How Far Away Is The Roster?

[keith]

34 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

I think you're allowing the stains from an overall stagnant offense to corrupt your view of the OL.   Some of those guys (including Mose) are very good players.
We were all saying the same things about McCarney's players when he was canned, and Littrell was able to get a lot out of those guys early on.  Watch what happens when new life is breathed into the offense.

I'm not sure what defines a stagnant offense, but we were able to move the ball (474 total yards) against UNLV.  Red zone offense was bad and we left a lot of points on the table, but I think most of that is on poor play-calling.  

Our defense, on the other hand, was gashed for 365 yards on the ground.  Not going to win many games when the other team is able to run at will on us.

[TheReal_jayD]

4 hours ago, meangreenbob said:

We are always young and undersized. We are told that every year. 

one of my biggest gripes with Seth. With the Covid year and how over 90% of roster still has eligibility left. I have felt for several year they should have been going heavy on grad transfer with playing experience as opposed to worrying about guys with multi year eligibility. Go get some win now guys. 

[Wag Tag]

Goals for Seth at the beginning of the year in my mind

1. Prove you can develop a qb...I had hope with Earle and Grant ( Mason's last year was a major red flag)

2. Don't get blown out with this schedule

3. 8 wins

Failing at any of the above he should be let go.

Sarkisian, one of the reasons he was hired was his history with developing qbs. Maybe we should look for the same.

[MGNation92]

1 hour ago, Wag Tag said:

Goals for Seth at the beginning of the year in my mind

1. Prove you can develop a qb...I had hope with Earle and Grant ( Mason's last year was a major red flag)

He can't. Harrell was his QB whisperer

2. Don't get blown out with this schedule

He already has, twice, and probably more

3. 8 wins

This is laughable

Failing at any of the above he should be let go.

Sarkisian, one of the reasons he was hired was his history with developing qbs. Maybe we should look for the same.

Pretty clear cut decision here IMO

[UNTLifer]

7 hours ago, meangreenbob said:

We are always young and undersized. We are told that every year. 

Not true.  A couple of years ago someone said we were old and undersized.

[Mo Green]

17 hours ago, BillySee58 said:

The focus has been on Littrell and the coaching staff (rightfully so) but I’m curious what the thoughts are on the roster. I think overall you have to ding Littrell for not having the roster where it needs to be for AAC competition, but I also don’t think it’s in a bad spot for whoever inherits it to take it to that level.

I think the biggest areas of deficiency are QB, LB, and DB. Beyond that, I think most of the other position groups are at least close to AAC ready.

At RB I think Adaway and Adeyi are both at that level, and both are sophomores, plus some solid depth behind them. At WR, Burns, Shorter, Maclin, and even Ward seem to be good enough. Could probably use more speed there but no huge overhaul needed. At tight end it looks like Gumms is starting to take a step forward and become a stud, and Roberts isn’t as explosive but I think he is AAC quality. And on the O-Line, you only have one senior in Mose and the group is pretty decent. Really have excelled in pass blocking, even with the two tackles being more interior guys naturally. Hoping true freshman Howard Sampson at 6’7” can be a guy who takes over at a tackle spot eventually.

Defensively the line doesn’t look great but only Mazin Richards is a junior and the rest of the rotation guys are underclassmen. Trieb has been disappointing but he still has 2 years of eligibility left and True Freshman Cam Robertson has already earned a spot and looked promising. DTs have struggled a little being undersized but Rod Brown has also shown the ability to make plays and Enoch Jackson has shown something too, just has been injured this year.

That leaves QB, LB, and DB as positions that just do not appear to have the guys we need currently on the roster. I’m not out on Gunnell, and I think he at least gives us a baseline as a guy who has been starter caliber at the PAC 12 level, but he hasn’t had an impressive start here. As for LB and DB, there’s just not much there and KD Davis is out of eligibility after the season. Our safeties don’t look FBS caliber at all and Gaddie, who is the one DB who has shown ability this year, hasn’t really looked good since the UTEP game.

Curious what everyone’s thoughts are. 

I guess the answer to this is "how far away is the coaching".

[ntmeangreen11]

13 hours ago, BillySee58 said:

Watch the film. O-line had a solid day. They knew what was coming on 4th and 1 (along with everyone watching) but they played well overall. 

I respect your opinion but mine is that they are no where near good enough for the AAC. Good enough to push around sub par competition at times, and their pass blocking has been amazing, but I don't believe that unit is good enough for the AAC.

[MeanGreenTexan]

4 hours ago, Wag Tag said:

Goals for Seth at the beginning of the year in my mind

1. Prove you can develop a qb...I had hope with Earle and Grant ( Mason's last year was a major red flag)

2. Don't get blown out with this schedule

3. 8 wins

Failing at any of the above he should be let go.

Sarkisian, one of the reasons he was hired was his history with developing qbs. Maybe we should look for the same.

Justin Fuente says "hi".  He, himself, is a QB.
While OC/QBs at TCU, he developed Andy Dalton.
While HC at Memphis, he developed Paxton Lynch.
While HC at VT, he put Jerod Evans on the map before he made a completely moronic decision to enter the draft after his Jr year, going undrafted.   If he would have stayed for his Sr. year, he would have been in Heisman contention.

[Dannymacfan]

8 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Justin Fuente says "hi".  He, himself, is a QB.
While OC/QBs at TCU, he developed Andy Dalton.
While HC at Memphis, he developed Paxton Lynch.
While HC at VT, he put Jerod Evans on the map before he made a completely moronic decision to enter the draft after his Jr year, going undrafted.   If he would have stayed for his Sr. year, he would have been in Heisman contention.

After your post and the kore Inthink about it Ibtuink he may be it.  Checks a lot of boxes.

[GMG_Dallas]

12 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Justin Fuente says "hi".  He, himself, is a QB.
While OC/QBs at TCU, he developed Andy Dalton.
While HC at Memphis, he developed Paxton Lynch.
While HC at VT, he put Jerod Evans on the map before he made a completely moronic decision to enter the draft after his Jr year, going undrafted.   If he would have stayed for his Sr. year, he would have been in Heisman contention.

I like it. I also like this guy.

 

 

[Wag Tag]

11 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Justin Fuente says "hi".  He, himself, is a QB.
While OC/QBs at TCU, he developed Andy Dalton.
While HC at Memphis, he developed Paxton Lynch.
While HC at VT, he put Jerod Evans on the map before he made a completely moronic decision to enter the draft after his Jr year, going undrafted.   If he would have stayed for his Sr. year, he would have been in Heisman contention.

I like him, but my choice is Eric Morris. He also checks the boxes, but he was able to find talent in the weeds at Incarnate! Pull up his profile.

[MeanGreenTexan]

3 minutes ago, Dannymacfan said:

After your post and the kore Inthink about it Ibtuink he may be it.  Checks a lot of boxes.

Lol.    Welcome aboard!

[MeanGreenTexan]

4 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

I like it. I also like this guy.

 

 

I'd have no problem with this guy either.    Again, he, himself, is a QB, and his track record of producing some nice QBs at OSU is proven, and he's doing it again at PSU with Clifford.

The only knock on him is I don't think he'll check-off the "Previous Head Coaching Success" box that Wren Baker values so highly.

[MeanGreenTexan]

11 minutes ago, Wag Tag said:

I like him, but my choice is Eric Morris. He also checks the boxes, but he was able to find talent in the weeds at Incarnate! Pull up his profile.

Oh, I'm aware!
There was a lot of buzz around Morris while he was at IW with some of us on the board.   IIRC, @TheReal_jayD was a big fan of Morris when we almost lost Littrell to KSSt.   
Not sure why (probably money?) he decided to run off on what he was building down there, but that's a red flag for sure.  Hard to walk away from a locker room you built up to a 10-3 record & FCS ranking to take a OC job somewhere.  But he obviously built it to last because even though they lost Ward, coach Kinne is taking them to even higher heights so far this year (including a FCS #4 ranking at the time of this post).
Also, he's a Leach Air Raid guy, so that's going to cause a lot of concern for fans who don't want to re-hire another Littrell.  
Is his success at the FCS level going to check-off Wren's head coaching success box?   It did for Coach DeLong & Coach Porter, but football is an entirely different animal.

[GMG_Dallas]

25 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

I'd have no problem with this guy either.    Again, he, himself, is a QB, and his track record of producing some nice QBs at OSU is proven, and he's doing it again at PSU with Clifford.

The only knock on him is I don't think he'll check-off the "Previous Head Coaching Success" box that Wren Baker values so highly.

I clearly haven't paid enough attention to Wren Baker's hires. Are we assuming he values previous experience because Grant McCasland had prior experience? Honest question.

Anyways, I believe Fuente and Wren were at Memphis together so that might be a perfect match. They can reunited in the AAC where Fuente first experienced head coaching success (well, CUSA for his first year there). I like it.

[Cerebus]

My main concern is QB and DB.  The real problem is we are always short at those positions, because almost everyone is short at those positions.

How many times have we had an Impact Player at either of those position groups?  Lets define that as someone who 1) can win multiple all conference awards, and 2) most teams in the conference would trade their top player at that position for ours?  Not often.  

Since our return to 1A/FBS,  looking at QB, the only two names that come to mind are Scott Hall and Mason Fine.  And neither one of those was heavily recruited.   If I remember correctly Hall had a gaudy record in HS as a QB, but his offers from the P5 programs came at safety, where he was named AP All State.  We gave him a shot at QB.  Fine broke every Oklahoma record, but because of his size we where the only FBS school to offer. 

Is it any  better at DB?  Who was the last truly shut down corner we had?  Don McGee?

 

We need a RECRUITER.  At least someone who understands your staff has to be all recruiting, all time.  Either through high school or the portal.  We have to get someone who can win those battles and have those kind of impact players sign here.

[TheReal_jayD]

1 hour ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Justin Fuente says "hi".  He, himself, is a QB.
While OC/QBs at TCU, he developed Andy Dalton.
While HC at Memphis, he developed Paxton Lynch.
While HC at VT, he put Jerod Evans on the map before he made a completely moronic decision to enter the draft after his Jr year, going undrafted.   If he would have stayed for his Sr. year, he would have been in Heisman contention.

Leader in the clubhouse. Not to mention very good friend of Mr Wren Baker. #fUeNTe

[MeanGreenTexan]

8 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

I clearly haven't paid enough attention to Wren Baker's hires. Are we assuming he values previous experience because Grant McCasland had prior experience? Honest question.

Anyways, I believe Fuente and Wren were at Memphis together so that might be a perfect match. They can reunited in the AAC where Fuente first experienced head coaching success (well, CUSA for his first year there). I like it.

Yes, his other hires have all had previous HEAD COACHING success: 
Rodney DeLong - Softball (formerly at Austin Peay)
Kristee Porter - Volleyball (formerly at McNeese)
Michael Akers - Women's Golf (formerly at TXSt)
Doug Marshall - T&F (formerly at Iowa Western CC)  
... and, of course, Coach McCasland.

The only actual hire he made that wasn't a previous HC somewhere was promoting Brittany Roth from Asst coach to Head coach for the Swimming & Diving Team.   

The rest, he inherited and has retained/extended.

[MeanGreenTexan]

5 minutes ago, Cerebus said:

My main concern is QB and DB.  The real problem is we are always short at those positions, because almost everyone is short at those positions.

How many times have we had an Impact Player at either of those position groups?  Lets define that as someone who 1) can win multiple all conference awards, and 2) most teams in the conference would trade their top player at that position for ours?  Not often.  

Since our return to 1A/FBS,  looking at QB, the only two names that come to mind are Scott Hall and Mason Fine.  And neither one of those was heavily recruited.   If I remember correctly Hall had a gaudy record in HS as a QB, but his offers from the P5 programs came at safety, where he was named AP All State.  We gave him a shot at QB.  Fine broke every Oklahoma record, but because of his size we where the only FBS school to offer. 

Is it any  better at DB?  Who was the last truly shut down corner we had?  Don McGee?

 

We need a RECRUITER.  At least someone who understands your staff has to be all recruiting, all time.  Either through high school or the portal.  We have to get someone who can win those battles and have those kind of impact players sign here.

Nate Brooks' upperclassmen years & Kemon Hall were both VERY VERY GOOD.

[MeanGreenTexan]

6 minutes ago, TheReal_jayD said:

Leader in the clubhouse. Not to mention very good friend of Mr Wren Baker. #fUeNTe

Oh, I like that.
Welcome Aboard!

[MGNation92]

8 minutes ago, Cerebus said:

My main concern is QB and DB.  The real problem is we are always short at those positions, because almost everyone is short at those positions.

How many times have we had an Impact Player at either of those position groups?  Lets define that as someone who 1) can win multiple all conference awards, and 2) most teams in the conference would trade their top player at that position for ours?  Not often.  

Since our return to 1A/FBS,  looking at QB, the only two names that come to mind are Scott Hall and Mason Fine.  And neither one of those was heavily recruited.   If I remember correctly Hall had a gaudy record in HS as a QB, but his offers from the P5 programs came at safety, where he was named AP All State.  We gave him a shot at QB.  Fine broke every Oklahoma record, but because of his size we where the only FBS school to offer. 

Is it any  better at DB?  Who was the last truly shut down corner we had?  Don McGee?

 

We need a RECRUITER.  At least someone who understands your staff has to be all recruiting, all time.  Either through high school or the portal.  We have to get someone who can win those battles and have those kind of impact players sign here.

Kemon Hall was a first team all conference DB.

In fact, under Reffett, we had a string of very good corners between Hall, Jenkins, and Brooks

Edit: MGT beat me to it, but he forgot Jenkins

Edited September 19, 2022 by MGNation92

[Cerebus]

I think Kemon, Jenkins, Brooks are all very good and would love to have ANY of them here right now.   I don't think any of them were multiple all conference.  Not counting preseason or HM awards. 

[MGNation92]

Just now, Cerebus said:

I think Kemon, Jenkins, Brooks are all very good and would love to have ANY of them here right now.   I don't think any of them were multiple all conference.  Not counting preseason or HM awards. 

17 minutes ago, Cerebus said:

We need a RECRUITER.  At least someone who understands your staff has to be all recruiting, all time.  Either through high school or the portal.  We have to get someone who can win those battles and have those kind of impact players sign here.

I'd argue Mike Ekeler was that guy while he was here. Hired gun/follow the money type guy that wasn't a particularly great coach for us, but he brought in some of the best defensive players we've seen under Littrell.

 

[Wag Tag]

50 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Oh, I'm aware!
There was a lot of buzz around Morris while he was at IW with some of us on the board.   IIRC, @TheReal_jayD was a big fan of Morris when we almost lost Littrell to KSSt.   
Not sure why (probably money?) he decided to run off on what he was building down there, but that's a red flag for sure.  Hard to walk away from a locker room you built up to a 10-3 record & FCS ranking to take a OC job somewhere.  But he obviously built it to last because even though they lost Ward, coach Kinne is taking them to even higher heights so far this year (including a FCS #4 ranking at the time of this post).
Also, he's a Leach Air Raid guy, so that's going to cause a lot of concern for fans who don't want to re-hire another Littrell.  
Is his success at the FCS level going to check-off Wren's head coaching success box?   It did for Coach DeLong & Coach Porter, but football is an entirely different animal.

I would think him a Ward were a package. He had offenses that ranked in the top 10 and At one point had the number 1 offense in the nation. Recognize talent, and then coach it up his is what we need.Ward would be one of his rock star examples!

[GMG_Dallas]

4 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Yes, his other hires have all had previous HEAD COACHING success: 
Rodney DeLong - Softball (formerly at Austin Peay)
Kristee Porter - Volleyball (formerly at McNeese)
Michael Akers - Women's Golf (formerly at TXSt)
Doug Marshall - T&F (formerly at Iowa Western CC)  
... and, of course, Coach McCasland.

The only actual hire he made that wasn't a previous HC somewhere was promoting Brittany Roth from Asst coach to Head coach for the Swimming & Diving Team.   

The rest, he inherited and has retained/extended.

Thanks