Great Point below - Can ND "maintain"
If I'm counting right - ND returns 8 starters on Offense (Boykin, Williams, Mustipher). Having only to fill 3 spots should keep ND able to maintain on offense. Replacing Williams worries me - but I think the other two should be fine.
ND returns 6 starters on Defense (Tillery, Bonner, Tranquil, Coney, Love). This side might not be as easy. They have recruited DL's pretty well and have a lot in their 2 deep returning - I think they will be OK, at DB Todd Light does a great job and hopefully the return of a healthy Shaun Crawford, and an improving Dante Vaughn - they'll be OK. LB is a concern - I'm assuming its Bauer and Genmark, but even the best LB's struggle in their first full starting year.
If my numbers are correct - needing 3 on offense and 5 on defense, ND should be able to maintain. ND certainly seems to be maintaining recruiting well into the future for the next few years and developing players well.
Time will tell. I think the key will be RB, and LB - I think they are in good shape everywhere else.
Replies to: Great Point below - Can ND "maintain"
yes, weve won like 21 of our last 24 games
(no message)
Stop with the nonsense...he did the same thing in '12 and '13, yet '14 and '16 are still real things
(no message)
It’s the 24th game that matters. I can shoot a 75 but if I miss the putt on 18 I lose the Nassau
I lowered it to 75 which I have never shot from the tips. Just saying.
Golf blows
(no message)
So you have untested players stepping in. What about an injury? Who is next up? No depth, right?
(no message)
Depth should be improved at OL, Secondary, DL and WR.
QB is probably a wash. LB seems to be the only concerns for me. Practically everywhere else our depth will be better next year.
Add ST to the downgrade list though.
Would you say ND is better positioned today then last year at this time?
(no message)
Without a doubt. I dont know that they will go 12-0 but they will be a better team
I dont see how they possibly couldn't be better. I grant you that LB is a concern (a big one). But its hard to argue that they won't be better overall and deeper at nearly every other position. I don't expect us to be as dynamic at RB, but that will be offset by being more dynamic at WR and the OL should be improved.
We won't know until September though.
I would say yes - I like the direction of the program right now
I wasn't excited about the Offense - QB position was not great (Wimbush), RB (Williams) was up in the air, the OL was a question mark, and the WR's were a concern; Defense - DB's were a question (Claypool was coming off an injury - soon to get hurt again, and no one knew Gilman was that good), and I wasn't sure about DL depth.
Biggest challenge will be making the offensive line consistent
2018's offensive line improved throughout the year, but at the beginning, at best, it was sub-standard by any stretch of the imagination.
Mustipher and Bars were the only ones who looked consistently solid all year long, Hainsey never looked like he was healthy after suffering a leg injury earlier, and Eichenberg and Kraemer had some nice moments, along with some bad ones as well...
I understand that replacing two top 10 NFL draft picks on the line means that you're going to have a dropoff, but I had hoped that with all of the experience returning for 2018, that the dropoff wouldn't be so bad.
Losing Bars could have been a killer, but thankfully, we had Ruhland and Banks ready to go.
2019 will be the third year of the linemen being conditioned by Coach Balis, so I expect them to be at their physical peak (college level) when it comes to strength, fitness, etc.
If everyone is healthy, then I forsee this group being a good, possibly very good, unit. I'm not sure who will take over at center, but there are plenty of candidates who could handle it.
If the line solidifies, then the running backs will be able to truly run out of the spread consistently.
I'm not sold on Quinn. We need a real, quality OL coach. I don't think he's it.
(no message)
I don't think there will be a change though...
Quinn has been a college football coach for 26 years, 21 of which have been as an assistant to Brian Kelly at Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, and Notre Dame.
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Quinn
OL, I think, is the single biggest issue.
Next year should really tell us whether Quinn is up for the challenge. The OL was a weak point overall in '18. I don't think there is any question. But it came with ND losing its top 3 OLs from last season (that includes losing Bars to injury). Tough hand to play. I'm encouraged by the commentary I read from the committee that put ND's '18 line up for the Joe Moore Award. It was surprising the line was nominated, but the takeaway: ND's line is technically sound and likely will "arrive" in '19. That might be smoke. Don't know. Hope not. It is the area ND has recruited best. So fingers crossed.
I agree. The OL was a huge weakness all year even considering 12-1.
(no message)
Re: Biggest challenge will be making the offensive line consistent
What running back? We have no difference makers at this position.
Any of the RB's with an open lane
The RB's will be fine. While they're not going to be as explosive as Dexter Williams was this year, with at least a reasonable running lane opened up, they'll do just fine.
Tony Jones Jr. can pound the ball up the middle, Jafar Armstrong can move with more speed, etc. Then there's Kyren Williams, who seems to have been an underrated player in high school.
Even with DW
We had the 55th ranked rushing offense in Div 1 football.
Erhardt-Perkins offense
We ran a pass-oriented Erhardt-Perkins offense during those years, so it's only natural that the rushing offense would be lower.
That being said, Darius Walker still exceeded 1000 yards in both of those seasons. Also, Brady Quinn had plenty of time to make some nice throws.
DW= Dexter Williams
We had the 55th ranked offense in 2018
Ah, my mistake
(no message)
We'll see.
We've seen this before, then CJ Prosise happened. Jafar Armstrong will be back. I think he showed real promise. He's potentially a "difference maker." And Kyren Williams is an early enrollee. He made a name for himself with big-play ability. No proven star at RB. Yes. But that doesn't mean someone can't emerge. I'm more concerned about the OL.
Re: We'll see.
I hope you are right., and someone emerges. But I think George Gipp is dead. Ha ha. Enjoy the weekend.
Just to be clear, I'm not predicting anything here.
I'm holding out hope that Armstrong, Williams and company emerge to fill the gap. I acknowledge they might not. My only real point is that it isn't hopeless, . . so I'm hopeful. And that I think the OL is a more important issue.
OL vs LB's
You guys are worried about OL. I think LB's will be the problem. I hope we are both wrong.