Georgia Tech Keys To Winning...And Some Other Stuff

A few things to talk about now that our game with Georgia Tech is drawing near...

Depth Chart

Charlie Weis released the "official" depth chart last night. There are still a few positions that are listed with OR's but for the most part things have ironed themselves out. A few surprises jumped out at me initially.

There are no surprises at quarterback, running back, or fullback. I have a feeling it is more like Travis Thomas and then the rest of the guys. It's tough to tell if it will be Parris or Hord as our third wide receiver as one is listed as backing up Grimes while the other is listed as backing up West. I think that we may see some of each depending on the personnel package and what type of play we are trying to run.

Along the offensive line Bartley Webb and Chris Stewart aren't listed in the two deep. That means that freshmen Matt Romine and Taylor Dever surpassed them with very little time in practice. This surprised me a little. The other thing that jumped out at me on the offensive line is that no one's name was listed twice. That's quite a feat giving the small number of players we have at this position and speaks to the talent and depth that we have developed. It looks like Wenger beat out Carufel for the starting job at right guard. That means he and Sam Young will be playing together again after doing so in high school, albeit with Wenger then manning the center position.

One of the biggest surprises to me is Will Yeatman is listed as the number two tight end. This surprises me for a couple of reasons. One, Reuland is widely reported to be the faster, better pass catching threat of the two. And second, Yeatman missed quite a few practices last spring due to Lacrosse. I would have thought this would give Reuland time to progress a little more. My guess, and it is only conjecture at this point, is that Yeatman will be more advantageous as the second tight end given our proclivity to run this year. He is bigger, more agile (although not faster), more physical, and stronger than Reuland. This makes him a better prospect to be used as an H-back, which is how I believe he will be used.

It appears that Brockington and Smith (Toryan) are still battling for the inside linebacker position. Given Brockington's show in the linebacker agility drills in practice (easily the best of all the linebackers) that must mean Toryan brings something special to the scrimmage/game aspect of the position. I'm guessing he is more physical at the point of attack, something we may be in need of against certain teams. Look to see these two guys used fairly interchangeably. Ryan and Vernaglia locked down the outside linebacker positions with Kerry Neal and Brian Smith both listed as backing up Vernaglia and Maurice Richardson (my darkhorse) listed as backing up Ryan. Many out there believe it is only a matter of time before Neal or Smith pass up Vernaglia.

The biggest surprise of the depth chart is that Darrin Walls is listed as a starting corner rather than Ambrose Wooden. If Walls gives us the best chance to win then so be it. I do, however, feel for Wooden. He is often maligned at his position but people seem to forget that his hustle really paid dividends for us over the last two years, especially saving the touchdown against Michigan two years ago. I really enjoy watching players I know go hard all game, every play. Considering he never played corner until his sophomore year at ND I think he's done quite nicely. Everyone raves about the coverage skills of Walls (and Gary Gray and Raeshon McNeil) but it was a lack of physical play that made him a liability to me. Deon Sanders was a great coverage corner but in the latter years of his career people figured out how to beat him, run it right at him.

The final item of note on the depth chart is Armando Allen and Golden Tate being listed as the kick returners. Provided their nerves don't get the best of them this should be a great combination of return men for us. Both have exceptional speed and quickness (evident by their high school track records). With the kickoff being moved back there will be more opportunities to set up blocking lanes. Speed will become an even greater asset in the return game.

ESPN Predictions

The talking heads at ESPN are back at it again. I'll give you one piece of advice. Ignore everything college football analysts say with the exception of Kirk Herbstreit. He is the only intelligent, impartial, and consistently correct analyst there is in college football. I hate to make that statement and leave Lou Holtz out, but it's true. He and Mark May are simply there for television ratings via antagonizing charades. Lou's prediction of ten wins and May's prediction of five are both uninformed and laced with bias. Only Herbstreit's prediction of eight wins is reasonable. Add in the bowl game to give us nine and you reach my prediction.

Also, prepare yourself for the upcoming statements from the media about losing Brady Quinn and how he is irreplaceable. These comments will become even more prevalent when we approach games against the better teams on our schedule. Never mind the fact that these are the same people that said he wasn't that good, and that he didn't perform in the so called "big games." The irony is so thick you could cut it with a knife. If he wasn't that good and couldn't perform in big games last year then how is he so irreplaceable this year?

The Clausen Inconsistency and Mandel's Stupidity

Jimmy Clausen was available to the media on Friday as part of the only day that the freshmen will be able to talk to the media all year. I'm certain it was a circus. He read a prepared statement saying that he did have a bone spur, that he had a minor arthroscopic procedure to remove it, and that he had been rehabbing it ever since while practicing and throwing every day. He said he was "day-to-day." This statement, although seemingly inconsistent, never contradicted anything Weis said.

Weis never denied the rumors that Clausen had a bone spur, he simply said he was full go in practice last spring. He told him not to throw for a while, to give it a rest. I'm sure this allowed it to subside enough for him to get the necessary reps in the spring. The surgery to officially repair it came just after the spring in order to be ready for the fall. He also never said he was fully healthy in fall practice, he simply said he would be ready to be the starting quarterback on September 1st against Georgia Tech. And as for the "day-to-day" status. We all (read the media) seem to forget Weis' rant two years ago about how any time a player was asked about an injury they would say they were "day-to-day."

This is all just another smoke screen and should be the final lesson to us that if Weis' doesn't want us to know something, we won't know it. He's looking out for the best interest of the team by keeping everything as a guessing game for Georgia Tech and increasing their preparation. He's even said this to the media and requested that they not ask him questions about who the starting quarterback is. He also said he hasn't even told the starter who he is so that Sharpley, Jones, or Clausen won't have to lie to the media (in the same breath he said that if the starter doesn't know who he is by now he isn't very smart). There's a good article about it here and here and proof all over the publications that cover Georgia Tech football that it is forcing them to prepare for two different types of quarterback.

The media, however, is hating it. They just can't stand not having the coverage of such a huge money making publication in college football. So what do they do? They mistakenly portray Charlie's intelligent and completely justifiable handling of the situation as arrogance in order to take a shot at him and the program as well as to get their writing to the front page. There's nothing that readers crave more than a good, controversial story about Notre Dame. Notre Dame lovers and haters unite in a common goal to read, banter, and, in the case of the lovers, dissect the writing for it's usual lack of factual basis and logical conclusions.

Stewart Mandel over at Sports Illustrated is just the latest in a long line to do this although his attack is even more direct and personal. Reading the article you can just feel the emotion in it, the pure amount of disdain and anger Mandel has for Weis. But I can't stress enough the fact that the article is void of nearly anything intelligible. It is really comical given the fact that journalists are supposed to be impartial. I just don't understand why the media is so angry about this that they would take retribution with personal attacks on Weis. I guess he expects it though as it has certainly deflected attention away from the quarterbacks themselves.

I'm not going to link the article because I don't want it to get any more hits than necessary, but his lack of football knowledge shines through with statements like "That’s interesting, considering numerous other coaches who seem to know what they’re doing -- Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, Florida State’s Bobby Bowden, Nebraska’s Bill Callahan -- apparently did not see the same harm in publicly announcing similar decisions over the past week." and "Does Weis really think Jackets defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta hasn’t watched every available high-school tape (or, in Sharpley’s case, those two collegiate pass attempts) of the three QBs by now? Furthermore, Tech just played the Irish last season, so it’s not like Tenuta isn’t familiar with Weis’ offense (which is far more important to know than the identity of the QB himself). And while the athletic Jones does present a potential wrinkle with his running ability, I’m guessing the Jackets aren’t unfamiliar with the concept -- considering their last game was in the Gator Bowl against West Virginia speedster Pat White.".

I guess Mandel didn't bother to check his first statement against the fact that they don't have as much quarterback talent on their roster at those other schools. Additionally, Oklahoma and Nebraska play North Texas and Nevada respectively as their first games. If our first opponent was a pancake like that I doubt Weis would be that concerned either. The second statement is simply asinine given a couple of facts. First, there are numerous reports out there that Tenuta has been preparing for two different types of QB's, one mainly passing and one who is more athletic and versatile. Mandel's statement that the offense is far more important than the identity of the QB is ludicrous given Weis' history of saying he caters his offense to fit his players and would undoubtedly adjust it to fit Demetrius Jones' particular set of skills. Second, Tenuta is indeed familiar with Pat White and the more versatile quarterback from the bowl game last year. In fact, he is very familiar. West Virginia hung 311 rushing yards on Tenuta's famed defense last year with a mobile quarterback in a spread offense. That's something to assure that you are very familiar with it. Mandel dismissing the importance and magnitude of facing a Jones-type player vs. a Clausen-type player is ignorance of football at its best.

Background

I would like to thank Pat Scoggins for his yearly background. He does a fabulous job with it every year and this is no exception. Please download and post for your background to support the Irish. If you have problems with it email me (you can find my email address in my profile at the upper right of the main blog page) and I'll try and work with you on it.

ESP

Well, it's coming around to that time of year again. For an explanation of the ESP visit the link on the right side of the blog of just go here. I'd like to take this opportunity, however, to lay a few "ground rules" for these two things. I would like to once again give credit where credit is due for the ESP. I did not come up with this alone. Vinnie and I both put this together with a considerable amount of work. The ESP won't be released until week six of the football season. As I've said before, pre-season polls are meaningless and give unfair advantages to many teams by creating a "lose early is better" scenario in college football. While these pre-season polls still factor into our analysis, the magnitude by which they do is less later in the season. For this reason we will not release the ESP until after week six. Finally, I'd like to point out the fact that the AV Ranking, our computer ranking and one-third of the ESP ranking, successfully predicted the winner in four of the five BCS games last year including Boise State and Florida. The one we didn't successfully predict was USC and Michigan but the margin by which Michigan was ranked over USC was nearly nothing suggesting the winner of that game to be a toss-up. I'd say that's a pretty good validation of our model.

Georgia Tech Keys To Winning

My final topic of interest are the Georgia Tech keys to winning. And make no mistake about it, this is a game we can certainly win. I know many of you may disagree thinking that we barely edged it out last year, that they return a solid corps of players, and that we lost a ton of offensive talent. Let me explain...

Georgia Tech's defense last year was much better than most expected but it is a defense predicated on speed and aggressiveness. They like to blitz from all angles and they employ fast, aggressive players in their secondary and at the linebacker position. In fact, I would say that the linebackers are a little undersized to give them more speed at that position. That type of defense poses significant challenges for a finesse type of offense like we had last year. We tried to outplay them in the running game using zone blocking schemes rather than trying to create running lanes via traps, folds, iso's, and other more "angled" blocking schemes. We also tried to spread them out and make them cover the whole field. Those were our strengths but it is precisely those types of offensive strategies that their defense was built to defend.

This year, I believe we are more of a physical running team at the point of attack. I see us using more counter, trap, and trey blocking techniques to try and create lanes for our runners. The way to beat a fast, aggressive defense is to run right at them (negate the speed) and use mis-direction plays, e.g. a counter running play, to take them out of position (allow their aggressiveness to take them out of the play).

Accordingly, I think our offensive success hings almost exclusively on two things. First, we need to control the line of scrimmage and play well at the point of attack. I belief we have the depth and talent at offensive line to do this. And second, we need to run with a physical attitude and downhill presence. Again, I believe we have the depth and talent to do this. Want proof of this blueprint? See Clemson's game against Georgia Tech last year where they only completed seven of the sixteen passes they through but put up 321 yards of rushing offense to win convincingly.

Problems will arise with negative yardage plays. We really can't afford too many of these as a more physical running game is a "nickel and dime" type of offensive approach. We likely won't have a passing game to make up for negative yardage plays. As such, look for Weis to a) run some play action passes on non-obvious play action downs and b) motion from tighter formations into more of a spread formation with our two and three tight end personnel. The former will be slightly risky but has the capability to pay huge dividends especially with our talent at tight end. The latter will allow us to spread out their defense while still having larger bodies on the field. This creates mismatches for us getting a safety or a linebacker covering our tight ends.

You will hear everyone talk about how difficult it is going to be for a new quarterback to face this type of a fast, aggressive defense. Ordinarily I would say that is the case. But I don't think Weis will ever give our quarterbacks the opportunity to get rattled. He knows we aren't going to win this game with if we have to come back with a few minutes left. He's going to do everything in his power to prevent his quarterback from being placed in those situations. This, combined with a straight-ahead, physical running game should take Georgia Tech's defensive strengths and make them their weakness.

On defense I think our success depends purely on stopping the run game. With an inexperienced quarterback playing in a hostile environment (and if you are going to the game do your part to make it this way) I believe they will look to establish the running game early and often. They return the ACC's leading rusher and several offensive lineman while losing All-World receiver Calvin Johnson. This all points to them being a run-first type of team. If we can stop their running game and get them into third and long our chances of getting our defense off the field dramatically improve. Of course, I am basing this on my perception of our improved outside pass rushing capabilities. I believe we will be able to pressure their quarterback on obvious passing downs by blitzing from the outside.

I believe both our offensive and defensive success depends primarily on controlling the line of scrimmage and good play from our offensive line and defensive front seven. This will not only set the tone of the game but will go a long way in determining down and distance. I look for this game to be a "grind it out" type of contest void of quick strike offensive plays. That isn't, however, to say that a score won't come from special teams where I'm excited about the combination of Golden Tate, Armando Allen, and long kickoffs.

Hand's Punishment

The least pleasant item on the list involves the punishment of Derrell Hand. For the record, when hand was arrested I thought he would, in the least, be out for the season. Per the precedent ND set with Kyle McAlarney, get arrested for a misdemeanor and get indefinitely suspended from your athletic team as well as expelled from the University. I was mistaken. Apparently McAlarney's punishment wasn't a precedent. Rather, it was an aberration. Hand will have no removal from the University. He will serve a three game suspsension and probably received some community service and a fine in addition to the requirements of the pretrial diversion program he entered. This reeks of favoratism from the University for the football team, something we don't need.

I don't presume to know all of the facts of the situation and, as such, I do not want to make comments about right and wrong or the punishment Hand should face. I hope the University treated Hand like any other student and punished him accordingly. From other residential life cases I am more intimately familiar with, that doesn't seem to be the case but that is another discussion for another time. My concern is there is little doubt the way the University handled this will be used against us in the future. Critics will point to the disconnect in the way the University treated one of their basketball players vs. one of their football players. It is just giving the media more ammunition they don't need. They are already critical of our football program and our perceived "sell our soul to win" attitude regardless of the fact that the overwhelming majority of other programs have far more disciplinary problems than we do. Just like the Willingham fiasco, real or perceived, this inconsistency in the way that ND handled the situation will come back to bite the University. The bottom line is that we are held to a higher standard. Perhaps we should be, don't we hold ourselves to a higher standard?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the University should punish Hand just like they punished McAlarney for the sake of consistency. As I said above we most definitely do not have all of the facts of the situation which is a positive indication of both damage control and respecting both athletes' privacy. I am saying, however, that the University should be prepared to handle questions about the inconsistency in a very prepared, direct, and non-vague manner. It is this type of thing that has come back to bite us in the past and this negative publicity has usually been amplified by either no response to the attention the situation was getting and/or an unprepared, inept response(s) at the time of questioning. I just want to avoid this happening in Weis' third year when the comparisons to Willingham will inevitably surface. Nevermind the fact that Washington's program has so many discipline problems from Junior College transfers and a terrible record, people will still point to Charlie's record in his third year and directly compare it to Willingham's sans any other links between the two coaches, programs, and players. Only an uninformed football observer or a "journalist" hell bent on casting ND in a negative light would make such an unsubstantiated comparison...but they are out there.

Mike Coffey very nearly echos my sentiments and much more elequently (link here).

Fall Update I

Well, it's been a long time, but it's good to be back. I have a lot to discuss including, but not limited to, a supplement to Dave's post previous post (link here). I'll start out with a list of things I'm going to talk about and go from there.

1) Updated season record predictions
2) Corwin Brown
3) Recruiting
4) Charlie Weis
5) Depth chart analysis
6) Closing remarks

1) Updated Season Record Predictions

Thanks to those of you who submitted comments on the record prediction post (link here), I appreciate the participation. Unfortunately, the guys over at Blue-Gray-Sky have a larger reading audience so there analysis was more comprehensive and utilized a larger population size. Just remember, you saw it here first. To supplement what I wrote earlier, here are the results. Interestingly enough, more people picked a 9-3 record than anything else. Winning eight games and losing four came in only slightly behind the most popular 9-3 choice. The disparity lies in the fact that people can't seem to agree on which games we are going to win beyond our final four. Particularly, Penn State and Boston College are on the fence.

2) Corwin Brown

I am quickly becoming a fan of Mr. Brown. He is an off-the-chart recruiter who really closes on kids with his hard work ethic, NFL pedigree, and the uncanny ability to relate to many of them due to his background. He's been in their position, he knows what it takes to succeed at the college and professional level despite pretty overwhelming odds, and he is articulate enough to communicate this to the recruits. If he is half as good at coaching as he is at recruiting we are in for a good showing and vastly improved defense. He really is saying all the right things and he teaches constantly. Couple that with Bill Lewis' constant instruction and the boys are going to be learning a lot, very quickly. The fact that Charlie wanted to hire him when he first came to ND speaks volumes of his confidence in him. I don't think it's a stretch to say that we got ourselves a steal. Even if he doesn't prove to be a great defensive signal-caller, it is safe to say the talent upgrade we are experiencing on the defensive side of the ball will pay dividends.

3) Recruiting

Speaking of recruiting I'm not sure you could have written a better story for this off-season. We had needs all along our defensive front seven, particularly at nose tackle. We also needed to bring some more speed and physicality into our secondary. We have exceeded expectations in pretty much all of those areas. Jamoris Slaughter and Robert Blanton are both tall, physical corners with very good speed. They are not afraid to hit and will offer a nice complement to the coverage skills Gary Gray, Raeshon McNeil, and Darrin Walls possess. Dan McCarthy is another safety in the Harrison Smith/David Bruton mold, very rangy, very instictive, and the ability to play centerfield. All three of those players have the capability to contribute early and often and will continue to solidify the tremendous depth building in our secondary. With these types of players our secondary will move from liability to strength.

Along the front seven we have faired even better. Steve Filer and Darius Fleming are exactly the type of talent we have missed out on in the past two years at the linebacker position. Both move extremely well laterally and are very physical at the point of attack. These guys are a homerun by the recruiting staff. Anthony McDonald is a little bit different type of player but I might like him even more. He plays with great leverage and his coach says he can't get him out of the film room.

Along the defensive line we have brought in, what I believe, to be our biggest pull in this class, Omar Hunter. Hunter is a man among boys. He is as quick as any defensive lineman in the country off the ball, he plays at around 300 lbs, and he has incredible closing speed down the line of scrimmage. He can go around, through, and over about anyone he lines up against. I think he will be a beast for us in the middle. Rounding out the defensive line are Sean Cynwar, Hafis Williams, Brandon Newman, and Ethan Johnson. Johnson may be the best defensive end in the country this year especially coming off the outside.

While not all of these guys are ranked number one at their respective positions I hardly put much stock in that. Since they have committed early they won't get as much evaluation or publicity and the list of who offered them scholarships is a veritable who's who of college football's elite programs. These kids are all talented. Weis and Brown identified them early, went after them, and closed on a lot of them. For many of these kids it came down to us and another school, e.g. USC, tOSU, Michigan, etc. and we won the battle.

While it is exciting to see the type of talent we are bringing in on the defensive side of the ball the talent on the other side isn't bad either. It's been no secret that Weis can recruit tight ends and with the success Fasano had and Carlson is having I don't look for things to change soon. This year we nabbed two excellent prospects.

Kyle Rudolph may be the most impressive player I've seen on film this year and is certainly the most impressive at his position in the last several years. He runs extremely precise, careful routes, he catches everything out in front of him with his hands, he is fast for his size, and he creates mismatches all over the field with his height (6'7"). He'll have to get bigger (225 lbs) to handle the blocking aspects of the position but splitting him out wide will be a nightmare for defenses. In addition to Kyle, Weis went back to his NFL days and received a committment from the son of a former player he coached. Joseph Fauria also committed to play tight end at ND, the blocker to Rudolph's pass catching abilities. At 6'8" 270 lbs and with excellent agility, Fauria has the ability to become one heck of a goal line tight end. Both of these guys are an offensive coordinator and quarterback's dream in the red zone. Take the snap, one step, throw it up and let them go get it.

Throwing to these two fine tight ends may fall into the hands of one of our current quarterbacks on the roster. However, if they can't cut it we picked up yet another excellent quarterback prospect from California, right out from under USC's nose. Dayne Crist will come in more physically prepared than possibly any quarterback we have on the roster. He has the height, build, and arm strength to be an excellent college quarterback. His mobility is also very, very good. In the film I saw of him he may even be better throwing on the run than out of the pocket where he is still very good. I think this is a huge pickup for us and will further the tremendous amount of talent we already have at that position.

We have also received committments from many fine offensive lineman. While most of them I view as project players that will need some time to build strength and stamina, they will all further the excellent depth we are creating at that position. The committ of wide receiver John Goodman gives us yet another receiver in the Samardzija mold (Robby Parris being the other). He averaged a staggering 45 plus yards per kickoff return last year indicating the ability to be a play-maker after he gets the ball into his hands.

If we get another wide receiver (Michael Floyd), another good offensive lineman (Trevor Robinson), and a running back (Cyrus Gray) I think this class will turn from homerun to grand slam in a hurry.

4) Charlie Weis

I'd have to say that this fall camp has been very intriguing to me. Weis has been playing games with the media and loving every second of it. He always seems to have this "I know something you don't know" grin on his face leading me to believe he's either a) overly confident/arrogant or b) surprisingly pleased with the offensive progress of his team. For the record, I do think he has purposely mislead people about the QB race, I don't think Clausen is out of it, I think he knows exactly who is going to start, and I think he is handling things very well with respect to the competition and media attention. None of these guys can say they didn't have their shot. That said, I am concerned that one quarterback isn't getting the majority of the reps to develop timing and cohesion with the receivers. We may be a play-action team this year but that doesn't mean our quarterbacks and receivers don't need to work together.

Weis has spoken on multiple occasions about how our depth is improving across the board, how it has brought more competition, and how he isn't afraid to play a lot of people. This can only be good for us going forward. He has specifically singled out Travis Thomas for his leadership, James Aldridge for his play post-injury, Armando Allen's speed, George West and David Grime's play, and the physical presence of Toryan Smith.

If you had asked me about two weeks ago what I thought we were going to look like as an offensive football team this year I would have been able to tell you in a heartbeat. We will play 8-9 offensive lineman, run the ball 45-50 times a game with three backs, play-action the hell out of people in unpredictable situations, become a perfectionist offense in the screen game, control the clock, keep the score close, keep the defense fresh, and play to stamina so that in the end of the game 3 and 4 yard runs turn into 8 and 9 yard runs. It was this logic that had me picking Sharpley as the starter. He can run the team and he won't get you beat with stupid mistakes. The thing is, he won't win a game in the final minutes for you either.

All my logic went out the window when Weis started talking about how he needed a quarterback that could win games. Essentially, he said that with a young team, if you play it safe, you're only going to win the ones you're supposed to win. He said he needs more of a playmaker, a guy who can do some things to help you win. While I don't disagree with this, it sort of surprised me given the fact that we cannot turn the ball over and beat many of the first eight teams on our schedule this year. However, if this is his approach to the sitaution I think he will go with Demetrius or some combination of Demetrius/Sharpley or Demetrius/Clausen.

5) Depth Chart Analysis

In the form of Dave's post last week (link here) I thought I would do a little rundown of our depth chart and what I've seen through fall camp. I'll break it out by position like he did working with the offense first.

Quarterbacks: I'd like to say I knew who was going to start but Weis has been keeping things so close I really have no idea. Furthermore, any "leak" from practice should be disregarded as a blatant rumor because the odds are Weis let it get out himself as a sort of diversion tactic. He has been a master strategist of this whole situation such that Tenuta et al will have some serious preparation work on their hands. The reality of the situation is that it looks like we will be a run heavy team that utilizes the play-action passing game. Something tells me, however, that he has a few trick plays up his sleeves.

As for the "Clausen is injured" situation, I wouldn't put much weight in it. Is he back to 100% right now, perhaps not, but he will be. Weis is arrogant but he isn't stupid. He wouldn't have Jimmy out there throwing if it meant he was going to be injured or that his healing would be slowed. I fully believe he could start in the Georgia Tech game if he is Weis' selection. The story is still the same on all of the quarterbacks. Jimmy is a picture in consistency, Sharpley has the best grasp of the offense, and Demetrius is a "wow, look at that" and "what the hell was he thinking" quarterback all wrapped into one.

What worries me a bit more is how everything will play out after a starter(s) is named. If one quarterback establishes himself as a very capable candidate to be the starter both now and in the future will we see another transfer? Additionally, if one quarterback plays but doesn't prove to be capable of being the play-maker Weis covets will he keep the competition open throughout the season and into next year? Personally I don't want to see anyone transfer but I think using both Jones and Clausen is about the only way that will happen. I can see Sharpley going back to concentrating on baseball, and the split in time enough to keep Jones and Clausen around. But in this day and age of immediate playing time or transfer, it's tough to tell.

Running backs: This is probably the position that has me the most excited. We have talent in the form of power, vision, speed, and depth. We have five running backs that can play such that our primary problem will be trying to give them all carries. And believe you me, it's a good problem to have. Let's start with the undisputed leader of the group, Travis Thomas. I don't know about you, but when I hear the name Travis Thomas I think about the bone crushing touchdown run he had where he gave Justin King a piece of his mind. It is exactly that type of determined run that we will need this year in third and short situations. Thomas is a downhill runner who cuts at full speed and is very physical. Junior Jabbie is of the same mold, albeit slightly more shifty. The freshman Robert Hughes rounds out thise physical style of back. He has impressed me a great deal with his agility. At 235 lbs he looks awfully nimble. I won't say Jerome Bettis-like yet, but he has the makings of a great inside runner. He simply destroys the gauntlet machine.

Next we have James Aldridge who seems to finally have come back from his injury. At 100% he has made some cuts that have left me nearly speechless. He definitely has that second gear you look for a running back. While he isn't a threat to score on any play, he can get to the outside and make you pay with his speed. The final tailback in the discussion is the one getting all the attention. Armando Allen is, as they say, is fast. He is the game breaker we haven't had since Tim Brown, Rocket Ismail, and Ricky Watters. Any time he touches the ball he is a threat to score. He doesn't have good speed, he has great speed. And for a guy at 185 lbs, he runs with quite a bit of power. Get him out in the open on a draw, screen, or toss play and just watch him work. The only drawback I can see to him is that he won't be able to handle a ton of pounding at such a (relatively) low weight. This will likely mean he splits carries for the duration of his career but Reggie Bush wasn't much bigger during his college tenure (and no I'm not comparing Allen's abilities to Bush's). All five of the backs seem to have very soft hands leading me to believe we may not miss Darius in our passing game as much as I thought.

Since we are talking about speed I'd like to echo a sentiment that I have held for a long time and Weis affirmed during a recent press conference. I have maintained that there are very few football players that run the 40 faster than 4.5 seconds. The guys who do are a breed of their own but most stats are exaggerated. This is especially true at the high school level. To give you a reference point, Darius Walker was listed as a 4.4 guy coming out of high school, and I think we all know that isn't the case. It's like Weis said (paraphrased), "Those guys in high school running the 4.3's are running them with broken stop watches. I coached in that other league for fifteen years and I only knew a handful of guys who ran a 4.4 or better. If you run a 4.5 you're pretty fast, if you run lower than that you're exceptionally quick."

At the fullback position I think we will see a lot of Luke Schmidt this year. I say this based on two primary reasons. First and foremost his blocking has improved tremendously. He has gotten stronger and more physical. He also breaks down much better with a wider stance when he blocks. The second reason I think we'll see him is his ability to create mismatches catching the ball out of the backfield. Even though he's added weight he's still extremely agile for his size. He can really be a weapon out of the backfield for us and a good complement to a healthy Schwapp who is as tough of a blocker and inside ball carrier as there is.

Offensive line: I haven't paid a ton of attention to this position in the film I've watched of practice. What I can say is that we have a lot of athletic big men at this position. In addition to Sam Young and John Sullivan who are very talented at their respective positions, we have a ton of depth and capable players in Turkovich, Duncan, Carufel, Wenger, and Bemenderfer. Even the young guys Dever and Romine very much look the part. I'd say this position is going to be a real strength for us this year when they get some experience and gel.

Wide receiver: I have watched more film of the wide receivers than any other position on our team. I am very curious as to how they will play this year as I think they will go a long way in determining our success. To start, David Grimes is catching everything near him and even going up for some balls that I didn't think he would be able to get as he is on the shorter side. I think he is going to be a very solid receiver for us mostly because he has tremendous quickness and route running ability. I'm still not convinced he is a "go-to" type of guy but if the rest of the receiving corps plays at a consistently high level he doesn't need to be.

George West looks like he has really bulked up. Having said that, I don't think he's lost a step as some people are reporting. He looks very fluid and quick to me, so much so that I think he would be an excellent candidate to take over Samardzija's responsibilities on the quick arrow routes Weis likes to run. In the open field West will make people miss and get some extra yards. He doesn't have great straight-line speed but he definitely has very good straight line speed.

After Grimes and West there is a definitive drop off in talent. It isn't that the athletic ability isn't there, it is just largely raw and unpolished. This is mostly true of Tate and Kamara but also somewhat true of Gallup. Although I admit the route running of Gallup and Parris has improved, they still aren't quite to where Grimes and West are. If I had to put money down now I'd say Parris is the number three guy. D.J. Hord looks to really be getting back "into the groove." He has got his strength back and hasn't missed much of a beat in terms of speed. His improvement in catching the ball could push him right up there with Parris competing for the third wide receiver spot.

This is another position (like the secondary) where depth has really improved the play across the board. With the exception of Richard Jackson (who seems to be a lost cause) all of the receivers are playing much better than at this point last year. The young talent of Kamara and Tate has really forced better play from the guys with more experience. Tate is as quick as anyone on the team and nearly as fast as Allen. He is beginning to look more and more comfortable in his route running and could really develop into a weapon in the open field for us. I don't look for him to become a huge factor in the passing game this year but it might be difficult to keep him off the field in the return game.

The brightest spot I can see in the receiving corps has to be Duval Kamara. In my opinion the guy will play as much as he wants as soon as he learns the playbook. He has the size, strength, and speed to be a big-time receiver. Right now he looks like Stovall did his senior year but I think Kamara is quite a bit faster and a better route runner. He catches everything out in front of him, and he has incredibly large hands. I can't see him not being on the field a lot by the season's end.

Tight end: What isn't to like about our tight ends? Ragone looks quicker than some of the running backs in agility drills. I've never seen someone as agile as Yeatman weighing 260 lbs. Reuland is coming along quite nicely in all the facets of his game and I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better tight end in the country this year than John Carlson. I'd look to see a lot of multiple tight end sets not only because they are some of the better players on the field, but also because Weis seems to be a huge fan of using timed motion trap plays with them. We ran it a handful of times with Walker but with more physical, downhill type of runners we will likely look to exploit our talent by creating lanes with angle blocking schemes rather than zone stretch plays. Having said that, giving Allen the ball and letting him stretch the sideline isn't a bad option either.

Nose tackle: I'd say this is our weakest position of any on the field. I'd also say this position will be a huge factor in winning games for us. If teams can effectively run the ball against us we won't be able to win. Not many of the teams we face will naturally try and pound it out (save possibly Michigan) but they may switch to that strategy given our lack of size in the front three. Pat Kuntz has his weight up to about 280 lbs and plays with a high motor but I still don't think he can handle the duties. Ian Williams looks the part with arms as big as my thighs but he's young, raw, and unpolished. I think they'll split time but we cannot afford an injury at this position.

Defensive end: Laws is a mainstay at one end but the other position isn't set in stone. To me, it seems like it's Justin Brown's to lose. He is lightning quick off the ball and can really blow up plays. My concern is that he plays too wrecklessly and will get into trouble being out of position. He also isn't the ideal size (261 lbs) for a defensive end in the 3-4. I'd look for whoever plays at this other end position to get a lot of runs his way. Teams will naturally run away from Laws.

Inside linebacker: I think this will be a strength for our team this year. Scott Smith has come on strong lately as has Brockington. Brockington looks more agile than about any of the linebackers and seems to have improved his speed in the off-season. Crum looks 15-20 lbs heavier but hasn't lost his mobility. He is playing lights out right now. I think Toryan Smith will see the field at some point. He has to, he destroys people when he hits them. The guy is strong as an ox, plays with incredible leaverage, and has really come on strong as of late. It's going to be tough to keep him on the bench.

Outside linebacker: John Ryan and Anthony Vernaglia seem to have this position locked up. I worry about Ryan's lateral movement but he is very strong at the point of attack. Vernaglia has improved 100% over the past year. It's good to see him taking advantage of the opportunity the 3-4 has provided him. He is a perfect fit for it athletically. All he needed was to improve his physical play at the point of attack, which he has done. I think we'll see Maurice Richardson playng too. He's just too solid as an outside pass rush presence. While it seems that he's either in Weis' doghouse or injured (he's been practicing with the third team) I can't see him not getting some playing time on obvious passing downs.

The wildcards in this mix are the freshmen Brian Smith and Kerry Neal. Everyone knows about Neal, he's a freakish athlete in terms of size and speed. The big surprise (to me at least) has been the play of Brian Smith. He has really, really put on a show in practice. He came in heavier than anticipated but has great speed for his size. When we first recruited him I didn't think he would be able to play on the outside (he had a rather thin frame), but I was poorly mistaken. He has bulked up and could contribute this year at the outside linebacker position.

Cornerback: I think this position will turn into a strength for us this year. I don't say that because Wooden or Lambert will play that much better. I say that because I think we will have a simple scheme with a greater pass rush on the outside. That spells out good things for guys who were left alone far too often for far too long the past two years. The talented youth at this position is also impresssive. It looks like Walls and McNeil have both put on some weight and are playing more physical. I've seen it written in many places (but it's so true), the fact that Leo Ferrine was a nickel back two years ago and is playing with the third team now speaks volumes about the talent and depth we have at this position.

Safety: Obviously we have Zbikowski back. He will certainly be a strength of our defense as he has slimmed down and determined to play better this year. Look for Corwin to give him less run responsibility so he isn't the victim of play-action as often. I think Bruton will replace Duke quite well. He is a very good athlete with long arms and tons of range. His change of direction isn't great but we shouldn't be leaving him out on an island in man coverage anyway. Since he has put on more weight and gotten stronger I think he will really be a solid player for us in the years to come.

Another freshman I've been very pleasantly surprised about is Harrison Smith. The kid can flat out run. I mean he can fly. I don't know if he looks fast because he plays so committed to his insticts or if he really is that fast but he is as impressive of an athlete to watch as there is in our secondary. It will be difficult to keep him off the field in a year's time.

6) Closing Remarks

In closing I'd like to caution everyone to not measure the success of this season in wins and losses. How we play, the effort, intensity, hustle, etc. and how close the games are will go a long way to determining how good of a team we have both now and in the future. The talent is there, it's just young, raw, and inexperienced. That said, I don't think an eight win season is out of the question. If we get nine wins I think it has to be the result of vastly improved defensive play. Look for more updates to the blog as the background will be going up soon along with the countdown spreadsheet and some words about the updated ESP.

Fall Insights

So Anthony has been nice enough to add me as a writer on his blog. I thought I would spend my first commentary updating everyone on what I am seeing/hearing on the position battle front. Here is what we are seeing so far this fall:

Quarterback: Weis has announced to the press that he will not let anyone know who the starter will be until Georgia Tech. This is definitely not surprising. From what I can tell, this remains a three way battle, with Sharpley and Jones the most likely to play against Tech. I have a feeling Weis may start the year using both of these guys in different situations (I am sure he will settle on one guy by year end). I think Clausen sits early, perhaps because of his elbow (still no idea how serious that is, but he hasn’t thrown hard in front of the media…. Again, take that for what its worth), perhaps to preserve his confidence, or perhaps to lend experience to the tough part of our schedule. Stay tuned, this one will be debated until the first game.

Running Back: This is going to be a really fun year to watch this year. Travis Thomas has something to prove and has supposedly looked superb this fall. James Aldridge is also gaining confidence and getting his step back. Freshmen Armando Allen and Robert Hughes have also impressed, with Allen showing his speed and ability to be a difference maker and Hughes proving to be the biggest, most physical back in the stable. Junior Jabbie, the spring game star, is also one still in this mix. Honestly, Darius Walker leaving opened the door for a great spring/fall competition and these guys have all stepped up. Mike Haywood claimed that all five would play in some capacity (see special teams for a few) against Georgia Tech. I think this could prove to be the deepest backfield we have had in years. If these guys can build off of their immediate experience, I think some combination of these five will not only be more exciting, but more productive than Darius last year.

Fullback: Asaph Schwapp is back and seems to be about 99%. Last year’s injury v. Penn State seemed to be holding him back in spring practice, but his confidence and physical play appears to have returned this fall. Luke Schmidt will definitely see the field this year and offer a changeup to Schwapp’s style. Schmidt is taller and faster than the typical fullback and will provide a different look at the position. I wouldn't be surprised to see him lining up with Schwapp in the backfield in some situations.

Wide Receiver: During spring practice I claimed that the wide receivers would surprise this year. I am standing by this statement and truly believe that these guys will overachieve. David Grimes and George West appear to be the two starters entering the season, and while they may not look like Samardzija and McKnight, I think they will be solid. Remember that Weis saw a lot of success with small, disciplined receivers in New England. Also, D.J. Hord is back and is rumored to be showing the speed that made us think he was going to be a key contributor prior to his achilles injury. Also, freshman Duval Kamara brings a much needed big body to the field. He is going to be dangerous red zone weapon and really has shown the most natural hands on the team this preseason. Robby Parris is the second biggest body on the team and should be a solid contributor as well. Add in Gallup Jr., Jackson and Golden Tate (another freak athlete who is switching positions but will find his way on the field this year) and there is no lack of depth or talent in this group. Again, watch for these guys to surprise.

Tight End: John Carlson is back and should be the ultimate safety weapon for whichever QB is in there. Expect to see a lot of Konrad Reuland on the field as well as Will Yeatman in our 2 TE sets. Both guys have developed nicely and should contribute this year (I am hearing specifically that Reuland will have a breakout year). Mike Ragone, the stud freshman recruit, is still small and needs to build up his frame a bit, but could see time early because of his speed. Weis has made a huge point this fall in pointing out speed and eluding to his desire to use it this year.

Offensive Line: This is going to be an overly young group this year. Paul Duncan and Sam Young should serve as our starting tackles, Mike Turckovich and Dan Wenger should serve as our starting guards and John Sullivan will anchor the line at center. Get used to a rotation here though as offensive line coach John Latina is expecting to use eight guys here this year (three tackles, three guards, two centers) to keep people fresh and maintain flexibility. This strategy hasn’t been used during the first two years of the Weis regime, due to lack of depth. We are starting to see the recruiting classes of the past few years come to fruition here. While this group will have its growing pains, I would bet that they will be significantly improved over last year (especially in the run).

Defensive End: Trevor Laws will anchor the left side of our line. His move to the outside should actually be a good thing in my opinion. Playing in the trenches the last few years has put him against a lot of double teams and limited his pass rushing ability. Expect to see him build on his past success on the outside. Past Laws, this position remains a question mark. Dwight Stephenson should start on the right side, but Paddy Mullen and Kallen Wade will also see some time this year. Don’t be surprised to see Andrew Nuss play in some situations as well. Even though the freshman is moving over from the offensive line, he is a man child and I can see Brown wanting to get him on the field.

Defensive Tackle (Nose Tackle): This is another position where there are question marks. Patrick Kuntz will start here and has looked good this fall. However, while he is lean and fast, he is definitely undersized. Ian Williams looks the part and has also impressed, so expect to see him on the field as well. Sadly, we still lack depth here (especially after the Chris Stewart experiment failed) and the D line could prove to be a weakness this year.

Linebacker: I am actually really excited about this crop of LB’s. Toryan Smith and John Ryan will start on the outside and look like beasts. These guys are much bigger and more physical than in past years (thanks to the 3-4 switch and recruiting). Maurice Crum will take one of the inside spots this year (he was the most underrated player on our team last year in my opinion). Scott Smith, Anthony Vernaglia and freshman Kerry Neal will battle for the other spot. Also, watch my darkhorse Brian Smith here. I love watching film on this kid and think he is going to be a very good back. He could see some playing time here and impress.

Defensive Back: We should be looking much better here this year. We are building some awesome depth across all of the DB positions. Tommy Z is back and has a chip on his shoulder. I wouldn’t bet against him being back to his old self again as the shoulder is good again and he has lost some of the weight that slowed him down last year. David Bruton will be a force at safety as well and has really built up a bit while maintaining his speed. Ray Herring and Kyle McCarthy (along with freshman Harrison Smith) will provide needed depth here. At corner, Terrail Lambert and Ambrose Wooden are back. I think Lambert will prove to be a solid cover guy this year, as he improved a great deal last year. Wooden reminds me of Brock Williams in the fact that he has the stats but just can’t seem to put it all together. Raeshon McNeil and Darrin Walls will see a lot more of the field this year as well. Munir Prince will be fun to watch develop here, as a lot of smart people feel he has a better chance of utilizing his unique speed on the D side of the ball. Unfortunately, Gary Gray (freshman recruit) who was supposed to play early is out for the year. To give all of you guys an idea of how far we have come, Leo Ferrine, another cornerback, played quite a bit in nickel packages two years ago. This year he is third string. There is a ton of young talent here.

That should fill you in on what I am seeing and thinking at all of our positions. There is no question we are getting more talented. It should be a blast to watch us play this year and if we can gain experience and make it through the early part of our schedule relatively unscathed, this could be a BCS team. That said, I do think 8-4 is realistic. I am sure Anthony will add his opinion and would like to hear what the rest of you are thinking as well.

Final thoughts: Recruiting is still looking great this year. We still need to grab a killer wide receiver (Michael Floyd would do nicely) and maybe one more offensive lineman (Trevor Robinson). Past that, I feel like the team did a superb job, especially on the defensive side of the ball. If Corwin Brown can coach like he can recruit, things are looking up. Ok, look forward to your comments.