10-21-2011, 12:45 PM
It's never too early to look ahead to next year (and the impending advent of the post-Luck era), so here's a look at next year's offense. Obviously the biggest question mark is at the QB position, but other big questions exist. What on earth are we going to do at WR? Who steps in if either or both of Martin/DeCastro leave? Here's how I see the offense shaping up, based on what we know now. Obviously plenty will change by next year, so all the usual disclaimers apply.
QB - Nottingham (Picazo and Nunes have been the other options at backup this year, but my dark-horse candidate to unseat The Sheriff is Kevin Hogan. I thought he looked awesome in the final scrimmage before the season started.)
You could argue that even if Nottingham ends up being an above-average QB, we face the biggest loss for any team at any position going into 2012. That's not a knock on anyone; Andrew Luck is just a tough act to follow, obviously.
RB - Taylor (Wilkerson, Gaffney)
An embarrassment of riches. The three-headed monster of Taylor, Wilkerson, and Gaffney will be back - unless Gaffney leaves for baseball, in which case one of Seale, Wright, and Young becomes the new 3rd back. I wonder whether Seale stays at RB; there's been speculation of a move to DB (a la Delano/Usua) in the past.
FB - Hewitt (Meinken, Ward)
No issues here.
WR - Montgomery
WR - Terrell
Basically a vacuum in terms of experience at this position. Presumably/hopefully Montgomery improves enough to become a starter, because I'm seeing less and less reason to be optimistic that JRP and Jemari Roberts are going to figure it out and become legitimate Pac-12 starters. If you're one of the incoming freshmen, you've gotta love the opportunity to earn playing time at this position.
TE - Ertz (Toilolo, Dudchock)
Even without Fleener, this should be the best TE unit in the country. Personally I think Ertz is a little bit better of an all-around TE than Fleener is, and Toilolo obviously would be starting at most BCS programs.
Offensive Line:
LT - Fleming/Yankey
LG - Danser
C - Schwartzstein
RG - Underwood, or perhaps Wilkes (hopefully DeCastro)
RT - Yankey/Fleming
Yankey's listed as a tackle and is already starting at guard, so I'm guessing next year Yankey slides to LT and Danser is slotted at LG, where he was slated to start until about a week before this season started. Fleming will remain as the other tackle, although he could move to LT, I suppose. If DeCastro leaves, I'm guessing Underwood starts at RG, but if DeCastro comes back, that's 4 returning starters from a very solid O-Line. They should do a really nice job helping Nottingham stay upright and comfortable.
On top of the starters, I think we'll have some quality depth in guys like Bonnell, Austin, Reihner, and Shuler.
***
All in all, I think a solid offense that should be similar to this year's group, minus the best player in the country. If Nottingham has anyone at all to throw the ball to on the outside, we should be able to score 30 points in most games, I'd think. Maybe not 40+ all the time, but enough to outscore most teams, given how nicely our defense for 2012 is shaping up.
Thoughts?
QB - Nottingham (Picazo and Nunes have been the other options at backup this year, but my dark-horse candidate to unseat The Sheriff is Kevin Hogan. I thought he looked awesome in the final scrimmage before the season started.)
You could argue that even if Nottingham ends up being an above-average QB, we face the biggest loss for any team at any position going into 2012. That's not a knock on anyone; Andrew Luck is just a tough act to follow, obviously.
RB - Taylor (Wilkerson, Gaffney)
An embarrassment of riches. The three-headed monster of Taylor, Wilkerson, and Gaffney will be back - unless Gaffney leaves for baseball, in which case one of Seale, Wright, and Young becomes the new 3rd back. I wonder whether Seale stays at RB; there's been speculation of a move to DB (a la Delano/Usua) in the past.
FB - Hewitt (Meinken, Ward)
No issues here.
WR - Montgomery
WR - Terrell
Basically a vacuum in terms of experience at this position. Presumably/hopefully Montgomery improves enough to become a starter, because I'm seeing less and less reason to be optimistic that JRP and Jemari Roberts are going to figure it out and become legitimate Pac-12 starters. If you're one of the incoming freshmen, you've gotta love the opportunity to earn playing time at this position.
TE - Ertz (Toilolo, Dudchock)
Even without Fleener, this should be the best TE unit in the country. Personally I think Ertz is a little bit better of an all-around TE than Fleener is, and Toilolo obviously would be starting at most BCS programs.
Offensive Line:
LT - Fleming/Yankey
LG - Danser
C - Schwartzstein
RG - Underwood, or perhaps Wilkes (hopefully DeCastro)
RT - Yankey/Fleming
Yankey's listed as a tackle and is already starting at guard, so I'm guessing next year Yankey slides to LT and Danser is slotted at LG, where he was slated to start until about a week before this season started. Fleming will remain as the other tackle, although he could move to LT, I suppose. If DeCastro leaves, I'm guessing Underwood starts at RG, but if DeCastro comes back, that's 4 returning starters from a very solid O-Line. They should do a really nice job helping Nottingham stay upright and comfortable.
On top of the starters, I think we'll have some quality depth in guys like Bonnell, Austin, Reihner, and Shuler.
***
All in all, I think a solid offense that should be similar to this year's group, minus the best player in the country. If Nottingham has anyone at all to throw the ball to on the outside, we should be able to score 30 points in most games, I'd think. Maybe not 40+ all the time, but enough to outscore most teams, given how nicely our defense for 2012 is shaping up.
Thoughts?