quote:
I'm interested if any of you are aware of the specifics about what they'll try to do differently this year? If they can find any semblance of an effective run game, it could be a panacea to their team as a whole in terms of the ability to possess the ball and keep the defense fresh.

Anyone wanna talk some honest to goodness football today?

Look no further than the fact that Dave Christensen (former Missouri O/C, Wyoming HC, and Utah O/C) is now the offensive line coach.

-You'll see the interior linemen far more in a 3 point stance this year as opposed to back on their heels like tackles usually are.

-You'll also see more of an emphasis on running the ball right at a box even when the defense knows it's coming.

One major difference you'll see is the type of running back focus.

In 2014, there was no true starting running back. There were three distinct types of runners and no one style worked.

Power (Carson, White)
Pure Speed (Trey Williams)
"Balance" (Brandon Williams)

Only one of the running backs (Carson) even topped the 500 yard mark, and it took him getting 130+ in the bowl to top that.

Compare that to 2015, when Carson (all 6'0 240 lbs of him) is the clear-cut starter, with White (6'1 225) as the backup. Trey Williams left for the draft, Brandon Williams (6'0, 205) was moved to cornerback, Kendall Bussey (5'9 205 lb FR) is the change of pace and it appears that Jay Bradford may have a medical condition that will force him to redshirt. (he is the fastest player on the team by far) Keith Ford (5-star transfer from Oklahoma) isn't eligible to play this year.

What this means is that instead of a "running back by committee", you have a clear #1, clear #2, and a "change of pace" back in the rotation.

The Tight End factor was also mentioned. Last year, there wasn't a player you could truly consider a tight end:

-You had Cameron Clear who was big but poorly skilled
-You had Brandon Alexander who was a converted DL
-You had Ben Compton who was the backup center
-You had Ricky Seals-Jones who, despite being 6'5 250, isn't very physical off the ball

This year, there's Jordan Davis (6'4 255) who is a tight end through and through and can line up at WR but can also block. While it's encouraging that Alexander has dropped from 266 to 238 (at 6'5), I'm not expecting much out of him. I'm not convinced that Seals-Jones can block anywhere near as effectively as Mike Evans either. Frank Iheanacho (at 6'7 230) has the potential, but is still raw.

This post was edited on 7/28/15 at 9:02 am