Of course, there are many but maybe the most important one was discussed way back in the summer: DEPTH
Our depth this season has been phenomenal. First we lost a starting DT before the season started. Most years we would struggle just to find someone serviceable. This year, the replacement has been Big 12 caliber. We have also lost both of our starting CB's for games and parts of games. Once again, no drop off. Then down goes our starting MLB. Not just a starter but the QB of the defense. Next man up-Chad Whitner. Wow! What a replacement. Then right before we play the No 6 team in the country bringing in their Heisman trophy candidate QB, we lose a 2 year starting DE who was 4th in the conference in sacks. We end up using a quality veteran and 2 newcomers to make a veteran QB look like a rookie. We have also had injuries to the weak side LB(hand) and dings to several others. No problem.
The offensive side has not had as much attrition but we have lost 2 former starting WR's for games and parts of games. We have had to go deep into our RB depth to find a serviceable RB(who would have thought we would be to our 4th string walk on RB for TCU)? We have used our extremely unique QB depth to create almost unstoppable situations for opponents. It is no surprise that our weakest position group-OL- is also our weakest position for depth.
Our depth has also been seen on ST as we have occasionally used starters in certain situations knowing that we could rest them on the next series.
In previous years, the losses I described above would be a recipe for 2 or 3 losses sometimes cascading(like last year) into something worse. Not this year. We just keep winning. A big thanks to the players for buying in and being ready when called to do your roll. And to the coaches for having these players ready to go. We have not seen a drop off in quality. We have not seen stupid penalties. We have not had to call a bunch of unnecessary time outs. Play has been almost seamless.
One other shout out for the coaching staff. We are all well aware of recruiting misses over the last several year. I feel a huge part of that has been to the huge turnover we have had on the coaching staff. But through it all, our coaches have been fantastic in finding that unique, quality transfer that has come in and made a huge contribution almost immediately Patmon, Furman, Hunter, and even Salako have filled holes that could have caused major problems. This takes a lot of homework.
Our depth this season has been phenomenal. First we lost a starting DT before the season started. Most years we would struggle just to find someone serviceable. This year, the replacement has been Big 12 caliber. We have also lost both of our starting CB's for games and parts of games. Once again, no drop off. Then down goes our starting MLB. Not just a starter but the QB of the defense. Next man up-Chad Whitner. Wow! What a replacement. Then right before we play the No 6 team in the country bringing in their Heisman trophy candidate QB, we lose a 2 year starting DE who was 4th in the conference in sacks. We end up using a quality veteran and 2 newcomers to make a veteran QB look like a rookie. We have also had injuries to the weak side LB(hand) and dings to several others. No problem.
The offensive side has not had as much attrition but we have lost 2 former starting WR's for games and parts of games. We have had to go deep into our RB depth to find a serviceable RB(who would have thought we would be to our 4th string walk on RB for TCU)? We have used our extremely unique QB depth to create almost unstoppable situations for opponents. It is no surprise that our weakest position group-OL- is also our weakest position for depth.
Our depth has also been seen on ST as we have occasionally used starters in certain situations knowing that we could rest them on the next series.
In previous years, the losses I described above would be a recipe for 2 or 3 losses sometimes cascading(like last year) into something worse. Not this year. We just keep winning. A big thanks to the players for buying in and being ready when called to do your roll. And to the coaches for having these players ready to go. We have not seen a drop off in quality. We have not seen stupid penalties. We have not had to call a bunch of unnecessary time outs. Play has been almost seamless.
One other shout out for the coaching staff. We are all well aware of recruiting misses over the last several year. I feel a huge part of that has been to the huge turnover we have had on the coaching staff. But through it all, our coaches have been fantastic in finding that unique, quality transfer that has come in and made a huge contribution almost immediately Patmon, Furman, Hunter, and even Salako have filled holes that could have caused major problems. This takes a lot of homework.
