Go Canes!

The college football season has technically already started (Hawaii vs. Cal in Australia anyone?), but the real action does not begin until this Thursday. Given the proximity to the season, football experts are announcing their bowl picks. ESPN’s Brett McMurphy and Mark Schlabach made their college bowl picks today, and they like Wake’s chances.

Mark Schlabach has the Deacs headed to St. Petersburg, Florida to take on Tulsa in the St. Petersburg Bowl. That game will take place on December 26th at 11 a.m. Brett McMurphy has the Deacs headed to Shreveport, Louisiana to take on Kentucky in the Camping World Independence Bowl. That game will take place on December 26th at 5 p.m. If that happens, we can call that the Les Johns Bowl.

These definitely aren’t the most glamorous bowl games in the world, but it’s encouraging that the Deacs are getting some respect from the national media. Clearly Wake wants to make the best bowl possible, but given that Wake hasn’t been to a bowl game since 2011, any bowl game would be a major sign of progress. Wake definitely has the talent, experience, and schedule to do it. I’m excited to watch the journey begin on Thursday night against Tulane.

Do you all agree with the ESPN writers? Will Wake Forest make a bowl?

Replacing Dak Prescott is not something that will be easy to do. Dak was a three star recruit out of Louisiana and became the best quarterback that Mississippi State had ever seen. But his legacy doesn’t stop there. He’s one of the best to ever play in the SEC and he’s arguably the single most underrated player in the SEC’s history.

But we have to move on from Dak Prescott. We have to leave behind all of the touchdowns, yards, and big moments that he shined in. Mississippi State was elevated to greatness because Dak raised the level of play of those around him. Now the Bulldogs have to find someone to step in and at the very least keep the program from losing any momentum that it currently has.

The Bulldogs have a few good options to turn to, but finding the guy that separates himself will be the key for Dan Mullen and the offense for 2016.

Notable Losses: Dak Prescott, Elijah Staley (transferred to Tyler Junior College)

Key Returners: Damian Williams, Nick Fitzgerald, Nick Tiano

Big Additions: Wyatt Roberts (transferred from EMCC and walked on)

Damian Williams is the most experienced guy in this competition, and he’s only made one start. That was back in 2013 where he started because he was the healthiest quarterback on the roster. Last year he wasn’t so healthy and had to redshirt.

Williams is often forgotten about when it comes to the 2013 season, but he’s one of the main reasons Mississippi State even made it to a bowl a few seasons ago. From his touchdown run to lead the Bulldogs over Arkansas in overtime to keeping Mississippi State afloat against the Rebels in the Egg Bowl, Williams was a vital part of State’s success. He’s got a solid arm, is built like a running back at 6’1” and 230 pounds, and has decent legs, so he is a good fit for a typical Dan Mullen offense.

Nick Fitzgerald has been the favorite amongst most of the fans to win the job. He’s tall, he’s athletic, and he’s got a strong arm. In high school, he played in an option offense where he ran for over 1400 yards and had 25 rushing touchdowns. Physically, he’s built to succeed at the quarterback position in a spread option offense at 6’5” and 230 pounds.

Fitzgerald might bring the most balance to the offense if he were to take the helm as the starting quarterback. He’s developed as a passer and as I’ve mentioned, he’s a natural runner. Fitzgerald is the second most experienced guy on the roster, graduating from high school early and enrolling early so that he could get a head start on Elijah Staley.

Nick Tiano might be the most explosive runner of the three, and he has the talent and the physical tools to become either an inside linebacker or the perfect quarterback for Dan Mullen’s offense. At 6’4” and 240 pounds, he’s physically the most similar to Tim Tebow… and also Richie Brown.

Tiano more than likely won’t become a linebacker, he’s a thrilling runner and was arguably the most exciting quarterback to watch in the spring game. He might be the quarterback of the future for the Bulldogs because of this athleticism, but it looks like he won’t win the job to start the season.

Wyatt Roberts is an interesting addition to the team. He’s the star of Netflix’s hit series Last Chance U and was quite a quarterback at the juco level. But he’s not in this quarterback competition.

Roberts was reportedly brought onto the team so that he could get experience because he hopes to be a coach one day, and so Dan Mullen brought him on board. Add in the fact that he provides depth should the injury bug start biting folks and he can run the scout team so that the other three guys get more practice reps, adding him was a wise move.

Mississippi State released the depth chart today and it clearly didn’t do anything to give us any hints as to who will wind up being the starter.

And then Dan Mullen trolled all of us by saying that “Nick Williams” would be the starter for South Alabama. So there’s no real answer as to which guy will be starting quarterback. We’ll likely see Williams, Fitzgerald, and Tiano all play significant minutes in the two games leading up to LSU. But the Bulldogs will need to settle on one guy before they head down to Baton Rouge if they want to pull the unlikely upset.

Dan Mullen has some solid options to turn to. There’s no real wrong answer between the three guys in this competition. The hard part is finding the guy that excels at leading and improving those around him. Whoever can do that, and play the most consistently, will more than likely win the job.

Normally, the release of the depth chart for a football team is a moment anticipated by the fan base. Usually it gives an insight as to who can be expected to lead the team into their first game of the season. Players and fans alike get hyped when the final pieces of preparation fall into place. In short, usually the depth chart finally gives us some clarity.

Unfortunately, none of that is really the case for the Kansas Jayhawks.

David Beaty released the first official depth chart for the Jayhawks for this football season, but not a lot of questions were answered, especially at key offensive positions. I dare you to take a look at it and tell me that this is pretty much what you expected. Go ahead, I’ll wait:

So first, it goes without saying that Beaty’s manufactured QB controversy is still alive and well, given that despite releasing a depth chart, he still hasn’t given any indication which of his three QBs we can expect to see on Saturday (although I highly doubt that the inclusion of Carter Stanley is anything other than trying to make it seem like it’s a true open competition).

This really isn’t that surprising, but it is disappointing. Maybe I’m part of a vocal minority, but the fact Beaty hasn’t chosen between Ryan Willis and Montell Cozart means one of two things: either he really doesn’t know how to evaluate what he wants from the QB position, or he knows who he wants to name as the starter but is afraid of the backlash the choice will create. Either way, it isn’t a good look for the second year coach.

I’m mildly surprised that a starting RB hasn’t been named. While I haven’t seen anything that would indicate that Ke’aun Kinner has sealed up the position, I also haven’t really seen any strong arguments to give it someone else instead. And since backs are easy to rotate, the official starter isn’t as big of a deal as the QB.

Some other surprises (h/t Mike on some of these):

• Freshman Hakeem Adeniji was expected to earn the RT position, but the sophomore Clyde McCauley III seemed to come out of nowhere to earn that starting position for Saturday. Given that Adeniji has been impressing as recently as last Thursday, I’m not sure that the depth chart stays this way.
• Junior Jayson Rhodes is another notable absence. However, with 14 guys looking for 8 spots in the line rotation, I wouldn’t be surprised to see these guys shuffle in and out all season long, especially as we get into Big 12 play.
• Most of the starters on defense are exactly what you would expect, but there are some glaring omissions, especially given the news that had been coming out of camp. The freshman trio of Mike Lee, Kyle Mayberry and Ian Peterson had all been getting good reviews and appeared to be making enough of an impact to at least get onto the 2-deep.

So with the depth chart released, are you feeling any different about this team than you were earlier today? Are the questions still left open worrisome at all just 5 days before the opener?

Kentucky released its depth chart on Monday for the first week of the season. It contained a few surprises such as JUCO transfer offensive Tate Leavitt not being present, as well as some younger defensive linemen supplanting players that were previously believed to be ahead. There was another eye-catching reveal:

Surprise on depth chart: Kobie Walker at both SAM and nickel. Wonder if this suggests specific nickel sub-packages.

— will marshall (@awillmarshall) August 29, 2016

The second string strong-side linebacker (SAM) was also listed as the second string nickel back – a role previously held by Kendall Randolph the last two seasons (Randolph is now listed as the second string free safety). My suspicions that Walker would be deployed in ways atypical to previous seasons may have later been confirmed by Stoops in his press conference:

Stoops: Kobie Walker will be out there and playing. Not going into detail where and how.

— Freddie Maggard (@FredMaggard) August 29, 2016

Why the cloak and dagger unless UK intends to incorporate slightly different looks when Walker is in the game. Walker, a former high school safety, fits the mold of college defenses converting safeties to linebackers, linebackers to defensive ends, and defensive ends to defensive tackles for the sake of speed. NFL linebackers have also gotten smaller as their job description has changed. Maybe we shouldn’t have been surprised by the release of the depth chart:

Kobie Walker has had a big training camp, Eliot said. Has cover ability of safety and power of linebacker, Eliot said.

— Jen Smith (@jenheraldleader) August 10, 2016

Keeping Walker on the field in a nickel package does several things for the defense. Presumably he’s diverse enough to handle underneath coverage in space versus tight ends and slot receivers, while also reliably taking up his run fit. Mark Stoops and DJ Elliot appeared to try and play strong safety Marcus McWilson closer to the line of scrimmage last season in a similar role, so perhaps Walker is the continuation of that sliver of the defensive playbook only with upgraded talent.

Make no mistake, Walker will be targeted by offensive staffs that see a 6’3” 215 pound linebacker aligned against their skill positions. They’ll engineer matching him up in man coverage against their fleetest receivers via formations or motions. UK may want to checkout of some coverages to mitigate damage.

Alternatively, UK has historically played quite a bit of Cover 3 pattern-matching under Mark Stoops. This would protect Walker. In this case, Walker could align over a speedy slot receiver, and when the receiver goes vertical (a mismatch for Walker), he would “switch” with the defensive back assigned to deep-routes and switch back to the shallow routes running underneath in the flats as the figure below shows.

Pattern Matching vs Smash Concept

Or maybe he doesn’t need the protection as on one occasion in camp he ran step-for-step with one of UK’s best receivers:

Stephen Johnson with the deep ball to Garrett Johnson, who hauls it in despite Kobie Walker being right there pic.twitter.com/GHdiPTlcsd

— Ben Roberts (@BenRobertsHL) August 22, 2016

There’s little even a true defensive back can do against a good throw and catch.

Blitzing off the edge or inside by the nickel back has been another staple of Stoops’ and Elliot’s defense since 2014. When a blitz is called with Walker on the field, they essentially get another outside linebacker on the field. That’s an added power they didn’t get last year blitzing McClain and Randolph off the edge, and would diversify the playbook a bit more. This would also imply UK’s defensive line needs help rushing the passer for the second year in a row.

Denzil Ware on Kobie Walker: “It’s like a five-second street fight when he’s pass rushing.” https://t.co/Tw83RBSUYm

— Alex Forkner (@AlexForknerTCP) August 19, 2016

Conclusion

It’s important not to make too big of a deal about this development. Blake McClain is still the starting nickel back, not to mention the fluidity of depth charts week-to-week, and will probably still see the majority of reps. It is the first time a linebacker, and not a safety, will see time at the nickel back position for UK suggesting new defensive wrinkles that may be needed to aid an anemic pass-rush. It also comes at an epoch when the nickel back is increasingly important.

If nothing else, Walker just became a more intriguing player to keep an eye on.

It’s officially game week, and now we have our first Arizona Wildcats depth chart of the 2016 season.

@arizonafball

The biggest question most people have is who will be the starting quarterback, and of course, Anu Solomon and Brandon Dawkins are listed as “OR”. I would still be surprised if it’s not Solomon that takes the first snap behind center this year. Also, Khalil Tate is behind Zach Werlinger.

Who the quarterback will be getting the snaps from will be redshirt freshman Nathan Eldridge. Ever since the untimely death of Zach Hemmila, Eldridge has been running with the first-team, so this is not exactly a shock. Though if you go back to our offensive line preview, Eldridge told Ryan Kelapire he was shocked when initially moved up to first team.

The rest of the starting offensive line is as projected. It is interesting that Michael Eletise did not make the two-deep though.

At running back, it’s Nick Wilson “OR” Orlando Bradford. The thing to know here is that freshman J.J. Taylor has played himself into the third spot. It won’t be unexpected to see Wilson and Bradford get partially-shared carries, with Wilson taking the majority of them.

Shun Brown listed as the starting “SLOT” receiver is probably the only kind of surprising thing at that position. He seems to have beat out Tyrell Johnson for that role. Cedric Peterson and Devaughn Cooper are two freshmen that have made the cut to be listed.

At tight end, Josh Kern is listed as the starter over Trevor Wood.

Let’s move to defense, and oh look, it’s still kind of a 3-3-5.

Justin Belknap earning the starting spot as a defensive end is not surprising at all considering how the coaches have talked about him all offseason. He’ll have Parker Zellers and Sani Fuimaono alongside him. I’d also expect to see Aiulua Fanene to get a decent number of snaps, especially in short-yardage situations.

The linebackers are full of experience, with no one on the two deep having less than three years of college time under their belts. There are no surprises there either, though Michael Barton will probably see the field a ton as Cody Ippolito’s listed backup at MIKE.

Safety is where we find two true freshmen, Chacho Ulloa and Isaiah Hayes. Redshirt freshman Anthony Mariscal is also in there as a backup. Tellas Jones has come back this fall and won the starting spot at spur, while Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles has locked down the bandit position. At free, it will be Jarvis McCall, who has found that he’s better suited for safety than corner.

Finally, corner is as expected with Dane Cruikshank and DaVonte’ Neal, but the backups are a little surprising with Jace Whittaker and Devin Holiday slotted in those spots right now. However, I’d expect a ton of defensive players to play significant snaps, especially early in the season.

On to special teams.

Josh Pollack is listed as the co-starter for both kicking and punting. I fully expect him to be kicking field goals and extra points with Edgar Gastelum handling kickoff duties.

Pollack’s co-punter is Matt Aragon. One thing that did stand out in the Beanie Bowl was poor punting by both Pollack and Aragon. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were subbed out for each other if one of them shanks a punt in a game.

Nick Reinhardt to Matt Morin as long-snapper/holder was completely expected. Morin used to be a quarterback at San Diego State, so he’ll bring a somewhat unique skillset to that position.

On punt return, it’ll be Nate Phillips with J.J. Taylor behind him. And kickoff return has some serious speed, with Tyrell Johnson, Taylor and Shun Brown. It’ll just be a matter if they can get decent blocks in front of them.

Maryland football signed four players from DeMatha Catholic High School in the class of 2016, and now they have their first verbal commitment from the local powerhouse in the 2017 class.

Four-star offensive tackle Marcus Minor announced his commitment to play at Maryland on Comcast SportsNet Sunday night. Maryland beat out a couple local schools and some national powers to land him. He previously listed the Terps in his top seven, along with Auburn, Florida, Miami, Michigan State, Virginia Tech and Rutgers.

Minor got a little emotional before making his big decision and paused while bringing out a Maryland hat.

Minor is the No. 5 player in Maryland and the No. 28 tackle in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite. Four-star McDonogh tackle Jordan McNair and three-star Gonzaga center Johnny Jordan are the other offensive linemen the team has committed so far in the class of 2017.

Two of Minor’s DeMatha teammates, five-star defensive end Chase Young and four-star running back Anthony McFarland, are some of Maryland’s top targets left in the class. Young committed to Ohio State in July, but the Terps have undoubtedly not given up on flipping him.

His commitment isn’t set in stone until he puts pen to paper on National Signing Day in February, but should Minor end up at Maryland, he’ll reunite with former DeMatha teammate Terrance Davis, who could see playing time at guard for the Terps as a true freshman in 2016.

The eyes of the nation will already be upon Texas when Notre Dame walks into Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Sept. 4, but more importantly, so too will the eyes of numerous key Texas targets set to visit. To this point, names like Marvin Wilson, Walker Little and Baron Browning are the headliners, along with a slew of other key targets for upcoming classes and as expected, recruits are looking for Texas’ recent recruiting success to translate to the field. Charlie Strong and the Longhorns could make a national statement on national television next Sunday against the No. 10-ranked Fighting Irish and an impressive performance could provide Texas with a significant edge for many of its prospects, and in some cases (see Marvin Wilson), it’s necessary to lure them to Austin.

Here’s a look at which targets will be in attendance for the season opener against Notre Dame:

2017

• Marvin Wilson – 5-star DT – Episcopal
• Baron Browning – 5-star OLB – Kennedale
• Walker Little – 5-star OT – Episcopal
• Damion Miller – 4-star WR – John Tyler – Texas commit
• Josh Thompson – 3-star CB – Nacogdoches – Texas commit

2018

• Anthony Cook – 5-star CB – Houston Lamar
• Jordan Moore – 4-star ATH – Yoakum
• Joshua Moore – 4-star ATH – Yoakum
• Stanley Lambert – 3-star WR – Marshall
• Silas Robinson – Unranked OT/DT – Yoakum

2019

• Grant Gunnell – 4-star QB – St. Pius X

The offseason needs to die. Right now. No more life for the offseason. It’s almost over anyway. But it needs to end right now. Mississippi State’s Nick James, the giant defensive lineman, was reportedly arrested for public intoxication last night.

But then there were reports that there was no record of such an arrest. Which is super weird.

Generally, you know, if arrests happen, there’s records on those things, right? But apparently the record books entered a black hole or something. And now Mississippi State and Dan Mullen are confirming the existence of the arrest (now they just need to join Neil de Grasse Tyson and talk about black holes for a halftime show).

Public intoxication generally isn’t a big thing and of all the things that could happen with football players being arrested, this isn’t a huge deal. However, James does have a slight history of off the field issues.

The offseason needs to end right now. We’ve endured enough of not having college football. Saturday, get here soon, please.

Rhett Lashlee spoke to the media today, and he had quite a bit to say. Of course, the topic of the QB competition came up. He used all the typical buzz words/phrases you would expect. Sean is a better runner than people give him credit for, he has a strong arm, competitive, other QBs are behind him, etc.

He did have an interesting comment that John Franklin III was recruited as an athlete who would get a shot at QB. To me, that sounds like laying the groundwork for a positional change. He did say Franklin was still at QB, but Franklin’s athleticism is impressive enough that it seems hard to keep him off the field except for a few plays per game in a wildcat situation. He stopped short of naming the back-up QB, but I’m guessing it’s Jeremy Johnson. If JF3 were past JJ in terms of ability to pass/run the offense, he’d be the starter.

On the receivers, Kyle Davis sounds like he might not be quite as far along as we’d hope. That’s unsurprising given he just started practicing at full speed last week. Marcus Davis being consistent is unsurprising; he’s always been that way. As for Tony Stevens… that’s disconcerting that he’s still having the issues of making great plays and then fumbling the easy ones. The top three receivers on the team going into Week 1 will probably be Marcus Davis, Stevens, and Jason Smith, so I’m guessing we’re going to need one of the young guys to step up in a hurry.

The Tigers are practicing tonight under the lights of Jordan-Hare Stadium and MOTHRATRON. It’s good to get the players – especially the newcomers – adjusted to that monstrous screen.

Gus Malzahn will meet with the media Tuesday during his usual Game Week press conference time slot. That’s right. GAME. WEEK. The long nightmare of the off-season is almost over. Hopefully, we’ll have some updates on the status of Stephen Roberts, the depth-chart, and more.

Now to the Tweets!

Auburn OC Rhett Lashlee: “(QB competition) It was really close”

— WarEagleExtra (@wareagleextra) August 28, 2016

Lashlee notes Sean White’s consistency put him above the other two in the QB battle.

— Sam Butler (@_sam_butler) August 28, 2016

Auburn OC Rhett Lashlee said the staff knows the backup QB, but Malzahn will most likely reveal it later this week with the depth chart.

— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) August 28, 2016

Auburn OC Rhett Lashlee: Cited Sean White’s consistency as key factor in QB competition, also mentioned leadership, toughness, experience

— WarEagleExtra (@wareagleextra) August 28, 2016

Auburn’s Rhett Lashlee says backups Jeremy Johnson and John Franklin III have ‘been very supportive’ of starting quarterback Sean White

— Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) August 28, 2016

Auburn OC Rhett Lashlee on Sean White: “He’s a very competitive kid. He was always an undersized guy. People say he didn’t have the arm.”

— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) August 28, 2016

Lashlee on Sean White: “He was the last guy invited to the Elite 11, and he won it. He was an alternate for the Under Armour Game, won MVP.”

— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) August 28, 2016

Auburn OC Rhett Lashlee: White takes it personally when people question his arm strength

— WarEagleExtra (@wareagleextra) August 28, 2016

Auburn OC Rhett Lashlee: “Sean (White) can make every throw on the field.” Lashlee anticipates seeing his arm be toward his 1st 4 starts.

— Matthew Stevens (@matthewcstevens) August 28, 2016

Auburn’s Rhett Lashlee says Sean White is ‘a better runner than people would give him credit for. Arm has been able to make all the throws.’

— Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) August 28, 2016

Lashlee on Kyle Davis: “He looks healthy.” Says his conditioning will be his major impact. #MGMAuburn

— Matthew Stevens (@matthewcstevens) August 28, 2016

Auburn OC Rhett Lashlee on Clemson’s defense: “They beat so many teams so badly… the new starters have already played a lot of football.”

— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) August 28, 2016

Auburn OC Rhett Lashlee: Practicing tonight at Jordan-Hare Stadium, want to simulate game conditions for next week

— WarEagleExtra (@wareagleextra) August 28, 2016

Auburn OC Rhett Lashlee: “Offensively there are a lot of unknowns for us”

— WarEagleExtra (@wareagleextra) August 28, 2016

Lashlee downplayed the emotional element of the Auburn players knowing who the starting QB is. Interesting… #MGMAuburn

— Matthew Stevens (@matthewcstevens) August 28, 2016

Lashlee on Marcus Davis: “we need him to be” a No. 1 receiver who can perform like one.

“He’s been the most consistent guy in fall camp.”

— Sam Butler (@_sam_butler) August 28, 2016

Auburn OC Rhett Lashlee on Tony Stevens: “Consistency is the biggest thing. He’ll make wow plays and then miss some plays he should make.”

— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) August 28, 2016

Auburn OC Rhett Lashlee: “When we recruited John (JFIII) as an athlete” who they wanted to give shot at quarterback, will see what happens

— WarEagleExtra (@wareagleextra) August 28, 2016

Rhett Lashlee on whether the staff will move John Franklin III to another position: “Not yet”. Says he’s happy w/ him at QB. #MGMAuburn

— Matthew Stevens (@matthewcstevens) August 28, 2016

Auburn OC Rhett Lashlee on Austin Golson at LT: “We’re as comfortable as we can be with him without playing in a game yet.”

— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) August 28, 2016