As the Aggie baseball team's season ended in the Super Regionals, it meant that it was time to start looking at football....so I started putting this preview together.
I will start off this season preview as I have almost all of my previous season previews....with a little insight into my background as an Ag football fan. Most of you have heard me say (or read me say) that I didn't follow football at all until I stepped foot onto campus at A&M. The only two non-Westfield HS games (Go Mustangs!) that I had been to were Rice Owls games back when I was in middle school. The only two Aggie Football games I had seen on TV were the '99 texas game and the '99 Alamo Bowl, the last two games of the season my senior year of HS. The '99 t.u. game is what sealed the deal in my collegiate decision process. Even though I've lived in Houston all of my life it was only this past fall that I went to my first NFL game. Friggin' Vince Young beat the Texans.
Despite my non-football background, every subsequent summer I get a stronger itch for Aggie football to start. Right now, as you are sitting reading this, I am more excited about football than I have been for any sort of baseball.
I really loved going to football games my freshman year but it wasn't until after I started working for the athletic department as an attendance checker that I really started getting into it. It was different watching the games in '01 after I knew a portion of the players. Starting to play NCAA Football 2002 on my PS2 also accelerated my interest.
This will be my 8th Aggie football season. I am proud to say that I have missed only two home games since the start of the 2000 season and have road tripped to several away games. I missed the '04 OU game due to a friend's wedding that I was in and the '05 Texas State game thanks to Hurricane Rita. The real kicker is that the guy who was wed on the day of the OU game hasn't even called me once since then.
I need to warn you that while I have become obsessed with Aggie football, I don't know a whole bunch about the Xs & Os of football, nor claim to, but I will give you my best analysis from one Aggie fan's stand point. In other words, I am not a professional scout or a team reporter but I, like thousands of other Aggies, live and die with Aggie football each and every Saturday.
Schedule
Last season we played a horrendously boring schedule with no one on our out of conference (OoC) schedule but this season I am extremely pleased with what Bill Byrne has put together for us. We host Fresno State, who is a name program, and then we go on the road to play The U at the Orange Bowl.I've made an effort the last few years to get out to a game or two away from Kyle Field and last season I peaked out attending 11 of our 13 games. I'm not sure how many of those road games I'll be able to get away for but I'm definitely going to the Miami game (flight has been booked for 2 months) and I'm going to road trip with my brother up to Lincoln for the Nebraska game. That'll give me 9 of our 12 regular season games, which isn't too shabby.
2007 Fightin' Texas Aggie Schedule Date Opponent Time TV ================================== 09/01 Montana State 6:00pm - 09/08 Fresno State 2:30pm FSN 09/15 La-Monroe 6:00pm - 09/20 @Miami (FL) 6:45pm ESPN 09/29 Baylor 6:00pm - 10/06 Oklahoma State 1:00pm - 10/13 @texas tech TBA - 10/20 @Nebraska TBA - 10/27 Kansas 1:00pm - 11/03 @Oklahoma TBA - 11/10 @Missouri TBA - 11/23 texas 2:30pm ABCEvery other season we are hung with an incredibly rough conference schedule. This season we're @tech, @Nebraska, @OU, @Mizzou and we get texas at home. We play only 2 home games after October 6th including 4 road games over a 5 week span (with KU squeezed in-between somewhere).
Conference Record Under Fran Odd Years Even Years ========= ========== 2003 2-6 2004 5-3 2005 3-5 2006 5-3 --------- --------- 5-11 10-6Rivals.com has our schedule ranked as the 25th toughest while Phil Steele has it ranked as the 10th toughest.
I think the Miami game will be the key to the season. It has the potential to give us a huge boost going into conference play. It is a Thursday night game following a Saturday game which gives us a very short week to prepare for such a big game. I don't like the way that was scheduled one bit. I started working on Jennifer at the beginning of last season and have prevailed....we're going to Miami for the game.
One thing that really
surprisedblew my mind last season was our road record. In Fran's first 3 seasons we sucked on the road going 3-13 and all of a sudden we go 5-1 last year.Away From Kyle Field: 2003: 0-5 (0-4 Big 12) 2004: 2-4 (2-2) 2005: 1-4 (1-3) --------------- 2006: 5-1 (4-0)Our road record this season will be even more critical than it was last season, because our road schedule holds 5/6th of our big games.
I wanted to put this in writing up front, I think we're going to beat tech in lubbock this season. I just have a feeling. We'll have to wait and see.
Coach Fran
FranFran took a lot of heat off of himself last season and then put a little bit back on after we got blown out against Cal in the Holiday Bowl.
I've said in the past that I was going to give Fran through 2006 before I'll make a decision on him. I felt it was fair to let him get his first recruiting class through the system. My requirements were as follow:
We went 9-4. We won those first 4 games and also beat texas. We lost to texas tech, Nebraska, & OU by a total of 6 points. We were a 3rd-&-2 away from winning the Big 12 South. On that same note we only beat Army, KU, & OkSt by a total of 8 points.This season I'm expecting at least 8 wins. That is what it is going to take for me and even then it's going to depend on how we looked (I'm tired of blowouts). If we lose to Baylor, or any of the first 4 games I might be out before the season is over. I don't know how I would feel if we lost to one of those five but beat texas or OU. That too would probably depend on how I felt we played. If we go 8-5 I'll take the same approach into next season raising the bar a little.The only blowout of the season was the worst game we could have been blown out in....our bowl game. We had such tremendous momentum going into the game being 9-3 with a win in Austin and then all off-season we have to try and get over a 35 point blowout. It completely overshadowed the steps we had taken in the right direction.
This season I'm looking for a 10 win season. I know that our schedule is much more difficult than it was last season but I truly think that this is the best team, talent-wise, that we've put together since I started school.
Offense
We've had some really impressive offenses the last three seasons but this season has the potential to be one of our strongest.Rush-O Pass-O Tot-O Scor-O ==================================== 2004 167 261 428 28.4 2005 235 207 442 32.0 2006 207 191 397 27.8
TEAM STATISTICS TA ---------------------------------------------- SCORING....................... 362 Points Per Game............. 27.8 (34) RUSHING YARDAGE............... 2689 Average Per Game............ 206.8 (8) TDs Rushing................. 32 PASSING YARDAGE............... 2477 Average Per Game............ 190.5 (72) TDs Passing................. 13 TOTAL OFFENSE................. 5166 Average Per Game............ 397.4 (18) TURNOVERS..................... 13 Fumbles/Lost................ 15/9 Interceptions............... 4 SCORE BY QUARTERS 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Total -------------------- --- --- --- --- ----- --- Texas A&M........... 84 101 79 91 7 - 362We were a strong running team last year and I look for that to continue.
Here is a look at last season's touches. I lined out the guys who are not returning:
CIT ULL ARMY LaT tt KU MU OSU BU OU NEB tu Cal ============================================================================= C.Alexander - 0/1 - 1/2 4/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 4/1 0/1 2/2 - 3/0 M.Bennett 0/3 0/5 0/1 0/3 0/1 0/6 0/2 0/2 0/5 0/1 0/6 0/1 0/1 P.Brown 0/2 0/2 - 0/2 0/1 - 0/2 0/1 1/0 1/0 0/2 - 1/0 K.Franks - 0/1 0/1 0/2 - 0/1 3/0 - - - 0/2 1/0 - M.Goodson 5/0 8/1 9/1 6/2 6/1 8/0 15/3 13/1 8/0 10/3 11/2 15/1 13/2 J.Lane 7/0 12/1 24/0 9/0 12/0 10/1 28/0 10/1 12/1 13/0 6/0 16/1 7/2C.Lewis 13/2 0/2 - - 13/0 12/0 - 8/0 5/0 2/0 - - 1/0S.McGee 8/0 7/0 11/0 8/0 11/0 - 8/1 17/0 17/0 13/0 8/0 18/0 8/0 H.Morrow - - 0/1 1/1 0/1 - - - 0/2 - - - 0/2L.Riley 0/1 0/3 - 0/4 0/2 0/3 0/3 - - - 0/2 0/1 0/4 C.Schroeder 0/6 0/3 0/3 0/2 0/2 0/5 0/3 0/6 0/1 1/3 0/2 1/1 1/2E.Taylor - - - 0/1 - 0/7 0/1 0/3 0/1 - 0/1 0/2 0/3 J.Thomas 0/2 0/3 - - - 0/1 - 0/2 0/1 - - - 0/1 Others 3/0 8/1 - 9/2 1/0 - - - - - - - 4/1 (rushes/receptions)Really, the problem with the offense is that we don't get enough snaps to get the ball to everyone that I'd like us to get it to. Jorvorskie is a beast when he carries the ball 20+ times (and we're 4-0 in his career) but Goodson is going to need at least 10-14 carries. That puts us at 34 snaps. McGee averaged over 10 rushes per game last year so now we're at 45 snaps. That is just keeping the ball on the ground. Wait, Chris Alexander, this season's All-Big 12 FB to-be, will get at least 2 carries per game....make it 47 snaps. We led the nation in time of possession and we ended up averaging only 67 snaps per game last year. Apparently we're going to throw the ball more this year than we did last year so those snaps have to come from somewhere.
Quarterbacks
7 S.McGee 6'3" 208 Jr-2L 1 J.Johnson 6'6" 223 Fr-RS 18 T.Sanders 6'3" 206 Sr-SQ 19 R.Tannehill 6'4" 210 Fr-HS
Stephen McGeeAfter last season was over I went through and did a Season Wrap-Up and I really went through and examined McGee's season.
He was a huge part of our success last season but our complete lack of a vertical passing game did not thrill me. We completed 3 long passes in our last 9 games. As it turns out, McGee was playing with a tear in his triceps muscle in his throwing arm.
I'm still slightly concerned because we don't have a true feel for what McGee can do throwing the ball. He threw for a very high completion percentage last season but when you're throwing 3-8 yard passes all day long it kind of skews that statistic. McGee also led the nation in INT percentage allowing only 2 INTs in however many passes he attempted. He did what was asked of him, which was control the ball, and don't turn it over. He helped our defense out tremendously.
Fran said during the spring that they've worked a lot on McGee's 2nd progressions which is something else that I liked to see. There were times last season when he looked at one guy and then ran or threw the ball away.
I was reading an article on Stephen over at MSNBC.com and it mentioned using backup Jerrod Johnson in a role similar to what Tim Tebow did at Florida last season.
Is that news to anyone else? I've read up on about as much Aggie football as possible this off-season and that is the only mention of that I've seen.Franchione wants the offense to become more diverse. The passing game will expand to include intermediate and deep throws, and the staff has added a new wrinkle to the scheme: Redshirt freshman quarterback Jerrod Johnson, a Vince Young clone at 6-6, 225, will have a Tebow-like role in the offense."If I know Stephen," Franchione says, "he's not going to want to come out."
I still think that McGee will put it all together. His leadership and will to win is second to none and if he can stay healthy I think the passing game will come around. He is on the verge of becoming an Aggie legend.
Running Backs
3 M.Goodson 6'0" 192 So-1L 11 J.Lane 6'0" 274 Jr-2L 22 L.Cooper 6'0" 217 Fr-RS 23 C.Tarrant 6'0" 192 Fr-RS 24 C.Alexander 5'11" 242 Sr-3L 26 K.Smith 5'9" 214 So-SQ
Thunder & LightingThis is the strength of our squad. We can run the football on anybody we face off against. Don't believe me? Check out last year's texas game where we ran for 244 yards against the #1 rush defense in the country.
G Att-Yds Avg TD Avg/G ==================================== M.Goodson... 13 127-847 6.7 4 65.2 J.Lane...... 13 166-725 4.4 19 55.8 S.McGee..... 13 146-666 4.6 4 51.2 C.Alexander. 13 14-76 5.4 1 5.8 K.Smith..... 8 9-48 5.3 0 6.0Jorvorskie Lane tied the school record with 19 touchdowns, and could have very easily had more but Fran inexplicably stopped giving him the ball in the red zone in the last few games. I've documented it about a dozen times but here are his numbers on 3rd & 4th down:
Jorvorskie Lane 3rd & 4th Down Carries ====================== Attempts 29 First Downs 22 Touch Downs 6 ---------------------- Totals 27/29 (93%)His two missed conversions both came in the Army game, one on a 3rd & 7 where he picked up 6 yards and the other came when a defender came through completely unblocked. He converted every time he touched the ball in our last 10 games, including all 8 of our Big 12 games (15-of-15 in Big 12 play).
There has been all sorts of media attention put on J-Train's weight. After weighing in at 282 in the Holiday Bowl (getting lots of scrutiny) he is listed at 268 lbs after lots of work this summer. I, for one, don't care what his weight is unless it was part of the reason why Fran was keeping him off the field last year. Regardless, J-Train has ballerina feet attached to a wrecking ball body.
Mike Goodson had the 3rd most productive freshman campaign in school history picking up 847 yards and 4 TDs on 127 yards (6.7 ypc). He started the season slowly but adjusted well as conference play started, as he finished 1st in Big 12 play in ypc. In our last 8 games he ran for 665 yards and all 4 of TDs on only 93 carries (7.15 ypc). That included our 4 game stretch against OU, Nebraska, texas, & Cal. He sealed the deal in both the Baylor and texas games with flash-type speed TD runs. When I watch that run against Baylor, I still can't believe the clip isn't being played in fast forward.
Chris Alexander Highlights (audio NWS)
The big unsung hero of the backfield is Chris Alexander who is continually robbed by the media in any and all awards and recognition. He only had one rushing TD but he had three more on receptions. He can catch the ball and he is a great blocker....and 5.4 ypc doesn't hurt either. Alexander is the most underrated player in the Big 12 and I would take him head to head against any other fullback in the nation.
Other names you'll hear will be sophomore Keondra Smith and RS-F Cornell Tarrant. Both had outstanding M&W Games back in April. Fran has been particularly high on Smith this summer, and I remember similar comments last season before his freshman year. I'd like to see true freshman true freshman Bradley Stephens take a redshirt.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
2 E.Taylor 6'3" 231 Sr-3L 4 J.McCoy 6'3" 227 So-SQ 5 H.Morrow 6'0" 208 Jr-2L 6 P.Brown 6'2" 193 Jr-2L 8 K.Franks 5'11" 192 Sr-3L 9 E.Shankle 5'11" 179 So-1L 13 M.Bennett 6'7" 255 Jr-2L TE 81 J.Thomas 6'5" 251 Sr-3L TE 87 C.Caflisch 6'2" 196 Fr-RS 88 C.Beyer 6'1" 182 So-SQ
Tellus, 1/2 of the Legion of DoomI'm not sure we're quite as deep at WR as we have been in the last couple of years but I think we have a good nucleus of guys to catch the ball.
We've lost Chad Schroeder and L'Tydric Riley from last year but return the rest of the guys.
No Yds TD ======================== 13 M.Bennett 38 497 3 2 E.Taylor 19 160 0 3 M.Goodson 17 113 0 6 P.Brown 12 104 0 24 C.Alexander 11 78 3 8 K.Franks 10 265 1 81 J.Thomas 10 158 2 11 J.Lane 7 82 0 5 H.Morrow 7 82 0Our two TEs and our FB return as the top 3 TD catchers. That makes 1 true wide out returning with a TD under his belt. Can you tell we don't throw the ball much?
Earvin Taylor is a solid receiver with good hands and Kerry Franks has some quicks. I'm not too sure how I feel about Pierre Brown....when I think of him I don't instantly think of any big plays from last season.
Unless Fran is really putting forth an effort to get himself fired, Martellus Bennett is going to be a big target for us. He is one of the elite TEs in the country. Fran has said that he thinks that it is Franks's time to become our go-to WR, which fits perfectly with his track record of having almost exclusively senior go-to guys. I'm not completely sold on Franks in that role. From what we've seen over the last two seasons is that he is good for the long ball but his hands haven't been sticky enough to be a big target in the intermediate/short passing game.
I think that E.J. Shankle (and his 4.31 40-time) is still a year away from Fran getting him significant touches but my boy, Howard Morrow, will be big. He is as tough as any and hasn't shown any problem getting hit, which is big. We can throw to him over the middle of the field and he is fast enough to hit a seam and take it up field for some chunks of yardage.
I've campaigned for Howard Morrow to get touches since his freshman season. He has been our highest recruited WR out of HS since Fran got here and we have essentially wasted half of his career as his eligibility continues to tick away.
I am convinced that he can be a star playmaker. If he doesn't become a factor in the offense this season I will be furious and you'll be able to read my fury right here on this site.
Offensive Line
2-Deep (as of 4/7/07) OT 71 Y.Babaloa 6'4" 308 Jr-2L 75 T.Schneider 6'8" 297 Jr-2L OG 64 K.Elder 6'5" 307 Sr-3L 74 L.Grimes 6'6" 325 So-SQ C 70 C.Wallace 6'4" 294 Sr-2L 63 K.Matthews 6'4" 302 So-SQ SG 51 C.Yoder 6'3" 303 Sr-3L 76 M.Shumard 6'5" 307 So-1L ST 54 C.Clark 6'6" 309 Sr-3L 79 R.Frost 6'6" 305 So-SQ
Yoder, Clark, Wallace, Elder (L to R)I don't know enough about the X's & O's to be able to speak about the Oline intelligently. I do know that each year since Fran's arrival they have become better and better. We returned 4 of our 5 starters last year and this year we do the same with only Grant Dickey not returning return.
Starters G/GS ================== Y.Babaloa JR 20/15 K.Elder SR 36/35 C.Wallace SR 29/24 C.Yoder SR 29/12 C.Clark SR 28/24Elder, Wallace, & Clark have started the last 24 games together.
Kevin Matthews, our 2nd string center, is the son of Bruce Matthews the HOF Houston Oiler lineman so based on his pedigree we should be in pretty good shape after Cody Wallace, an Outland Trophy candidate, leaves.
One thing about college football is that there is very little research data and information out there for us. You always hear about how important it is to have 4th & 5th year seniors on your O-Line so I thought it would be interesting to see how all the BCS team's O-Lines were built from the last few years. Of course I couldn't find all of the rosters of starters from years past. It would be interesting to see though.
TAMABINPO's 2005 Aggie Football Preview Part II
We're Back with Part II....
Special Teams
Justin Brantly & Me at M&W Autograph SessionI'll start with my boy, Justin Brantly. Justin turned in yet another stellar season punting last year. His 44.3 ypp was third best in school history behind Lechler's sophomore and senior seasons. After just two seasons Justin currently sits less than 1 yard shy of Lechler's career punting record of 44.7 at 43.8 yards per punt. There is no question in my mind that we will be in excellent shape in the punting game.
The kicking game, however, is not quite as proven as our punting. We are returning both Richie Bean and Matt Szymanski (also the backup punter) and they're both still battling it out for the official spot. Szymanski lost the starting slot to senior Layne Neumann after a rough start but regained it over the break before the bowl game.
Justin Brantly will hold for Bean while reserve QB, T.J. Sanders, will hold for Szymanski. Brantly played some QB in high school meaning that both of our holders have the ability to throw the ball, something that I’d like to see Fran take advantage of, as he has done in the past.
Bean, a junior, has yet to attempt a FG for us in a game so here are Szymanski's numbers from last season:
FGM-FGA Pct 01-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-99 Lg Blk ------------------------------------------------------- 2006 2-5 40.0 0-0 0-0 2-4 0-1 0-0 35 1While Szymanski did struggle kicking field goals he was 13-of-13 on PATs and did well handling the kickoff duties. Bean was solid kicking off in '05 but didn't have any attempts in '06.
Kickoffs No. TB OB ========================= Szymanski '06 69 25 1 Bean '05 41 19 2The NCAA changed the rule for kick-offs this season scooting the kicking team back 5 yards. This will make for fewer touchbacks and more big plays by the return team because the kicking team will have 5 yards further to run before getting to the returner. Starting field position will become a big factor.
That same rule will help our return game, which was excellent last season. Kerry Franks was outstanding handling our kick returns last season as he finished 1st in the conference averaging 27.7 yards per return on 16 chances with a TD. We need our second returner to also have a good season, as Pierre Brown did last year (24.8 ypr) or else we'll see the same thing we saw in '04 with Terrence Murphy who was coming off of one of the best return seasons in school history the year before....he didn't get kicked to. That other returner will not be Mike Goodson, who Fran struck from the running last week after Goodson spoke to him about it.
RET YDS AVG (rnk) ======================================== Punt Returning '06.. 22 175 7.95 (72) '05.. 15 136 9.07 (60) '04.. 21 135 6.43 (97) '03.. 34 195 5.70 (110) Kick Returning '06.. 25 652 26.10 (3) '05.. 32 561 17.53 (109) '04.. 31 486 15.68 (116) '03.. 41 980 23.90 (10)We'll have a new punt returner back there this year as Chad Schroeder has graduated. There are a ton of guys working back there including Jordan Peterson. I don't know who we'll see when the season starts.
Defense
Hiring Gary Darnell and the rest of the defensive coaching staff paid off big time for Fran last season. The improvements in almost all of our defensive categories from 2005 to 2006 were staggering. I've shown these numbers a couple of times before but they're worth showing again:
RushD PassD TotalD ScoreD ======================================================== 2003 225.1 (112)* 206.42 (40) 431.50 (96)* 38.8 (115)+ 2004 142.5 (55) 244.25 (93)* 386.75 (63)* 23.3 (47) 2005 139.2 (38) 304.64 (117)+ 443.82 (108)+ 31.2 (96)* -------------------------------------------------------------- 2006 132.1 (44) 190.54 (44) 322.62 (46) 20.5 (44) *Indicates that at the time it was one of the three worst seasons in modern Aggie history (post-1950) +Indicates the single worst season in modern Aggie history INT FF Sacks 3DC 2003 6 16 19 44% 2004 13 16 28 44% 2005 12 14 26 48% ---------------------- 2006 11 11 20 29%Getting off of the field on 3rd down saved us so many points. Clearly we're not the late-80s/early-90s Wrecking Crew but we improved by leaps and bounds from the previous season.
From last season's squad we are losing only 3 starters, LBer Justin Warren, DL Marques Thornton, & SS Melvin Bullitt. We are filling their shoes with fast, strong, & exciting players. We now have 3 defensive backs that run sub-4.4 40 yard dashes (Danny Gorrer Jr-4.28, Chevar Bryson So-4.28, Jordan Peterson So-4.37). When was the last time we could say that about the defensive side of the ball?
One thing that I was glad to read was that we're going to blitz more this season now that the players have had a season to adjust to the 4-2-5.
2006 TEAM STATISTICS OPP ------------------------------------------- SCORING....................... 267 Points Per Game............. 20.5 Avg (Rnk) RUSHING YARDAGE............... 1717 ================== Average Per Game............ 132.1 Tot D 443.8 (107) TDs Rushing................. 20 Pass D 304.6 (117) PASSING YARDAGE............... 2477 Rush D 139.2 (43) Average Per Game............ 190.5 Scor D 31.2 (94) TDs Passing................. 14 TOTAL OFFENSE................. 4194 Average Per Game............ 322.6 TURNOVERS..................... 15 Fumbles/Rec................. 19/11 Interceptions............... 11 SCORE BY QUARTERS 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Total -------------------- --- --- --- --- --- --- Opponents........... 82 69 62 48 6 267
Defensive Line
11 M.Bennett 6'4" 265 Jr-2L 85 R.Bryant 6'5" 322 Sr-3L 93 P.Freeney 6'3" 240 So-SQ 86 A.Gbunblee 6'5" 252 Jr-2L 92 C.Harrington 6'5" 268 Sr-3L 91 K.Heard 6'6" 331 So-1L 10 V.Miller 6'3" 220 Fr-HS 49 C.Obiozor 6'5" 266 Jr-2L 84 C.Smith 6'4" 270 Jr-1L 95 H.Smith 6'3" 315 Sr-1L
Mike BennettD-Line is going to be stout. One thing that Fran has focused on since he got here was shoring up both the offensive and defensive lines and I think this year he has them about where he wants them. Chris Harrington was our best player last season at DE, in part because Red Bryant was hurt a good portion of the season but also because he blossomed in his junior year. Opposite Harrington on the line Cyril Obiozor & Michael Bennett split time last season. I think that Michael Bennett will be an All-Big 12 DE before he graduates but Obiozor played quite well last season as well. Both are juniors so I imagine we'll bookend them both after Harrington leaves. In the middle we have seniors Red Bryant & Henry Smith backed up by Kellen Heard & Chris Smith.
When you see good football programs they are chalked full of upperclassmen on the lines and as you can see, we're at that point now. Here are our starters as of the Post-Spring Depth Chart.
G/GS ======================== C.Harrington SR 36/24 R.Bryant SR 32/30 H.Smith SR 0/14 Obiozor/Bennent JR 3/24-4/24Another player that I'm looking forward to is sophomore, Paul Freeney. He might not get much P.T. this season but I have a good feeling about him in '08.
Linebackers
Mark DodgeJustin Warren graduated but we're bringing back everyone else. For whatever reason, Warren never got the appreciation from the fans that he should have. He came in with lofty expectation and left with 37 starts in 4 seasons with back-to-back 1st team All-Big 12 selections while leading the team in tackles his junior and senior seasons. I'm going to miss the guy.
Misi Tupe (with a hair cut) and Mark Dodge return as our most experienced linebackers. Tupe plays with a complete disregard for his body and launches himself around the field. Dodge, my brother's favorite player, really came into his own at the end of the season with a 17 tackle game against Nebraska, a huge game against texas with a monster 4th-down stop and the game winning INT, and an 8 tackle performance against Cal.
Also expecting some significant time on the field are sophomores, Anthony Lewis and Matt Featherstone. The two couldn't have arrived in any different fashion. Lewis came in as a very highly recruited LBer, ranked #8 in the nation by Rivals.com. Featherson, from a small town in NY state, was discovered in an All-Star game and was entertaining offers from schools like Bowling Green, Kent, & Ohio.
Fran still has not decided what to do with true freshman Derrick Stephens. He said that if he will help the team in 2007 then he will not redshirt. That's cool with me.
Defensive Backs
The corner backs are still fighting for the starting spots. Fran said that if the season started last week it would be Danny Gorrer and Jordan Peterson in our starting lineup but Marquis Carpenter and Arkeith Brown are pushing for a spot.At free safety, my boy, Devin Gregg returns as our top returning tackler. Junior Alton Dixon is expected to start at strong safety while sophomore Jordan Pugh is slated to start at WHIP.
Fran said that we should expect to see lots of rotation with Chevar Bryson (SS), Stephen Hodge, Kenny Brown (WHIP), Johnathan Batson and maybe even true freshman, Billy Chavis (SS).
Two players that we lost from last season somewhat unexpectedly are Brock Newton and Japhus Brown. Japhus didn't make his grades and Brock, who was suspended indefinitely in the spring, was permanently dismissed. Both would have been seniors this season.
Later This Week
- FRIDAY - Montana State Preview
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