The season kicks off two Fridays from now, on August 30th vs FAU. Followed by 3 games that should be close (Maryland and Boston College) and one easy win (Prarie View A&M).
This four game slate should give significant opportunity for depth chart and position battles to take shape. This gives the staff plenty of film to make roster decisions, leading into the gauntlet four-game stretch against OSU, Oregon, Iowa, and UM.
Here are some of the position battles and rotations I'll be watching by position to start the season.
QB Depth: Aiden Chiles is the guy, that much is clear. The staff brought in Tommy Schuster as a vet in the locker room, providing experienced depth. If possible, I'd expect the staff to try to get Schuster some reps in the FAU and Prarie View game. A bonus would be getting the two true Freshmen a series each for some live-action.
RB3 Battle: Carter is the leading man, joined by experienced transfer Kayron Lynch-Adams as RB2. The question is really how true freshmen Tullis and Frazier handle RB3 duty. Frazier was on campus for Spring & Summer Ball, so I expect him to have a leg up. Having one or both of those show flashes in the first 4 games to be RB3 is needed depth with how banged up the position can get.
TE2 Battle: Velling is TE1. Behind him, we have true Sophmore Parachek, Graduate Hopper, Junior Faleye, and RS-So Masunas. We know the staff would love to play 2 TE's often. Parachek is coming off a strong Freshman season, showing potential as a receiving threat but was dinged this offseason. Hopper has a ton of experience but is coming off a significant injury from last season. Faleye is a very lean TE and more of a receiver but offers a game-changing height at 6-7. Masunas is younger and apparently had a breakout off-season. I'd love to see Parachek and Masunas work their way up the depth chart to be TE2-3 for this season and next.
OL Starters and Competent Depth: Arguably the thinnest position group. We really want to see the top guys break away, and depth show it's capable. Former heralded recruits under Tucker are in a position to capitalize. This group includes projected starters Ashton Lepo at LT and Kristian Phillips at LG. There's also young depth behind them in Stanton Ramil (returning from significant injury), and Gavin Broscious who could fight for starting roles on the right side. The other thing I'm watching is grad transfer Jake Newman, currently slated at RG. He's jumping a level, so will be interesting to see how he hangs.
DE Rush Position: New DC Joe Rossi has a signature stand-up DE that is used to rush but also drop into coverage. No one returning fit that role perfectly, but they tested a few players like Kris Bogle and Jalan Thompson, with Bogle winning. And Thompson is slotting into the other DE role. Bogle has size, athleticism, and experience. If he can hold the starting role all year, I'd love to see him flirt with 6-8 sacks, but that might be wishful thinking. Transfers Anthony Jones and Tyler GIllison are in the mix as well. The goal is to get production this year from Bogel, and bridge the gap to next year once the young guys get some reps and experience.
DT Being Capable: The group had a complete overhaul with the departures of Barrow and Harmon. SR Maverick Hansen returns and is joined by transfer D'Quan Douse. Fellow transfers Ben Roberts and Jalen Satchell fill out the top 4. Behind them are transfer Ru'Quan Buckley and often injured Alex VanSummeran. AVS, by all accounts, has had a great Summer and has a higher ceiling than anyone in the room. If we can work his way up the depth chart that's a great sign of things to come. The transfers brought in have minimal experience and production or are jumping up a division. We can't expect All-Big 10 play here. But if they can hold their own and, as a group, finish middle of the pack in Big10 stats, that's enough for year one. With 6 guys in the mix, we really need 3 to step up and 2 more to rotate and be serviceable. I want to see how deep they go in the first 4 weeks. By the end of game 4, we will know whether this group will be a massive liability or just a weakness.
LB Rotation: There are plenty of bodies and diverse skill sets to mix and match. I'm curious how they rotate for clear run-downs (Turner and Haladay) and passing downs (Hall and Matthews), as well as shift LBs to rush roles (Hall and Turner).
CB Rotation: 3 players enter via the portal in Woods (projected starter), Cavazos, and Hughes. Cavazos was contending for a starting role at UNC, and I wouldn't be shocked to see him in the mix here. Hughes played as a true freshman at LSU last year, primarily on Special Teams. I expect him to start on multiple special teams roles, and move his way up the CB depth chart. The question is how quickly the transfer can supplant returning players: Rucker, Brantley, Willie, and Grose. Rucker has flashed and is still young. Brantley also has, but is often dinged up with his slight frame. There's a good battle ongoing for CB2-4.
Safety Rotation: We know what we have in Tatum and Spencer, which are two solid players. With Mangham leaving, the staff backfilled with an experienced transfer in Martinez. That's a solid top 3. My question is, if healthy, are they better off slotting one at Nickle and vs. bringing in a corner? And if so, who bumps to Nickle? The same question remains in dime (6 DB and 1 LB looks). Which combo of safety and corners end up on the field? To me, the 3 safetys stay on the field; Woods is locked in CB1, so it's a question of the next two corners.
The new staff brought in a lot of transfers, making these battles much more compelling and increasing the depth. What is yet to be seen is how the returning players fight off the transfers and how they slide up and down the depth chart as the season goes on.
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