And here we are to the last of the position breakdowns, my favorite group the OL. Will talk about the special teams some in a little bit, but if I treated it like this then would have to break it down into individual posts on K/P/return men/blocking units...so going to try something different with that. Starting tomorrow, going to try an experiment with all of these position breakdowns, which could completely fail...but it's the offseason so that's OK...
RETURNING
D'Andre Banks (SR, 6' 3" 310 lbs)
Jordan Shelley-Smith (SR, 6' 5" 302 lbs)
Will Smith (SR, 6' 3" 307 lbs)
Joe Gibson (JR, 6' 3" 310 lbs)
Jayson Rhodes (JR, 6' 4" 311 lbs)
Kyle Pullia (JR, 6' 4" 279 lbs)
Jacob Bragg (SO, 6' 4" 291 lbs)
Clyde McCauley III (SO, 6' 5" 307 lbs)
Larry Hughes (SO, 6' 7" 309 lbs)
Mesa Ribordy (FR, 6' 4" 290 lbs)
Hunter Saulsbury (FR, 6' 4" 305 lbs)
Aaron Garza (FR, 6' 3" 311 lbs)
Jackson Jenkins (FR, 6' 4" 309 lbs)
Beau Lawrence (FR, 6' 5" 309 lbs)
LOST
Larry Mazyck (6' 8" 343 lbs)
Bryan Peters (6' 3" 298 lbs)
Keyon Haughton (6' 2" 290 lbs)
ADDED
Cam Durley (FR, 6' 6" 280 lbs)
Chris Hughes (FR, 6' 3" 290 lbs)
Antione Frazier (FR, 6' 4" 260 lbs)
Hunter Harris (FR, 6' 2" 275 lbs)
Malik Clark (FR, 6' 4" 330 lbs)
Lucas Jacobs (FR, 6' 2" 305 lbs)
BREAKDOWN
Well I will go ahead and get out the "bad thoughts" right away - I still think we are at least one year (and maybe two years) away from the OL being a solid and consistent unit. I know the argument against that is we are returning relatively a lot of starts from this group compared to the rest of the Big 12 and that we return 6 guys with starting experience. That's true, but also a little bit misleading. Going back to a thread from a couple of weeks ago, there is only two scholarship OL left from the previous regime (noting Joe Gibson did get one after his freshman year, but also noting JSS started out as a TE). That's pretty damn scary since we are only a season removed from that regime. You can plug and play an OL here and there on the OL, but we were essentially doing that on a mass scale the past few years. You have to build OL, that takes time, so given what the staff was left with on the OL I think that is too much to ask this soon.
That being said, there is some hope that the unit can become solid. One move I liked this offseason was putting Banks at RT and Bragg at RG. I think those two will fight to be the best OL this upcoming season, so having them on the same side of the OL could give us some opportunity to run behind those guys. The other thing is the size - that should jump out at you right away. We will at least "look" the part. That doesn't always mean much, but last year we were really at a size disadvantage and that really hurts in the trenches over a long season. If this unit does come together this year, then Yenser and Je'Ney Jackson deserve a ton of praise.
Looking at who could start, I think right now there are 3 (maybe 4) guys that you can probably plan on them starting the season. The three guys I think for sure are Banks, Bragg, and McCauley with Joe Gibson likely being a starter as well. That leaves an open spot, which this offseason looked like Jayson Rhodes took advantage of. But I think there are three other guys to potentially look out for starting - JSS, Mesa Ribordy, and Larry Hughes. If the goal is to play the best 5 OL and one of those three OL are in the 5 best group, there is some flexibility to move guys around. Could JSS or Larry Hughes play guard? If not and one of them is the 5 best, would Banks move back to guard? If Mesa Ribordy is in that group, could him or Joe Gibson move to guard? And then there is the wildcard - while I hope a true freshman doesn't play, I think there is a chance Chris Hughes could move into contention for starting this season...
Quick look at some of these guys. Banks and Bragg are two guys I am counting on leading this group, solid play from them is needed. McCauley adding that weight is huge for him - has always been able to move, just needed a little glass in his diet to help him out. Joe Gibson is a year removed from that shoulder injury after starting a lot as a RS FR - him being healthy should be a big boost to the OL. It looks like Rhodes really came on this offseason, which is a good thing and would be nice if he started this year and next year. Both McCauley and Larry Hughes got screwed - neither of them should have played as true freshman...they had to play...but both could have really used a redshirt year...which is why I am somewhat hopeful that if Larry Hughes isn't starting, they can sneak a redshirt year out of him. Let's hope JSS is healthy this year as he could not only help on the OL, but also be a reason why we don't burn any redshirts and maybe let Larry Hughes redshirt. Really excited to see what Mesa Ribordy and Hunter Saulsbury can do - at some point in the season, even if only mop up duty, they will get some playing time this year IMO. And then there is the freshman - man I am really excited to watch this group grow. I know there was some academic concerns with Malik Clark, so I am not sure he could play if they wanted him to due to that new academic redshirt rule (which he may or may not have to abide by). If Chris Hughes is fully recovered from that ACL injury last year, he just might surprise some people this year. I was way too high on Cam Durley out of the gate, forgetting that the guy has basically only played one year of football...but just looking at the guy, he is a guy that Yenser should be able to coach up, but probably a year or two away. Can't weight to see what Antione Frazier and Hunter Harris develop into, but think both need some S&C work before they should see the field.
RETURNING
D'Andre Banks (SR, 6' 3" 310 lbs)
Jordan Shelley-Smith (SR, 6' 5" 302 lbs)
Will Smith (SR, 6' 3" 307 lbs)
Joe Gibson (JR, 6' 3" 310 lbs)
Jayson Rhodes (JR, 6' 4" 311 lbs)
Kyle Pullia (JR, 6' 4" 279 lbs)
Jacob Bragg (SO, 6' 4" 291 lbs)
Clyde McCauley III (SO, 6' 5" 307 lbs)
Larry Hughes (SO, 6' 7" 309 lbs)
Mesa Ribordy (FR, 6' 4" 290 lbs)
Hunter Saulsbury (FR, 6' 4" 305 lbs)
Aaron Garza (FR, 6' 3" 311 lbs)
Jackson Jenkins (FR, 6' 4" 309 lbs)
Beau Lawrence (FR, 6' 5" 309 lbs)
LOST
Larry Mazyck (6' 8" 343 lbs)
Bryan Peters (6' 3" 298 lbs)
Keyon Haughton (6' 2" 290 lbs)
ADDED
Cam Durley (FR, 6' 6" 280 lbs)
Chris Hughes (FR, 6' 3" 290 lbs)
Antione Frazier (FR, 6' 4" 260 lbs)
Hunter Harris (FR, 6' 2" 275 lbs)
Malik Clark (FR, 6' 4" 330 lbs)
Lucas Jacobs (FR, 6' 2" 305 lbs)
BREAKDOWN
Well I will go ahead and get out the "bad thoughts" right away - I still think we are at least one year (and maybe two years) away from the OL being a solid and consistent unit. I know the argument against that is we are returning relatively a lot of starts from this group compared to the rest of the Big 12 and that we return 6 guys with starting experience. That's true, but also a little bit misleading. Going back to a thread from a couple of weeks ago, there is only two scholarship OL left from the previous regime (noting Joe Gibson did get one after his freshman year, but also noting JSS started out as a TE). That's pretty damn scary since we are only a season removed from that regime. You can plug and play an OL here and there on the OL, but we were essentially doing that on a mass scale the past few years. You have to build OL, that takes time, so given what the staff was left with on the OL I think that is too much to ask this soon.
That being said, there is some hope that the unit can become solid. One move I liked this offseason was putting Banks at RT and Bragg at RG. I think those two will fight to be the best OL this upcoming season, so having them on the same side of the OL could give us some opportunity to run behind those guys. The other thing is the size - that should jump out at you right away. We will at least "look" the part. That doesn't always mean much, but last year we were really at a size disadvantage and that really hurts in the trenches over a long season. If this unit does come together this year, then Yenser and Je'Ney Jackson deserve a ton of praise.
Looking at who could start, I think right now there are 3 (maybe 4) guys that you can probably plan on them starting the season. The three guys I think for sure are Banks, Bragg, and McCauley with Joe Gibson likely being a starter as well. That leaves an open spot, which this offseason looked like Jayson Rhodes took advantage of. But I think there are three other guys to potentially look out for starting - JSS, Mesa Ribordy, and Larry Hughes. If the goal is to play the best 5 OL and one of those three OL are in the 5 best group, there is some flexibility to move guys around. Could JSS or Larry Hughes play guard? If not and one of them is the 5 best, would Banks move back to guard? If Mesa Ribordy is in that group, could him or Joe Gibson move to guard? And then there is the wildcard - while I hope a true freshman doesn't play, I think there is a chance Chris Hughes could move into contention for starting this season...
Quick look at some of these guys. Banks and Bragg are two guys I am counting on leading this group, solid play from them is needed. McCauley adding that weight is huge for him - has always been able to move, just needed a little glass in his diet to help him out. Joe Gibson is a year removed from that shoulder injury after starting a lot as a RS FR - him being healthy should be a big boost to the OL. It looks like Rhodes really came on this offseason, which is a good thing and would be nice if he started this year and next year. Both McCauley and Larry Hughes got screwed - neither of them should have played as true freshman...they had to play...but both could have really used a redshirt year...which is why I am somewhat hopeful that if Larry Hughes isn't starting, they can sneak a redshirt year out of him. Let's hope JSS is healthy this year as he could not only help on the OL, but also be a reason why we don't burn any redshirts and maybe let Larry Hughes redshirt. Really excited to see what Mesa Ribordy and Hunter Saulsbury can do - at some point in the season, even if only mop up duty, they will get some playing time this year IMO. And then there is the freshman - man I am really excited to watch this group grow. I know there was some academic concerns with Malik Clark, so I am not sure he could play if they wanted him to due to that new academic redshirt rule (which he may or may not have to abide by). If Chris Hughes is fully recovered from that ACL injury last year, he just might surprise some people this year. I was way too high on Cam Durley out of the gate, forgetting that the guy has basically only played one year of football...but just looking at the guy, he is a guy that Yenser should be able to coach up, but probably a year or two away. Can't weight to see what Antione Frazier and Hunter Harris develop into, but think both need some S&C work before they should see the field.
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