Project Your 2015 Starters

[StallionsModelT]

Given what we know of Morris' offense and the 4-2-5 scheme here is my best guess:

QB - HIcks
RB - Nmelchi
WR - Joseph, Sutton, Proche
TE - Gaines
OL - Weeks, Brown, Lasecki, McCarty, Briggs

DE - Wood, Seals
DT - Minor, Reed
LB - Yenga, Ngola
DB - H. Richardson, JR Richardson, D. Richardson, Randolph, Wyatt

[mrydel]

You have to get Yenga out of the middle. Not the right size.

[StallionsModelT]

You have to get Yenga out of the middle. Not the right size.

Ngola is my ILB. Yenga would be more of a rover/edge guy.

[LA_Mustang]

You have to get Matt Davis on the field somewhere. He's an elite athlete.

[StallionsModelT]

You have to get Matt Davis on the field somewhere. He's an elite athlete.

I agree LA. I think there may even be a red zone package with him at QB. If he's willing to learn the position I think he'd be a fantastic free safety or wide receiver. I just don't think he has any future as our QB. Hicks is gonna be the guy from the moment he steps on campus IMO.

[lwjr]

What about running back?

[LA_Mustang]

I think he would be a great RB.

[gostangs]

i wouldn't give up on Davis at QB quite yet. I think his running is the best thing we will have to offer next year, and having Hicks take a year to learn things is not a bad idea. That will be an interesting situation.

I think a few of the targets they are still after could impact immediately - so not sure we are not about six weeks premature with this conversation. RB particularly - and perhaps safety and corners

[Terry Webster]

I think Davis is the starter at qb. He pretty much played this year with no coaching whatsoever. A spring with his experience will make all the difference in the world.

[Stallion]

Based on watching Proche twice I don't anticipate Proche starting next year. He's a quality recruit but not a polished recruit yet

[LA_Mustang]

I think Davis is the starter at qb. He pretty much played this year with no coaching whatsoever. A spring with his experience will make all the difference in the world.

It will be interesting to see the impact Morris has on Davis. Whether it is at QB or wherever, I'm sure Morris will find a way to have him heavily involved in the offense. I just thought about it, I guess we will see in the spring game.

[SoCal_Pony]

Unreasonable to think a fr QB is your Plan A without Davis your Plan B.

My prediction, our starting RB is not yet on the roster.

[footballdad]

Davis QB
Gresham RB

[JasonB]

QB - Davis. There is a reason he is hosting players on visits and the offense is run first. Perfect fit.

RB - Gresham. Perfect fit for running the dive. Overall I think this position is okay.

HB - Line until we get other options out here. Not perfect, but is a blocker, which is needed. Keep your eye on Christian Holloway here. It COULD be Gaines, but I think Gaines is more receiver than blocker, which is why he came here in the first place. And I think we need his side outside.

OT - Briggs and Weeks come back. Not sure if they are mean enough. Reich may come back into the mix here. This is a weak point in the offense because we don't have drivers at the point of attack. The size is there, and maybe help from a good HB can help the power running game enough. But this is my concern on the o-line.

OG/C - Obviously, Brown, McCarty, Lasecki all are coming back. McCarty I wasn't very impressed with all season but he was really good in the UConn game. Because of the change in approach to a power game, I think that Hyder and Myers will get heavy looks here. Myers is really slow and not athletic as a tackle, but he fits much better as a power guard. Hyder has the chance to be a major player on the inside in this offense. My guess is going to be Hyder, Brown, Lasecki. I think this set of positions in particular transitions from weakness to strength next season.

WR1 - Gresham. Get that size out there. A good scheme will utilize him a lot better as a receiver as well.
WR2 - Sutton - Get that size out there. Great blocker on a bubble screen. And athletic.
WR3 - This is a need. Has to be a deep ball threat to keep the defense off the line, but also shifty enough to be good on the bubble screen and even come out of the backfield at times. We have shifty guys with no speed (Deion, Stewart), speed guys who haven't shown shifty (Lancaster, Walker, Halverson), and possession guys (Joseph). Has to be a playmaker. This is a big, big gap in the lineup right now. I think it is probably between Stewart, Lancaster, Walker, Malone, Halverson and Durall. This is the biggest immediate need for a big recruit to step in on offense.

When we go 4 wide, then DJ or Deion come in as a possession guy in the slot.

DE: Wood and Minor. We get helped a lot at DE switching to a 4 man front. I think Minor has too much raw athleticism to push him inside, even though it might seem like we need help inside. I think pushing him in takes him from a potential plus player to an average player. Watch out for Pruitt and Nabusoshi here also, the 4 man front will help them quite a bit. I also wonder if Seals might be moved here, and he could have an impact.

DT: We need help here. I am going to take a stab at Hollie and.... Gentry. Gentry has a huge frame and might be a surprise pick here. Don't write off Riley-Ayers or Nick Reed here either. Morris always had a super short nose at LT and did wonders with it. But this is a big position of need, it would be really nice to get a JUCO. We aren't going to be as bad off as we would have been if we had stayed 3-4 though.

LB: Another huge position of need. If I were to guess, Tui and Horton. Yenga, Ngalo, and Rhone may be in the mix, or they may be moved to that rover/safety position. Yenga and Longoria are both really athletic and you want to see them on the field somewhere, but neither is good enough in pass coverage to push to Rover, they aren't big enough to rush off on the line, and they aren't good enough interior players to play there unless it is an emergency. Seals I think has a big enough frame to push to end in pass rush situations. There will be a lot of experimentation here in the spring that will be fun to watch, but in the end some of these players are just going to be awesome on punt and kick coverage.

CB: Horace and JR. Horace came on at the end of the year. Maybe we actually get to see JR play healthy for once? Montes, Washington, Montgomery are all decent here, and everyone will improve with another year under their belt.

Rover: I think either Randolph or D Rich play this spot and are perfect fits for it. Randoloph has more size and is better in coverage, bud D Rich is a playmaker and likes to hit, so I would probably choose him. Could be filled by one of the smaller LBs as well, but I think Ngalo and Rhone are going to be in the mix at LB.

S: Either Randolph or D Rich at one spot, and then AJ Justice at the other. Justice was better last year after being injury plagued and will continue to improve.

Biggest needs: OT, WR, LB, DT

Massive improvement in efficiency on offense gives us a 6-6 record.

[StallionsModelT]

QB - Davis. There is a reason he is hosting players on visits and the offense is run first. Perfect fit.

RB - Gresham. Perfect fit for running the dive. Overall I think this position is okay.

HB - Line until we get other options out here. Not perfect, but is a blocker, which is needed. Keep your eye on Christian Holloway here. It COULD be Gaines, but I think Gaines is more receiver than blocker, which is why he came here in the first place. And I think we need his side outside.

OT - Briggs and Weeks come back. Not sure if they are mean enough. Reich may come back into the mix here. This is a weak point in the offense because we don't have drivers at the point of attack. The size is there, and maybe help from a good HB can help the power running game enough. But this is my concern on the o-line.

OG/C - Obviously, Brown, McCarty, Lasecki all are coming back. McCarty I wasn't very impressed with all season but he was really good in the UConn game. Because of the change in approach to a power game, I think that Hyder and Myers will get heavy looks here. Myers is really slow and not athletic as a tackle, but he fits much better as a power guard. Hyder has the chance to be a major player on the inside in this offense. My guess is going to be Hyder, Brown, Lasecki. I think this set of positions in particular transitions from weakness to strength next season.

WR1 - Gresham. Get that size out there. A good scheme will utilize him a lot better as a receiver as well.
WR2 - Sutton - Get that size out there. Great blocker on a bubble screen. And athletic.
WR3 - This is a need. Has to be a deep ball threat to keep the defense off the line, but also shifty enough to be good on the bubble screen and even come out of the backfield at times. We have shifty guys with no speed (Deion, Stewart), speed guys who haven't shown shifty (Lancaster, Walker, Halverson), and possession guys (Joseph). Has to be a playmaker. This is a big, big gap in the lineup right now. I think it is probably between Stewart, Lancaster, Walker, Malone, Halverson and Durall. This is the biggest immediate need for a big recruit to step in on offense.

When we go 4 wide, then DJ or Deion come in as a possession guy in the slot.

DE: Wood and Minor. We get helped a lot at DE switching to a 4 man front. I think Minor has too much raw athleticism to push him inside, even though it might seem like we need help inside. I think pushing him in takes him from a potential plus player to an average player. Watch out for Pruitt and Nabusoshi here also, the 4 man front will help them quite a bit. I also wonder if Seals might be moved here, and he could have an impact.

DT: We need help here. I am going to take a stab at Hollie and.... Gentry. Gentry has a huge frame and might be a surprise pick here. Don't write off Riley-Ayers or Nick Reed here either. Morris always had a super short nose at LT and did wonders with it. But this is a big position of need, it would be really nice to get a JUCO. We aren't going to be as bad off as we would have been if we had stayed 3-4 though.

LB: Another huge position of need. If I were to guess, Tui and Horton. Yenga, Ngalo, and Rhone may be in the mix, or they may be moved to that rover/safety position. Yenga and Longoria are both really athletic and you want to see them on the field somewhere, but neither is good enough in pass coverage to push to Rover, they aren't big enough to rush off on the line, and they aren't good enough interior players to play there unless it is an emergency. Seals I think has a big enough frame to push to end in pass rush situations. There will be a lot of experimentation here in the spring that will be fun to watch, but in the end some of these players are just going to be awesome on punt and kick coverage.

CB: Horace and JR. Horace came on at the end of the year. Maybe we actually get to see JR play healthy for once? Montes, Washington, Montgomery are all decent here, and everyone will improve with another year under their belt.

Rover: I think either Randolph or D Rich play this spot and are perfect fits for it. Randoloph has more size and is better in coverage, bud D Rich is a playmaker and likes to hit, so I would probably choose him. Could be filled by one of the smaller LBs as well, but I think Ngalo and Rhone are going to be in the mix at LB.

S: Either Randolph or D Rich at one spot, and then AJ Justice at the other. Justice was better last year after being injury plagued and will continue to improve.

Biggest needs: OT, WR, LB, DT

Massive improvement in efficiency on offense gives us a 6-6 record.

Prescott Line has made his last carry as an SMU Mustang. He has absolutely no business being a feature back in a Chad Morris offense.