- Joined
- Jan 30, 2012
- Messages
- 14,796
Agree with most all of this. Sure we lost two 4 year starters but there is most certainly talent here. Brooks and Huff are without a doubt UM caliber kids and I am extremely excited to watch them develop as they will bring the element of speed back to our LB corps. I am a huge fan of Waynmon Steed but after 2 major knee injuries I'm not quite sure what to expect from him going forward. Steed has always been a very instinctive player with a high football IQ but he was never a burner before the injuries nor was he a freakish athlete like Brooks or Huff. I always liked Joyners potential but he is another one of these kids who was basically a stand up edge rusher in HS. Yes there is athletic talent to work with but we have no idea if he can develop into a true LB on this level. Can he play in reverse? Can he play in space? McCloud will most certainly bring experience and senior leadership and could very well have his best year here. The ability is there.
At striker, Frierson has all the tools like you mentioned. I'm a big fan of Gil and want to see him succeed. Based on what I know of him as a player I truly believe that Frierson can have a breakout year at Striker. I also love the idea of moving Amari Carter to striker as I believe it is a position that is the best fit for Carter's skill set. I could see Carter taking over the striker position for his senior year and give Gil another year to continue to develop.
Yep. Now can Baker and Patke coach them up? Let's face it, Shaq and Pinckney were self-made men. And Finley made a lot of mental errors, just made up for it with good athleticism. So there's zero evidence our coaches can develop these kids. 2020 will tell us a lot about Manny's boys on the staff.