[Spiny_Norman]

Just for stuff and giggles, I read Shaw's Media Day comments from last year (2021). Selected quotes:

Offensive line-wise we've had a group of guys that have been playing football since their freshman year. This group has become juniors now. A couple young guys added in as well. I think where we want to be on the offensive line. Got a quarterback battle going on which will bear itself out. By the end of spring I feel great about both guys, their abilities to run our offense.

Neither of these assessments and projections about the OL and the QB proved to be correct.

Feel really good about where we are on the defensive side, I think we're bigger, more physical, more athletic than people really know. No one was able to come watch us play in spring either to see what we have as a group.  I think we have a really good football team.

I believe this year will probably be one of our better defensive years in the last five to seven years.

I'm the son of a defensive coordinator. My dad always talks about the middle of your defense. If you can be good at inside linebacker and defensive line, interior defensive line, that's the great beginnings of a defense. I think we're really good there.

I think we are deeper and faster than most people think that we are. I think we came out of spring in a good spot. I don't worry about the rankings. I think we did underperform at times last year, in particular against the run. A lot of it was just purely assignment football. We had some young guys out there, inexperienced guys out there. I think Coach Anderson and our defensive staff have done a great job of dissecting not just what wrong last year but what went right last year. The personnel we have right now, make sure those guys are put in a good position going forward.

None of that worked out last year either.

[Spiny_Norman]

Just for stuff and giggles, I read Shaw's Media Day comments from last year (2021). Selected quotes:

Offensive line-wise we've had a group of guys that have been playing football since their freshman year. This group has become juniors now. A couple young guys added in as well. I think where we want to be on the offensive line. Got a quarterback battle going on which will bear itself out. By the end of spring I feel great about both guys, their abilities to run our offense.

Neither of these assessments and projections about the OL and the QB proved to be correct.

Feel really good about where we are on the defensive side, I think we're bigger, more physical, more athletic than people really know. No one was able to come watch us play in spring either to see what we have as a group.  I think we have a really good football team.

I believe this year will probably be one of our better defensive years in the last five to seven years.

I'm the son of a defensive coordinator. My dad always talks about the middle of your defense. If you can be good at inside linebacker and defensive line, interior defensive line, that's the great beginnings of a defense. I think we're really good there.

I think we are deeper and faster than most people think that we are. I think we came out of spring in a good spot. I don't worry about the rankings. I think we did underperform at times last year, in particular against the run. A lot of it was just purely assignment football. We had some young guys out there, inexperienced guys out there. I think Coach Anderson and our defensive staff have done a great job of dissecting not just what wrong last year but what went right last year. The personnel we have right now, make sure those guys are put in a good position going forward.

None of that worked out last year either.