A few who have stepped up for 2018, making 2019 more promising

There are always a few who you worry about, but then they show up and show out, and make you feel better about next year:

1. Smitherman. Nobody was expecting much from him. He basically had been a non-contributor over his career. But he played great all year and is ready to lock down a corner starting spot for 2019. He stepped up big in 2018!


2. Dantzler. Everybody was high on him. But could he be a shutdown corner or was it hype? He answered the question and is ready for a big 2019.


3. Lee Autry. We basically lose all our defensive tackles that contribute (Hoyett, Thomas, Simmons, Brown). Can Autry do anything? In 2018 he at least proved he is a piece to utilize on the interior for 2019. Good job big fella. Now keep getting better.


4. Errol Thompson. Had proven to be a run-stopping thumper. Can he pursue sideline to sideline in this league? Can he perform in pass coverage? He answered both questions in 2018, and proved to be one of the best all-around linebackers in the league. He is the heart and soul of what we have returning in 2019. Athletic, tough, and smart. A future NFL player.

5. Tyre Phillips. Phillips and Champion both redshirted out of JUCO. Phillips played well in 2018 and is poised for a bigger role in 2019.

We need Willie Gay, Kobe Jones, Marcus Murphy, and Whop to continue to progress. All have the potential to be game changers in 2019. CJ Morgan will also be key. And Guidry and Osirus Mitchell both show flashes of great ability. They are key to improving the passing game.

If we find the right QB & center, we can be pretty good next year.

I believe the talent is there to be an 8 win team, but it's going to take that talent turning into production

CJ Morgan made the best of his playing time last night.

Brian Cole and Landrews are both back

Smitherman not contributing was Mullen's fault. Kept moving him around and he's not a safety. He was super talented but got moved around too much.

So whats the D look like next year?

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Originally Posted by parabrave

So whats the D look like next year?

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Returning contributors include Dantzler, Smitherman, Cole, Landrews, CJ Morgan, and Murphy in the secondary. We have Leo, Gay, Errol, and Tim Washington at LB. We have Kobe Jones, Adams, Rivers, and Spencer at DE. Autry is the only consistent contributor at DT. Some others will need to step up. Fred Peters is being signed to play immediately in the secondary. Some of the younger corners will get a chance to get some meaningful snaps as backups. Some of the linebackers we redshirted will get a shot for some snaps. Anybody that wants to contribute at defensive tackle will get their chance, because that will be the biggest question mark.

I actually think the defense looks potentially very good.

Defensive Line: Spencer, Rivers, Adams, Autry, Kobe Jones, Lovett. Young but good group

Linebacker: Errol, Leo, and Gay highlight this group. Question then is who starts to step up. Can Washington or Kilby Lane make an impact? Do Brule and Watson get some looks?

Secondary: Obviously Dantzler. Smitherman as well. Cole and Landrews will be in there. Question then is who steps up? Murphy and Guidry? Tyler Williams? Furdge?

The question for me next year is depth. We will still be solid in the starting 11. Not elite but very very good. But can we roll two deep at every position? That's the biggest unknown.

Without knowing who our QB is, this is difficult. I'm just gonna assume KT is the QB & base my prediction off that

vs ULL in NO - W. shouldn't be close
vs USM - W. Shouldn't be close
vs K-State - W
vs UK - W. Good game but they lose a ton.
@ Auburn - L. I think Malzahn will make some adjustments & they'll be a little better. Although they lose a lot as well. Not sure how fixable their issues are.
@ Tennessee - W. Huge swing game. As of today, I think we win 28-17 or so, but we'll have to see how it plays out.
vs LSU - L. Home game, but Burrow will be a little better next year as a SR & Emery will be up & running by this point.
@ A&M - L. The most sure L on the schedule at this point in the season. I think Mond will be pretty good next year & this game will be a tough, hard fought loss
@ Arkansas - W. They'd have to make massive improvement between now & then to win this game.
vs Bama - L
vs Abilene Christian - W
vs Ole Miss - W. They will suck

So here is an 8 win team. The back to back road games at Auburn & Tennessee are the key.

I'll say this, the 2019 schedule is easier than this year's. Bama is the only sure loss followed by @A&M & LSU. I have no idea what to expect from Auburn while OM & Ark will likely suck

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Originally Posted by ShotgunDawg

Without knowing who our QB is, this is difficult. I'm just gonna assume KT is the QB & base my prediction off that

vs ULL in NO - W. shouldn't be close
vs USM - W. Shouldn't be close
vs K-State - W
vs UK - W. Good game but they lose a ton.
@ Auburn - L. I think Malzahn will make some adjustments & they'll be a little better. Although they lose a lot as well. Not sure how fixable their issues are.
@ Tennessee - W. Huge swing game. As of today, I think we win 28-17 or so, but we'll have to see how it plays out.
vs LSU - L. Home game, but Burrow will be a little better next year as a SR & Emery will be up & running by this point.
@ A&M - L. The most sure L on the schedule at this point in the season. I think Mond will be pretty good next year & this game will be a tough, hard fought loss
@ Arkansas - W. They'd have to make massive improvement between now & then to win this game.
vs Bama - L
vs Abilene Christian - W
vs Ole Miss - W. They will suck

So here is an 8 win team. The back to back road games at Auburn & Tennessee are the key.

I'll say this, the 2019 schedule is easier than this year's. Bama is the only sure loss followed by @A&M & LSU. I have no idea what to expect from Auburn while OM & Ark will likely suck

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Damn. Didn?t really look at how our schedule set up next year. 8 wins is an absolute sleepwalking minimum. The QB play will determine how many more.

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Originally Posted by RougeDawg

Damn. Didn?t really look at how our schedule set up next year. 8 wins is an absolute sleepwalking minimum. The QB play will determine how many more.

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No doubt

This year's team could be better than the 2019 but win less games due to the schedule.

We have a good draw next year mostly due to Tennessee & Arkansas stinking & Auburn being a bit of mess with their QB & RB situation. Auburn also loses much of their DL.

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Originally Posted by ShotgunDawg

No doubt

This year's team could be better than the 2019 but win less games due to the schedule.

We have a good draw next year mostly due to Tennessee & Arkansas stinking & Auburn being a bit of mess with their QB & RB situation. Auburn also loses much of their DL.

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If we can implement the true JoMo offense we can wear defenses like Bama and LSU down. The dropped balls and lack of passing game did not force those defenses to run much. If we can make them run and force them to stay in field, we can start beating these teams.

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Originally Posted by ShotgunDawg

Without knowing who our QB is, this is difficult. I'm just gonna assume KT is the QB & base my prediction off that

vs ULL in NO - W. shouldn't be close
vs USM - W. Shouldn't be close
vs K-State - W
vs UK - W. Good game but they lose a ton.
@ Auburn - L. I think Malzahn will make some adjustments & they'll be a little better. Although they lose a lot as well. Not sure how fixable their issues are.
@ Tennessee - W. Huge swing game. As of today, I think we win 28-17 or so, but we'll have to see how it plays out.
vs LSU - L. Home game, but Burrow will be a little better next year as a SR & Emery will be up & running by this point.
@ A&M - L. The most sure L on the schedule at this point in the season. I think Mond will be pretty good next year & this game will be a tough, hard fought loss
@ Arkansas - W. They'd have to make massive improvement between now & then to win this game.
vs Bama - L
vs Abilene Christian - W
vs Ole Miss - W. They will suck

So here is an 8 win team. The back to back road games at Auburn & Tennessee are the key.

I'll say this, the 2019 schedule is easier than this year's. Bama is the only sure loss followed by @A&M & LSU. I have no idea what to expect from Auburn while OM & Ark will likely suck

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And our 10th bowl game in a row!

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Originally Posted by Turfdawg67

And our 10th bowl game in a row!

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4 non-con wins + Ark & OM on the schedule should ensure a 10th straight bowl game baring disaster

Then you have swing games vs @Auburn, @Tennessee, Kentucky, & either @A&M or at home vs LSU to see how many games you can win.

Two things will greatly determine the outcome of the Auburn game:

1) Where does Kelly Bryant go? If he goes to Auburn that's gonna be tough for us.

2) Is Auburn's season over by the time they play us? They play Oregon in Dallas to open the season and have @TAMU the week before us. Decent shot of being 2-2 at that point. Lose to TAMU the week before us and the Gus Bus might in full derailment.

Fred Peters is going to be really good at safety

KB is rumored to have his two finalists as us and Missouri. Auburn’s not a factor and we have an in home with him this weekend. We get Bryant and next year could be a 9-3 or 10-2 type season. Having those four games to start the season are key as we should be able to use them to gain a lot of momentum on the offensive side of the ball. If we can get this offense rolling, we really only need our defense to be top half of the SEC (which it will be). We won’t need it to be as good as it was this year.

daryl williams will prob play center

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Originally Posted by timotheus

daryl williams will prob play center

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That’s his natural position as well.