Originally Posted by
CA Forever
QB - We return Miles Hastings at QB who last season threw for 3000 yards and 20 TDs on close to 70% completion percentage. Not much of a scramble or designed run threat.
RB - Losing Gilliam is a big hit to the offense. I mean, tough to replace a guy who had 4600 career yards and 44 TDs but it should be Lan Larison who takes up the reins. Larison acted as Gilliam's back up last season and still rushed for close to 500 yards with a 7.5 yards per rush average. He's also a pretty solid receiver out of the backfield. I don't think that Larison is quite the same guy as Gilliam, but the backfield should be in good hands.
WR - We haven't had a true star WR since Keelan Doss, but we return several guys who are all at least competent at catching the ball. CJ Hutton, Trent Tompkins, Chaz Davis, and Justin Kraft should all see the field on the a consistent basis. We brought in a lot of freshman in this last recruiting class and I'm particularly interested in Robbie Mascheroni who has both size and speed.
TE - Our star TE over the last couple of seasons, McCallan Castles, has now transferred to Tennessee. He was a decent receiver and excellent blocker. The coaching staff has singled out Josh Gale as the likely replacement for Castles. He's not as big or as proficient of a blocker, but is fast and a big play receiving threat.
OL - We return 3 starters on the line in Jake Parks, Jordan Ford, and Nicole Sarale all of which are fairly solid in their roles. We brought in a little bit of JUCO help to fill in the gaps and have some rotational guys who got experience last season due to injuries.
DL - You just can't teach size and Chubba Maae brings size listed at 6'2 347. He's fairly athletic for his size and can truly hold down the defensive line in between the guards. Zach Kennedy is returning on the edge and has been picking up all-conference honors. The coaching staff seems excited about Evan Bearden who transitioned to DL from TE last season. They've been quoted as a saying he looks like a completely new player with a full offseason of learning the position and could be a solid contributor
LB - We lost Jayce Smalley (3rd on team in tackles) to graduation, but we return a plethora of guys with experience including Teddye Buchanan, Nick Eaton, Jackson Cloyd, and Evan Tattersall (Cal transfer from a year ago). Buchanan missed some time last season with injuries, but he is a monster in the middle of the field. Eaton is a pass rush specialist and has explosive speed.
DB - Losing CB Devon King and Safety Chris Venable are significant losses for the defense. Rex Connors is an absolute stud and is picking up all kinds of pre-season honors after a freshman campaign where he led the team in tackles and interceptions. He sees the field well and hits like a truck. Jehiel Budgett should be the replacement for King on the outside and we return Blake Cotton who started on the other side of the field as a freshman. We brought in several freshman in our last recruiting class as well as a transfer from Iowa.
S/T - We're going to have a new punter and kicker this season. We haven't heard much in terms of who is picking up the slack, but we did bring in a transfer from UNLV.
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