I was thinking about our various position groups and how they'd grade out for the year. Here are my takes and a few comments:
Offense:
QB: C- It would be easy to give him a lower grade, but his terrible play yesterday shouldn't erase a lot of the good things he did. Tommy is such a double-edged sword. He makes many plays with his legs and improvises well, but makes just as many terrible reads and throws. His turnovers all year killed us. I think we win yesterday and at Illinois if he limits himself to only two turnovers and makes the correct reads. It's funny because we had precisely the same problem with Taylor Martinez. Tries so hard to make a big play when he should just manage the game. This has to change or we will continue to play uphill.
RB: C There's nothing terrible about this position group, but there clearly wasn't anything great about it either. Cross was fine, but can't make cuts and reads quickly. Newby got a little better, but those stretch plays early in the year and even yesterday needed a foot in the ground and a burst and he never brought it. I thought he'd be much more like Ameer in creating plays in space, but he really seems to play tenative. I really think Ozigbo was the best of both worlds and should have gotten more reps and would be more explosive in what the staff wanted to do. Jano, of course, was awesome and also needed at least 5 - 8 touches per game. A real mistake on the part of the coaching staff not using him more consistently, although give them some credit for using him at all, which previous staff didn't.
Offensive Line: B- This is a tough group to grade, but I'm giving them a little higher grade than maybe I should. I thought they played well at times and other times looked so soft and had too many penalties. We never established a running game the way any of us wanted, but then again, we didn't have backs with the burst to make them look good when they did block well. I still think we had a couple good players sitting on the bench who needed meaningful reps this year to prepare us for 2016. Now we have 3 spots on the line that will have very little experience. I wish Reeves was back at Center, but am glad Gates at least got the nod at RT.
Wide Receivers: B+ A lot of drops early and in a couple other late games, but this is a solid bunch who brings good depth and a variety of skills. We missed playmaking of Pierson El and think next year this will be a real strength on the team if we have a QB who can make the right plays.
Defense:
D-Line: B+ I think our interior line play was awesome. We were 4-deep at DT and have a lot of that coming back next year. Defensive end featured some gamers, but they just didn't have the skills to generate pass rush. Next year we should have some good players across that front and think this will be a strength with some length and athleticism coming in from redshirts.
LB: C Injuries were a real problem here and it showed in the consistency of play. Banderas, Rose, Weber, Young and Newby all had moments, but no one was a real steady playmaker and I expected more from the older guys. Yesterday was a great example of our guys getting caught in the wash on those long runs and being out of position to make a play. I thought their coverage skills got much better as the year went along, especially Young and Newby. I think this group makes a big jump next year, but hope a couple guys grab the starting job and emerge as playmakers vs. playing 6 guys and hoping for the best.
Secondary: C- If I had to give this group a grade early in the year it would have been a D-, but they improved a lot down the stretch. Consider that our top shutdown corner (Davie) never played remotely close to the level we expected. They had to throw a bunch of young guys in and after some growing pains, guys like Kalu, Jones and Williams all did a super job. That said, you can't overlook the fact that our lack of pass rush and their inexperience and confidence probably cost us the BYU, Miami, Illinois and Wisconsin games. I see this as a real strength next year with all of the underclass experience and Anderson and Lee ready to step up.
Welcome your thoughts
Offense:
QB: C- It would be easy to give him a lower grade, but his terrible play yesterday shouldn't erase a lot of the good things he did. Tommy is such a double-edged sword. He makes many plays with his legs and improvises well, but makes just as many terrible reads and throws. His turnovers all year killed us. I think we win yesterday and at Illinois if he limits himself to only two turnovers and makes the correct reads. It's funny because we had precisely the same problem with Taylor Martinez. Tries so hard to make a big play when he should just manage the game. This has to change or we will continue to play uphill.
RB: C There's nothing terrible about this position group, but there clearly wasn't anything great about it either. Cross was fine, but can't make cuts and reads quickly. Newby got a little better, but those stretch plays early in the year and even yesterday needed a foot in the ground and a burst and he never brought it. I thought he'd be much more like Ameer in creating plays in space, but he really seems to play tenative. I really think Ozigbo was the best of both worlds and should have gotten more reps and would be more explosive in what the staff wanted to do. Jano, of course, was awesome and also needed at least 5 - 8 touches per game. A real mistake on the part of the coaching staff not using him more consistently, although give them some credit for using him at all, which previous staff didn't.
Offensive Line: B- This is a tough group to grade, but I'm giving them a little higher grade than maybe I should. I thought they played well at times and other times looked so soft and had too many penalties. We never established a running game the way any of us wanted, but then again, we didn't have backs with the burst to make them look good when they did block well. I still think we had a couple good players sitting on the bench who needed meaningful reps this year to prepare us for 2016. Now we have 3 spots on the line that will have very little experience. I wish Reeves was back at Center, but am glad Gates at least got the nod at RT.
Wide Receivers: B+ A lot of drops early and in a couple other late games, but this is a solid bunch who brings good depth and a variety of skills. We missed playmaking of Pierson El and think next year this will be a real strength on the team if we have a QB who can make the right plays.
Defense:
D-Line: B+ I think our interior line play was awesome. We were 4-deep at DT and have a lot of that coming back next year. Defensive end featured some gamers, but they just didn't have the skills to generate pass rush. Next year we should have some good players across that front and think this will be a strength with some length and athleticism coming in from redshirts.
LB: C Injuries were a real problem here and it showed in the consistency of play. Banderas, Rose, Weber, Young and Newby all had moments, but no one was a real steady playmaker and I expected more from the older guys. Yesterday was a great example of our guys getting caught in the wash on those long runs and being out of position to make a play. I thought their coverage skills got much better as the year went along, especially Young and Newby. I think this group makes a big jump next year, but hope a couple guys grab the starting job and emerge as playmakers vs. playing 6 guys and hoping for the best.
Secondary: C- If I had to give this group a grade early in the year it would have been a D-, but they improved a lot down the stretch. Consider that our top shutdown corner (Davie) never played remotely close to the level we expected. They had to throw a bunch of young guys in and after some growing pains, guys like Kalu, Jones and Williams all did a super job. That said, you can't overlook the fact that our lack of pass rush and their inexperience and confidence probably cost us the BYU, Miami, Illinois and Wisconsin games. I see this as a real strength next year with all of the underclass experience and Anderson and Lee ready to step up.
Welcome your thoughts
