Jump to content
SiouxSports.com Forum

Pre Spring 2013 Team Outlook


geaux_sioux

Recommended Posts

This season was a failure. The goal of any offense is to outscore the opponent which they did not on the season and in most games. The goal of the defense is to not allow an opponent to score more than you which obviously was a massive failure this year. Neither of them did their fundamental jobs this year. Both sides of the ball have huge weaknesses that need to be fixed in order to be a legit program and make the playoffs every year. I will outline each position group for the 2013 outlook and what they need to improve on and what they should bring to the table next season.

-OLine

Key losses, Lynch McGurran

Key replacements, Windfelt Hoerchner Hellman

Possible starters Windfelt (So 6-6 296) Anderson (So 6-6 293) Walker (Jr 6-2 314) Kleason (Sr 6-4 291) Denui (Sr 6-8 304)

Outlook, Kleason ended the season playing left tackle and playing very well. I wouldn't be shocked if he played OG or OT because he's a fantastic run blocking guard but also proved more than proficient at LT late this year.

Walker will most likely replace McGurran, he's twice the athlete McGurran is and is more powerful, we'll see if he can close the gap on the scheme side of things. If he does he could be a great C.

Anderson has HUGE upside, we're talking a taller Kuper type of upside. If he dedicates himself to being a lean mobile beast like Kuper then we may have ourselves an All American type guard for the next three years.

Windfelt was very highly recruited out of high school and also has loads of upside. He looks to be a bit sloppy still and will need to trim down alot and get quicker and stronger this winter. He could end up being the key to the OLine next year since the other starters will have plenty of experience.

Denui is obviously a very tall young man, he is also very agile for his size. He needs to get alot bigger and alot stronger this year. With his frame he should be able to dominate players and seal off his side of the line in pass protection and plow in the run game.

Hoerchner has come a long way since last year when he got thrown around in his limited playing time. He matured nicely in the off season and could be a very valuable backup and will at the very least push the starters. He needs to continue to develop and get stronger and bigger.

Hellman looks alot like McGurran at C. He's got nice size at 6-5 302lbs but needs to trim down and gain more muscle and strength to get more mobile and powerful. He should push walker at the C position and could even end up allowing Walker to move to OG to add depth.

Meehan is a big boy at 6-6 306lbs but looks very sloppy. He needs to slim down and then bulk up this summer and get bigger all over. He is another one of the highly recruited guys from the 2011 recruiting class and needs to live up to his potential by putting in the work this winter.

Next Up: RB/FB/TE

What about Darren Peterson #73? Where does he look to fit in the mix for next season??
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What about Darren Peterson #73? Where does he look to fit in the mix for next season??

Unless something groundbreaking happens with him he's too stiff and slow to do much of anything. Maybe he's taking up yoga or something like that to address it but last time I saw him he was stiff as a board. He is massive though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with robertson and sparks on offense.

Defense. I believe line and LB will be better and make some stops on run. Opening some 3rd and long. So my long shot pick. Is reyes. Shirt pulled and rookie of the year in the big sky. Hell he should started for us last year. Nose for the ball and loves to hit. He will be a interception machine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe it should just be who do you think will make an impact next year that didn't last year. I've realized there are too many options.

Defense. Edwards obviously. Labat. Reyes. Dwayne Brown. Carrothers.

Offense. JJ Robertson. Sparks. Shea Walker at center. A tight end, Grant? Adler at fb unless he's moved to te.

I honestly think we could have 3 wrs with at least 750 yards next season. I'm expecting big things from the offense and for a defensive renaissance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm going Spencer Cummings on defense and Ivery at DB. I think he may not be an every down guy but he's athletic enough that we may be able to throw him in there and play man on the other teams number 1 or 2 WR. He may even surprise enough and climb the chart this offseason. Everyone knows DB is wide open.

On offense, Robertson is the obvious choice, Kevin Bayer at FB and our entire OL in the run game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't see Robertson having a major impact this year like most people assume he will. This isn't a Braden Hanson situation where he came in with 4 years of college experience and will instantly be our best guy at his position. The kid is going to be a freshman and we already have an extremely talented group of guys ahead of him. We put up numbers in the passing game last year that we've never seen at UND and none of the guys catching all those balls are leaving. He's not going to take snaps away from Hardin. He's a completely different different player than both Jackson and Golloday and likely won't take any of their snaps either. That's 60% of our receptions last year out of only 3 guys. The only guy I can see him taking snaps from is RJ and he's gonna have to be one hell of a special player if he's gonna take a year off from playing football after high school and take snaps from a 5th year senior. For a breakout guy on the offensive side of the ball I'm looking for a re-breakout from Jake Miller. Outside of the Mines game last year he was pretty much a non-factor. I think if the coaches stop trying to run him between the tackles and behind a fullback and start getting him the ball on the outside of the field where he can use his speed he'll get back to being a home-run kind of guy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm gonna submit the names of a couple guys who will be upper classmen: Jake Miller & Ben Peters

I think Miller looked too good as a freshman and sophomore to have two seasons as a non-factor. He did average nearly 6 yards per carry last season. Better play calling and improved line play can help him. Even get him the ball as a reciever, he's just so quick.

Peters was sure and steady last season. He should only get better over the next two seasons.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jake Miller won't do anything against top teams (see Montana State and Eastern Washington). He's a track star trying to play D1 football. If the running game is going to get going, PJ Sparks or Patrick Sharp will have to breakout.

JJ Robertson is faster, stronger, and more talented than RJ McGill. I could see McGill playing more due to seniority, but since McGill is coming off an injury, I really wouldn't be surprised if Robertson completely takes over McGill's slot position.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Miller had a ho-hum season as far as I'm concerned in 2012. He's the type of back that is going to have alot of 2 yard carries, but you never know when he is going to bust one for 30 yards or more.

Jake Miller won't do anything against top teams (see Montana State and Eastern Washington).

He was averaging nearly 6 yds a carry against Eastern, but that game got out of hand in a hurry so there wasn't alot of handoffs going on after the 1st quarter.

He had excellent games against Sac St. and SUU. In 2011, he completely ripped apart Fresno St. and Southern Utah, and did very well against FBS Idaho as a freshman.

I just expect he'll have a better year in 2013.

I would like to see Sparks get an opportunity this year though. That kid is built like brick shithouse.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Miller had a ho-hum season as far as I'm concerned in 2012. He's the type of back that is going to have alot of 2 yard carries, but you never know when he is going to bust one for 30 yards or more.

He was averaging nearly 6 yds a carry against Eastern, but that game got out of hand in a hurry so there wasn't alot of handoffs going on after the 1st quarter.

He had excellent games against Sac St. and SUU. In 2011, he completely ripped apart Fresno St. and Southern Utah, and did very well against FBS Idaho as a freshman.

I just expect he'll have a better year in 2013.

I would like to see Sparks get an opportunity this year though. That kid is built like brick shithouse.

He's not a feature back though. It worked against a soft schedule but last year it was really clear that he's a specialist and more of a third down back besides the fact that he struggles to pick up the blitz. That's why Sparks needs to start ASAP and Jer and Jake can compliment him with their open field abilities. Those two between the tackles is bad news unless you can get them to the second level untouched.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He's not a feature back though. It worked against a soft schedule but last year it was really clear that he's a specialist and more of a third down back besides the fact that he struggles to pick up the blitz. That's why Sparks needs to start ASAP and Jer and Jake can compliment him with their open field abilities. Those two between the tackles is bad news unless you can get them to the second level untouched.

This doesn't make any sense, if Sparks is this great back why didn't he play last year (or so little playing time)?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This doesn't make any sense, if Sparks is this great back why didn't he play last year (or so little playing time)?

I think alot of us wonder the same thing. Maybe just because there was a healthy and experienced senior, junior, and sophomore ahead of him on the depth chart.

Nobody really knows how talented Sparks may or may not be because he only played once against non DI team. He just looks to have a totally different build and skill set than any other back on the roster right now, so fans are intrigued by his potential.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This doesn't make any sense, if Sparks is this great back why didn't he play last year (or so little playing time)?

Stuck behind a senior who had a pretty good year. The reason we're all excited about Sparks this year is because he was a guy we were universally excited about when he signed and is no longer blocked on the depth chart. The fact that he didn't get any playing time last year even in mop up duty is a bit concerning to me but it's not as if there was another underclassman getting reps ahead of him, Muss just stuck with the starters for whatever reason. Sparks kicks the !@#$ out of the eye test and, let's be honest, this is a fan message board where everyone falls in love with the next big thing. I realistically think PJ can step in and do exactly what Sutton did last year but it's easy to gush over the upside.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stuck behind a senior who had a pretty good year. The reason we're all excited about Sparks this year is because he was a guy we were universally excited about when he signed and is no longer blocked on the depth chart. The fact that he didn't get any playing time last year even in mop up duty is a bit concerning to me but it's not as if there was another underclassman getting reps ahead of him, Muss just stuck with the starters for whatever reason. Sparks kicks the !@#$ out of the eye test and, let's be honest, this is a fan message board where everyone falls in love with the next big thing. I realistically think PJ can step in and do exactly what Sutton did last year but it's easy to gush over the upside.

Sparks could probably beat Sutton in a race if he ran backwards. The only similarity is power. Mitch was big and strong but not explosive when he broke tackles he just ran into people instead of blowing them up. I think Sparks has more of the explosive pop when meeting a defender. The end result will be he will break more tackles plus he has better vision and speed.

He has good measurables but the best thing he has to offer is his work ethic which is second to none. He will bring a major chip on his shoulder into spring ball and I expect him to flip the depth chart on its head and get major reps at least next season.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only game action Sparks saw last season was mop-up duty against SDSMT, but I'd say he looked the best out of all of our RBs in that game. His first career carry went for 45 yards!

Miller had 178 yards that game but he broke a couple long ones with the first unit; Sparks was with the 2nd and 3rd team. I feel Sparks is our best all-around back right now heading into spring ball.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...