Roster Breakdown Shows the Youth of This Team

[UNTLifer]

I guess meangreener and others will call this an excuse thread, but breaking down the current roster really shows how young we are at this time.

DB: 18 on the roster: One Senior (Maduka) that rarely plays, Three Juniors (Trice, Jackson and Igboeli), Three Sophmores (Lee, Marshall and Warner) and 11 Freshmen with 1, Whitfield, a redshirt.

DE: 9 on the roster. One Senior in K.C. Obi, Two Juniors in McCoy and Bellazin, Two Sophmores in Mason and Lincoln (been playing DT), and 4 Freshmen with 1, Orr, a redshirt.

DT: 7 on the roster. One Senior in Cantly, Two Juniors in Boutwell and Abbe, One Sophmore in walk-on Astorga and 3 Freshmen.

LB: 13 on the roster. One Senior in Phillips, Three Juniors including Orr and Wright, Three Sophmores in Akunne, Stojkovic, and Dunham (DS), and 6 Freshmen with 2 redshirts in Polk and Washington.

OL: 16 on the roster. Three Seniors in Fortenberry, Feeley and Summerfield, One Junior in Anyiam, Five Sophmores in Y'Barbo, Johnson, Lemon, Thompson and C. Feldt, and 7 Freshmen with Ellard and Shaw as RFr.

ST: Atterberry a Senior and Olen a Junior. Both have Freshmen backups.

QB: 5 on the roster. One Senior in Dodson, One RJr. in Thompson, one Junior in Osborn, one Sophmore in McNulty and one Freshman in Gill

RB: 9 on the roster. One Senior in Brown, Four Juniors in Byrd, Monroe, Pegram (current rs/transfer) and Wilhite, One Soph. in Sashington and 3 Freshmen in Jarvis and Lewis with Jimmerson as a redshirt.

TE: 9 on the roster. Four Seniors in Prior (RS and will return), Power, Brown and Burks, One Junior in Miller, One Sophmore in Smith and 3 Freshmen in Lynn, Smith and Jones who is a redshirt.

WR: 15 on the roster. Two Seniors in Bynes (RS) and Delgado, Five Juniors in Chancellor, Caldwell, Pleasant, Smith and Terrell (current RS/transfer), Three Sophmores in Teagarden, Chelf (current RS/transfer) and Hubbard and 5 Freshmen in Harris, Lancaster (rs), Rivera, Schrapps (rs) and a RFr. in Sampson.

We are extremely young with the meat of the team returning. The biggest pieces to replace are Atterbury, Phillips and Power (blocking), but this really points out how young this team is, and that the future is bright. I know loses like the one to MTSU is tough, but there is alot to be excited about. Patience is a virtue.

[Greenhorn]

Many of the freshman are redshirting too.

[UNTLifer]

Many of the freshman are redshirting too.

I was aware, but wasn't sure exactly who all that involved so I just went with what is listed on the website. The next two years should be a lot of fun.

[BillySee58]

Don't forget that Kenny Buyers is also a redshirt freshman at db who has received some playing time.

[shaft]

So your saying we don't have enough Fullbacks, Halfbacks, and place kickers?

[JesseMartin]

This is a "starter version" of something I was discussing (not on here) about Oregon. The reason Oregon is behind Notre Dame and K-State in the computer polls is because Chip Kelly kicks ass at growing his team...instead of running up the score, he lets the new guys make a few mistakes and get some experience when they're ahead by a million points.

We don't have the luxury of playing that way and winning, let alone rocking the Top 5, but the concept is the same in spirit. We'll know in 1-2 years if it works when applied to our situation, unless some of you have your way and get DM fired by the end of the year.

[shaft]

Really, Oregon doesn't run up the score?

[THOR]

I don't think they do...they run their offense for about a half....if the other team can't stop them by the half, Oregon puts in their backups...sometimes sooner. That's not running up the score. Running up the score is keeping ur first team in the whole game and passing to try and score. If a teams defense can't stop your second and third string offense that is running the ball....well....you suck.

[BillySee58]

I don't think they do...they run their offense for about a half....if the other team can't stop them by the half, Oregon puts in their backups...sometimes sooner. That's not running up the score. Running up the score is keeping ur first team in the whole game and passing to try and score. If a teams defense can't stop your second and third string offense that is running the ball....well....you suck.

Exactly. They pretty much can't help it, unless they take a knee the entire fourth quarter.

[CurveItAround]

I took a quick glance at the LaTech roster to gauge how a peer programs is achieving success recent success. Here is the link to some gameday notes earlier in the season. Their offense/deffense 2-deep is on page 17. They have 16 redshirt seniors and 9 seniors on their 2-deep. We have 10 seniors on our 2-deep. They also have another 7 redshirt juniors giving them a total of 32 4th and 5th year players on their 2-deep.

Maybe it isn't all that surprising that they are having a decent season based on how experienced they are.