A look back at "Ya Boy 2013"

[TheStateUofMS]

http://forums.sixpackspeak.com/showthread.php?111423-Ya-Boy-2013&highlight=2013
Here's mine pre-season:
"Ya Boy": Chris Jones
Offensive MVP: Perkins
Defensive MVP: McKinney
Offensive Breakout Player: Robert Johnson
Defensive Breakout Player: Preston Smith
Freshman of the Year: Chris Jones

Not bad predictions and each player had some great plays. I was obviously way off on Perkins. I'll say you could argue I went 5 for 6.

I'd say after the season:

"Ya Boy": Dak
Offensive MVP: Dak
Defensive MVP: Whitley
Offensive Breakout Player: Jameon
Defensive Breakout Player: Jamerson Love/Calhoun
Freshman of the Year: Chris Jones

Could also have Josh Robinson for breakout, but Jameon caught a lot of balls this year. J-Rob will break out next year, and how can you not go with Dak for O-MVP and Ya Boy. Defensive MVP I go with Whitley because he had some HUUUUGE plays that were a major factor in us getting bowl eligible. There are several routes you could go with defensive break out players, but I'd go with a secondary player because they were all so new. Market is even debatable. Freshman of the Year has to be obvious.

 

[MSUDawg25]

MetEdDawg got Jameson's stats almost exactly. He predicted 700yds 6tds. He currently sits at 703yds 5tds.

 

[57stratdawg]

"Ya Boy" - Nick Griffen. I've been saying he was the most talented back on the team for 2 years now. Can't stop now.
Offensive MVP: Russell is the obvious choice, so ill go Malcolm Johnson.
Defensive MVP: McKinney
Offensive Breakout Player: Jameon
Defensive Breakout Player: Matt Wells
Freshman of the Year: Fred Ross

Missed on a couple. Think Matt Wells and Jameon were good though. You could make a case Dak is the breakout offensive player.

 

[MetEdDawg]

I will take my credit for Jameon Lewis

Thought he would have a pretty solid year, but damn was I wrong on Tyler Russell. I was kind of wrong on McKinney too. He actually had considerably less tackles this year, but I actually think that's a good thing. Our DL and secondary played (and tackled) pretty well though and took pressure off the LBs having to play hero ball like they have had to in the past.

I think what I like most about our defense this past year is that even though they were a young unit, there weren't two or three guys doing all the work. Seemed like every play somebody else stepped up and did their job. We played very good team defense the last part of the year and that mentality is going to help us out over the long haul.

And Chris Jones being freshman MVP was as close to a lock as you can get with MSU football. He lived up to the hype and his ceiling is insane. He's gonna get a lot better and I'm pretty happy that I get to watch it.

Great original thread though. Really fun to read through.

 

[operch]

Thought he would have a pretty solid year, but damn was I wrong on Tyler Russell. I was kind of wrong on McKinney too. He actually had considerably less tackles this year, but I actually think that's a good thing. Our DL and secondary played (and tackled) pretty well though and took pressure off the LBs having to play hero ball like they have had to in the past.

I think what I like most about our defense this past year is that even though they were a young unit, there weren't two or three guys doing all the work. Seemed like every play somebody else stepped up and did their job. We played very good team defense the last part of the year and that mentality is going to help us out over the long haul.

And Chris Jones being freshman MVP was as close to a lock as you can get with MSU football. He lived up to the hype and his ceiling is insane. He's gonna get a lot better and I'm pretty happy that I get to watch it.

Great original thread though. Really fun to read through.

It seems we started playing team ball after they talked about the team needing to talk on the field more.

 

[MetEdDawg]

We lost a lot of leadership during the season.

Tyler and Hughes game 1. Skinner was in and out there in the middle of the season. Perkins was in and out. No experienced WRs. We were insanely young and really didn't have a ton of leaders because a lot of them were hurt or graduated. But we grew up a ton toward the end of the year and guys like Dak, Calhoun, Jameon, Chris Jones, Eulls, Market, and a few others just stepped up and we played more like a team.

Leadership cannot be overstated. Good teams have it. Dak and McKinney are the unquestioned leaders next year for their side of the football but there will be a ton of positional leaders that have been through the daily grind of the SEC. That's going to help us a lot. We should be much less hit and miss next year and should be considerably more consistent series to series and game to game.