Looking at Next Year...

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Originally Posted by Political Hack

Agree Engie. I think Fitz is a better runner. If he doesn't rip off 1,000 next year (assuming he doesn't split time), I'll be surprised.

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I don't know if I'd say better, they have difference styles that have the potential to produce similar results. Fitz has a second gear that Dak just didn't have. I think We will see a lot more designed QB runs working to the outside with Shump and/or the TE as lead blockers. You get Fitz in the open field and he will out run a whole helluva lot of defenders. That will open up our inside game much more then what we have had in the past 3-4 years. Makes the whole running game more versatile.

I love the enthusiasm for next year too, but I think this may be overly optimistic. In my view, the floor is 6 and the ceiling is 8 wins next year. We have a lot of things to work out and we'll lack the senior leadership at QB and need to prove that the running game will work. D-line is going to be thin next year and young guys will need to step in and provide some impact. Corner could be thin, Safety will continue to be a question mark until we can show some consistent play in SEC games. Could we exceed 8 wins - absolutely? Just like we "could have" won 10 or 11 games this year. Didn't happen though and I wouldn't set my expectations too high for next year.

For reference, I predicted 9 - 3 this year (always predict a bowl win too) so I was overly optimistic this past season.

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Originally Posted by THE Bruce Dickinson

I don't get all of the UM love next year. I don't fear Kelly in the least, and other than him who do they have coming back? Still won't be able to run the ball and they will lose their best 2 OL. Also, Kelly had a great EB but looked like a complete dipshit out there at times. I feel like a lot of his success came from being the product of a system and having great receivers. I am not saying we will win in Oxford next year, but saying it is a definite loss is a stretch.

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They return a million 4* and 5* receivers in Stringfellow, Adeboyjo, Pack, Lodge, and Van Jefferson. Engram is probably coming back. They lose Tunsil but return their top 3 lineman besides him in Taylor, Rawlings, and Patterson, and likely replace Tunsil with an equal talent in Little. They lose Walton but still have two RB's that will both be better than him coming back in Judd and Wilkins.

On defense, their only major loss is Nkemdiche but they have guys behind him like Speaks ready to step in. They also lose some guys in the secondary, but their secondary was terrible this year anyways so should be no major losses.

On top of all that, they play us at home and have a recruiting class that will be better than their 2013 class coming in. It doesn't fit the narrative around here, but unfortunately they are going to be very good again next year.

8-4 assuming everybody but jones comes back. Same thing I said for this year.

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Originally Posted by HSVDawg

They return a million 4* and 5* receivers in Stringfellow, Adeboyjo, Pack, Lodge, and Van Jefferson. Engram is probably coming back. They lose Tunsil but return their top 3 lineman besides him in Taylor, Rawlings, and Patterson, and likely replace Tunsil with an equal talent in Little. They lose Walton but still have two RB's that will both be better than him coming back in Judd and Wilkins.

On defense, their only major loss is Nkemdiche but they have guys behind him like Speaks ready to step in. They also lose some guys in the secondary, but their secondary was terrible this year anyways so should be no major losses.

On top of all that, they play us at home and have a recruiting class that will be better than their 2013 class coming in. It doesn't fit the narrative around here, but unfortunately they are going to be very good again next year.

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Their top OL were Tunsil & Cooper & it wasn't close. Taylor didn't play a lot or well this year because he played on a bum shoulder. They also lose 3 other OL who played a lot of snaps (Morris, Still, & Bell). Also lose Treadwell, Core, & Walton.
On defense their 2 best players this year were Elston & Hilton. Both gone. Upfront they lose nkimdiche, Ward, & Hamilton. CJ & Denzel at LB, & Chief Brown in the secondary too. They lose a lot. They're bringing in a top 10 class but outside of Little they don't have a true impact Freshman unless I'm over looking somebody. They'll be a solid team but they won't challenge for the West. They'll win 7-9 games similar to MSU.

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Originally Posted by HSVDawg

They return a million 4* and 5* receivers in Stringfellow, Adeboyjo, Pack, Lodge, and Van Jefferson. Engram is probably coming back. They lose Tunsil but return their top 3 lineman besides him in Taylor, Rawlings, and Patterson, and likely replace Tunsil with an equal talent in Little. They lose Walton but still have two RB's that will both be better than him coming back in Judd and Wilkins.

On defense, their only major loss is Nkemdiche but they have guys behind him like Speaks ready to step in. They also lose some guys in the secondary, but their secondary was terrible this year anyways so should be no major losses.

On top of all that, they play us at home and have a recruiting class that will be better than their 2013 class coming in. It doesn't fit the narrative around here, but unfortunately they are going to be very good again next year.

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Bad breakdown

First off, your correct, they return a ton of WR talent. No issue there

They lose their top 2 linemen in Tunsil & Cooper, both of whom are NFL caliber. The also lose Morris, Still, & Justin Bell. They lose 4 starters on the OL. Little is talented, but he ain't gonna be nowhere close to as good as Tunsil in his FR year. Furthermore, although Little is very good, he isn't of Tunsil's caliber. He's the best of the bunch, but Tunsil is special. Little isn't that type of talent. Some years the best basketball player is Michael Jordan, & other years it's Ben Simmons. Good player, but not the same.

They lose Walton, who was their best RB by a mile this year. Has more shake than the other two.

On defense, Kimchee is a big loss, but losing Mike Hilton & Trae Elston out of their secondary may be even bigger. Their secondary wasn't great for most of the year, but it was pretty good once they moved Mike Hilton to CB late in the season. The secondary us & LSU faced was best they were playing all year, due to the move of Hilton.

I think Chad Kelly is good enough for them to keep their heads above water next year, but, make no mistake, they lose a ton. A shit ton.

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Originally Posted by HSVDawg

They return a million 4* and 5* receivers in Stringfellow, Adeboyjo, Pack, Lodge, and Van Jefferson. Engram is probably coming back. They lose Tunsil but return their top 3 lineman besides him in Taylor, Rawlings, and Patterson, and likely replace Tunsil with an equal talent in Little. They lose Walton but still have two RB's that will both be better than him coming back in Judd and Wilkins.

On defense, their only major loss is Nkemdiche but they have guys behind him like Speaks ready to step in. They also lose some guys in the secondary, but their secondary was terrible this year anyways so should be no major losses.

On top of all that, they play us at home and have a recruiting class that will be better than their 2013 class coming in. It doesn't fit the narrative around here, but unfortunately they are going to be very good again next year.

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They are a 7-8 win team next year. They lose the left side of their OL, both Centers, and one of the nation's best WR's- plus Core. Defensively -they lose some good players. We'll see again how good their DL plays w/o Kimchee tomorrow

Their schedule is rough- they start off with Fla State, Georgia, and Bama in their first 4 games.