Pessimistic & Positive Slot WR Post

Pessimistic-

Malik Dear's injury really worries me. Pre-injury, I thought he was ready for a breakout season in the Percy Harvin role. Although he's improved his conditioning x100 since he got on campus, there has always been a debate on his body type in relation to his position. I've always said he was fine where he was and could use his strength and physicality on the outside as a strength. However, he couldn't afford any loss of lateral quickness or weight gain. He has to return from injury as he was before, physically. That's possible. If there is any weight gain during recovery, loss of speed, or agility, this injury could be career altering for him in the slot. Get well young man.

Positive-

Keith Mixon will now get the lion share of the reps. I think we saw the typical progression of a freshman slot last year. We saw flashes of elite playmaking ability and also moments of uncertainty which probably came from not being 100% on his reads. Inside guys have some route complexity based on reading coverages pre and post snap. In a lot of ways, it's easier to disguise what's going on inside coverage wise. Last year he had 20 catches, 25 rushing attempts, and 12 kick returns. That's translated to 610 all-purpose yards and 2 TDs. I think we see a huge jump in those production numbers based on 2 main factors: (1) comfort (2) opportunity. I think we see a doubling in all-purpose yards at a minimum and a tripling in TDs at a minimum.

Gabe Myles also had a terrible year last year BUT he was pretty good as a Sophomore.. He scored the only touchdown on the one d at the other nights scrimmage (40 yard reception)..Last year they moved him outside. Its obvious he is much better at slot and gets to return now. We need him to bounce back and be serviceable again.

I think Deddrick Thomas is going to have a good year in the slot.

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Originally Posted by thedawg

Gabe Myles also had a terrible year last year BUT he was pretty good as a Sophomore.. He scored the only touchdown on the one d at the other nights scrimmage (40 yard reception)..Last year they moved him outside. Its obvious he is much better at slot and gets to return now. We need him to bounce back and be serviceable again.

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I think I heard Gabe will be outside this year. He has been awful catching the ball. He's good with the ball in his hands but if you can't catch it, that doesn't matter. Last year told me why he started his career at CB.

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Originally Posted by Ifyouonlyknew

I think Deddrick Thomas is going to have a good year in the slot.

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Ya I think he's #2 behind Mixon. His role grows too

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Originally Posted by BeastMan

Ya I think he's #2 behind Mixon. His role grows too

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I see our depth chart being:

WR: Gray, Myles
Slot: Mixon, Thomas
WR: Couch, Todd

Though Couch has been working behind Gray for some reason.

All "starting" means is who gets his name announced on the jumbo tron before kickoff. It doesn't matter who starts it matters with who is the game when it counts and how many snaps they play.
We could list Mixon, Thomas, and Myles as starters and it doesn't mean that much.
Yeah Gabe had a shit year in 2016 yet we all tend to forget the Frosh year he had. Year year , new team, let's see what he does.

We signed 6 WR's in 2013, only Gray is still here.
We signed 2 in 2014 and Jesse Jackson hasn't been able to break thru. Graham is on D.
2 in 2015. Spivey is gone. We will see on Thomas
3 in 2016. Still have to see on Todd, Mitchell and Couch
1 in 2017-Austin Williams

Damn Gonzo.

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Originally Posted by HoopsDawg

We signed 6 WR's in 2013, only Gray is still here.
We signed 2 in 2014 and Jesse Jackson hasn't been able to break thru. Graham is on D.
2 in 2015. Spivey is gone. We will see on Thomas
3 in 2016. Still have to see on Todd, Mitchell and Couch
1 in 2017-Austin Williams

Damn Gonzo.

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Then where did Mixon come from?

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Originally Posted by Johnson85

Then where did Mixon come from?

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'15

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Originally Posted by Johnson85

Then where did Mixon come from?

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Technically Mixon was classified as an ATH coming out (played RB in HS) but I'd call him a WR all day long.

I wish Dan would use a guy as an ATH like Percy Harvin and then another guy that is truly a slot WR only like Chad Bumphis. I think it would diversify our offense. Still think Gray is better in the slot than on the outside. It would be nice if Jesse Jackson, Reggie Todd or someone else can step up but I'm not holding my breath.

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Originally Posted by Todd4State

I wish Dan would use a guy as an ATH like Percy Harvin and then another guy that is truly a slot WR only like Chad Bumphis. I think it would diversify our offense. Still think Gray is better in the slot than on the outside. It would be nice if Jesse Jackson, Reggie Todd or someone else can step up but I'm not holding my breath.

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Don't give up on Couch... kid was just a Frosh last year.
Todd will be a pleasant surprise.
JJ just can't stay healthy..

I like Couch probably the best of all of them.

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Originally Posted by Todd4State

I wish Dan would use a guy as an ATH like Percy Harvin and then another guy that is truly a slot WR only like Chad Bumphis. I think it would diversify our offense. Still think Gray is better in the slot than on the outside. It would be nice if Jesse Jackson, Reggie Todd or someone else can step up but I'm not holding my breath.

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If you look at the history of the slot position in Dan's offense, Dan has typically worked to the strengths of what he has had. The key aspect of being a slot in this offense is the ability to read and recognize coverages and adjust the route accordingly. This position is called the H receiver, and one of the key plays within the offense is the H Option, which is where the H receiver has a series of option routes to run based on the coverage.

With Percy Harvin, Dan had a special athlete that could do many things. Percy, in his career, had 133 receptions for 1,929 yards and 13 touchdowns with 194 rushing attempts for 1,852 yards and 19 TDs.

Prior to Percy, Florida had Chad Jackson playing in the slot, who was clearly more of a receiver than a runner or hybrid.

I think ideally, he wants a hybrid WR/RB in that position.