Next Year (for us sitting at home)

[catbob]

If you think your team is a possible for the playoffs next year, give us a quick run down:

Who you lose:
Who you return:
Why you think you are a contender:

Try not to be a homer (aka if your team was 3-8 this year, you better have a darn good reason why they would make the playoffs).

Montana State:
Key losses:
Ricky Gatewood WR (131 REC 1759 YDS 13 TD) - 19 games (2 seasons)
Tremaine Murray WR (44 REC 695 YDS 4TD) - 10 games (1 season)
Chan Guinn WR (95 REC 1119 YDS 6TD) - (2 seasons)
Travis Lulay (57.2 CMP% 10767 YDS 58 TD 35 INT 123.66 RAT - 1439 RYDS 23 TD) - (4 seasons)
Jeff Bolton G (All-Conference 3 year starter)
Lawrence Figueroa OL (All-Conference 2 year starter)
- defense - all last year totals -
Mac Mollohan LB (52 TTKL 2 SCK 1 FF in 8 games)
Nick Marudas LB (86 TTKL 9 SCK 2 FF 1 INT)
Kahium Hunter CB (47 TTKL 2 INT 5 BRUP)
Toph Grenfell S (73 TTKL 2 SCK 3 INT 7 BRUP)

Those are the biggest losses, IMO.

We return nearly all of our defense (except our two star LBs, but we have some stars in the making (King, Daly)). Lose only 2 from the secondary, and return some seasoned Juniors thrust onto the field a few years ago, and hopefully get a couple back from injuries.

Defensive line is going to be a strength, with Andy Matakis returning from injury all year.

Offense is where we are going to be hit. Lulay and the starting 4 receivers are all gone. That leaves us only one player with any starting experience (Roosevelt), and not too many are very high on him. Look for at least 2 JC/IA transfers at WR.

We found a stud RS FS running back in Evin Groves, and I look for him to be the first Bobcat 1000 yard rusher since 01 (Ryan Johnson). OL returns some key players, and Saucedo moves over from the DL. The right side will be anchored by Hirst (6'7 300) and Saucedo (6'6 320). We might need Swogger just to see over these guys.

All of our TEs are young and was basically their first year playing (2 FR 2 SO), and they improved throughout the year, especially with run blocking.

We have 2 RS JR QBs who have been in the system for 3 years, and I hope we don't bring a IA in just because he is a IA QB, especially for just one year.

All in all, if we find some talented WRs and can get a good running game going (Groves rushed for 214 in 2 starts, and 112 the week before starting in the 2nd Q), our offense should be much more balanced with an upgraded running game and a downgraded (though I think it will be good) passing game.

I want to say something about Lulay, I've said it several times before. He was overrated as a passer. The kid was a flat-out winner and the best athlete I have ever seen play, but Cat fans tended to be so in love with him that they overlooked his faults as a QB. He had a pretty accurate arm, a very strong arm, and could create plays, but I felt he was lacking a bit in the field vision department (missed more open receivers than I'd like). I have a feeling Carpenter (who has a strong arm as well) might be better suited as a pure passer (but is also very mobile).

I honestly feel we will be a better overall team next year, but just not nearly as exciting as we have been the last few with Lulay under center.

Who else has a strong or potentially strong team returning that didn't make the playoffs?

[Mustang OL]

Check out this article in today's San Luis Obispo Tribune: "Young guns leading Cal Poly football team"

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/13289887.htm

Only 3 Seniors on the 2-deep defense depth chart, but a huge loss with Chris Gocong graduating (hopefully to a career in the NFL).

4 redshirt freshmen at the skill positions on offense and one on the o-line. The trio of Matt Brennan, James Noble and Ramses Barden should keep this offense rolling for the next three years.

The rest of 1-AA should watch out. The Mustangs are no one year wonder.

[blukeys]

Delaware loses Sonny Riccio and Tom Parks. Some Hen fans believe losing Sonny is a blessing. I am not in that camp.

Returning players: We are loaded.

Details at 11.

[blukeys]

I forgot we are losing John Mulhern and our punter who missed two thirds of the season.

[FU97]

The quick lowdown -

Defense - Lose two players WLB Freeman, CB Duncan. Everyone else on the two deep is back (unless we lose some redshirt seniors to graduation).

Offense - Big hit here. Lose QB Martin, RBs Carter and Mays, WR Brighan, OL Stewart, Laggis and Covington, and TE Rust. While Carter and Mays are great RBs, we use a 3 man committee at RB and Felton at FB is our best rushing threat. The returning RB Gipson will be able to pick up the slack lost at RB. Martin at QB is obviously a loss, but Gray has played well in spot duty, including leading the comeback vs ****adel. He adds a much better option running ability but lacks some of what Martin has in the passing game. Have R-FR Sorrells who was highly touted out of HS (SC player of year as HS Senior). The interior of the line will be our biggest loss. We have some experience returning there due to injury replacement starts, but the three OL we lose are our best three.

Our team will be the mirror opposite of this year's. We had a strong offense, but weak defense this year. I expect those roles to switch next year.

[youwouldno]

I don't. The defense will improve but Furman will still score a lot. Gray/Gipson/Felton is nasty, and Sorrells can lead some drives to keep opposing defenses off balance.

I mean, getting players back is great, so long as they improve. We'll have to hope so, mainly on the inside D-line. The O-line losses are tough, but the guys taking those spots have some experience and are talented.

[catbob]

Delaware loses Sonny Riccio and Tom Parks. Some Hen fans believe losing Sonny is a blessing. I am not in that camp.

Returning players: We are loaded.

Details at 11.

What year is Omar Cuff (I think that's his name). I watched him against... UMass I believe, he impressed me. From my understanding Delaware was an extremely young team this year, no?

[FU97]

I don't. The defense will improve but Furman will still score a lot. Gray/Gipson/Felton is nasty, and Sorrells can lead some drives to keep opposing defenses off balance.

I mean, getting players back is great, so long as they improve. We'll have to hope so, mainly on the inside D-line. The O-line losses are tough, but the guys taking those spots have some experience and are talented.

I think we've seen improvement as the year has gone one with the DL. Artis is playing well. Burnett played excellent vs NSU. At times we've had 3 R-FR or true FR on the DL at a time. They are talented, just inexperienced. Another year in the system and more importantly another year with the strength coaches and they will be better still. Jones at MLB got better and better as the season went on. Williams at LB started getting more and more PT as the season went on.

[MR. CHICKEN]

What year is Omar Cuff (I think that's his name). I watched him against... UMass I believe, he impressed me. From my understanding Delaware was an extremely young team this year, no?

C-BOB...OMAR WILL BE UH JUNIOR NEXT SEASON.......OUR WIDE RECIEVERS WERE ALL RED SHIRT FRESHMEN....WE STARTED TRUE FRESHMEN...ON O-LINE....AN' DEFENSE......WE LOSE 12 SENIORS....AN' ONLY HAVE LIKE...12 JUNIORS...(WHO WILL BE SENIORS NEXT SEASON).......WE ARE SO YOUNG.....OUR PRACTICES NEXT SEASON WILL BE CONSIDERED.."DAY-CARE"!.......BA-10WK! :rotateh:

[Coastal89]

Coastal is losing 3-300 pounders off the o-line, RB Pat Hall, and 6 from the Denfense including leading tackler Maurice Simpkins. All 10 were transfers that came in with the first recruiting class in 2002 and took a red shirt.

Next years team will be senior laden as that entire first class enters its 4th year. Some where around 40 seniors will make up the bulk of our starters.

[VictorG]

The rest of 1-AA should watch out. The Mustangs are no one year wonder.

That should be no two year wonder! I still count last year!

[Blue42]

Panthers lose top two tailbacks, best tight end, four good receivers, two starting middle linebackers, three top d-lineman, starting safety.

Plenty of good young talent in the wings and many starters return, including Sanders. Farley has been landing lots of good recruits. But we do lose lots of skill players, lots of speed, and some defensive mainstays.

[Hansel]

I am guessing we will be sitting at home come playoff time next year too :(

[ngineer]

Lehigh should be a contender, again. The loss of QB Borda this year, opened a lot of eyes when Soph. Sedale Threatt took over. Much different look with a run and gun QB. We do lose 3/4 WR's, but there are some very good sophs and Frosh that could step right in. Both TE's return, and a majority of the OL (lose C and a T). Backfield loses Rath, but Thompson is back and backups McGowan, Copacia showed some flashes this year. FB Fay, is eligible for a medical redshirt and if he returns could be a real force at 6'0", 235 lb.
Defense returns the entire front four--assuming Royce Morgan takes a medical redshirt. We lose 2/3 LB's, but backups got a lot of experience with injuries this year.. Secondary loses S Cardwell and CB Nelson, but, again, youth got a lot of experience this year with injuries, so it will be experience.
Finally, for once, the kicking game is solidified for the next 3 years with the emergence of Jason Leo both punting and placekicking. Soaring punts, able to place inside 20 consistently, and strong leg for 50+ yds as PK.
All in all, a good core returns. The PL will likely be similar to this year. Both CU and LC will lose some sections, but each will also have good cores returning. Not sure if Holy Cross's resurgence will be slowed with a lot of graduation. Otherwise, Bucknell, Georgetown and Fordham will continue their rebuildng.

[umassfan]

Alright I guess I can give my views here:

Leaving:
QB/WR Tim Day(see Riccio on page 1)
OL.......Colin Stoetzel (missed all but two games)
RB/WR. RJ Cobbs(never really steped up after sitting out)
OL.......Brent Caldwell(nice transfer from SU)
OL.......O.J. McBride(missed half the season due to injury)
TE.......Mike Douglas(nice target)
WR......Dominique Stewart(nice second half of the season)

DE.......Keron Williams(huge loss)
DT......Justin Schweighardt(nice two year transfer)
LB.......L.A. Love(missed the season with a knee injury)
LB.......Serge Tikum(two year captain)
LB.......Brad Anderson(starter)
FS......Shannon James(the best DB in all I-AA)
FS......Greg Scott(james backup)
CB......Steve Costello(great db)

Returns:
QB Liam Coen (Starter)
RB Steve Baylark (Starter)
WR JJ Moore (Starter)
WR Brandon London (Starter)
WR Racheed Rancher (Starter)
OL Matt Austin (Starter)
OL Alex Miller (Starter)
OL David Thompson (Starter)
OL Sean Calicchio (Starter)
FB Kyle Harrington (Starter)

DL John Hatchell (Starter)
DE David Burris (Starter)
LB Jason Hatchell (Starter)
LB Charles Walker(starter who redshirted this season)
CB Tracy Belton (Starter)
CB Brandon Freeman (backup with alot of exp)
SS James Ihedigbo (Starter)

P Christian Koegel(special teams player of the year A10)
K Armando Cuko(could be replaced)

So on offense all we will be missing is one olineman and a TE but our backup TE did play alot this season. Defense is where we have the holes but if you know anything about Don Browns defenses, they have alot of different packages and rotate alot of players so our backups see alot of time. The only real question will be FS. We loose our starter and backup but word is Shawnn Gyles will be stepping in as FS next year. He sat out last season after transfering from Northeastern.

[ucdtim17]

Davis returns a hell of a lot - all the offensive playmakers and line. Lose a few key players on D but replace them with bigger stronger D1 recruits. The team will be adding a dozen or so scholarships to be up near 50. All in all, a bigger, deeper, more talented and more experienced team.

[Cocky]

From our 2 deep we will lose
Offense
QB Marice Mullins Passsing 178-96-4 1214 yds 7 tds
He should be very replacable.

2 OL Barkari Young LT starter
Rod Olds C Starter
Both will probably get invited to NFL tryouts. Will be tough to replace but we do have some very good Fr and R-Fr

Defense
Haneef Haqq 49 tackles starter Rover
Darren Williams 52 tackles 3 ints starter CB and SS will play in the NFL
Skylar Mansfield 39 tackles 1 int backup CB
Derrick Sistrunk 53 tackles 4.5 sacks starter OLB
Greg Green 22 tackles 1 sack starter DL
Josh Woolfork 21 tackles 1 sack starter DL
Gavin Slaughter 19 tackles starter DL

Williams will be hard to replace with his ablity but the other positions have players in the wing waiting to replace.

Our running game is in excellent shape with Clay Green returning. We have 2 very good Fr RBs plus a good Soph. and a RB redshirted FR this year.

Are biggest concerns will be WRs and replacing the C. The LT position should be fine but not quite to this years level. Our defense did not play very consistent all year so we should be better next year or the same.

QB position can't get any worse. Mullins could not pass very well so the QB basically hands off to Green ( I might could play that position at JSU).

We either need to win at FU or Miss State next year plus Chatt to have a chance an at large bid. If we lose 2 or 3 of the OOC games we must win the conference to get in the playoffs. Both should be doable but we need to play with more heart.

JSU's future should get brighter and brighter.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Lehigh should be a contender, again. The loss of QB Borda this year, opened a lot of eyes when Soph. Sedale Threatt took over. Much different look with a run and gun QB. We do lose 3/4 WR's, but there are some very good sophs and Frosh that could step right in. Both TE's return, and a majority of the OL (lose C and a T). Backfield loses Rath, but Thompson is back and backups McGowan, Copacia showed some flashes this year. FB Fay, is eligible for a medical redshirt and if he returns could be a real force at 6'0", 235 lb.
Defense returns the entire front four--assuming Royce Morgan takes a medical redshirt. We lose 2/3 LB's, but backups got a lot of experience with injuries this year.. Secondary loses S Cardwell and CB Nelson, but, again, youth got a lot of experience this year with injuries, so it will be experience.
Finally, for once, the kicking game is solidified for the next 3 years with the emergence of Jason Leo both punting and placekicking. Soaring punts, able to place inside 20 consistently, and strong leg for 50+ yds as PK.
All in all, a good core returns. The PL will likely be similar to this year. Both CU and LC will lose some sections, but each will also have good cores returning. Not sure if Holy Cross's resurgence will be slowed with a lot of graduation. Otherwise, Bucknell, Georgetown and Fordham will continue their rebuildng.


Eric Rath has another year of eligibility, but it is unclear whether he will return for another year. I don't know the chances of him returning, but there definitely is a chance, depending on his personal situation. Football-wise, it would be great, but as you know, it's not all about football :eek:

[ngineer]

Eric Rath has another year of eligibility, but it is unclear whether he will return for another year. I don't know the chances of him returning, but there definitely is a chance, depending on his personal situation. Football-wise, it would be great, but as you know, it's not all about football :eek:

I've heard 'yes and no' about Rath's eligibility. The question surrounds his one year hiatus. I thought he enrolled at ESU for one semester before changing his mind and returning to Lehigh. Even though he didn't play at ESU, does he enrollment effect the eligibility?

[LacesOut]

Haha! Is every team going to be loaded next year??? Sure sounds like. Every team will be 8-3 or 9-2 eh?? You homers are funny!

[Tribe4SF]

This homer will be the first to say that the Tribe is a big question mark for next year.

We return every player who ran or threw the ball, and lose only Josh Lustig from a talented receiving corps. The o-line loses two starters, but this years freshman class looks like the best I've seen in that area. Our o-line play deteriorated badly down the stretch, so that's a big question mark.

The D suffers heavy losses. Four regulars on the d-line and three starting DBs. LB will be the strength, with Josh Rutter (how he didn't make all conference is beyond me), Ryan Nickell and T.J. O'Neill (all returning starters) joined by Travis McLaurin and Chris Ndubueze (former all-conference players who were out this year). Trevor McLaurin switched from RB to LB at mid-season, and also showed well. I'll be interested to see if Trevor gets a look at strong safety next spring. Redshirt freshmen Derek Cox and Kevin Allen made big contributions this year at CB and FS (Cox was starting by the end), and we have two other corners with starting experience.

We also lose PK Greg Kuehn, but even he had a bad second half this year.

One could say that next year looks like rebuilding for the Tribe, but when you go 5-6 and suffer your first losing conference record, rebuilding doesn't seem like an appropriate term.

I think I'll head back to Crapsville now. :(