What's the status/player updates of these signees? [Archive]

engie

08-13-2013, 04:19 PM

Artimas Samuel - arrived at Xmas after spending a semester at Hargrave. 4th string TE/HBack. Huge dude. Too early to tell much more. LIkely redshirt candidate this year...

Richie Brown - tremendous potential as a MLB. 4.5 40 speed at 235 and one of the best LB shuffles in the country. Very cerebral much like Cam Lawrence was and McKinney is apparently showing signs of being. Stuck in a logjam of talent behind McKinney and Bohanna, but I expect him to steal some of Bohanna's reps this year. Also above average in coverage. May have to play SLB next year and be a runstopper for us.

Beniquez Brown - tremendous potential at WLB given coverage ability. Same speed as Richie at about 10 pounds lighter. Also very smart and cerebral. Also stuck in a logjam at LB. Currently listed as backup SLB -- which speaks to his versatility(because he's a prototype WLB) as a run stopper(Zach Jackson is @ WLB right now over Beni because that's the only LB spot he can really play)...

Nick Schuessler - didn't survive the first summer. Dak basically made him quit because he couldn't deal with SEC pressure.

AJ Jefferson - currently 2nd string at DE behind Autry... Most likely will split time with Jones at this position unless Jones is good enough to play across from Autry some thus opening up even more reps for Jefferson. Either way, he's fighting for reps with Jones and Ryan Brown. Coming off redshirt and has shown flashes, but needs consistency...has a tremendous motor...

Justin Senior - currently 2nd string LT behind Clausell. Our staff is very high on him, as can be seen by him being the only player from his class to crack the depth chart on the OL. Believe he's got the ability to be a very good tackle for us -- but is still at least a year away from being ready...

Denico Autry - everyone knows where he's at and what's expected...started all 13 last year...

Charles Siddoway - Started all 13 games for us last year at RT and will again this year. Fought plantar fasciitis(SP) last year, which slowed him down some... Development into his senior year is yet to be seen, but has been pretty good under Hev overall...

Quay Evans - dead horse... all the potential in the world -- just got to put it together...

Dylan Holley - backup C for us behind Day that provides a "depth" bridge to Devon Desper... Serviceable player, just undersized...

Adarrius Perkins - got homesick and didn't survive his first summer with Balis

Jordan Washington - trying for PT @ DT as a rsFR -- behind 6 other guys as of right now... Will need to show improvement this year, I'd think, to stick around longterm

Kivon Coman - spent a semester at Hargrave and just got here at Christmas... Has looked very good in drills thusfar, but is a likely redshirt candidate given the depth at CB...

Nick James - beaten to death exactly like Quay -- just has to get his head right to dominate... Has to get in shape for us to be able to put him out there vs hurry up spread teams that don't allow quick substitutions...

Will Redmond - suspended first 5 this year... tremendous, tremendous potential as a cover corner and kick/punt returner... One of the best athletes on the team

Fred Brown - Coming off RS been a solid backup receiver for us and has surprised some... out with a broken hand right now

Brandon Holloway - Coming off RS -- has elite playmaking ability. First true guy we've had in the Percy Harvin mold/role. Can do anything -- but has to work on consistency in routes and catching the ball... also has the ability to be an elite special teams player for us...

Gus Walley -- Coming off RS and out with injury... No clue about him yet...

Xavier Grindle -- Moved to CB almost immediately while here, made it through his RS year(when he tore his ACL), and transferred out. Guessing he didn't like the depth chart at the position...

Devon Bell -- handled all placekicking for us last year as a true freshman and showed flashes, but was inconsistent. Expecting big things from him this year.

Ryan Brown -- Looked very good as a true freshman DE in a limited role. Looking forward to seeing more of him this year. Very high potential guy with solid technique. Will fight for time with Chris Jones and AJ Jefferson.

Cole Carter -- have heard very little. Coming off a RS year. Never know much about an OL until late in their second/early in their 3rd year unless they just really impress early on...

Torrey Dale - Haven't heard much, but what I have has been pretty good(about his potential). Raw and going to need time to develop into a contributor. Coming off RS and stuck behind Jones, Brown, and Jefferson on the depth chart. Will see snaps in mop up duty this year, when we can learn more about him.

Nelson Adams - has impressed at DT to the extent he could jump to 2nd string if Quay/James don't get it together...was underrated coming out of highschool, made apparent by his mid 4* younger brother in the class of 2015... Coming off RS and don't know much more about him...

Quadry Antoine - have heard very, very little about him -- to the extent that I'm asking about him in every practice report. Last I heard, Nickoe was trying to teach him not to kill his teammates in drills(imagine that), which sounded pretty good to me. Coming off RS and will probably get mop up duty at FS behind Nickoe and Arrington, when we will know more...

Cedric Jiles - figures to factor in for a starting corner spot...been tremendous since he stepped on campus for us. Works very hard and is a quick learner. He was also criminally underrated out of highschool. Coming off medical RS in which he looked great in limited mop up duty in our first couple of games. Very excited about the potential future with him across from Redmond at the CB spot...

Deonte Evans - Again, been basically not a peep about him thusfar. Moved to S and still trying to learn the position. Coming off rs. We'll know more in mop up duty, I imagine...

Devon Desper - C of the future -- just behind 2 upperclassmen right now. He's getting to learn and develop before being thrown in the fire, which is good for us. Expected to be a very good center when it's finally his turn. Also coming off RS...

engie

08-13-2013, 04:43 PM

Awesome! Thanks, so we still have 25 of the 28 on the roster. That's tremendous!

Correct -- although I'd be looking at quite a few as attrition candidates for next year given how small our graduating class is. We've already trimmed most of the fat from the classes of 2010 and 2011. Very little left here that you can get rid of and feel good about it...

In the 2 classes above this one, these are ALL the remaining scholarship players:
Seniors:
Whitley - Starting FS
Swedenberg - Starting P
Skinner - Starting SLB
Siddoway - Starting RG
Russell - Starting QB
Perkins - Starting RB
Jackson - Starting LG
Holley - 2nd-string C
Harrison-Gay - Who knows? Surprised he's still here -- but as a SR, it serves no purpose to cut him...
Autry - Starting DE

Juniors:
Wells - Starting WLB
Virges - 2nd string DT
Smith - Starting DE
Robinson - 2nd string OT. Needs to step it up.(behind SR)
Muniz - 2nd string OL. Needs to step it up.(behind SR and soph)
Love - Starting/2nd string CB
Lewis - Starting WR
Jones - Starting DT
Johnson - Starting WR
Johnson - Starting TE
Hughes - Starting SS
Holmes - Just moved to TE/H-Back. Needs to step up.
Hill - 2nd string TE
Griffin - 2nd string RB(behind SR)
Eulls - Starting DT
Day - Starting C
Cox - Starting CB
Clausell - Starting LT
Chappelle - 2nd string WR -- potential to start if Morrow stumbles
Bohanna - 2nd string MLB
Beckwith - 2nd string OG(behind SR and soph)
Arrington - 2nd string FS(behind SR)