This look comes without knowing any off season changes(coaching, players transferring out, players quitting the team) that could take place and will strictly be a focus on the players(talent) we have coming back or coming in at each position group that we know at this time.
The program goals don't change. OSU's goal year in and year out will be to win a big 12 title. Some years that goal is more attainable then others. It appears that next year that goals aspirations may be more difficult to attain then they were this year. I hate to say that expectations change, but we also have to be realistic about comparing 2017 to 2018. Most will view 2017 as a disappointment because expectations were not met. So what does that mean for 2018? What should the expectations be?
Early Look at the OSU offense:
Qb-This position group is the biggest question mark heading into the 2018 season. Returners are: Taylor Cornelius, John Kolar, Keondre Wudtee, and Jelani Woods. We start with Corndog who some think will win this battle and be the guy. With a bigger frame then Mason Rudolph he isn't lacking in size. In his mop up duty he did fairly well but wasn't asked to do much more then hand the ball off or take off running himself. Can he make the throws needed at this level? Can he run through his progressions? Can he handle D1 speed? Those are the questions that have to be answered. Maybe he could be the guy. The spring will be huge for Corn. Kolar appears to be a lower level qb. A guy who may do well at a lower level college. Does he want to stick this out thinking he has a shot to compete for the starting job? Just being fair I don't see it happening for Kolar, but maybe he is the dark horse here. In regard to the other two candidates I'm going to pose this question, "Did we miss in recruiting?" Wudtee and Woods appear to be guys who are good athletes that don't project as qb's at this level. I think Wudtee maybe a heck of an athlete, but not a great D1 qb. I think Woods could project at another position given his size, but he isn't a D1 qb. Of the two only Wudtee will be able to compete for the starting job. And then we have Spencer Sanders. The young kid comes to OSU with as many accolades as any qb we have ever had. He appears to be able to make quick decisions and isn't just is a good athlete at the qb position, but a real qb that is also a good athlete. He is a qb who can make things happen. He has the "it" factor to him. What hurt him is not coming in during the spring. How quickly can he acclimate himself to college football? That is the main question for Spencer. I have a feeling we will find out. Our 2018 season rides on who we find to play qb and how effective that qb will be.
Rb- simply put we are going to be loaded. I would say that we will have a top 3 running back in college football at osu in Justice Hill. He works very hard in the off season so you can expect that he will be even better in 2018. He will be what we lean on while we work through the qb situation. The hope is that whatever injury JD King appeared to have heading into and during this season gets fixed. Kid has a bright future and major role in our backfield. LD Brown impressed me in the snaps he was given this year and showed promise. We need to try and develop more of a role for him. The player everyone wants to see is Chuba Hubbard. I will say this, the kid has track speed and if he gets out in the open he is gone. He is the major X factor at this position. Will be fun watching him and he will play a role in special teams.
Wr- Dillon Stoner, JJ McCleskey, Tyron Johnson, Taylan Wallace, Tracin Wallace, LC Greenwood, Tyrell Alexander, Patrick Mckaufman, Brayden Johnson, CJ Moore, and Jonathan Shepherd. Most years we would be asking how we would replace Marcel Ateman, James Washington, and Chris Lacey. All that needs to be said is that we will be reloading not rebuilding. If every position group at osu was built like this we would be better prepared to win championships year in and year out. Kudos to Kasey Dunn! The question mark here will be do we have a qb who will be able to get these guys the ball? Major major talent is lost but major major talent comes back.
OL- We lose Crabtree, Cochran, and Lundblade. The Osu oline has been setback for many years due to inconsistency at the oline coaching spot. We bring in coach Henson to figure it all out. He worked through some of the difficult stuff and the lack of talent and development at the position and we managed to put an adequate group of guys on the field last year. By redshirting some guys(JUCO guys)and continued growth in our system(young guys developing) we will do the same next year. Next year we won't be where we want to be on the oline,but we also will show that we won't take a step back which is a big deal when you consider we are going to lose 3 starters. JUCO guys we redshirted are Larry Joubert, Shane Richards, and Arlington Hambright. Young guys who will have been given more of a chance to develop and are now ready to play are Dylan Galloway, Matt Kegel,Tevin Jenkins, and Johnny Wilson. Marcus Keyes was the rare exception of a young guy ready to play right away. If Larry Williams gets the year back that will be huge for maintaining our oline and continued growth at the position. The freshman class coming in shows you the direction we are headed under Henson, but all should redshirt. In about two more seasons the oline will be a position group strength for the offense.
Cowboy back-this appears to be our way of getting an extra blocker on the field as we don't pass much to this position group. Look for this to change as we work in a new qb next season. We return Britton Abbot, Keenen Brown, Sione Finefeuikia, and Baren Oden. Jake Ross is a big guy we are bringing in this recruiting class.
Early Look at the OSU defense:
Dt's- will be a position of strength with Darrion Daniels, Trey Carter, and Enoch Smith Jr. It will be a big year for these guys to step up and do things needed to work to continue their careers at the next level. It's simply time for them if they want to play in the NFL. The question here is who gives us depth: Taaj Bakari really started to show promise as did Cameron Murray towards the end. Brandon Evers and Latu Maile redshirted and will try to work in and give us depth. Will be important to recruit DT's as the top 3 at this position will be Sr's.
DE's- we lose Vili and Weber but bring back Brailford, Owens, Waltershied. Again, like DT it should be a position of strength. JUCO Michael Scott comes in and will see the field. Brock Martin comes off redshirt and will see the field. Tyler Lacey and Brendon Cassity should redshirt. The entire dline should be a strength and what we want it to look like year in and year out.
Lb's- a position group that seems to have been lacking for many years at osu. Why? Positioning? Tackling? Athleticism? All the above seem to be causing us to lack. We have had nice looking prospects here but it seems to be the same story year after year. I would venture to say we may be more athletic next season at this position as an year in the last 5 or more years. Will replace Chad Whitner with a combo of Pat Macon(able to redshirt have heard good things) and Amen Ogbonbemiga. Justin Phillips will be one outside LB with Calvin Bundage locking down the other side. Calvin could be about as special as they come if coached correctly. KEM, Kevin Henry, and Devin Harper will offer depth. Blake Barron is coming in early but should still redshirt as should Kolby Peel. Jarrick Bernard is listed as a DB but I believe will find a home as a LB in the mold of KEM.
Corner- young but talented. Young but forced to play. Young and no depth. All things that describe our corner position. AJ and Rodarius are both talented. We knew there would be frustrating moments due in part to their youth. And when they both got hurt in the bowl game our lack of depth showed. Good news is they both come back a year older next year and should be better. The depth behind them will come from young players. Lam Morton redshirted and we heard good things about Bryce Balous. Incoming freshman Tanner McCalister and Jayveon Cardwell will both factor in right away and help add depth. We will again be young overall at the position but should be better in 2018.
Safety- will be replacing both of our safety's so this is the group in the defense with the most question marks. The list of guys fighting for the starting spot look like this: Za'Carrius Green, Malcolm Rodriguez, Thabo Mwaniki, Kris McCune, Kanion Williams, Jason Taylor, and Sean Michael Flanagan. There will be plenty of young talent here and the competition will be fantastic. The fight for the starting job will bring out the best in these kids. The guys that earn it will still be pushed and many of these guys will play. Thabo showed he was ready to play in 2017 and may take on a role similar to Jerrell Morrow. Sean Michael Flanagan is ultra talented and him coming in early really helps his chances. Do not sleep on Kris McCune. He apparently would of played if not for injury and was impressing in fall camp. Malcolm was a special team standout and many believe he will be a stud. We will be very young at this position but have plenty of talent. Like corner this year we may have moments we want to pull out our hair but the potential for greatness will be seen as well.
Osu will have plenty of talent and as I said the program goals do not change. Our win loss column may look different next year but there should be no excuses in the talent department. Osu will be plenty talented and should be able to compete in every game they play!
The program goals don't change. OSU's goal year in and year out will be to win a big 12 title. Some years that goal is more attainable then others. It appears that next year that goals aspirations may be more difficult to attain then they were this year. I hate to say that expectations change, but we also have to be realistic about comparing 2017 to 2018. Most will view 2017 as a disappointment because expectations were not met. So what does that mean for 2018? What should the expectations be?
Early Look at the OSU offense:
Qb-This position group is the biggest question mark heading into the 2018 season. Returners are: Taylor Cornelius, John Kolar, Keondre Wudtee, and Jelani Woods. We start with Corndog who some think will win this battle and be the guy. With a bigger frame then Mason Rudolph he isn't lacking in size. In his mop up duty he did fairly well but wasn't asked to do much more then hand the ball off or take off running himself. Can he make the throws needed at this level? Can he run through his progressions? Can he handle D1 speed? Those are the questions that have to be answered. Maybe he could be the guy. The spring will be huge for Corn. Kolar appears to be a lower level qb. A guy who may do well at a lower level college. Does he want to stick this out thinking he has a shot to compete for the starting job? Just being fair I don't see it happening for Kolar, but maybe he is the dark horse here. In regard to the other two candidates I'm going to pose this question, "Did we miss in recruiting?" Wudtee and Woods appear to be guys who are good athletes that don't project as qb's at this level. I think Wudtee maybe a heck of an athlete, but not a great D1 qb. I think Woods could project at another position given his size, but he isn't a D1 qb. Of the two only Wudtee will be able to compete for the starting job. And then we have Spencer Sanders. The young kid comes to OSU with as many accolades as any qb we have ever had. He appears to be able to make quick decisions and isn't just is a good athlete at the qb position, but a real qb that is also a good athlete. He is a qb who can make things happen. He has the "it" factor to him. What hurt him is not coming in during the spring. How quickly can he acclimate himself to college football? That is the main question for Spencer. I have a feeling we will find out. Our 2018 season rides on who we find to play qb and how effective that qb will be.
Rb- simply put we are going to be loaded. I would say that we will have a top 3 running back in college football at osu in Justice Hill. He works very hard in the off season so you can expect that he will be even better in 2018. He will be what we lean on while we work through the qb situation. The hope is that whatever injury JD King appeared to have heading into and during this season gets fixed. Kid has a bright future and major role in our backfield. LD Brown impressed me in the snaps he was given this year and showed promise. We need to try and develop more of a role for him. The player everyone wants to see is Chuba Hubbard. I will say this, the kid has track speed and if he gets out in the open he is gone. He is the major X factor at this position. Will be fun watching him and he will play a role in special teams.
Wr- Dillon Stoner, JJ McCleskey, Tyron Johnson, Taylan Wallace, Tracin Wallace, LC Greenwood, Tyrell Alexander, Patrick Mckaufman, Brayden Johnson, CJ Moore, and Jonathan Shepherd. Most years we would be asking how we would replace Marcel Ateman, James Washington, and Chris Lacey. All that needs to be said is that we will be reloading not rebuilding. If every position group at osu was built like this we would be better prepared to win championships year in and year out. Kudos to Kasey Dunn! The question mark here will be do we have a qb who will be able to get these guys the ball? Major major talent is lost but major major talent comes back.
OL- We lose Crabtree, Cochran, and Lundblade. The Osu oline has been setback for many years due to inconsistency at the oline coaching spot. We bring in coach Henson to figure it all out. He worked through some of the difficult stuff and the lack of talent and development at the position and we managed to put an adequate group of guys on the field last year. By redshirting some guys(JUCO guys)and continued growth in our system(young guys developing) we will do the same next year. Next year we won't be where we want to be on the oline,but we also will show that we won't take a step back which is a big deal when you consider we are going to lose 3 starters. JUCO guys we redshirted are Larry Joubert, Shane Richards, and Arlington Hambright. Young guys who will have been given more of a chance to develop and are now ready to play are Dylan Galloway, Matt Kegel,Tevin Jenkins, and Johnny Wilson. Marcus Keyes was the rare exception of a young guy ready to play right away. If Larry Williams gets the year back that will be huge for maintaining our oline and continued growth at the position. The freshman class coming in shows you the direction we are headed under Henson, but all should redshirt. In about two more seasons the oline will be a position group strength for the offense.
Cowboy back-this appears to be our way of getting an extra blocker on the field as we don't pass much to this position group. Look for this to change as we work in a new qb next season. We return Britton Abbot, Keenen Brown, Sione Finefeuikia, and Baren Oden. Jake Ross is a big guy we are bringing in this recruiting class.
Early Look at the OSU defense:
Dt's- will be a position of strength with Darrion Daniels, Trey Carter, and Enoch Smith Jr. It will be a big year for these guys to step up and do things needed to work to continue their careers at the next level. It's simply time for them if they want to play in the NFL. The question here is who gives us depth: Taaj Bakari really started to show promise as did Cameron Murray towards the end. Brandon Evers and Latu Maile redshirted and will try to work in and give us depth. Will be important to recruit DT's as the top 3 at this position will be Sr's.
DE's- we lose Vili and Weber but bring back Brailford, Owens, Waltershied. Again, like DT it should be a position of strength. JUCO Michael Scott comes in and will see the field. Brock Martin comes off redshirt and will see the field. Tyler Lacey and Brendon Cassity should redshirt. The entire dline should be a strength and what we want it to look like year in and year out.
Lb's- a position group that seems to have been lacking for many years at osu. Why? Positioning? Tackling? Athleticism? All the above seem to be causing us to lack. We have had nice looking prospects here but it seems to be the same story year after year. I would venture to say we may be more athletic next season at this position as an year in the last 5 or more years. Will replace Chad Whitner with a combo of Pat Macon(able to redshirt have heard good things) and Amen Ogbonbemiga. Justin Phillips will be one outside LB with Calvin Bundage locking down the other side. Calvin could be about as special as they come if coached correctly. KEM, Kevin Henry, and Devin Harper will offer depth. Blake Barron is coming in early but should still redshirt as should Kolby Peel. Jarrick Bernard is listed as a DB but I believe will find a home as a LB in the mold of KEM.
Corner- young but talented. Young but forced to play. Young and no depth. All things that describe our corner position. AJ and Rodarius are both talented. We knew there would be frustrating moments due in part to their youth. And when they both got hurt in the bowl game our lack of depth showed. Good news is they both come back a year older next year and should be better. The depth behind them will come from young players. Lam Morton redshirted and we heard good things about Bryce Balous. Incoming freshman Tanner McCalister and Jayveon Cardwell will both factor in right away and help add depth. We will again be young overall at the position but should be better in 2018.
Safety- will be replacing both of our safety's so this is the group in the defense with the most question marks. The list of guys fighting for the starting spot look like this: Za'Carrius Green, Malcolm Rodriguez, Thabo Mwaniki, Kris McCune, Kanion Williams, Jason Taylor, and Sean Michael Flanagan. There will be plenty of young talent here and the competition will be fantastic. The fight for the starting job will bring out the best in these kids. The guys that earn it will still be pushed and many of these guys will play. Thabo showed he was ready to play in 2017 and may take on a role similar to Jerrell Morrow. Sean Michael Flanagan is ultra talented and him coming in early really helps his chances. Do not sleep on Kris McCune. He apparently would of played if not for injury and was impressing in fall camp. Malcolm was a special team standout and many believe he will be a stud. We will be very young at this position but have plenty of talent. Like corner this year we may have moments we want to pull out our hair but the potential for greatness will be seen as well.
Osu will have plenty of talent and as I said the program goals do not change. Our win loss column may look different next year but there should be no excuses in the talent department. Osu will be plenty talented and should be able to compete in every game they play!
