2016 is a Pivotal Year

CHF has more talent in hand than he did when he got to Ole Miss.

There should be several impact players coming in that could bolster the offensive line and the defensive backfield.

Little at left tackle.
Eli Johnson may be able to step in as the number 2 center as a freshman. He looked sharp in the AL/MS all start game.

Matthews could be fighting, Rawlings and Givens for RT time. Plus there is still the Rod Taylor experiment at RT and Liggins will get another go at RT.

Eisworth and Hartsfield could press for playing time at the safety positions. Eisworth could be special. The Moore twins an CJ Hampton will need to step up their game. Hopefully Tony Conner returns for his senior season. If we press and pressure the ball we should be fine. Trae Elston made fewer tackles and was even frustrated about it, because he wasn't getting involved. That's the best way to make the safeties look good.

The defensive front will be fine and with a few added pieces during recruiting, they should be the strength of the defense again.

The linebackers should be in good shape, Caldwell looked solid at OLB and Gates can play both positions. Curtis is a monster, saw him on the sidelines during the game. If he hits and tackles as good as he looks he will play. We have a couple of guys committed that will probably not red shirt and another that may be able to convince his mom Ole Miss is a great place to spend his college years.

Another top 5 class and there will be more talent at Ole Miss than ever before, it will be young but those type of players expect to play.

Eli may already be a better center than Ben Still.

I do believe Givens wins the RT spot also. He may be the 2nd player behind Little for LT also.

Can we find another Fahn Cooper to bring in at RT? That was a solid pick up.

Of course... If we wouldn't have won the past couple of years then we wouldn't have momentum so of course those years are important. I just mean that with who we are losing I see next year as our biggest hurdle in having a long stretch of good seasons

1. We should handle that at home.
2. Bama with a new QB, LSU still has Miles coaching, UGA hired a defensive co ordinator and FSU isn't as deep as they thought they were.
3. Avoid injuries, prayer may be the only way.
4. Get to 10 wins before the bowl in order to continue the trend. I'm counting on beating Arkansas next year, it needs to happen.
5. Consistent improvement in the win column will get you the class you need.

What I see as an issue, top talent comes to Ole Miss to play early. We miss on some top talent when they can't. They will go to LSU and Bama to win NC's and wait to play.

Answer to problem? Continue to beat and be competitive against those two teams.

quote:

---

Hopefully Bouldin can finally give us something.

---

Don't hold your breath

I looked at it again after I said the same thing yesterday. The schedule is really top heavy. Bye comes at a good time unlike this past year. Its manageable if we can get through those first four with 2 or more wins.

And that's normal. If he is making a solid contribution as a redshirt sophomore that would be awesome.

How many recruits do you actually see being a instant player? Anderson if he comes? Benito? Cooley? DK? Mathews at guard? Besides the juco LB I would be surprised if there are many that play.

I'm of the opinion Eli nor Matthews will play next year barring injury. We should have:
Little
Patterson
Conyers
Sims
Taylor
Rawlings
Givens
I hope Bouldin

That would be 8 guys. You'd like to have more, we are getting there.

It always preferred for all OL to redshirt. The jump from HS to college is huge! I've actually spoke to Eli and that's his plan. I have watched him and I thought he is at least 2 years away UNTIL I realized he was playing out of position in HS. He is extremely strong... But he is an inside guy. After his rave reviews and his play in MS/AL all star game... I realize his natural position is center and he defiently has the smarts for it. I feel confident that position will be covered for years to come.