Breathing easier?

I'm just ready for the freaking season to start, I'm glad those boys made it in. The talent level is absolutely there, I'm just hoping they can stay straight and narrow and crack some heads on the field.

Yeah ... there will be growing pains, no doubt.

Sometimes when you have uber talented freshmen coming-in at CB, you can afford to let them man-up a little more to make it simpler for them in the beginning, provided you have the safeties and linebackers to handle the zone coverage responsibilities.

The hard part for freshmen corners, or so I have been told, is getting used to the physical nature of the bump and run game against D1 WRs. Especially when both of these guys, who are going around 170, are going to be outweighed by most of the receivers they are going to face.

We're going to be very dependent on getting pressure on the QBs early this season, not allowing them to put precision thrown balls down the field and giving our young guys a chance to make plays on thrown balls rather than having to try to physically beat receivers one-on-one.

Our DEs are going to be fine. I can tell you for sure that Whammy believes our DEs are one of the strengths of our defense this season. But he is pressure oriented and he feels that, no matter how good your DBs are, you still have to overload the OLine in order to apply pressure ... especially in today's fast paced world of spread offenses. It's sell-out defenses, all or nothing ... and you have to have solid man-up corners to be able to do that without getting burned.

We're gonna get burned some early.

I'll tell you who is breathing easy: Jarriel King. Just got acquitted.

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That hooker cost him his NFL Career. He had his spot with SEA and was getting paid. They cut him b/c they didn't want to deal with that drama. I was saying from Day 1 that he was innocent (I know that sounds cliche.)

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He's w/ the Toronto Argonauts now, I think.

From what I understand (and from what I heard a/b the trial from several friends in the know), he was lucky to be acquitted.

I think they'll contribute later in the season since they missed all of the summer sessions.

Lammons might contribute at one of the returner positions right away.

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I think they'll contribute later in the season since they missed all of the summer sessions.

Lammons might contribute at one of the returner positions right away.

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I'm always terrified when I see a true freshman returning punts. Just scares the helloutta me.

We're supposed to be recruiting better than that.

But heck, I guess anything to fix our special teams, return game, would be fine by me. Pharoah Cooper can get it done with the KOR. We've not had a solid PR man since Ace. Hampton was terrible.

I can't even think of anyone on the team right now with the brains and balls and talent to be a serious threat at PR.

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I was thinking Pharoh Cooper would return punts and Lammons kicks. Cooper did a decent job last year returning punts.

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You know, you're right, he did. But why did he only do it for a couple of games? I know he did it in the Mizzou game, but I remember Victor Hampton doing it later in the season, earlier in the season too ... what game was it that Hampton chose to field the ball on the four yard line, UCF?

But no, you're right, Cooper has all the tools to be a great PR guy.

I'm just glad that Lammons and Green got in more due to their talent, and how deep they make the CB roster for the future. Added to Harris and Smith they make the position as deep as say 2009, when 4* Gilmore was added to 5* Culliver and 4*s Auguste and Whitlock. Then in 2010 4* Hampton and Legree was added.

We haven't brought in top talent like that since, although of course McWilliams has shown flashes of excellence around his ACL injury. Now with the foursome in camp, and Fields on his way in for 2015, we're going to again have great depth and talent at the position...

Smith has had his audition to the secondary halted a bit due to having some wisdom teeth taken out, which prevented him from participating in the first 3 practices. I believe he's still not cleared to practice, but should be very soon. Smith has the size right now to make a bigger impact possibly at corner than the 170-pounders, with his 5-11, 190 size. but he still has time to catch up to the others...

I think what we have will be serviceable - McWilliams, Groves and Jamari Smith having some time in the program to learn the plays should be decent for most of the time, but could get burned from time to time. Even Gilmore got burned a few times in the past.

But hopefully Williams' support will help solidify and settle the position down, and the development of the youngsters will be swift enough for them to starting adding their support and making the position more dependable for us this season, if not a strength...