Blame GR for my reposting of this!
Hey GR Maybe if you read this closely you. You would understand.
Previously posted by JR:
Ok GR, I finally have a chance for my write up. Lewis and PapaJag have covered some of what I was going to say . But here's my own reasoning on SU having a shot for Pete's 5th SWAC title.
First of all it starts with Pete. He has never had a losing campaign and it isn't going to start in 2002. He has won at SU with some great teams and some not so great teams and he is the Dean of SWAC coaches. Pete teams never quit or lay down. They have heart. While we have a new OC, I agree with Lewis. There had been rumblings around Jag Land for awhile on Orlando's playcalling. So while we lose his experience and familiarty of the players, we also now have a chance not be predictable. Coach Oliver was on a good offensive coaching staff at Tulane. If they couldn't do nothing else. They could score. Patrick Ramsey will be the 3rd QB chosen on tomorrow. So I feel like we will use the TE, RB's and different formations this year. Plus Pete is redicated to the run. Orlando abandoned it. On the defensive coaching front, these guys have been together 3 years now and you can tell. They have the "D" playing like the old Dog Day D. Now to the positions and players who will make it happen.
Offense
OL - It starts here in the trenches. We have All-SWAC 1st teamer Gary Jenkins returning with a host of experienced players. We lost very little on the OL. Maybe 2 players total out of the top 7 Lineman from last year. The center spot will be one to watch in the development of the 2 returning guys(Jackson and Saulsby) moving over to play this spot. Look for 6-7 335 Mynia "Manster" Smith to be a force on the OL. Pete will be able to rotate 10-11 guys on OL. Returning Players who were in the rotation are Patrick Tyson, Daniel Leon, Chad Green. This OL didn't give alot of sacks last year. We were third in the least amount of Sacks allowed. And we know Levy was not that mobile. Richard will help OL out with his mobility. The depth is there, so it 's no need for Freshmen to play this year. New OC has OL stressing speed and agility. So even though they are big guys. He has had some lose weight to increase their speed.
TE- We have 3 TE's that can all run , catch and block and the new OC has already put in plays. Since he is a TE type of guy , this position will be one to watch. We threw to the TE one time last year and it was a TD. Rod Jones and Adam Nelson(a workout freak and converted WR) are the ones to watch. Both are fast agile TE's.
WR- This is the strength of the Offense. With Michael Hayes, Kentrell Plain, Al Trevion Joubert, Lionel Joseph, Al Ard, Drayton Bridges, Chris Davis, and Fred Mitchell. We are stocked. All are over 6 feet except Joubert and Ard. All these guys played last year due to injuries. Hayes, Plain, and Joubert are all veterans and have played every year they have been at SU. If Hayes returns to form it's going to be ugly. Joubert is already back to his form. So no Freshmen will even see the field unless Prize recruit James Vernon has fully qualified. I think he was close. Probably just be better off redshirting anyway.
RBs- Our weak spot last year due to injuries and youth. There were some bright spots last year. Carl Singleton #40 had finally emerged. Played well as a Fr against JSU and AAMU until going down that game(ACL). Then he was replaced by Fr. Leroy "Bo" Jackson who won the game for us at FAMU. This kid can play and was highly thought of coming in. He will be ready to go this fall. held out of Spring game for shoulder injury he sustained late in season. Now the troops come. Highly touted RB from NC. Marcus Newman 6-2 220 and fast. Jag fans have been waiting for his debut since we signed him last year. Freshman Rodney Tucker from Plano, Tx had an impressive Spring as did Gerald Holmes, a scatback in the mold of Ryan Lewis. Leon Miller still is a backup in my mind. Not impressed with him. But of course the big news is the transfer of UT's Victor Ike. Now I expect him to contribute. But we'll see if he can move anyone out. We will be deep at Rb. And they will catch the ball in this offense.
QB- Well this is the most critical position.Quincy Richard is a mature kid with athletic ability and has the height. He has a canon arm. He just needs to harness it. He will not underthrow his WRs like past Qbs. Actually he needs to work on over throwing his open WRs. He will benefit from the experience of the Wrs. Now the backup situation can be interesting. Anthony Fisher did a great job against Famu but struggled the rest of the way. He is a gamer, but his arm strength is not there. Kurvis Sharp has made the most noise as a backup and I think he will unseat Fisher. Sharp is a pure athlete with outstanding speed. You already heard about the "Sharp Package" . Thomas Ricks may the most gifted one of them all. He is 6-3 and much bigger than Richard bodywise. Tremendous Athlete as well. Got in Pete's and Orlando's doghouse last year, but new OC has given him a new lease. He is the QB of the future. Highly thought of coming in. We need to stay healthy at this position. QB will not have to win the game, so that should ease the pressure of previous years.
Defense
DL - plenty of Depth. We have some All Staters on the DL. Perry Davis #60 will be all SWAC. Great Freshman year last year. DL is big and fast. We are deep enough to rotate . Look out for Charles Ball, Alex Coleman, Aandre Payton, Glynn Mangum, Arthur Smith, Joshua Davis and Jonathan St. Cyr.
LB- We will miss Chapman, but the rest are back including last year starters Chris Cooper and Jabari Greene. We are deeper at LB than we have been for awhile. Look out for Kenneth Johnson(this kid is awesome, just can't stay healthy) Eddie Green, Kendrick Paul, Lendrick Francois, Trey Calhoun and Sheldon Pearl. Also keep an eye on last year recruits Greg Handy and Daryl Hurst.
Secondary
This is our strength of the defense. Starting corners Lenny Williams(All-SWAC) and Terence Arnold(7 ints 2nd in SWAC 2001) are both back. Williams would lead the SWAC in ints if he can hold on to the ball. Herman Hartman returns at safety, but I expect him to lose his job. But as anybody could see last year our Safeties were weak and had to many blown coverages. Eddie Woods who has played well in nickel package should get his chance to start this year. Also Ole Miss transfer Kevin Moffett and LSU transfer Erin Damond. D'Angelo Lewis and Randy Williams, both All Conference JC transfers from Mississippi a year ago will get their chance too. We also have a load of other kids sitting and waiting that came to SU the last 2 years. This is the deepest position of defense. There is talk of moving Lenny Williams to safety to get all the best Dbs on the field at one time. Codie Smith (one that got burned, but got lucky once and returned one for TD in the BC), Darwon Hammond and Cedric Gross add to the already deep group. The coaches have been quite pleased with this group. Gross may be one to watch. He likes to hit and is fast.
Special Teams
Well thank goodness for Justin Mattingly returning to SU from Texas this semester and he has been impressive. He is reportly very happy and hyped to be back and has been booming punts and kicks. He has all the family issues under control and is happy to be back. Colby Miller is a kid we signed last year that eligible this year and we have another Freshman coming in August. So we will have 3 kickers for a change. This is good news. The return game is solid. Erza Landry almost broke many returns for Tds. He put us in good field position and he held on to the ball to be a little man. If the Freshman J. Vernon qualifies to play this year, he will return as well. This kid averaged crazy return numbers in HS. He is very explosive. But I am not counting on him to play. Victor Ike will probably see time as well.
So GR,
We have depth, players with game experience, kicking game is back and Pete seems to be renewed and this team is mixed with a balanced blend of very experienced players and seasoned youth. All Richard has to do is take care of the ball, nothing fancy. One thing I like about him is. If he if off, He doesn't throw an int. It's an over throw most of time. So he don't turn the ball over. Which was a problem for us last year too. So we have the most returning starters and game experiened players in the West and we get TXSU in BR. So we will be fine. There are still players who were on the 99 team and know what feels like to win(Hayes, Joubert , Plain, Mattingly, and Richard). I look forward to seeing the East rep in the SCG. And we can agree on one thing. The East is stronger than the West. GSU and TxSU will be our only challenge. We have better players than people give us credit for. There are an abundance of All-State players on this team. And these kids love to play for Pete. That's the intangible. Pete teams do not quit. Like Lewis said, We will win ugly some games. So that's my case for SU. Pretty strong I would say.
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Could you post that crap about your returning players again? ;D I love that......