These are only my opinions and shouldn’t be taken as hard facts:
QB: Mason Rudolph WILL NOT have a slump. JW still can’t consistently throw (I saw 4 balls thrown into the ground), but then will make a crazy good throw. Both will be used at the same time, making opposing DC’s have nightmares. GRADE A
RB: I think we will actually be serviceable here, if not good if the O Line can figure things out. Carson is a stud, Rennie will be improved and Carr is electrifying if he isn’t redshirted. Raymond Taylor is actually better than I remember. Not sure about Mays or whether he and/or Carr will redshirt. GRADE B
IR and WR: We are so loaded here that there are third string guys that would start in other Conference schools. Seales, Ateman, Washington, Hays, Lacy, Brown, Shepherd and Glidden are all from good to great. Unless McKlesky can be used in the return game he will have to redshirt. I wouldn’t trade that top 8 with anyone. GRADE A
O-line: Was a real concern to all of us “untrained eye” campers as our D line dominated them both yesterday and today. Per Gundy, however, he isn’t that concerned for a few reasons. 1. The defense always has a bit of an advantage in early camp because they know all of our plays and calls and 2. Ogbah is a difference maker causing havoc to anyone’s O line and our D is pretty salty. In our final meeting this morning, Gundy said we are better at every single position in the first unit, mostly because of the addition of Salako at LT which allows other guys to slide into their natural positions. The second unit has a far ways to go, so injury avoidance will be key. GRADE Incomplete
DE: We are in GREAT shape here. We know what we have with the 1st unit. All the coaches raved about Brailford’s progress. And Carter, Owens, Brown, Waltersheid and Clark are right on his heels. Gundy said the Redshirt Frosh of this group (Carter Owens, Brailford and Waltersheid) are going to be very good in the future. GRADE A
DT: I spent almost the entire camp focusing on this group, and particularly the true Freshmen. I’m no expert, but I feel way better after watching them and sitting in on the film sessions. It appears to me that of the freshmen, Daniels is ahead of Bakari. Maile, Hughes, Taylor and Davis will be the obvious 2 deep, but I wouldn’t be surprised if either or both of the freshmen will play quite a bit. GRADE B- (but the potential to be upgraded)
LB: Another area of great depth. Two of the starters are obvious in Simmons and Jacobs, but the third (which was obvious after the spring but not so obvious before then) is Burton (beast mode). But the coaches also raved about Averette and Whitener. Mabin, Catlin and Phillips should all contribute. GRADE B+/A-
CB: This are is full of 4 starters. Someone on here last night was suggesting that at least one of them should play regardless of two others ahead of him. Funny, because that’s exactly what happened today. GRADE A
S: We have a lot of bodies and quite a bit of experience here anchored by a true stud in Sterns. I actually think Roberts and Flowers looked good…and probably most surprising was I saw Robertson make some great plays for the first time in 3 years. Strange considering he quit the team and came back, but it looks like he’s actually got a chip on his shoulder and was playing great. GRADE B-
P/K: Gundy raved about the new punter’s (Sinor) ability to i) strategically place the ball where the coverage is targeted and (ii) hang time. I asked him his distances and he said he’s averaging 42-43 yds with 4.5 seconds. The 4.5 seconds is much more important than the yardage. We know what we have in the K position. GRADE A
Special Teams: I didn’t realize this until Gundy said it this morning, but virtually every person on ST’s returns from last year’s team…and that experience is invaluable as in previous years we were teaching technique from the ground zero up and this year they can focus on improvement instead of base learning. GRADE A
QB: Mason Rudolph WILL NOT have a slump. JW still can’t consistently throw (I saw 4 balls thrown into the ground), but then will make a crazy good throw. Both will be used at the same time, making opposing DC’s have nightmares. GRADE A
RB: I think we will actually be serviceable here, if not good if the O Line can figure things out. Carson is a stud, Rennie will be improved and Carr is electrifying if he isn’t redshirted. Raymond Taylor is actually better than I remember. Not sure about Mays or whether he and/or Carr will redshirt. GRADE B
IR and WR: We are so loaded here that there are third string guys that would start in other Conference schools. Seales, Ateman, Washington, Hays, Lacy, Brown, Shepherd and Glidden are all from good to great. Unless McKlesky can be used in the return game he will have to redshirt. I wouldn’t trade that top 8 with anyone. GRADE A
O-line: Was a real concern to all of us “untrained eye” campers as our D line dominated them both yesterday and today. Per Gundy, however, he isn’t that concerned for a few reasons. 1. The defense always has a bit of an advantage in early camp because they know all of our plays and calls and 2. Ogbah is a difference maker causing havoc to anyone’s O line and our D is pretty salty. In our final meeting this morning, Gundy said we are better at every single position in the first unit, mostly because of the addition of Salako at LT which allows other guys to slide into their natural positions. The second unit has a far ways to go, so injury avoidance will be key. GRADE Incomplete
DE: We are in GREAT shape here. We know what we have with the 1st unit. All the coaches raved about Brailford’s progress. And Carter, Owens, Brown, Waltersheid and Clark are right on his heels. Gundy said the Redshirt Frosh of this group (Carter Owens, Brailford and Waltersheid) are going to be very good in the future. GRADE A
DT: I spent almost the entire camp focusing on this group, and particularly the true Freshmen. I’m no expert, but I feel way better after watching them and sitting in on the film sessions. It appears to me that of the freshmen, Daniels is ahead of Bakari. Maile, Hughes, Taylor and Davis will be the obvious 2 deep, but I wouldn’t be surprised if either or both of the freshmen will play quite a bit. GRADE B- (but the potential to be upgraded)
LB: Another area of great depth. Two of the starters are obvious in Simmons and Jacobs, but the third (which was obvious after the spring but not so obvious before then) is Burton (beast mode). But the coaches also raved about Averette and Whitener. Mabin, Catlin and Phillips should all contribute. GRADE B+/A-
CB: This are is full of 4 starters. Someone on here last night was suggesting that at least one of them should play regardless of two others ahead of him. Funny, because that’s exactly what happened today. GRADE A
S: We have a lot of bodies and quite a bit of experience here anchored by a true stud in Sterns. I actually think Roberts and Flowers looked good…and probably most surprising was I saw Robertson make some great plays for the first time in 3 years. Strange considering he quit the team and came back, but it looks like he’s actually got a chip on his shoulder and was playing great. GRADE B-
P/K: Gundy raved about the new punter’s (Sinor) ability to i) strategically place the ball where the coverage is targeted and (ii) hang time. I asked him his distances and he said he’s averaging 42-43 yds with 4.5 seconds. The 4.5 seconds is much more important than the yardage. We know what we have in the K position. GRADE A
Special Teams: I didn’t realize this until Gundy said it this morning, but virtually every person on ST’s returns from last year’s team…and that experience is invaluable as in previous years we were teaching technique from the ground zero up and this year they can focus on improvement instead of base learning. GRADE A
