Eidson gone, Anthony Barnett ineligible per DMN

[Sic_em]

Grant Eidson leaving team to focus on grades so he can get into Law School and Barnett academically ineligible.

[RGV Pony]

That should be good news for Boren fans.

[Charleston Pony]

so a young offensive line just got younger! I guess this means we will have a RS frosh starting at one of the guard spots?

someone mentioned Brandon Bonds might be moved to the OL. Wonder if this is why? If Hargis, Neal and Eidson are all gone, the OL is once again a dangerously thin and inexperienced group.

Checking the roster, I count only 12 OL vs 13 DL assuming Eidson, Hargis and Neal are out of the picture. Should be interesting to see the two deep once things settle.

[EastStang]

Do you think Bennett told Eidson he wouldn't be starting and Eidson decided to "focus on academics" rather than practice just to sit on the bench?

[Diehard Pony]

Do you think Bennett told Eidson he wouldn't be starting and Eidson decided to "focus on academics" rather than practice just to sit on the bench?

While Bennett said that he would not be announcing starters until Aug 21, it is very unusual timing (i.e., 10 days or so into drills) to be making an academics type decision. While I hate to see Eidson leave the team and hope he returns, I also hope that the non-starter issue is why he made the decision. It would obviously mean the quality is improving.

[RGV Pony]

Personally I think we need 5 JuCo OLs starting every year. The Tyler paper had an article about a guy they have who will play that played for Baylor last year. He commented how he noticed that the OLs at Tyler were as good or better than what he played with at Baylor.

TJC & Kilgore should be our pipeline. And don't forget Navarro down the road.

[Ikus]

From what I've heard about Eidson, I doubt he's the kind who would pack up and call it a career because of a challenge for playing time. Remember, this is a guy who's been called "too small" ever since he played, and it bothered him so much in high school that all he did was play well enough to earn a scholarship. I get the sense he's a guy who is used to overcoming naysayers, so I tend to believe the academic decision. Timing is curious, at best, but the reason sounds legit.

As for OLs, I count:
Mike Benson
Brandon Bonds (if he's actually moved over from DL)
Justin Boren
Kenard Burley
Martin Guidry
Darrin Johnson
Brad Kieschnick
Sean Lobo
Dustin Morton
Caleb Peveto
Ben Poynter
Tommy Poynter
Bryan Turner
Chris Urbanus

That's 14. Tommy Poynter is a walk-on. Other walk-ons who might be OLs (based on jersey numbers, but I know nothing about these guys) include:
Matt Ramsey (75), Colin Pelton (72), Tanner Johnson (64) and Kyle Johnston (54). All the other walk-ons have numbers below 50, which I would think makes it unlikely that they're OLs. But again, I've found no biographical info on them, so who knows?

[Corso]

How big is Tommy Poynter?

Sorry to hear about Barnett. I wish him well, wherever he ends up.

[Charleston Pony]

for what it's worth, Eidson is still showing on the roster. They are usually pretty quick to update on smumustangs.com once a guy leaves.

Meanwhile, I've never seen the DMN article that supposedly reported Eidson was leaving and Barnett was ineligible. I did see today that the 2 deep might be determined after Wednesday's scrimmage.

[Corso]

It was in Saturday's paper, if I remember correctly.

I thought today's note was a little weird -- they're meeting about the depth chart? Isn't that an every-day kind of conversation for the coaches?

[SWC2010]

You're right about the note, Corso.
Maybe it was intended for the players- not fans. The players are looking for movement up/down the depth chart this time of year. It may have been a motivational thing.

[Corso]

Good point. I keep thinking people get way too hung up on a player's spot on the two-deep chart at this time of year. Who cares where you stand in July or early August? Where you stand in October and November is what matters. If you don't like your position on the depth chart, go out and make it so the coaches have no choice but to move you up. I would think when the post-spring depth chart was printed, there were some guys listed pretty far down in part to get their attention. Hope it worked.

[JasonB]

I think it was just all the information the reporter could get - I am sure the coaches met Sunday (probably a day off for the players?) to discuss the results of the scrimmage as well as the depth chart.

I found it more interesting that they are having a scrimmage WEDNESDAY and will settle on the two deep after that. SO the scrimmage this upcoming weekend will be fine-tuning things for the starters.

That also tells me two things - 1) they are comfortable with naming the starters and 2) there are young players in the two deep, probably as starters, who they want to give plenty of repetitions before the start of the season and want to close out the competition. That is to the OL benefit more than any other position group.

[SWC2010]

You're right about Wednesday, JasonB.

Since the scrimmage on the 21st is officially OPEN to the public, perhaps Bennett looks to showcase the new depth chart/starters for that time.

[Higher Authority]

They may be showcasing some new starters, but they'll show very little of the gameplan for the Tech game. Perhaps the best thing about having Coach Burns and Coach Vinklarek on board is the element of surprise for early opponents.