IdaGriz01 said:
SoldierGriz said:
Based on what? I just don't see how the OL improves adequately this season. But....I want to BELIEVE.
I have not followed all the "recruit" threads in detail, but I certainly
get the impression that the staff has indeed recruited some bulk and power for the OLine. I assume that's what 8184 is basing his opinion on. And, of course, we
all hope that turns out to be true.
Based on Stitt's recruiting in his first two seasons? We literally went from having no big o-lineman to entering next season where our two deep will all be at or over 300 lbs with some highly touted prospects. Night and day! This isn't some rumor, it's what's been transpiring. Stitt has a strict red-shirt policy, which I'm so glad for, and will now pay dividends. We've got some awesome guys coming off their redshirt. Yes, they are young, but what is very apparent is the types of recruits we've been getting at o-line are a different breed than what we saw in Delaney recruits.
Tangible ways to find improvement other than size. ex) Do you think 3-star recruiting coup Thayne Jackson(already at 305 lbs as of his redshirt year) is an upgrade from Thiebes, a converted walk-on tight end at right tackle, who took till his senior year to reach an acceptable size...I do, redshirt freshmen or not. Again, I'm glad Stitt red-shirted these guys, it takes some patience to build the depth we're after. We simply haven't had the size or physical strength at O-line for a long time.
Here's the corp of our o-line for next year and their upcoming year of eligibility. I won't post the last four years, but I can tell you it looked nothing like this, and these guys will likely just get bigger by fall:
Dylan EickmeyerR-Fr OG 6-4 299
Cody Meyer R-So OL 6-3 285
Ashton Torres R-Fr. OT 6-4 315
Thayne Jackson R-Fr. OG 6-5 305
Cooper Sprunk R-Jr. OL 6-4 293
Brandon Scott R-Fr. OT 6-7 320
Angel Villanueva R-So OL 6-5 314
Robert Luke Sr. C 6-4 316
David Reese Sr. OL 6-7 298
Dallas Hart R-So. OL 6-5 312
On defense we might enter next season with the largest interior D-line possibilities the Griz have probably ever had. We'll see how these guys perform but there is now size and numbers at this position. ex) Tonga Takai was awesome, but he was the only guy that size on the team at that position. Heading into fall it appears we have 3 that size, plus a lot of depth and upcoming talent. Remains to be seen, but the MO has been recruiting huge, highly touted lineman. So yes, the beef has increased dramatically. I think people aren't really seeing just how much size and depth we have in the trenches compared with the last five years. A few of our interior D-linemen next year.
David Shaw Jr 6-5 310
Esai longoria R-Fr 6-3 315
Brandt Davidson 6-3 295