Running down what next year could potentially look like:
QB: If Kempt comes back, he starts. Or at the very least he's the favorite to start going in to spring and fall. The NCAA does some weird stuff, so nothing would surprise me on their decision. I think that Noland would do fine starting for us, but if Kempt is gone, they are going to need a grad transfer as a backup policy. I don't think that we can or want to depend on Moore and Mitchell this fall. Kempt is limited, but solid. Noland has more upside, but is maybe a little more inconsistent.
RB: Montgomery is a great back. But, he needs better blocking and someone that they can trust to take a few series a game to give him some rest. I think they'll have both next year. I thought that Croney actually played pretty well in limited carries. They'll have Nwangwu and Lang back. That is four pretty good RBs. Warren could also return and I'd love to see him have a good year, but he might just be better off finding a 1AA team that has some dominant run blocking like an NDSU.
WR: Man, will we miss Lazard. What a security blanket for QBs. Ryen had some great plays and you could tell that our screen game was hurting in the bowl game with him out. Murdock also made some really good plays this season. That said, we will still have a top half of the conference WR group with Butler, Eaton, Jones. They all need to get better, but I have no doubt they'll put the work in. I think that we'll see some of the young guys like Marten, Johnson, Milton, Akers start to show up next season. If they don't, then you can bet that Schleker or Shaw will play. It also wouldn't surprise me to see Nwangwu and/or Lang play some WR just to get them on the field.
TE: I think that Chase Allen will emerge as more of a receiving threat next season getting some of the jump balls that Lazard got. Soehner played a lot of blocking TE and he should get better. They get Kolar off of RS. I actually thought that Seonbuchner was one of the most solid players on the team. It will be interesting to see who they start grooming for his spot.
OL: No surprise that this was the biggest disappointment on the team this year. We thought it would be and they didn't really improve like last year. Pass protection was usually pretty good, but run blocking was awful. Still, they have four guys with starting experience returning and Oge should be back from injury. I expect the returnees to improve over the offseason. Still don't know if Foster has the feet to play LT. They were just so young and inexperienced this year outside of Campos. I expect Knipfel to make a big jump and then the RSFR competing to start. If we have real competition in the spring and fall, that's a good sign.
DL: They will miss Waggoner. He was extremely solid all year long. I didn't think that he would ever be much more than an effort guy who should probably be a backup on a good DL. Wrong. Enyi and Leo are going to have to try to match his production, but it will be tough. Both have higher upsides, but it is hard to imagine either will ever have Waggoner's motor. Trent started the season strong, but he couldn't maintain that level and was eventually beaten out by Johnson as the backup in the 3 man front. I think that both Lima and Bailey were awesome this year and will only improve. We can expect more from Benton and Lensing next season. To me, Tongamoa is in for a big year if the light goes on. And then there is a ton of RSFR available for depth...Robertson, Rodriguez, C.Bailey, Schlichterman. It will be interesting to see where these guys are slotted this spring.
LB: I thought both Harvey and Spears played really well this year. That's a good place to start. The key will be replacing Lanning. You would think that between Sutton, McMillan, Hummel, they can find a solid player. I'm interested to see where Vance shows up and if any of the TRFR can grab a spot in the two deep.I think that if they were truly worried about MIKE, they would have signed a JUCO.
CB: A lot of this depends on whether Peavy comes back. If he does, he's a sure captain on a team that is losing a lot of SR leadership. That is a major decision coming. Payne did OK at CB. Maybe not as good as Peavy, but still really solid. Ruth was a decent backup and Azunna played some in the bowl game. They played both Keonte Jones and Richard Bowens some at CB earlier in the season. I think that both of those guys would have kept the RS on if Azunna was healthy. But the staff does like those two as well as Datrone Young.
S: Biggest question mark on the team. They lose KCM, Wilkerson, Edwards, Alexander. Return White, Lewis and then Eisworth coming in from JUCO. For a D that plays multiple DBs, this is a major problem. It will be very interesting to see where they have guys lining up this spring...especially Jones, Bowen, Payne, Ruth. If they can shore up the secondary, this D should be pretty good.
QB: If Kempt comes back, he starts. Or at the very least he's the favorite to start going in to spring and fall. The NCAA does some weird stuff, so nothing would surprise me on their decision. I think that Noland would do fine starting for us, but if Kempt is gone, they are going to need a grad transfer as a backup policy. I don't think that we can or want to depend on Moore and Mitchell this fall. Kempt is limited, but solid. Noland has more upside, but is maybe a little more inconsistent.
RB: Montgomery is a great back. But, he needs better blocking and someone that they can trust to take a few series a game to give him some rest. I think they'll have both next year. I thought that Croney actually played pretty well in limited carries. They'll have Nwangwu and Lang back. That is four pretty good RBs. Warren could also return and I'd love to see him have a good year, but he might just be better off finding a 1AA team that has some dominant run blocking like an NDSU.
WR: Man, will we miss Lazard. What a security blanket for QBs. Ryen had some great plays and you could tell that our screen game was hurting in the bowl game with him out. Murdock also made some really good plays this season. That said, we will still have a top half of the conference WR group with Butler, Eaton, Jones. They all need to get better, but I have no doubt they'll put the work in. I think that we'll see some of the young guys like Marten, Johnson, Milton, Akers start to show up next season. If they don't, then you can bet that Schleker or Shaw will play. It also wouldn't surprise me to see Nwangwu and/or Lang play some WR just to get them on the field.
TE: I think that Chase Allen will emerge as more of a receiving threat next season getting some of the jump balls that Lazard got. Soehner played a lot of blocking TE and he should get better. They get Kolar off of RS. I actually thought that Seonbuchner was one of the most solid players on the team. It will be interesting to see who they start grooming for his spot.
OL: No surprise that this was the biggest disappointment on the team this year. We thought it would be and they didn't really improve like last year. Pass protection was usually pretty good, but run blocking was awful. Still, they have four guys with starting experience returning and Oge should be back from injury. I expect the returnees to improve over the offseason. Still don't know if Foster has the feet to play LT. They were just so young and inexperienced this year outside of Campos. I expect Knipfel to make a big jump and then the RSFR competing to start. If we have real competition in the spring and fall, that's a good sign.
DL: They will miss Waggoner. He was extremely solid all year long. I didn't think that he would ever be much more than an effort guy who should probably be a backup on a good DL. Wrong. Enyi and Leo are going to have to try to match his production, but it will be tough. Both have higher upsides, but it is hard to imagine either will ever have Waggoner's motor. Trent started the season strong, but he couldn't maintain that level and was eventually beaten out by Johnson as the backup in the 3 man front. I think that both Lima and Bailey were awesome this year and will only improve. We can expect more from Benton and Lensing next season. To me, Tongamoa is in for a big year if the light goes on. And then there is a ton of RSFR available for depth...Robertson, Rodriguez, C.Bailey, Schlichterman. It will be interesting to see where these guys are slotted this spring.
LB: I thought both Harvey and Spears played really well this year. That's a good place to start. The key will be replacing Lanning. You would think that between Sutton, McMillan, Hummel, they can find a solid player. I'm interested to see where Vance shows up and if any of the TRFR can grab a spot in the two deep.I think that if they were truly worried about MIKE, they would have signed a JUCO.
CB: A lot of this depends on whether Peavy comes back. If he does, he's a sure captain on a team that is losing a lot of SR leadership. That is a major decision coming. Payne did OK at CB. Maybe not as good as Peavy, but still really solid. Ruth was a decent backup and Azunna played some in the bowl game. They played both Keonte Jones and Richard Bowens some at CB earlier in the season. I think that both of those guys would have kept the RS on if Azunna was healthy. But the staff does like those two as well as Datrone Young.
S: Biggest question mark on the team. They lose KCM, Wilkerson, Edwards, Alexander. Return White, Lewis and then Eisworth coming in from JUCO. For a D that plays multiple DBs, this is a major problem. It will be very interesting to see where they have guys lining up this spring...especially Jones, Bowen, Payne, Ruth. If they can shore up the secondary, this D should be pretty good.
