to the fullback position. If he can get the blocking done, he adds an element of pass-catching that Stafford never aspired to.
We'll miss our two senior safeties, Hampton and Isaac. They did an excellent job. However, we have plenty of talent there with all the guys mentioned above to replace them without losing anything.
We lose a couple of starting offensive lineman, but they were not outstanding performers. We have rotated a bunch of young lineman this year alongside these two seniors. Next year we'll need to start a bunch of those that rotated this year. This is clearly a focal point for the off-season and this area may be the beneficiary of a coaching change as well.
A coaching change on special teams may also be in order. I'm not sure we will have a choice but to lose Tyrone Nix to Southern Miss. If we do lose him, what defensive coordinator would not want to come take over a defense with so many talented young players in the situation Steve Spurrier affords defensive coordinators, ie lots of autonomy??? I would hope and expect Steve could bring in an outstanding replacement if Nix goes to SM.
The Questions I do see are as follows:
Can Spurrier turn around the attitude/effort problem that became serious in the second half of the year. This is a challenge with lots of talented young players who probably aren't used to being told they aren't doing a very good job.
Can we turn a bunch of sometimes starters into a solid offensive line that can run and pass block effectively?
Can we get special teams to perform, so they consistently don't hurt us and occasionally help us? Blocking, tackling and going all out make a big difference, as do schemes and knowing assignments.
How does Spurrier adjust his staff in the off-season? Do we lose Nix? Do we replace Chatham and/or Hunt? (Sidebar: I think the botched second on-sides kick against Arky sealed Chatham's fate. Going for the block and getting FG-faked by LSU, without SOS support didn't help either! Not so sure about Hunt as SOS may see this as personnel driven.)
Do we channel the disappointment of missing out on a bowl and the midseason collapse that caused it into a lot of commitment in the weight room?
Do we change defensive alignments to get more beef up front?
Personnel issues: Does Garcia become a dual-threat starter or just provide a mobile option when the line falters? How do we utilize Saunders and Cook? How much do Maddox, Culliver, Ellis, A. Williams and others develop and do they become starters or major contributors? Does everyone recover fully from injuries and return full-throttle, as expected?
What does the recruiting class contribute immediately? Only the first one is a threat to make us less competitive next year, and only by existing all year rather than half the year. I personally believe that the attitude/effort problem was a growing pain brought on by our need to depend too much on too many too young players. Hopefully they all grew up a little bit as a result of their experiences. Other than that, the questions are really more like opportunities to improve, which the attitude/effort question is also if you think about it.
I can't find any aspect of the team that should be less of a strength next year and I can find plenty of reason for expectations of improvement in a lot of areas. Add a great recruiting class and we should be seeing the beginning of a Spurrier success story that gets better every year for several years, and dispels the chicken curse superstition once and for all.:angrycoc:
Let's start with All-SEC first team selections, because those are obviously solid Answers.
Jasper Brinkley should return, better than ever and out to earn a high draft pick. He was a pre-season pick for this year before his injury. He may or may not be a preseason pick but I'd bet the house on him making the post-season selections.
Ryan Succop had a down year this year. Last year was All-SEC first team caliber in punting and field goals. Part of his problem this year was rushed snaps, bad blocking, bad strategy (rugby crap), etc. I expect a special teams coaching change and a no excuses approach to getting the job done there. I also expect Succop to dedicate himself to returning to form.
Kenny McKinley should be back. I don't see him as the super high potential WR that made Rice THINK he would go high in the draft. He is more level headed and less highly rated, so he should be back.
Eric Norwood looked all-world in the first half of the season. I don't know what happened to him in the second half, but it mirrored our defense overall. I think what happened, to him and the defense generally, was the wear and tear of a demanding schedule with no bye week on a very young person/group. As he/they get a year of growth and development under their belts, he/they will be better and more durable.
Captain Munnerlyn's injury is why we lost to Sons of Clem. He is an underrated key to our defense even with his first team selection. He returns with a vengance next year.
Emmanuel Cook dropping to second team All-SEC this year was a crime. Other than injuries at the beginning and end of the year, he was clearly the biggest force on our defense. If players voted for who knocked the snot out of them the most during the year, Cook would be a unanimous first teamer!
Since when have we had six solid pre-season All-SEC picks??? It bodes well for us to have so many "top-drawer" performers to start the season.
But, do we have anybody to support them? Do we have anyone who can become an All-SEC pick with their in-season performances?
Dion Lecorn comes to my mind first. He blocks extremely well and shows strength running after the catch. He has speed and can get open. He got most of the reps for the latter half of the season. Like so many players on our team, he was a freshman playing against Juniors and Seniors. Like most players who start as freshmen, they improve with maturity and experience.
At tight end we have a problem. We can't decide whether to start Jared Cook or Wesley Saunders. Whichever one steps forward to become the starter should have a great shot at becoming an All-SEC player. Both are big, fast and can catch and run. Put em both in coach!
Chris Culliver has perhaps even more potential than Lecorn. He has game-breaker speed. He will be an exceptional return man and should begin contributing big plays as a receiver too. Their are a bunch of other young receivers with tremendous talent, any of which may rise to make big contributions.
Ditto much of the defense that isn't already an All-SEC pick (see above). Darian Stewart showed All-SEC potential in a few games and Addison Williams earned starts over upperclassmen. Addison may take another year to become a star but Darian will be there in 08.
The line was the weakness this year, but this should improve. I am especially hopeful for Kenrick Ellis. His size and build are amazing. He showed flashes of what he can do against Clemson. Nothing will help us more than finding an immovable object to place in the center of our D-line. Ellis should be just that. Nathan Pepper returns from injury. Ladi Ajiboye is more of the same for the center of the line, and Donte Nichols has potential. On the ends you have Norwood and a slew of highly-rated recruits including Clifton Geathers, Quentin Richardson and Travian Robertson. I wouldn't be surprised if we change defensive alignments to get more of these guys on the field at once.
Who do we lose and how will we replace them? Quarterback is essential for a Spurrier team. Smelley was a tossup with Mitchell this year. He should be at least as good next year. Garcia should be ready next year and he brings mobility and a tremendous arm. In short, we get slightly better with Smelley or a lot better with Garcia. At a minimum, we have a mobile option to use as needed.
Cory Boyd will be sorely missed. His effort, commitment and desire were unmatched this year. From a talent perspective though, Mike Davis can fill Cory's shoes immediately. Brian Maddox is reputed to be much better. Again, we are the same with Davis or getting better with Maddox. Taylor Rank and Bobby Wallace are talented as well.
Lanard Stafford was a quiet contributer who could be counted on to get his job done every time. Patrick DeMarco should add some flash to the fullback position. If he can get the blocking done, he adds an element of pass-catching that Stafford never aspired to.
We'll miss our two senior safeties, Hampton and Isaac. They did an excellent job. However, we have plenty of talent there with all the guys mentioned above to replace them without losing anything.
We lose a couple of starting offensive lineman, but they were not outstanding performers. We have rotated a bunch of young lineman this year alongside these two seniors. Next year we'll need to start a bunch of those that rotated this year. This is clearly a focal point for the off-season and this area may be the beneficiary of a coaching change as well.
A coaching change on special teams may also be in order. I'm not sure we will have a choice but to lose Tyrone Nix to Southern Miss. If we do lose him, what defensive coordinator would not want to come take over a defense with so many talented young players in the situation Steve Spurrier affords defensive coordinators, ie lots of autonomy??? I would hope and expect Steve could bring in an outstanding replacement if Nix goes to SM.
The Questions I do see are as follows:
Can Spurrier turn around the attitude/effort problem that became serious in the second half of the year. This is a challenge with lots of talented young players who probably aren't used to being told they aren't doing a very good job.
Can we turn a bunch of sometimes starters into a solid offensive line that can run and pass block effectively?
Can we get special teams to perform, so they consistently don't hurt us and occasionally help us? Blocking, tackling and going all out make a big difference, as do schemes and knowing assignments.
How does Spurrier adjust his staff in the off-season? Do we lose Nix? Do we replace Chatham and/or Hunt? (Sidebar: I think the botched second on-sides kick against Arky sealed Chatham's fate. Going for the block and getting FG-faked by LSU, without SOS support didn't help either! Not so sure about Hunt as SOS may see this as personnel driven.)
Do we channel the disappointment of missing out on a bowl and the midseason collapse that caused it into a lot of commitment in the weight room?
Do we change defensive alignments to get more beef up front?
Personnel issues: Does Garcia become a dual-threat starter or just provide a mobile option when the line falters? How do we utilize Saunders and Cook? How much do Maddox, Culliver, Ellis, A. Williams and others develop and do they become starters or major contributors? Does everyone recover fully from injuries and return full-throttle, as expected?
What does the recruiting class contribute immediately? Only the first one is a threat to make us less competitive next year, and only by existing all year rather than half the year. I personally believe that the attitude/effort problem was a growing pain brought on by our need to depend too much on too many too young players. Hopefully they all grew up a little bit as a result of their experiences. Other than that, the questions are really more like opportunities to improve, which the attitude/effort question is also if you think about it.
I can't find any aspect of the team that should be less of a strength next year and I can find plenty of reason for expectations of improvement in a lot of areas. Add a great recruiting class and we should be seeing the beginning of a Spurrier success story that gets better every year for several years, and dispels the chicken curse superstition once and for all.:angrycoc: