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Possibilities and Concerns Heading into 2026 Spring then Fall Camps
Posted on 1/30/26 at 8:25 am
Posted on 1/30/26 at 8:25 am
Teaching:
Very young on age and experience at OL. The new OL coach looks to be an outside zone tactitian. That is great but with all of the assignment reads and adjustments to run the outside zone effectively, the OL and TE's need time in the barrel under fire. The run blocking requires unit cohesion that come from time together as a unit. Musical chairs with the OL has to stop by the end of spring.
Nix with the WR's, get RW on the edge where he needs to be. Teach and drill him on getting off the LoS vs press coverage. Get RW losts of time hand catching from the Juggs machine then let is natural abilities do the rest.
RB's press the hole, read the blocks and get vertical.Once the ball is in their hands, quit dancing and move or get off the field.
DL and LB run stopping - a LB that only makes 30 tackles for the year will not help this team. The new guys up front should be able to shield the LB's so they can fill and scrape. We need 4 inside LB's (Mike/Will) in rotation that have 45+ tackles each or 3 with 60+ tackles each.
Concerns
How long will the OL take to come together?
Mack has a low side arm release that is also long. If he is the starter, expect lots of balls batted down at the LoS. Russle needs to win the job and spend lots of time watching film with Grubb.
The LB room is a little light so the DL has to keep them clean so they can run.
Strengths on the D
Pass rush from the edges should be strong
Back end coverage and run support should be strong
Play concepts on the D are simple enough that the younger players should build quickly into what is needed and be chaos by the time post season comes around.
Very young on age and experience at OL. The new OL coach looks to be an outside zone tactitian. That is great but with all of the assignment reads and adjustments to run the outside zone effectively, the OL and TE's need time in the barrel under fire. The run blocking requires unit cohesion that come from time together as a unit. Musical chairs with the OL has to stop by the end of spring.
Nix with the WR's, get RW on the edge where he needs to be. Teach and drill him on getting off the LoS vs press coverage. Get RW losts of time hand catching from the Juggs machine then let is natural abilities do the rest.
RB's press the hole, read the blocks and get vertical.Once the ball is in their hands, quit dancing and move or get off the field.
DL and LB run stopping - a LB that only makes 30 tackles for the year will not help this team. The new guys up front should be able to shield the LB's so they can fill and scrape. We need 4 inside LB's (Mike/Will) in rotation that have 45+ tackles each or 3 with 60+ tackles each.
Concerns
How long will the OL take to come together?
Mack has a low side arm release that is also long. If he is the starter, expect lots of balls batted down at the LoS. Russle needs to win the job and spend lots of time watching film with Grubb.
The LB room is a little light so the DL has to keep them clean so they can run.
Strengths on the D
Pass rush from the edges should be strong
Back end coverage and run support should be strong
Play concepts on the D are simple enough that the younger players should build quickly into what is needed and be chaos by the time post season comes around.
3
Posted on 1/30/26 at 8:43 am to Tw1st3d
Outside zone scheme with Daniel Hill as your likely lead back sure would be a choice
Posted on 1/30/26 at 8:52 am to bamabenny
If Hill is our feature back in 2026, then we're in for a difficult year.
Posted on 1/30/26 at 8:54 am to bamabenny
quote:
Outside zone scheme with Daniel Hill as your likely lead back sure would be a choice
No kidding. Beyond physical limitations, none of our backs showed any feel or understanding of zone running. Not sure if that's a coaching thing or a player thing, but it's going to be a big issue if it doesn't improve.
Posted on 1/30/26 at 9:00 am to bamabenny
If we're going to be an outside zone heavy team then we better hope Dear and Riley take a huge step forward this off-season. I've said this many times but Daniel Hill is a gap scheme not a zone scheme runner. If we were going to run something zone-scheme-ish but fit Daniel Hill then we'd be a duo heavy team because the double teams are trying to work up to the second level instead of laterally. However Hill would be targeting the A gap instead of the B or C gap because you're going to double team block both interior defensive linemen and the back just has to read the unblocked linebacker then make very slight cuts between the two A gaps.
Posted on 1/30/26 at 9:39 am to Diego Ricardo
Call me a cynic, but I just haven't seen anything from Riley or Dear that make them stand out. Riley is a good receiver out of the backfield but Dear hasn't shown us anything outside of a garbage time run against an overmatched ULM.
Also, anyone banking on Crowell coming in and just dominating as a reclassified Freshman has already forgotten about what grown men can do to these high ranked youngsters (see: Bama vs. IU).
Also, anyone banking on Crowell coming in and just dominating as a reclassified Freshman has already forgotten about what grown men can do to these high ranked youngsters (see: Bama vs. IU).
This post was edited on 1/30/26 at 9:40 am
Posted on 1/30/26 at 9:59 am to bamabenny
quote:
and just dominating as a reclassified Freshman
Saint clarified in the recruiting thread that he was held back a year in like elementary school, so even though he reclassified, age-wise he's a normal incoming Freshman. Still difficult to make an impact as a true Freshman, but it's not the same as RW coming in at 17.
This post was edited on 1/30/26 at 10:19 am
Posted on 1/30/26 at 10:12 am to Tw1st3d
quote:
eaching:
Very young on age and experience at OL. The new OL coach looks to be an outside zone tactitian. That is great but with all of the assignment reads and adjustments to run the outside zone effectively, the OL and TE's need time in the barrel under fire. The run blocking requires unit cohesion that come from time together as a unit. Musical chairs with the OL has to stop by the end of spring.
I would rather him to focus on preaching physicality back to the OL. Be tone-setter, aggressors and that's something that was lacking previously. These OL are smart enough to know how to run outside zone, etc. Klemm has experience with revamping the OL and so I'm not concern with that. Just change the atittude on that OL.
quote:
Mack has a low side arm release that is also long. If he is the starter, expect lots of balls batted down at the LoS. Russle needs to win the job and spend lots of time watching film with Grubb.
Russell does not need to win the job this year. He has every tools to be a great QB when his time comes whether its this year or next. Austin Mack is 6"6 and his throwing mechanic is getting better every time he's on the field.
Posted on 1/30/26 at 10:39 am to Panthers4life
quote:
Russell does not need to win the job this year. He has every tools to be a great QB when his time comes whether its this year or next
Yea it will be fun watching him at Texas or A&M kicking our arse
Posted on 1/30/26 at 10:42 am to Panthers4life
Mack is Joe Milton 2.0. If he wins the job he’s not a 1 and done sort of talent which means Russell will have one foot out the door by week 4
Posted on 1/30/26 at 10:44 am to Panthers4life
I don't think Mack is going to be accurate enough as a passer to hold off Russell. He has a big arm for sure, great frame, but accuracy to me is not going to be his strong suit.
This post was edited on 1/30/26 at 10:45 am
Posted on 1/30/26 at 10:55 am to Bham Bammer
Dumb question
Could Mack graduate before the fall and transfer as a grad transfer? I know it is unlikely he can graduate that fast but the athletes seem to go through faster than regular students
Could Mack graduate before the fall and transfer as a grad transfer? I know it is unlikely he can graduate that fast but the athletes seem to go through faster than regular students
Posted on 1/30/26 at 11:07 am to Syd
I think all the hand wringing over QBs is not necessary. DeBoer has shown the ability to recruit the position very well. If they have the right pieces and depth pieces for the OL I think everything will fall in to place. As good as the defense was this year they’d have been even better with a complimentary offense that could could control the game with a dominant run game like we saw with Indiana. Outside of Pounds that DB they were not a team of elite talent they just played together very very well.
Posted on 1/30/26 at 11:20 am to bamabenny
quote:
Call me a cynic, but I just haven't seen anything from Riley or Dear that make them stand out. Riley is a good receiver out of the backfield but Dear hasn't shown us anything outside of a garbage time run against an overmatched ULM.
Also, anyone banking on Crowell coming in and just dominating as a reclassified Freshman has already forgotten about what grown men can do to these high ranked youngsters (see: Bama vs. IU).
Right, that is why I said we're going to need Riley and/or Dear to take some significant steps forward in their development.
If Crowell is a significant contributor to the offense, we should probably not expect him to survive the grind as RB1. Ingram, Richardson, Yeldon were all significant contributors as true freshmen but as the clear RB2 to Coffee, Ingram, and Lacy respectively. If Crowell is our feature back, it will probably be one of those situations where he hits a physical wall from all the hits he's taking by mid-October or November. Obviously, we don't want that so it means that Hill, Riley, or Dear needs to be a capable lead back in a tandem with Crowell.
I'm low on Hill as a tailback even though I like him. Personally, I think he should move to H-Back/TE. So, I think that lead back that allows Crowell to stay fresh as a first year player has got to be Riley or Dear.
Posted on 1/30/26 at 12:13 pm to JoseyWalesTheOutlaw
quote:
If Hill is our feature back in 2026, then we're in for a difficult year.
Yeah Hill needs to improve significantly
Posted on 1/30/26 at 12:28 pm to scottydoesntknow
If Mack and Hill are our starting QB/RB combo next season, you guys better get a bunch of new hobbies before mid-October
Posted on 1/30/26 at 1:27 pm to chefrossi
quote:
chefrossi
Posted on 1/30/26 at 4:16 pm to Tw1st3d
I'm optimistic about the transfer center, Delgatty. Has played a lot of snaps and give up very, very few sacks. Him being smart and hopefully picking up the scheme would be huge.
Carroll played a lot and had some growing pains. Personally, I think he'd be a better guard but obviously the staff knows more than I do. Still, those game snaps he had were invaluable.
I agree they need to decide on the starting five and get them reps, reps and more reps. Unit cohesion is critical. I'm hoping they can improve the quickness in this unit. Last year, we had some REALLY SLOW guys out there that got routinely got smoked by speed rush guys.
Carroll played a lot and had some growing pains. Personally, I think he'd be a better guard but obviously the staff knows more than I do. Still, those game snaps he had were invaluable.
I agree they need to decide on the starting five and get them reps, reps and more reps. Unit cohesion is critical. I'm hoping they can improve the quickness in this unit. Last year, we had some REALLY SLOW guys out there that got routinely got smoked by speed rush guys.
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