Depth Chart - Post Spring and Transfer Influx

Cougar Football
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Alright, everyone. I wanted to put out a two deep and get people talking. Where do you like our depth? Where are you concerned?

OFFENSE

QB: D’Eriq King; Quentin Dormady
RB: Terence Williams; Mulbah Car
WR: Raelon Singleton; Jeremy Singleton
WR: Marquez Stevenson; Julon Williams
WR: Courtney Lark; Keith Corbin
TE: Romello Brooker; Parker Eichenberger
LT: Josh Jones; Bo Alexander
LG: Mason Denley; Kam Eloph
C: Will Noble; Keenan Murphy
RG: Braylon Jones; Ryan Deshotel
RT: Jarrid Williams; Dennis Bardwell

DEFENSE

DL: Jerard Carter; Zach Vaughan
DL: Ed Oliver; Aymiel Fleming
DL: Isaiah Chambers; Payton Turner
OLB: Emeke Egbule; David Anenih
ILB: Darrion Owens; Elijah Gooden
ILB: Austin Robinson; Derek Parish
OLB: Leroy Godfrey; Amaud Willis-Dalton (our starter if we play in a 3-3-5?)
CB: Nick Watkins; Alex Myres
CB: Isaiah Johnson; Javian Smith
S: Garrett Davis; Darius Gilbert
S: Deontay Anderson; Gleson Sprewell

The biggest piece to the puzzle that I think we are missing as things stand now is a RT. Get a RT and let Jarrid Williams backup. Then we could move Dennis Bardwell inside and let him backup Braylon Jones. We would have a very solid two deep in that scenario.

Position groups in order of strength

  1. Defensive Line - Ed Oliver. Enough said, but add Isaiah Chambers (top 150 prospect out of high school) along with a healthy Jerard Carter and we have the best defensive line in the conference, and one of the best in the country. I’m very excited to watch the growth of Payton Turner in year two. He looks like he can be a monster.

  2. Safety - Deontay Anderson and Garrett Davis give us the best starters at safety in the conference. I expect both to be all conference performers at the end of the season, and expect Garrett Davis to be a late day two, early day three pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. It was also big for us that Gleson Sprewell and Garrison Vaughn got to campus in January. Gives these guys a full spring to get acclimated with D’Onofrio’s defense.

  3. Running Back - The addition of Terence Williams is HUGE. There’s no other way to put it. He has been a 1000 yard runner in the Briles’ offense. If he can give us 80% of what he did a couple of years ago, then we are looking at about 850 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns. Also, Mulbah Car looked like our best back last season, despite not getting as many touches as Duke Catalon. A one-two punch in Williams and Car may be the best in the conference.

  4. Quarterback - I had a hard time ranking 2-4. D’Eriq King is going to be a star in the Briles’ offense. Bringing in Quentin Dormady to push King reminds me a lot of the first season that Herman got to campus. King has a very nice touch on his long ball, and I’m very eager to see him explode in the Briles’ offense.

  5. Cornerback - I cannot believe I’m putting this group at 5, but the Nick Watkins addition is huge. He started 9 games at Notre Dame last season while being second in the team in pass breakups. On the other side of the defense is Isaiah Johnson. A guy that will probably be drafted in day two of the 2019 NFL Draft. Our elite defensive line is also going to give our corners the ability to play more aggressive at the point of attack with receivers. I do not expect to see 10 yard cushions off the line of scrimmage this season from our corners. A healthy Javian Smith is critical as well.

  6. Wide Receiver - There are a lot of unknowns here, but we have a ton of guys with potential. Raelon Singleton was bringing in 30 catches and 500+ plus yards with four touchdowns the past two seasons at Utah. Courtney Lark, Marquez Stevenson, Keith Corbin, Julon Williams, and Jeremy Singleton to round out the two deep gives us a ton of guys that had offers from a ton of P5s. I believe this group has the potential to be a top three group by the end of the season.

  7. Offensive Line - I love our LT, C, and RG in this offense. If we can keep Josh Jones, Will Noble, and Braylon Jones healthy all season then this group has a chance to be very good. Especially with the coaching hire of Clements. I’m a little concerned about LG and RT, and am concerned with the depth at RG. Landing a T in the grad transfer market will be huge.

  8. Linebacker - The addition of Darrion Owens is huge. Also, getting back Austin Robinson for another season is big for us as well. I love our starters, but the reason I put them at 8 is due to the inexperience behind the starters. It will also be hard to replace Matt Adams and D’Juan Hines. Darrion Owens battled injuries in his time at Miami, so his health is key for this linebacker group.

  9. Tight End - I have no clue what to expect from this group, and am unsure of how they fit into a Briles’ offense.

I fully expect our defense to be elite. The additions of Anderson, Chambers, Watkins, and Owens are huge. Our offense should see an uptick due to the Briles’ system and D’Eriq King getting first team reps all offseason. And the Terence Williams addition is probably our biggest of the offseason. Bigger than Deontay Anderson, IMO. This team has the potential to win every game on the schedule. Anything less than 9-3 is a disappointment. But an 11-1 or 10-2 type of season is definitely a possibility. I cannot wait for September 1st!

12 Likes
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Great post: Lots 2 contemplate.
For this season:add Bryson Smith to the WR mix.
Its been mentioned with the Quentin Dormady addition.

Owens could have a monster year @ LB.
After getting hurt, he was stuck behind S Quarterman
-All ACC in 16, 17, Frosh AA in 16 & prob a 2nd day draft pick.
He will have an opportunity to play a ton @UH.

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Not big on Garrett Davis.

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pretty much exactly how i would have had it

im not sure if we are going to be as strict as we are about inside and outside WR, if we are strict about that jeremy cant back up raelon…he is an inside WR. id move jeremy to back up marquez and terry mark as the backup outside

also it has only been 1 year of coach D so im not sure if its a common thing for him…but he starts Safeties as OLB (technically nickles) if that wasnt because of some depth issue and a common thing for him, i expect joeal Williams or grant stuard to start there and the other be the back up. both were backup to khalil Williams all last season

but i do want to point out that linebacker isnt our second weakest position group by any definition…i cant remember which coach said it but they said emeke was the most viable player on the defense not named Ed last year for the role he played for the defense…i personally love godfrey rewatch any of the last 5 games we played, godrey had an awakening of sorts as he was ALL over the field…he is my pick for breakout defensive player (not named chambers)…add owens and the endless talent young players we have at that position and we are really strong at LB

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Why? I have enjoyed his play over the years. He has made a lot of key plays for us.

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Agree either Godfrey of David as OLB… to me Emeke was going through the motions last season, was too late or too slow to the play most of the time (getting there when the tackle has been made)

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Seems to me that he gained too much weight and it slowed him down…or at least he did not look as quick as before.

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TE I think Turnbull-Fraizer looked good in Spring. I’d put him at #1 but a lot can change during fall camp.

Also, Gooden is listed at 215. if that’s true, he should move outside or nickle if he has the speed. I wouldn’t be surprised if Anenih beats out Egbule.

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Great post.

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Davis does a lot of good things but also makes a lot of major mistakes.
Off top of my head some positives…the int late first half vs Memphis. Int late vs Temple help preserve win. Late pick vs Arizona.
Negatives…blew coverage vs Coutee in TT game, also missed tackle on long run. Nowhere to be found on late Tulane TD Pass. Taunting penalty vs Memphis after Winchester dropped Pic…it gave Memp a 1st down instead being 3rd down.
A big one…he let receiver go before whistle blew vs Tulsa and he ran for TD…game over.

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It’s easy to see pick on safeties, Davis is a good one.

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Watch the tech game from last year as an example only. He trailed many passing plays in that game, as in he did not have the speed to stay or catch a receiver. There are others, just one example.

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Coverage guys are only noticed when things go wrong, not the majority of plays where they actually cover the guy. Evaluating a safety by the times you noticed him miss a play is oversimplification

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This is sweet.
https://twitter.com/ShockTheWorldPC/status/1005846378629746689

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Kobe I. is no longer on the roster.

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Players available. More to come as guys graduate after early summer session.

https://gradtransfertracker.com/potential-transfers/

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At some point do we start to worry about selling out our future?

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Is Carmouche on the team?

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exactly, but i didnt want to point it out…some people are calling for more grad transfers…and im like that means 1 less scholly for 2019… unless an undeniable talent comes open, i think its time to luck it up for 2018