MSU football roster myths for 2015 exposed

[BeastMan]

http://3rdand57.com/msu-football-roster-myths-disproved/

[MSUDawg4Life]

Good article. I think most MSU fans already know this and totally agree. The only people unaware of what we actually have are those outside the program and maybe they don't need to know right now. They'll see this fall.

[Coach34]

Bottom line is we lost starters- but we have a ton of experience returning. Our detractors try to say it's experience but no talent- but that's been their narrative for 6 years now. No need to expect it to change

[State82]

Nice job Beastman. Good points, especially regarding Dak.


Oh yeah, funny write up on the Valentine's Day media dates too. I laughed. Why no Bonner in there? He's going to be crushed.

[sandwolf]

Nice write up. Only part I disagree with is this:


When you look at the entire team position group by position group, which unit does not get better in 2015? The only 2 arguments I’ll even entertain is OL and RB.

I think DL should be at the top of that list. I don't see us being as good or as deep on the DL next year. I am actually more concerned about the DL than I am the OL.

[smootness]

Nice write up. Only part I disagree with is this:



I think DL should be at the top of that list. I don't see us being as good or as deep on the DL next year. I am actually more concerned about the DL than I am the OL.

If we're talking about which doesn't improve, I'll add LB. I actually think our OL could improve, but I don't see any way our DL or LB are better. They can possibly get to a similar level, and Diaz may help, but it's hard to argue that Preston Smith, PJ Jones, Kaleb Eulls, Benardrick McKinney, and Matt Wells will be easily replaced.

[BeastMan]

Nice write up. Only part I disagree with is this:



I think DL should be at the top of that list. I don't see us being as good or as deep on the DL next year. I am actually more concerned about the DL than I am the OL.

I think we see the best Chris Jones we've ever seen. Add in 2 Juco DEs to help AJ and Ryan and I think DL I fine. Imo Ryan Brown will be Preston Smith next year. Big Corey and Grant Harris is going to surprise some folks next year

[FISHDAWG]

well thought out Beast .... I'm not sure of the numbers but Richie Brown had as much or more interceptions last year as Cam Lawrence did the year before

[BeastMan]

If we're talking about which doesn't improve, I'll add LB. I actually think our OL could improve, but I don't see any way our DL or LB are better. They can possibly get to a similar level, and Diaz may help, but it's hard to argue that Preston Smith, PJ Jones, Kaleb Eulls, Benardrick McKinney, and Matt Wells will be easily replaced.

LB is going to be really really good with Beni and Richie. JT Gray will make more big plays than Wells but he's not quite the matchup guy Wells was. That's were Jung comes in. Plus, I'm not even bring up Gerri Green and Dez. Yall don't realize how good shape LB is in

[BeastMan]

Nice job Beastman. Good points, especially regarding Dak.


Oh yeah, funny write up on the Valentine's Day media dates too. I laughed. Why no Bonner in there? He's going to be crushed.


Thanks. There were multiple media guys I put in a list I just didn't have any material I deemed worthy of publishing. My first go at 100% comedy.

[Howboutdemdogs]

Great stuff. Believe 2015 will be better than last year. However, it is never to earlier to look: Will we be facing the same argument in 2016? Will we sub, not as a 1a and 1b strategy, but as to either accumulate playing experience and rest the starters?

[sandwolf]

If we're talking about which doesn't improve, I'll add LB. I actually think our OL could improve, but I don't see any way our DL or LB are better. They can possibly get to a similar level, and Diaz may help, but it's hard to argue that Preston Smith, PJ Jones, Kaleb Eulls, Benardrick McKinney, and Matt Wells will be easily replaced.

These are my feelings as well.

[HoopsDawg]

Preston Smith is a big loss. He's going to go in the Top 3 rounds of the draft. Can any of our DE's provide a pass rush? Ryan Brown is solid. AJ plays hard and is good against the run. Behind those 2, we have 2 Jucos and a redshirt freshman.

Malcolm Johnson is a big loss b/c he could do all of the things we ask a TE to do. He played nearly every snap. TE is a big question mark. A lot of bodies but no proven player who can block and catch. I really don't think we have any other big losses on offense.

B-Mac is not that big of a loss b/c Collins benched him for half of every game and never used him properly as far as blitzing him off the edge. If B-Mac had been used properly, he would be a big loss. I equate losing him to losing Banks and Slay since Wilson never used them correctly either.

Eulls and PJ are losses b/c of the depth and leadership they provided. We upgraded our first team line due to the talent of CJ and Nelson Adams. Wells is the only other significant loss due to his coverage ability, but we got burned at that spot throughout the year due to our 1B at that position.

[sandwolf]

I think we see the best Chris Jones we've ever seen. Add in 2 Juco DEs to help AJ and Ryan and I think DL I fine. Imo Ryan Brown will be Preston Smith next year. Big Corey and Grant Harris is going to surprise some folks next year

I really hope you're right, because I think that we are going to be nasty good on offense......if our front 7 can be at least comparable to what it was in the first 11 games of last year and if we can get our issues at safety shored up, then I think we could be looking at another historic type season.

[smootness]

LB is going to be really really good with Beni and Richie. JT Gray will make more big plays than Wells but he's not quite the matchup guy Wells was. That's were Jung comes in. Plus, I'm not even bring up Gerri Green and Dez. Yall don't realize how good shape LB is in

No, I understand what we have at LB. I love the talent we have there going forward. But two of the guys I'm highest on, Green and Lewis, enter next year with no experience.

I'm not saying our LBs won't be good; I think they'll be very good. And by the end of the year, they could be as good as the group was this year.

I just can't say they'll be better; that's definitely over the top, IMO. McKinney, B Brown, and Wells is a sick group of LBs. B Brown, R Brown, Green, Jung, and a freshman Lewis is potentially very good, but I don't see any way they step right in as good as the group from 2014.

Now 2016 is a whole different story. They could be as good as anybody in the country that year.

[smootness]

For the record, I don't think our defense will be quite as good next year as we were during our run to #1. Hopefully we can shore up some of the issues that showed up in the last couple of games.

But our offense should be better, which will hopefully make up the difference.

[Reason2succeed]

For the record, I don't think our defense will be quite as good next year as we were during our run to #1. Hopefully we can shore up some of the issues that showed up in the last couple of games.

But our offense should be better, which will hopefully make up the difference.

I think the pass defense will be much better but the run defense will suffer because of the lack of experience at LB and the lack of depth at DL. Diaz is the X-factor. Will he be a significant upgrade to Collins? If he is then we are playing with house money.

[BiscuitEater]

Bottom line is we lost starters- but we have a ton of experience returning. Our detractors try to say it's experience but no talent- but that's been their narrative for 6 years now. No need to expect it to change

Statement ... "RB isn?t the focal point of Mullen?s attack and much of the success of the RBs comes off the fact that the defense has to focus on both the QB and RB equally as a running threat."

[Political Hack]

after the egg bowl and orange bowl, our front 7 can't get any worse.

LB will be improved overall IMO. Our talent there is better than it ever has been. I worry about DL some, but Diaz's scheme will offset most of that concern by turning the Lbs loose on pass a run blitzes.

[HancockCountyDog]

I completely agree about offensisve skill positions, but Im a little more worried about the defense than a lot of people on here. I think everyone agrees that the 1A and 1B sucked down the stretch, but the guys we are counting on, were mostly guys on the 1B squad minus B. Brown, Redmond, and R. Brown.

I guess I have visions of the ****ing egg bowl and orange bowl implanted in my head and I have a hard time saying that our defense minus Preston, Eulls, PJ, Wells, BMac, Love, Huhges, and Turtle is going to be a big improvement. I just don't know. Im hopeful, but I have concerns that we will see Market and Coman at the safety spots early on in the season and that we took for granted the LOS advantage we had with war daddies like PJ and Eulls (who had a really solid senior year setting the line of scrimmage).

I am going to need to see the 1B group make a collective jump before I can be excited about next year's defense.

[Johnson85]

You're way more bullish on the safety position than I am. On the plus side, we already competed much of the year last year with subpar safety play. But if we don't have two true or redshirt freshmen step up, it's going to be a weakness again.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

I know I'm in the minority but I think Coman will be a very solid player for us the next 2yrs. He gets lumped in with Evans a lot but they didn't look anywhere near the same on the field. Coman, Bryant, Peters, & McLaurin are very talented pieces in the back end. Not high on experience but extremely talented.