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This fan's post-spring 2-deep & positions ranked

BWahlberg

BWahlberg

Well-known member
DONOR
Based on what I've seen this spring, here's how I'd organize this team at this point. Keep in mind I'm just a fan here so some of my guesses here are probably way off from what the coaches actually have planned.

QB: Phillips / Jensen or Hill
RB: Calhoun / Favors or Green
WR: Curran / Akem
WR: Calhoun / Toure or Taylor
WR: Louie-McGee / McLaughlin or Lyons
WR: Horner / Simis or Bingham
T: Reese / Beaver
G: Villanueva / Hart
C: Sprunk / Meyer
G: Luke / Eickmeyer
T: Ralston / Scott or Jackon

On offense: WR depth seems to have settled in nicely with the tiers of starters vs subs being set into place. Lyons missing spring ball leaves that backup spot between him and McLaughlin up in the air. Obviously QB isn't fully settled however despite a bad showing yesterday I think Reese Phillips remains the lead dog. He had a bad scrimmage but a good spring. Jensen though is right on his heels and if Hill can carry the spring game momentum into the summer and then fall this QB battle could still be wide open. O-line depth has some guys that will be looked upon this year to fine tune their game because in 2018 we'll need them full time. Beaver, Hart, and Meyer strike me as the most "ready" guys if a backup is needed out the gate this season.

DE: Schye / Sirmon or Gilfoy
DT: Davidson / Shaw
DT: Sims / Tilleman or Davis
DE: Favoroso / Rodriguez
OLB: Buss / Cochran
MLB: Strahm / Fa'atuiese
OLB: Banks / Lewis
CB: Sanders / Egbo
S: Strong / Delaney
S: Sandry / Epperly
CB: McKinley / Nash or Cowans

On defense: DT is loaded, there's also McKee-Osibodu, Longoria, and Bradshaw. LB is in good shape too with the youth getting all the reps this spring. The one area of remaining need to sort out is how the 3 young corners will settle in. I assume all 3 will play. Egbo improved as spring went on, Nash really made some noise, Cowans started quiet but finished well this week.

KR: Epperly / Lyons
PR: Louie-McGee / Calhoun
K: Purdy / Semenza
P: Williams / Purdy

On special teams: Purdy is leading at the end of the spring to be the kicker I think. Williams has become a steady punter and good at kickoffs (much like Chris Lider). Purdy's versatility as a punter too helps with travel roster options. Semenza has the strongest fieldgoal kicks (I think) but some doubt has crept in with a few late misses yesterday.

-------------------------
As I see it, based on depth, returning talent, and skill, here's how I'd rank the positions in order of least to most concern or need for further improvement through the summer/fall camp.

least concern
1. Linebacker - 3 returning starters, good depth
2. Defensive Tackle - can rotate as many as 6 guys, two 300+ pounders
3. Wide Receiver - All 4 starters return, mix of experienced and young/raw talent behind them
4. Safety - Sandry and Strong are a great combo, backups are capable and have experience
5. KR/PR/K/P - Should make a modest improvement over last year
6. Quarterback - Senior leader with two very talented guys close behind him, choppy scrimmage showings
7. Running back - Hinges on the health of Calhoun and improved OL blocking
8. Cornerback - Two experienced starters that are less mistake prone than last year, young depth
9. Defensive End - Outside of Schye relying on youth and JuCo transfers, can they keep improving?
10. Offensive Line - 4 starting seniors, young/inexperienced depth, needs to find consistency fast
most concern
 
b/w,,i have always been a fan of your knowledge, summaries and insight....and I agree with majority of your assessment yesterday with one glaring difference....the qb.....only going by the scrimmages, how you do not have hill as qb 1 is a mystery,,,,you may be privy to more inside information, but stitt kept saying he wanted to know which qb responded best when the "bullets" fly in a game atmosphere, thus the whole set up yesterday.....you gave kudos to all the young 2'S AND 3's it seemed until it came time for the cb's facing hill....even throwing against air, phillips and Jensen would have been hard pressed to do as well as hill did,,,,he has as good or better arm, very accurate, touch when needed, command of the offense (where to go with the ball) and can actually run with the football...imo it is hill that is the clear leader in the qb battle....he will only get better as he learns the offense.....imo.... and no, i don't know anyone, just my observations at scrimmages and my opinion.
 
krammer said:
b/w,,i have always been a fan of your knowledge, summaries and insight....and I agree with majority of your assessment yesterday with one glaring difference....the qb.....only going by the scrimmages, how you do not have hill as qb 1 is a mystery,,,,you may be privy to more inside information, but stitt kept saying he wanted to know which qb responded best when the "bullets" fly in a game atmosphere, thus the whole set up yesterday.....you gave kudos to all the young 2'S AND 3's it seemed until it came time for the cb's facing hill....even throwing against air, phillips and Jensen would have been hard pressed to do as well as hill did,,,,he has as good or better arm, very accurate, touch when needed, command of the offense (where to go with the ball) and can actually run with the football...imo it is hill that is the clear leader in the qb battle....he will only get better as he learns the offense.....imo.... and no, i don't know anyone, just my observations at scrimmages and my opinion.
Click to expand...
Remember that BW has seen a lot more than just one scrimmage, and his (and Stitt's) depth chart is going to reflect the entire spring. Although Hill had a great scrimmage yesterday, it was against the 2s and 3s, and his entire spring camp hasn't been as good as either Phillips or Jensen.
 
uofmman1122 said:
krammer said:
b/w,,i have always been a fan of your knowledge, summaries and insight....and I agree with majority of your assessment yesterday with one glaring difference....the qb.....only going by the scrimmages, how you do not have hill as qb 1 is a mystery,,,,you may be privy to more inside information, but stitt kept saying he wanted to know which qb responded best when the "bullets" fly in a game atmosphere, thus the whole set up yesterday.....you gave kudos to all the young 2'S AND 3's it seemed until it came time for the cb's facing hill....even throwing against air, phillips and Jensen would have been hard pressed to do as well as hill did,,,,he has as good or better arm, very accurate, touch when needed, command of the offense (where to go with the ball) and can actually run with the football...imo it is hill that is the clear leader in the qb battle....he will only get better as he learns the offense.....imo.... and no, i don't know anyone, just my observations at scrimmages and my opinion.
Click to expand...
Remember that BW has seen a lot more than just one scrimmage, and his (and Stitt's) depth chart is going to reflect the entire spring. Although Hill had a great scrimmage yesterday, it was against the 2s and 3s, and his entire spring camp hasn't been as good as either Phillips or Jensen.
Click to expand...

Bingo.

I will say that I think Hill has suddenly made himself part of the conversation to fight for a starting spot this fall camp after a strong finish.

I think when spring camp opened Phillips had a good lead on Hill and Jensen. Then after scrimmage #1 Jensen passed Hill and closed the gap on Phillips. After scrimmage 2 Jensen fell back, Hill improved, and Phillips appeared to be QB1. After yesterday it feels that the gap between Jensen and Phillips might be back to where it was after the 1st scrimmage with Hill right behind them.
 
BWahlberg said:
uofmman1122 said:
krammer said:
b/w,,i have always been a fan of your knowledge, summaries and insight....and I agree with majority of your assessment yesterday with one glaring difference....the qb.....only going by the scrimmages, how you do not have hill as qb 1 is a mystery,,,,you may be privy to more inside information, but stitt kept saying he wanted to know which qb responded best when the "bullets" fly in a game atmosphere, thus the whole set up yesterday.....you gave kudos to all the young 2'S AND 3's it seemed until it came time for the cb's facing hill....even throwing against air, phillips and Jensen would have been hard pressed to do as well as hill did,,,,he has as good or better arm, very accurate, touch when needed, command of the offense (where to go with the ball) and can actually run with the football...imo it is hill that is the clear leader in the qb battle....he will only get better as he learns the offense.....imo.... and no, i don't know anyone, just my observations at scrimmages and my opinion.
Click to expand...
Remember that BW has seen a lot more than just one scrimmage, and his (and Stitt's) depth chart is going to reflect the entire spring. Although Hill had a great scrimmage yesterday, it was against the 2s and 3s, and his entire spring camp hasn't been as good as either Phillips or Jensen.
Click to expand...

Bingo.

I will say that I think Hill has suddenly made himself part of the conversation to fight for a starting spot this fall camp after a strong finish.

I think when spring camp opened Phillips had a good lead on Hill and Jensen. Then after scrimmage #1 Jensen passed Hill and closed the gap on Phillips. After scrimmage 2 Jensen fell back, Hill improved, and Phillips appeared to be QB1. After yesterday it feels that the gap between Jensen and Phillips might be back to where it was after the 1st scrimmage with Hill right behind them.
Click to expand...


This is a spot on analysis IMO! If Hill can continue the pattern of improving every time out he will be in the mix for sure.
 
AZGrizFan said:
When did Sirmon move to DE?
Click to expand...

I can say that Cy looks huge. Almost too big for backer and a bit undersized for DE. I've been excited to see him play as he was a heralded 3 star backer in that recruiting class. He actually did more than hold his own at DE. Made a number of tackles and nice plays. Think he had a sack, too. The dude must be pretty tough.
 
With four senior starters on the O line, why are people still giving the coaches a pass with the excuse: "it takes time for an O line to gel." Seems to me going into the third year of Coach Stitt's reign that the validity of that excuse is extremely suspect. (And I am not a Stitt hater). Do other successful teams, for example, EWU, UND, etc., all have four year starting O linemen every year? As a matter of attrition, of course, we all know that is not the case, and yet many of these other teams are able to protect their quarterbacks year after year and open an occasional decent hole for their running backs. Even the Griz have been able to successfully do this in the past.

Simple question - why have Griz O lines struggled so much recently? I, for one, am beginning to lose patience with the ability of this team to coach up a reasonably competent O line.
 
Plainsman said:
With four senior starters on the O line, why are people still giving the coaches a pass with the excuse: "it takes time for an O line to gel." Seems to me going into the third year of Coach Stitt's reign that the validity of that excuse is extremely suspect. (And I am not a Stitt hater). Do other successful teams, for example, EWU, UND, etc., all have four year starting O linemen every year? As a matter of attrition, of course, we all know that is not the case, and yet many of these other teams are able to protect their quarterbacks year after year and open an occasional decent hole for their running backs. Even the Griz have been able to successfully do this in the past.

Simple question - why have Griz O lines struggled so much recently? I, for one, am beginning to lose patience with the ability of this team to coach up a reasonably competent O line.
Click to expand...
Our O Lines have struggled ever since the last Hauck recruit walked off into the sunset with his degree. Who was our last really good lineman? Kistler? That was four years ago.

I loved Pflu, and have defended him a lot, but we haven't had great O Line recruits since he took over, and Delaney (and especially Gragg) only made it worse. Germer's comments coming in made it sound like we needed to nuke the entire O Line and start over, but that's just not practical.

Mike Ralston is a baller and embodies what it means to be a Griz, but the fact that he's starting at RT after changing positions five times illustrates to me that we haven't done enough recruiting linemen between 2012 and 2014.

The kids coming up are a big step in the right direction, but they aren't there yet. I truly hope this is the last year we have to worry about our O Line ever again.
 
I am not sold on our defense being solid either. I think they look good against' our Offense because our Offense is predictable. I am saving defense opinion until after the 3rd game...
 
reinell30 said:
I am not sold on our defense being solid either. I think they look good against' our Offense because our Offense is predictable. I am saving defense opinion until after the 3rd game...
Click to expand...
After we play two of the worst teams in FCS and one the best teams in FBS?

That's an odd sample size, but whatever. :lol:
 
uofmman1122 said:
Plainsman said:
With four senior starters on the O line, why are people still giving the coaches a pass with the excuse: "it takes time for an O line to gel." Seems to me going into the third year of Coach Stitt's reign that the validity of that excuse is extremely suspect. (And I am not a Stitt hater). Do other successful teams, for example, EWU, UND, etc., all have four year starting O linemen every year? As a matter of attrition, of course, we all know that is not the case, and yet many of these other teams are able to protect their quarterbacks year after year and open an occasional decent hole for their running backs. Even the Griz have been able to successfully do this in the past.

Simple question - why have Griz O lines struggled so much recently? I, for one, am beginning to lose patience with the ability of this team to coach up a reasonably competent O line.
Click to expand...
Our O Lines have struggled ever since the last Hauck recruit walked off into the sunset with his degree. Who was our last really good lineman? Kistler? That was four years ago.

I loved Pflu, and have defended him a lot, but we haven't had great O Line recruits since he took over, and Delaney (and especially Gragg) only made it worse. Germer's comments coming in made it sound like we needed to nuke the entire O Line and start over, but that's just not practical.

Mike Ralston is a baller and embodies what it means to be a Griz, but the fact that he's starting at RT after changing positions five times illustrates to me that we haven't done enough recruiting linemen between 2012 and 2014.

The kids coming up are a big step in the right direction, but they aren't there yet. I truly hope this is the last year we have to worry about our O Line ever again.
Click to expand...

Very well put, agreed completely.
 
Was a little disappointing to see Thayne Jackson struggle this spring. I know, RS-F.. but he had a rough spring.
 
uofmman1122 said:
reinell30 said:
I am not sold on our defense being solid either. I think they look good against' our Offense because our Offense is predictable. I am saving defense opinion until after the 3rd game...
Click to expand...
After we play two of the worst teams in FCS and one the best teams in FBS?

That's an odd sample size, but whatever. :lol:
Click to expand...

The forth game is EWU... thats when we truly find out.
 
Paytonlives said:
uofmman1122 said:
reinell30 said:
I am not sold on our defense being solid either. I think they look good against' our Offense because our Offense is predictable. I am saving defense opinion until after the 3rd game...
Click to expand...
After we play two of the worst teams in FCS and one the best teams in FBS?

That's an odd sample size, but whatever. :lol:
Click to expand...

The forth game is EWU... thats when we truly find out.
Click to expand...
Right, but I'm just not sure the first three games are going to tell us much about how good we are unless we look amazing against Washington.

If we get throttled (as we should) we'll likely know little more about this team going into week four than we did going into week one.

Because by all accounts, we should have two blowout wins and one blowout loss going into EWU regardless of how good we really are.
 
BWahlberg said:
uofmman1122 said:
Plainsman said:
With four senior starters on the O line, why are people still giving the coaches a pass with the excuse: "it takes time for an O line to gel." Seems to me going into the third year of Coach Stitt's reign that the validity of that excuse is extremely suspect. (And I am not a Stitt hater). Do other successful teams, for example, EWU, UND, etc., all have four year starting O linemen every year? As a matter of attrition, of course, we all know that is not the case, and yet many of these other teams are able to protect their quarterbacks year after year and open an occasional decent hole for their running backs. Even the Griz have been able to successfully do this in the past.

Simple question - why have Griz O lines struggled so much recently? I, for one, am beginning to lose patience with the ability of this team to coach up a reasonably competent O line.
Click to expand...
Our O Lines have struggled ever since the last Hauck recruit walked off into the sunset with his degree. Who was our last really good lineman? Kistler? That was four years ago.

I loved Pflu, and have defended him a lot, but we haven't had great O Line recruits since he took over, and Delaney (and especially Gragg) only made it worse. Germer's comments coming in made it sound like we needed to nuke the entire O Line and start over, but that's just not practical.

Mike Ralston is a baller and embodies what it means to be a Griz, but the fact that he's starting at RT after changing positions five times illustrates to me that we haven't done enough recruiting linemen between 2012 and 2014.

The kids coming up are a big step in the right direction, but they aren't there yet. I truly hope this is the last year we have to worry about our O Line ever again.
Click to expand...

Very well put, agreed completely.
Click to expand...

Appreciate the replies. I am a big fan but by no means a football expert and don't follow the personnel as closely as many of you folks do. I too hope we see O line improvement this year and in years to come.
 
Paytonlives said:
uofmman1122 said:
reinell30 said:
I am not sold on our defense being solid either. I think they look good against' our Offense because our Offense is predictable. I am saving defense opinion until after the 3rd game...
Click to expand...
After we play two of the worst teams in FCS and one the best teams in FBS?

That's an odd sample size, but whatever. :lol:
Click to expand...

The forth game is EWU... thats when we truly find out.
Click to expand...

If the D doesn't have together by then, well???
 
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