Fall Camp position battles to watch

[Umista]

Perhaps they mentioned a few guys that did start one game or two as subs? So they are starters right? Or they just have CPA numbers, toss in Monte. We are trying to scare the other team afterall...

 

[mtgrizrule]

Great write up Brint. My order of interest for position battles:

D Line depth- it is our biggest unknown and having to replace 3 starters. I am worried how we will fare against power running teams. Our DT's have to step up big time.

WR depth- Jones and Henderson are interchangeable 1's, how does the 3 through 10 shake out, or does it before the season? Is this the season Nacarato (sp?) breaks out and stays healthy? Does the size and skill sets of Roberts, Lucas, Burke, Horner (people are forgetting about him) give them an advantage over the smaller WR's. Do any of the true FR WR's have any kind of impact, if so, who? It will be hard to keep track of all the bodies competing for playing time at WR. How does the staff even determine who gets what minutes before Aug 29?

OL- This will be interesting for a few reasons. The last few seasons our OL was inconsistent, at their best they were average in the conference. Overall, the OL fell short or GRIZ tradition at the OL. Fortunately, a few things have changed to help this unit. Chad Germer's return is the biggest and best coaching personnel decision Coach Stitt made. Speaking of Stitt, these guys will not have to be expected to block for an eternity in this new offense. So there is a little more room for error while they become a cohesive unit.

K- Which kicker will Stitt commit to be the man? With that said, I feel Lider's versatility will ensure him some valuable opportunities. I actually like Lider as a punter. I also like to watch Shaw boom punts, when he is healthy.

QB- which QB's made positive ground since Spring ball ended? They are all intriguing. It will be interesting to see if anyone has done enough to legitimately compete with Gustafson as starter. Either way, as much as I like Pflug, I hope he redshirts this year.

The other positions are interesting too, but not as integral, assuming everyone stays healthy.

 

[rimrockgriz]

Fall camp is under way and we’ve got practices and 3 scrimmages on the horizon to see the 2015 Grizzlies come together as a group! As usual I figured I’d put up a post on position battles to watch this fall camp, be it at the scrimmages or at the practices for my fellow QB Club members. Putting this in general order of how wide-open the battle may be – per this fan’s perception (which could be WAY off).

1. Guard. The o-line was jumbled a few times in the spring. It started with McCauley Todd on the 1st string but he got knocked back to 2nd and Max Kelly, a converted OT hopped up to start. Meanwhile last years RT, Devon Dietrich has moved inside but with the unknowns at RT I’ve heard rumblings he may be back at RT – leaving two guard spots open… potentially. I assume Dietrich will probably stay at guard, his natural position but this leaves the battle between Kelly, Todd, and maybe 1 other player for a starting spot on the O-line.

2. Safety. Jake Dallaserra did everything that was asked of him this spring and held the #1 spot down, however he’s got pressure on his heels. With a healthy Justin Whitted presumably lined up to get his starting job back and then sophomore phenom Manu Rasmussen and transfer Yamen Sanders waiting in the wings – this position battle could be intense.

3. The #4 WR. While Stitt plans to use a ton of WRs I would assume being a starter over being the 2nd string will carry extra reps and more opportunities. Assuming all comes out well one has to guess that Hendu, Jones, and Naccarato are the first 3 WRs – but Stitt’s offense almost always has 4 WRs out there at once. So who gets the 4th spot? Ryan Burke or Josh Janssen? Or could one of our transfer WRs like Lucas or Roberts ascend to this spot? What about the much talked about Dalton Daum?

4. Right Tackle. I believe Schmaing has LT on lock but as I’m told it sounds like David Reese will not open fall camp the starting RT. Jackson Thiebes has been putting in tremendous work and grabbed the job halfway through spring ball – will he get the nod? Or will we see Dietrich back at the position he started every game at last season?

5. Cornerback. Harris and Nelson are presumably the starters but there’s the transfer Markell Sanders in the mix and rising star Ryan McKinley as well. These 4 will presumably rotate a bunch and I think as long as Harris and Nelson show up and do their thing they should be fairly safe to hold their jobs.

6. Quarterback. All signs point to Brady Gustafson being the starter however Stitt in his pre-fall camp article pointed out he’s not officially named a starter. That leaves what is presumably a very small window open for Simis, Prater, and Chalich – but it will probably not just require these three to have stellar fall camps but also for Gus to have a pretty epic melt-down. (A melt-down which doesn’t see imminent word is he had an incredible summer workout with great results)

7. Running back. Much like WR I think there’ll be a lot of rotation and it does appear that Nguyen will presumably be the starter. Lorenzo Logwood though is right there as well and if his pass protection and receiving has improved more he could make the argument for the job. I think Nguyen has this on lock for the job, his pass protection, receiving skill, and running style fit what Stitt wants out of a running back. A healthy Joey Counts is also an intriguing addition, he could make noise right away if he's back to full speed, although he's almost 2 years removed from his last time going full speed.

8. Punter. I’m looking forward to seeing a healthy Stephen Shaw once again – he sure appeared to still be hobbled a bit in spring ball. Shaw and Lider were both getting long looks at punter and Lider for a while was out-kicking Shaw. We all know a healthy Shaw can smash the ball but he’s shown some issues with a slower wind up and kicking motion. Lider on the other hand seems to have improved but still has some inconsistent punts, his final fall scrimmage wasn’t the greatest (the wind didn’t help). One interesting prospect with Lider is that he’s great at kickoffs and a much bigger guy than Sullivan and Greenberg so he could be on the travel team as a punter and handle kickoffs as well.

9. Depth. There’s always battles for depth. The most intriguing will be the #2 WRs considering how much time they’ll be asked to play. The #2 QB in case the starter is ineffective. #2 D-ends because there’s a lot of unknown behind Holmes and DC. Backup linebacker got a lot more interesting with this weekend’s news because 1 or 2 may be asked to start against NDSU. Kicker should be interesting too – Sullivan leads the group and Stitt doesn’t opt for many fieldgoals, but that’s been a question mark on this team ever since Brody McKnight was our kicker.

Josh Janssen has direct advantages over Burke in every phase of the wr position. (except the wr pass) Roberts last played against inferior talent (Hellgate???) If Roberts is the player you experts say he is, he'll still be fighting the learning curve before the first game... I've only watched Roberts once. (I think he had 200 yds rec.)... :egriz: I'm sure Naccarato will hit the training room early, so we're all going to find out on the field of play.

 

[grizeyes]

DT depth, the battle for #2 spot(s). Not much talk about Jamal Wilson. I thought he looked pretty good on the d-line at the last spring scrimmage. Moves pretty well, fairly quick for his size and likes to hit. What do you guys think?

 

[mtgrizrule]

DT depth, the battle for #2 spot(s). Not much talk about Jamal Wilson. I thought he looked pretty good on the d-line at the last spring scrimmage. Moves pretty well, fairly quick for his size and likes to hit. What do you guys think?

It would be awesome if Wilson has the success Henry Melton did with the move. :thumb:

 

[nzone]

DT depth, the battle for #2 spot(s). Not much talk about Jamal Wilson. I thought he looked pretty good on the d-line at the last spring scrimmage. Moves pretty well, fairly quick for his size and likes to hit. What do you guys think?

Can he sustain the brutality of a seasoned offensive lineman for an extended period of time while the offenses continually run the ball. Hope so.

 

[Htowngriz]

DT depth, the battle for #2 spot(s). Not much talk about Jamal Wilson. I thought he looked pretty good on the d-line at the last spring scrimmage. Moves pretty well, fairly quick for his size and likes to hit. What do you guys think?

Can he sustain the brutality of a seasoned offensive lineman for an extended period of time while the offenses continually run the ball. Hope so.

Considering the punishment he used to dole out as a FB, I believe he will. :thumb:

 

[BWahlberg]

DT depth, the battle for #2 spot(s). Not much talk about Jamal Wilson. I thought he looked pretty good on the d-line at the last spring scrimmage. Moves pretty well, fairly quick for his size and likes to hit. What do you guys think?

Can he sustain the brutality of a seasoned offensive lineman for an extended period of time while the offenses continually run the ball. Hope so.

He did just fine in spring camp, really improved fast at it in fact.

 

[go96griz]

DT depth, the battle for #2 spot(s). Not much talk about Jamal Wilson. I thought he looked pretty good on the d-line at the last spring scrimmage. Moves pretty well, fairly quick for his size and likes to hit. What do you guys think?

Can he sustain the brutality of a seasoned offensive lineman for an extended period of time while the offenses continually run the ball. Hope so.

He did just fine in spring camp, really improved fast at it in fact.

Senior Jamal Wilson (5-11 ½, 270), who was moved from fullback to defensive tackle and has bulked up, "is doing a good job and will have a role on this team," Gregorak said. "He gets better every practice."

http://gogriz.com/news/2015/4/15/Coach_Gregorak_talks_about_the_2015_Griz_D.aspx?path=football

 

[BWahlberg]

Well one battle appears to alreay be settled. Shaw has quit the team. Lider will be our punter.

 

[Htowngriz]

Well one battle appears to alreay be settled. Shaw has quit the team. Lider will be our punter.

I foresee a lot of boredom in his future this season.

 

[tnt]

You didn't mention Carlson at WR - Oversight? He was with the ones today.............

 

[BWahlberg]

Oversight indeed, he could be in the mix for that #4 WR as well

 

[NorthEndZoneDan]

DT depth, the battle for #2 spot(s). Not much talk about Jamal Wilson. I thought he looked pretty good on the d-line at the last spring scrimmage. Moves pretty well, fairly quick for his size and likes to hit. What do you guys think?

Can he sustain the brutality of a seasoned offensive lineman for an extended period of time while the offenses continually run the ball. Hope so.

Considering the punishment he used to dole out as a FB, I believe he will. :thumb:

I was just about to post the exact same thing! The guy loves to hit and I cant wait to see him in action. damn wont this season ever start?

 

[DuCharme]

This quote is from the gogriz article about the start of camp tomorrow:

To make things easier, Montana returns a robust 23 starters and 35 lettermen from a 9-5 team of a year ago that finished second place in the Big Sky Conference at 6-2. The 2014 Griz hosted San Diego in the first round of the FCS playoffs - upping its record total to 22 appearances. UM was ranked 13th in the nation in the Sports Network and 11th in the FCS Coaches' final polls.

Besides being completely inaccurate, can someone explain how it's even POSSIBLE to return 23 starters?

You're assuming every game had the same starters.

 

[grizfan95]

This quote is from the gogriz article about the start of camp tomorrow:

To make things easier, Montana returns a robust 23 starters and 35 lettermen from a 9-5 team of a year ago that finished second place in the Big Sky Conference at 6-2. The 2014 Griz hosted San Diego in the first round of the FCS playoffs - upping its record total to 22 appearances. UM was ranked 13th in the nation in the Sports Network and 11th in the FCS Coaches' final polls.

Besides being completely inaccurate, can someone explain how it's even POSSIBLE to return 23 starters?

You're assuming every game had the same starters.

Yes, I would assume it would be better stated as "23 players who started at least one game last season."

 

[EverettGriz]

DT depth, the battle for #2 spot(s). Not much talk about Jamal Wilson. I thought he looked pretty good on the d-line at the last spring scrimmage. Moves pretty well, fairly quick for his size and likes to hit. What do you guys think?

Can he sustain the brutality of a seasoned offensive lineman for an extended period of time while the offenses continually run the ball. Hope so.

Jamal was born to hit people. Immediately after he was squeezed out, he popped the OBG right in the chest.