We were promised changes! Instead, we get the same ‘official’ depth chart for the third straight week. That’s probably for the best when you’re 1-3 because if you’re going to roll out any changes it’s best to keep that a secret for as long as possible. Yes, we are trying to get sneak things past Syracuse. Here we are in 2016…
In truth, there just isn’t the depth to start making wholesale changes. At this point most aren’t really expecting any major changes at any position. What would you do if you were head coach? “Time to get Fertitta some snaps at safety!”
The youth movement has been well underway in the secondary and that should continue. If you’re looking for players to increase their playing time watch out for corner Donte Vaughn and safety Jalen Elliott. The former played just 9 snaps last weekend but came away with a beautiful interception and could start outright if Julian Love is deployed in the slot against this fast-paced spread offense from Syracuse. It was 12 snaps for Elliott last week which could pave the way to 20+ snaps tomorrow.
The reason Vaughn could start is the effective benching of Nick Coleman last week. The sophomore was limited to 16 snaps after (seemingly) missing about 9 tackles in that window of opportunity.
Speaking of corner, the final x-ray for Nick Watkins broken arm will happen today. I’m not sure how many quality games you could get out of him this year–and depending on how the season continues to unfold–it might be a waste anyway. Saving a redshirt year could potentially be huge for the cornerback depth chart.
There’s been lots of scuttlebutt this week about getting my boy Asmar Bilal more involved at linebacker–the thinking being Syracuse isn’t much of a threat to pound the ball in between the tackles and his 6-2, 230 speedy skill-set will work well against the Orange. We’ll see how that goes, Bilal was getting a little bit of playing time in the first two games and then sat on the sidelines in recent weeks. He’d fit the mold as someone who could get more PT.
Brian Kelly has been all about getting Jay Hayes involved more since the departure of defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder. Remember, last week I was opining that Hayes could see his playing time increased (still coming back from that fall camp ankle injury) to 30 snaps or so. Instead, he didn’t play at all.
Things are far less interesting on offense where the nucleus has been together for the whole season, outside of Hunter’s concussion. We saw McGovern miss a few snaps last week after getting banged up and those went to Hoge and then Bivin. It’s not likely McGovern loses his starting spot.
The more interesting discussion can be had for the young skill players. Dexter Williams, Chase Claypool, Kevin Stepherson, and Miles Boykin combined for just 27 snaps last week.
With Kelly’s comments earlier in the week I expect Dexter to get a lot more snaps (think he had like 4-5 last week).
One of the podcasts floated the idea of moving Rochell inside and putting Jay Hayes at Big End. That seems like it could help generate more pressure and keep guys like Tillery fresh. I hadn’t realized how many snaps Tillery had been getting lately!
It has been sad to watch Coleman this season. I hope his confidence isn’t completely destroyed. Still hope he can contribute something down the line.
And getting burned on the rest of those snaps.
Man, he has been such a disappointment so far. I was very optimistic about him before the season started, thought he could be a real solid contributor for us and a possible starter next year. Maybe with the changeup in coaching he and the rest of the secondary can improve. Hopefully.
Yeah, agreed with Coleman’s poor play and the injuries to Crawford and Watkins it’s really been a shame that crew of guys haven’t been able to take the next step.
Hopefully this next group with Vaughn and Pride and Love have better luck.
Coleman is a good athlete, but clearly having problems covering and tackling on D. How about a possible switch to O (didn’t he play RB/WR in high school)?
Brian Kelly has a secret plan to stop opposing offensives, the problem is……
To that end, this actually came up in the Tuesday press conference and Kelly was a bit coy about it.
I’m not saying throw the depth chart out or anything, but I think it’s more of a placeholder right now. Very interested to see what kind of groupings go out there tomorrow.