Posts: 1,065
Threads: 80
Joined: Aug 2017
Ok, some thoughts:
QB: This position is year to year in college football and we have to see who is actually on the roster next year. Guys currently on the roster could transfer out, somebody on another roster could transfer in, Brown will almost certainly matriculate and immediately become one of the top fixations of the fan base, and Jackson looms as a bit of a wild card. At this point my best guess is that Daniels comes back and is the presumptive QB in spring, if only out of culture building/rewarding loyalty/making Brown or Jackson earn it/etc. but in reality Taylor will not be closing any doors and will be very interested in developing the younger guys and seeing what happens in that room. Lamson will be back as our short yardage running option.
RB: I expect the room to be fundamentally different as SamuelMcF said. I would guess that RB1 and RB2 are both not on the current roster. Most likely they will come from the trio SamuelMcF alluded to. I personally like Tabb but the thing with this trio is all three are credible, all three have backgrounds demonstrating workhorse kind of ability we have been lacking since Austin Jones, and none of them are particularly exciting prospects by Stanford standards. It is going to be very interesting to watch how this all shakes out. Irvin could get a look but this year has been pretty enigmatic for him.
WR: The most exciting room on our roster thanks to the breakouts for Ayomanor and Bachmeier. We even have seen something from Harris. One of the biggest roster questions for us is if we can hold off literally everybody in the country from trying to buy Ayomanor. He would start for everybody and will be one of the best transfer-eligible players in America at any position. It would suck so much for us if we lose him. I still wonder about depth here and have no confidence in Reuben. It would be very interesting if Humphreys came back, but being a captain yesterday seems to suggest that's unlikely. I'm very disappointed Borden hasn't played this year and have to assume that's an arrow down but we'll see. I am hoping the incoming class has some keepers at WR and there's reason for optimism. I don't trust Mosley's ability to stay healthy, but Ross and Johnson have had nice senior seasons. Given the volume of 2023 and 2024 receivers I think we should feel pretty good about this room going forward, especially if we can keep Ayomanor for another season.
TE: This is probably Roush's room but I have to wonder what Yurosek is thinking. He had a mostly lost year and I don't think he's that big of an NFL prospect that he can be cavalier about this decision. He really should consider staying or transferring elsewhere and not just automatically go NFL, though I am still guessing that's the move. If he's back that is absolutely brobdingnagian for us. An offense with Ayomanor, Yurosek, and Bachmeier is pretty scary for pass defenses. If Yurosek is gone, it's Roush's room and not a very impressive or deep one. I will be interested to see Holt. The true freshmen look credible but it's a hard position to be good at in your first year.
OL: We should be standing vigil that Rogers will come back. McLaughlin coming back would also help a lot, but it's not as important and the way he talked about himself as a senior on Tuesday made my hopes drop. This room badly needs a few fifth year players and between attrition and the transfer portal we may or may not get it. Mayberry is not good but could be serviceable given sheer age next year. Pale, Anderson, Maikkula, and Baklenko are flawed, uneven players who could improve significantly since they're so young, but we really have to cross our fingers that they interact well with our unproven coaching and strength and conditioning. Leyrer and Uke are both enigmas but this season was a disappointment and I wouldn't be surprised if Leyrer transfers. Heyer is the wildcard we can hope emerges next year. All in all it doesn't inspire confidence but could be ok with Rogers and/or McLaughlin and/or comparable incoming transfers.
DL: This seems to be on the right track and might be solid next year. Phillips isn't as important a fifth year decision as Rogers but he may be the next most important one. Franklin has shown enough to be excited about what he can do next year. Moi has been disappointing to me but he's still young for this position. Buckey, Caughey, Rowell, and Armitage weren't ready this year but at this position a year of aging and strength and conditioning can make a big difference. Umeh is the biggest incoming recruit in our class but I don't think it's fair to expect immediate contributions from a fresh off of Stage 4 cancer true freshman DL.
OLB: This room is less exciting than it was half a year ago but it has some promise. Tafiti is emerging as a playmaker and I think another offseason removed from his major knee injury could be major for him, plus this position tends to be better later in a career than earlier. Very excited about him. Bailey and Cooper are among the most disappointing guys on the roster but maybe raw talent can turn the corner there. Aybar is the solid but unspectacular guy taking advantage of the vacuum left by Bailey and Cooper. The wild card is Williams, who was an attractive pass rushing recruit and Taylor singled out as one of the top guys in the freshman class right before the season. You could do a lot worse than Tafiti, Aybar, Bailey, Cooper, and Williams, and hopefully Bailey and/or Cooper has the light go on.
ILB: Bernadel is the fixture, one of the steadiest, most reliable, and important to culture players on the roster. There's some buzz Sinclair could come back for a sixth year, which would be welcome given the sorry state of the pipeline. If not, look to Rose. I wish there were more in the pipeline to be optimistic about here but there isn't. It would be startling to see true freshmen contribute, but especially if Sinclair is gone there's an opportunity for Mattingly, Ferrelli, and a guy I expect to flip his commit to Stanford very soon.
S: I wouldn't mind Gilman being back but assume he won't, which would make Edwards the real fixture here. I like him. Probably pencil in Edwards and Leigber and good run defense with significant limitations in coverage, again. Wild cards are if Wyrick can ever be healthy (ugh) and if Ojarikre can take a step forward. I'm not a big fan of the incoming prospects but don't rule them out.
CB: Wright is the fixture and will go into next year as the best player on our defense (and according to PFF is the best player on our defense this year). Manley will be tough to replace if he opts not to come back for a sixth year. Frausto-Ramos has to be penciled in as a starter given his playing time in recent weeks, but he's not good. I imagine Morris and Williams competing for opportunities but perhaps look for Nicholson, a very intriguing incoming player, to leap frog some of these guys.
K: Probably pencil in Kenney. I'm not sold on this but I don't see anything more likely. Keep an eye on any incoming PWO kicker. Also keep an open mind to Flintoft pulling double duty but that's a lot to ask.
P: Flintoft's emergence is one of the personnel stories of this season. We're set at punter.
LS: It's been a weird year of divided responsibilities but I assume Warford will settle into the fully empowered role Parsons used to have, unless Warford sucks in which case we'll see about internal competition, new PWO option, etc.
Would really like the transfer portal to help at OL and CB. And did I mention I want Rogers to come back?
