Let's not get carried away...

[Pollodawg]

I think it will be the opposite. Dak has a good rapport with Jameon and Bear. He was a little bit off with Malcolm at times, but that's getting better. Then there's Robert Johnson and Fred Brown. We have people for him to throw to- including a couple of proven go to guys. And I know some people are a little down on Morrow at times- but one thing I have noticed about him is that he has improved a lot since he got here. I wouldn't be shocked at all if the switch came on.

Plus, I think one reason why Dak kept it a lot was possibly because he felt he had a better chance to get the first down than Perkins at times. With us having Robinson and Shumpert more involved in the running game, Dak will probably be more inclined to hand it off more than he did this past season. Also, I think Dak has improved a lot on making reads on the option game and in the passing game. I expect that he will continue to improve even more.

Agreed about the reads in the passing game. Numerous times, I saw Dak go to his second and third options when the first choice was covered up.

[messageboardsuperhero]

All I know is:

We have 17 starters returning and will be better next year in at least 1 of those lost
We have the best QB at State I've seen in my lifetime
We didnt lose a single WR or TE
Our D was very good the 2nd half of the season- and 9 starters return

That's alot to be excited about going into 2014

You could even argue that one of those starters (Skinner) was a co-starter with Benny Brown- in fact, I'm pretty sure Brown got the start in the Liberty Bowl. Then the other starter we lose (Nickoe) was playing on one leg and is being replaced by Jay Hughes, who has starting experience as well.

Combine all those returning starters with a very good coordinator and the continued improvement of potential star, 1st round picks like Chris Jones and B. McKinney, and you're potentially looking at a very special defense in 2014.

[Esmerelda Villalobos]

I do agree that OL experience is a concern at some positions (especially at Gabe Jackson's spot), but Siddoway is replaceable and we aren't the only team that is losing a couple of offensive linemen.

We get back Malone and bring back Beckwith, Day, and Clayborne (who is ETREMELY talented)- these guys won't replace Jackson, but our interior OL is good enough that there shouldn't be a HUGE drop-off. As for tackle, Clausell is very solid, and I like J. Johnson, Carter, and Senior. All in all, we're not too bad off on the OL. And this is without even talking about some promising young guys like Desper, Flowers, Thomas, etc.

And I'm not sure where your comment about us struggling to run with our RB's comes from. Perkins, Shumpert, Robinson, and Griffin combined for 139 yards on 27 carries (about 5.2 YPC)- just because our backs didn't get 10 yards every time they touched the ball doesn't mean they "struggled."

ETA: And of our RBs that are returning (Robinson, Shumpert, and Griffin), they ran for 92 yards on 14 carries (6.6 YPC). Is that struggling?

Ummmmm what?

[Pollodawg]

Oh, and as far as being excited, goes, I don't expect to win a NC, but what the blue hell is wrong with expecting a solid nine win season with an upset thrown in the mix and our QB getting some national love for the first time ever? Dak is already better than basically every QB we've ever had. I think Fant broke 2,000 yards passing one season, and Dak would have easily done that had he started every game and stayed healthy. Not to mention, I think he would have broken 1,000 yards rushing.

[BogeyGolfer]

Bogey, we rushed for 239 yards against Rice. What is the problem there?

We rushed for 152 against UK and 150 against SC... That's the point I was making earlier, I wished we would have played a tougher bowl opponent to gauge how far we've come with Dak as the starter... Arkansas and UK would beat Rice. No doubt Dak had a tremendous game and I'm excited we will have him two more years but he can't keep taking shots or he won't last half a season.

[messageboardsuperhero]

Ummmmm what?

I was just saying that our OL still looks pretty good for next year, even though we lose a couple of guys.

And then I refuted the idea that we can't run the ball with our RBs.

[I seen it dawg]

We rushed for 152 against UK and 150 against SC... That's the point I was making earlier, I wished we would have played a tougher bowl opponent to gauge how far we've come with Dak as the starter... Arkansas and UK would beat Rice. No doubt Dak had a tremendous game and I'm excited we will have him two more years but he can't keep taking shots or he won't last half a season.

Which meant we got better as the season wore on....

[Coach34]

I agree, but we do have some question marks. Other than the ones I have already mentioned,how in the hell are we going to keep Dak healthy for an entire season? I'm not sure we can... We really need to use our backs more but I'm not sure Mullen will change a thing...

Bogey, we certainly have question marks heading into 2014- all teams do.

While I hate losing Jackson at G- I feel ok knowing Malone can play and Clayborn looked good as a true Freshmen.
I hope Johnson is able to handle RT- that's what he is being brought in to do
I don't worry about Dakota getting hurt- he's as tough as they come
I think we'll see some offensive changes now that Russell is gone
We have the pieces to be a top 3-4 SEC Defense- that will keep us in big games. The offense will have to make some plays vs Bama and LSU to make the threat real

But bottom line- there are alot of reasons to be excited about 2014- probably more so than any in Mullen's tenure to this point

[Todd4State]

We rushed for 152 against UK and 150 against SC... That's the point I was making earlier, I wished we would have played a tougher bowl opponent to gauge how far we've come with Dak as the starter... Arkansas and UK would beat Rice. No doubt Dak had a tremendous game and I'm excited we will have him two more years but he can't keep taking shots or he won't last half a season.

Rice won 10 games and looked respectable against Texas A&M and beat a darn good Marshall team in the C-USA Championship Game. They got us in third and long a lot- but we converted most of the time. It takes a good team to do that. I'm not going to complain about us breaking a teams will whether we were supposed to or not.

And I'm the president of the run Dak less fan club, but there's a happy medium there. The option is part of our offense and it's part of Dak's game. We would be foolish to not take advantage of that. I was happy with the play calling and amount of times we ran the option in the Liberty Bowl- to me that was an acceptable amount. Really, the best thing we can do is be multiple like we were in the Liberty Bowl because that will mean that Dak is running less and teams won't be able to key in on him as much.

[Todd4State]

Bogey, we certainly have question marks heading into 2014- all teams do.

While I hate losing Jackson at G- I feel ok knowing Malone can play and Clayborn looked good as a true Freshmen.
I hope Johnson is able to handle RT- that's what he is being brought in to do
I don't worry about Dakota getting hurt- he's as tough as they come
I think we'll see some offensive changes now that Russell is gone
We have the pieces to be a top 3-4 SEC Defense- that will keep us in big games. The offense will have to make some plays vs Bama and LSU to make the threat real

But bottom line- there are alot of reasons to be excited about 2014- probably more so than any in Mullen's tenure to this point

Beckwith is a good guard as well. I think he starts. So, really we have three solid options there- Malone, Beckwith, and Clayborn. The only question I have is about Malone and how healthy he will be.

[smootness]

I have a question. I see a lot of posts mentioning Fred Brown and few mentioning Fred Ross. Are people getting the two confused, or do a lot genuinely feel like Brown the better WR?

And I'm not criticizing that view if it is the case; both are State WRs, so I don't much care which one becomes a stud, but I do personally think Ross has the higher ceiling, and he had more catches/yards this year despite being a true freshman and banged up at times.

Just wondering what some see in Fred Brown; and again, I'm not disagreeing, just genuinely wanting to know. I've seen some who think he can be a stud, and I would love for him to become that.

[Original48]

And I'm the president of the run Dak less fan club, but there's a happy medium there. The option is part of our offense and it's part of Dak's game. We would be foolish to not take advantage of that. I was happy with the play calling and amount of times we ran the option in the Liberty Bowl- to me that was an acceptable amount. Really, the best thing we can do is be multiple like we were in the Liberty Bowl because that will mean that Dak is running less and teams won't be able to key in on him as much.

I think the diamond package is gonna offer Dak a lot of relief in that regard. A potential JRob, Shumpert, Aries Williams look in that set has me a little pumped.

[Johnson85]

I will post Bogey's pre-season prediction thread around August 1...

Considering the quality of your previous predictions, why don't you just post your predictions in a thread started by somebody else. If everybody on the board without a clue what they were talking about started their own prediction threads, it'd get pretty damn messy.

[msstate7]

I have a question. I see a lot of posts mentioning Fred Brown and few mentioning Fred Ross. Are people getting the two confused, or do a lot genuinely feel like Brown the better WR?

And I'm not criticizing that view if it is the case; both are State WRs, so I don't much care which one becomes a stud, but I do personally think Ross has the higher ceiling, and he had more catches/yards this year despite being a true freshman and banged up at times.

Just wondering what some see in Fred Brown; and again, I'm not disagreeing, just genuinely wanting to know. I've seen some who think he can be a stud, and I would love for him to become that.

I like Fred brown bc it seemed in my memory (could be wrong) that he went up and caught balls at their high point. He seemed to use his size as well as any wr we have (again in my memory which could be wrong).

[mic]

I like Fred brown bc it seemed in my memory (could be wrong) that he went up and caught balls at their high point. He seemed to use his size as well as any wr we have (again in my memory which could be wrong).

We all saw the huge improvements with all of the WR core this year. Main reason is we FINALLY have a TRUE WR coach. If Gonzo stays a couple more years these young guys could be very special..

[FISHDAWG]

good point ... driving in to work today while listening to sports talk radio I heard Jon Cooper (Saturdays Down South) being interviewed on an Atlanta station and he was showing us a LOTTA LOVE for next year .... it has already begun - IMO

[RougeDawg]

We rushed for 152 against UK and 150 against SC... That's the point I was making earlier, I wished we would have played a tougher bowl opponent to gauge how far we've come with Dak as the starter... Arkansas and UK would beat Rice. No doubt Dak had a tremendous game and I'm excited we will have him two more years but he can't keep taking shots or he won't last half a season.

You do realize that Dak had to be the bruising RB in our offense this year, because stubborn ass Mullen insisted on keeping tippy toes back there instead of giving JRob and Shump a majority of the "pound it down their throat" carries. When we needed a couple yards, it was Dak getting carry. These will be tremendously decreased going forward. I'm trying to gather your thought process on all of this? We had a "ragged round peg in a square hole" offense for most of 2013 and we had a winning season against a top 5 schedule. Next year we will have a "greased round peg in a lubed round hole" offense. We should be favored in 8-9 of our games, possibly 10(dog against Bama & LSU). How can you not see this? Honestly?

[Political Hack]

Arkansas and UK would not beat Rice on a neutral field. Arkansas lost 9 in a row. Outside of the state of pig sooie curse on State, they got blown out by almost everyone with a pulse. Even Rutgers beat them. UK lost to Western Kentucky on a neutral field.

[Bullmutt]

Guys, I freely admit to being overly optimistic in the pre-season every year, but considering that:

1) we lose only a small number of the two-deep on both sides of the ball,
2) we finally seem to have in place at our offensive skill positions the kinds of players needed for Mullen's scheme,
3) the added maturity and development we should see with all our younger players who played alot this year, and
4) several of the SEC elites we play each year are losing some key pieces or are simply not as strong as in the recent past (I'm thinking Bama OL and DL, after seeing the OK game. Tell me if I'm wrong),

I really feel that a ten win season, barring something totally unforeseen or being badly bitten by the injury bug, is a very real, perhaps likely, possibility. I'd be interested to hear the reasons this is unrealistic.

[drunkernhelldawg]

Considering the quality of your previous predictions, why don't you just post your predictions in a thread started by somebody else. If everybody on the board without a clue what they were talking about started their own prediction threads, it'd get pretty damn messy.

Spoken like a bossman. Gotta keep those wheels turnin'.