Last Minute Questions

[leopold]

A couple of last question for PonyPride, Jason B, or anyone else who can answer them. I know that the coaches haven't allowed as many to watch practice as in the past, but any responses would be appreciated.

1. How bad are we actually expected to be in the secondary? We've got a lot of experience coming back, and while Wyatt and McQueen are genuine losses Onu wasn't a huge game changer. Clemons and Nelson make a solid 1-2 at safety, any reports on Westfall or Jones? Someone said we need Calloway to get his transfer, but we have a Senior-laden roster - is anybody else stepping up?

2. Speaking of Calloway, we're a week away from the game - any word on his, Jones or Shelmire's transfer paperwork? I don't expect Shelmire but apparently we need DB's. I don't expect James to play this year, and that's fine, we have plenty of WR's and TE's.

3. Do we see McBryde taking over a starting job at some point, and who would we see him replacing? Robinson? Denbow?

4. Any looks at the kicking game? I'm tired of our below average to mediocre Special Teams. We return everybody, they should be expecting our kickers and return men to take a step forward as well. We could have the best ST in the conference if they just show a little improvement, man by man.

Thanks to anybody who can answer.

[JasonB]

A couple of last question for PonyPride, Jason B, or anyone else who can answer them. I know that the coaches haven't allowed as many to watch practice as in the past, but any responses would be appreciated.

1. How bad are we actually expected to be in the secondary? We've got a lot of experience coming back, and while Wyatt and McQueen are genuine losses Onu wasn't a huge game changer. Clemons and Nelson make a solid 1-2 at safety, any reports on Westfall or Jones? Someone said we need Calloway to get his transfer, but we have a Senior-laden roster - is anybody else stepping up?

2. Speaking of Calloway, we're a week away from the game - any word on his, Jones or Shelmire's transfer paperwork? I don't expect Shelmire but apparently we need DB's. I don't expect James to play this year, and that's fine, we have plenty of WR's and TE's.

3. Do we see McBryde taking over a starting job at some point, and who would we see him replacing? Robinson? Denbow?

4. Any looks at the kicking game? I'm tired of our below average to mediocre Special Teams. We return everybody, they should be expecting our kickers and return men to take a step forward as well. We could have the best ST in the conference if they just show a little improvement, man by man.

Thanks to anybody who can answer.

1) Start with Corner. If you look at our roster, we know that if Sutton and Davis were starting, they are below average starters. Not "uh oh" level, but they are going to be below average. Both have played better in camp, but Johnson I think is above them, Stephens is above them, and both JUCO corners are above them. The depth here is better than it has been in years. Jones was solid last year and will make big strides forward this year. Westfall the coaches really like. Stephens has size and athleticism. I think injuries are everything, because pretty much every corner on the roster has an injury history. Worst case, there are injuries and Davis and Sutton start, and it is a below average unit. Best case, everyone is healthy and it is average to above average.

Safety is the bigger concern. Clemons was new to safety when he came in, and it took a while, but he is a good safety now. Denbow looked good at safety, it is more his natural position. Again, both have injury histories. The coaches like the frosh, but the depth is pretty much frosh, which you don't want to count on. If we stay healthy, it is average to above average. If one of the transfers is cleared, it gives us additional depth. But if Rock and a frosh are playing, we are in a lot of trouble. McQueen is a great example - that dude was the best athlete we have had at safety in forever, and they still did everything they could to keep him off the field as a frosh.

2) I would be surprised if you hear anything about transfers until the day of the game. It has been a tight ship so far and I would hope that if the coaches don't want the information out there, that the media keeps their mouths shut until game day (if they even know). So I would head online on Saturday morning to find out. This is SMU and the NCAA is freaking out about the number of transfers this year.... I wouldn't be surprised if no waivers are granted.

3) Denbow is at safety now. There are a bunch of factors here at LB. Williams was the backup to Moore, and he left the university. And there isn't a ton of size at LB. So from what I saw in a limited amount of time is that he will be initially worked in to be Moore's backup, and then they will probably teach him SAM. Nelson will be great in the hybrid spot, but he is never healthy. His backup is of interest. Phillips, Robinson, and Hailey seem to be the other LBs out there in the two deep. I *think* you will see Nelson- Moore - Robinson as your starters, with Hailey - McBryde - Phillips as the second team. But I think Phillips is a good player and will push Robinson, and eventually at some point in the season you will see a Moore-McBryde combo.

The way to think about our LB scheme is kind of like the Cowboys. It is a 4-3 in name, but in reality it is more like a 4-2-5. Nelson is great as that nickel corner/WLB combo and most of the time your SAM slides inside and it looks like you have two middle LBs (Smith and Vander Esch). In a perfect world that looks like Nelson-Moore-McBryde but I'm not sure you will see that look until we get to conference play. First game, I'm interested in who is behind Nelson and whether Robinson or Phillips won that other spot.

4) Robledo I like as a kicker for FG. He has a great mentality. He doesn't have the biggest leg and shouldn't be doing kickoffs. But he is a good shrt to medium range kicker. For kickoffs and punts it is an open competition with somewhere around 700 kickers in the mix. I would say that none of the punts or kickoffs I saw were an absolute disaster in practice. But I have no idea who wins those spots.

I expect a vast improvement in return and coverage units. We have big players who can block and run. That aspect of the team should be a strength this season compared to the rest of conference.

[leopold]

Thank you for the response. As usual, it's extremely informative and interesting.

[dalpony]

Thanks JasonB