From the KV blog entry, it sounds like we're going to run the pass first spread a la Texas Tech, Hawaii, Cincinnati, etc.
How does our personnel fit in that offense? Well, first of all, it will probably be easier to learn and it seems like the players want to run that system, so I think will make a big difference right there.
Now, our personnel:
QB- For once, I think we will be OK here. Tyson Lee ran this in JUCO, so I think he has an edge there. He is smart and mobile, he'll be fine. If he's not, Carroll is a capable back-up and a new offense like this could give him a shot in the arm. Both have played in the SEC and have won SEC games. Now, if Tyler Russell comes in and sets the world on fire and beats both of them out, that would be fine. I certainly wouldn't rule him out. He is taller and looks like a pro QB. His height is an advantage, but at the same time, if we RS him that would be fine to. My wildcards here are Chris Relf, and maybe even Chris Garrett. We'll see about Garrett.
O-line- This is going to be a problem. We have one SEC caliber o-lineman right now- Derreck Sherrod. JC Brignone is close, but is below average. We are small, and just not very good. So, we really need to find three JUCO o-linemen that can come in and play. Hopefully the spread can help us mask our deficiencies here somewhat because they won't have to block as long, hopefully. But unless we go get some JUCO o-linemen this is going to be a problem for a year or two. That's another reason why I think Tyson Lee has an advantage.
WR- This is our second big problem, but is not as worriesome to me as the o-line. We return Delmon Robinson and Arceto Clark at WR. They could be good slot receivers in the spread, and are probably going to have a chance to be very important next year. As for now, though we really need O'Neal Wilder to step up. He has pro-size at 6'5" 195 but of course the question is "can he catch"? If he can't, we're going to have to hope that we land Pat Patterson and Bumphis and that they both can come in and grow up quickly. We have some other guys like Chris Smith that could surprise. Since we won't be using TE's as much, I think it's prudent to switch Marcus Green to WR and maybe Brandon Henderson. That said, a guy that could be a wild card is Robert Elliott- if his knee is healthy. Another guy that might be switched over is Tojo Patterson. We're going to have to be creative here, but I think we can pull it off.
RB- This is probably our strength on offense. Dixon is going to have to learn how to get to the corner and not tip toe if we're going to run this. He should be good on draws and inside runs, and he also catches the ball pretty well. Draw plays are Ducre's specialty, and he could very well end up starting. Elliott fits the spread the best of any RB we have, but you have to wonder about his health. Arnill Stallworth could also end up starting, and you could make an arguement that he's our best all around back. Montrell Conner is likely to RS, but like Russell, I don't think you can quite rule him out depending on his performance.
Final thoughts- I'm excited about this. I think we will do better running this offense, and while there certainly are some question marks, I think that we can either answer those questions or mask any problems that we may have. I think this will be like UK when Mumme was there. Even after Couch left, it was a pain to play them because you knew going in that they were going to put points on the board. I think that we will have a product that our fans will like and now maybe our air raid siren will make sense rather than playing it on a Dixon one yard plunge after we failed to get in on the first two tries. Of course, the pundits will say that this type of offense forces your defense to stay on the field too long. My retort that our defense should be used to that after the Croom era. The difference now is maybe our offense can bail them out for a change.
How does our personnel fit in that offense? Well, first of all, it will probably be easier to learn and it seems like the players want to run that system, so I think will make a big difference right there.
Now, our personnel:
QB- For once, I think we will be OK here. Tyson Lee ran this in JUCO, so I think he has an edge there. He is smart and mobile, he'll be fine. If he's not, Carroll is a capable back-up and a new offense like this could give him a shot in the arm. Both have played in the SEC and have won SEC games. Now, if Tyler Russell comes in and sets the world on fire and beats both of them out, that would be fine. I certainly wouldn't rule him out. He is taller and looks like a pro QB. His height is an advantage, but at the same time, if we RS him that would be fine to. My wildcards here are Chris Relf, and maybe even Chris Garrett. We'll see about Garrett.
O-line- This is going to be a problem. We have one SEC caliber o-lineman right now- Derreck Sherrod. JC Brignone is close, but is below average. We are small, and just not very good. So, we really need to find three JUCO o-linemen that can come in and play. Hopefully the spread can help us mask our deficiencies here somewhat because they won't have to block as long, hopefully. But unless we go get some JUCO o-linemen this is going to be a problem for a year or two. That's another reason why I think Tyson Lee has an advantage.
WR- This is our second big problem, but is not as worriesome to me as the o-line. We return Delmon Robinson and Arceto Clark at WR. They could be good slot receivers in the spread, and are probably going to have a chance to be very important next year. As for now, though we really need O'Neal Wilder to step up. He has pro-size at 6'5" 195 but of course the question is "can he catch"? If he can't, we're going to have to hope that we land Pat Patterson and Bumphis and that they both can come in and grow up quickly. We have some other guys like Chris Smith that could surprise. Since we won't be using TE's as much, I think it's prudent to switch Marcus Green to WR and maybe Brandon Henderson. That said, a guy that could be a wild card is Robert Elliott- if his knee is healthy. Another guy that might be switched over is Tojo Patterson. We're going to have to be creative here, but I think we can pull it off.
RB- This is probably our strength on offense. Dixon is going to have to learn how to get to the corner and not tip toe if we're going to run this. He should be good on draws and inside runs, and he also catches the ball pretty well. Draw plays are Ducre's specialty, and he could very well end up starting. Elliott fits the spread the best of any RB we have, but you have to wonder about his health. Arnill Stallworth could also end up starting, and you could make an arguement that he's our best all around back. Montrell Conner is likely to RS, but like Russell, I don't think you can quite rule him out depending on his performance.
Final thoughts- I'm excited about this. I think we will do better running this offense, and while there certainly are some question marks, I think that we can either answer those questions or mask any problems that we may have. I think this will be like UK when Mumme was there. Even after Couch left, it was a pain to play them because you knew going in that they were going to put points on the board. I think that we will have a product that our fans will like and now maybe our air raid siren will make sense rather than playing it on a Dixon one yard plunge after we failed to get in on the first two tries. Of course, the pundits will say that this type of offense forces your defense to stay on the field too long. My retort that our defense should be used to that after the Croom era. The difference now is maybe our offense can bail them out for a change.