Team Updates 2015

[Deltamud77]

In an effort to promote some chatter on here, how about we give some brief updates on our schools of choice relative to QB battles, injuries, reports, etc., since most of us only concentrate on our own schools. I'd love to know, for instance, how Bama's QB battle is going, or Ole Miss's QB battles, etc.

LSU:

- The reports after the first week of practice are that Brandon Harris appears to be the starting QB. He is taking the first team reps every day and (according to some reporters) appears to be separating himself from Anthony Jennings. There are (knock on wood) no major injuries to report that they have released anyway.

- LSU appears to be pretty thin on the DL. It also appears that they will possibly be starting a true freshman at one of the corners. That is a cause for great concern IMO.

- LSU will possibly start or play extensively a true freshman (Arden Key) at defensive end as well.

- My conclusions at this point...no different than the prediction thread...LSU is going to struggle to win games this year.

[Greenhead22]

And to think just two days ago I got blasted on Twitter for saying that LSU would be lucky to go 7-5.

[camlock]

LSU might not be in serious contention, or control their own destiny, for a championship by Nov 15 or 21...but they aren't gonna "struggle" to win games and they will win their share and mess up some seasons for opponents. They are way too talented both on the field and within the coaching staff and they have a serious home field advantage...

Plus, you are ALWAYS overly pessimistic as a Tiger fan ....definitely the most pessimistic of any I read or speak to regularly.

[davidees]

MSU has 3 good QB's. That's not something we've been able to say much over the years.

[mshunter77]

Well Bama is loaded on the front 7, could be best in country overall. Still concerns at corner but reports are that Tony Brown has progressed nicely that would give them two solid corners which is more than can be said for past two years. Also Saban and Kirby Smart met with the OSU offensive coordinator from last year to get insight on how he attacked the defense and what he saw when looking at them. Plenty of talent at WR but not much experience. OL should be solid as well as RB. Guessing Coker will be the starter but he has been pushed by David Cornwell who by most accounts could be the best QB they have had in the Saban era.

[Deltamud77]

Plus, you are ALWAYS overly pessimistic as a Tiger fan ....definitely the most pessimistic of any I read or speak to regularly.

While that is true...would you be an optimist if you had Les Miles as your head coach?

How is Ole Miss looking?

As to the Bama commentator, I heard someone on talk radio (may have been Phil Savage) say that on paper, this Bama team is the most talented roster in the history of college football. Every class on campus was part of a #1 recruiting class. That is absurd!

[eSJay]

AU
I despise all the pre-season hype we are getting! I'd much rather fly under the radar, but I understand where the hype is coming from. Obviously, staying healthy is key.

QB) The coaching staff is very excited about Jeremy Johnson. He might be the best passer that CGM has coached. He is also the only QB that CGM has had in his system for 3 years in a row. We all keep hearing that Johnson doesn't have the speed that Marshall had and he isn't the RB that Cam was. That's okay because he doesn’t have to run. And, he probably won’t, at least not to the level that we saw with the two aforementioned QB’s. We will see more read option than people think. Johnson is a true pocket passer with all the tools. He looks off the secondary. He checks down. He uses the whole field. He steps up into the pocket and delivers the ball. And, most importantly, he is scary accurate. The back-up QB, White is solid, but new & untested.

Backfield / WR Corps) Johnson has a very talented backfield top to bottom as well as a high-potential WR corps. All the PR in the off season has been about throwing the ball, but the staff thinks this is the best set of RB's they've had at Auburn. They think we will beat the rushing numbers from the past two seasons, and it may not be that close. We have great receivers, including arguably one of the best WR in the country in “Duke”. He “struggles” off the field, so I’m hoping he can keep it together. If not, we still have superb talent in that area.

DE) True Freshman Byron Cowart is big, really BIG, and quick, very quick. He could be the best DE we've seen at Auburn in a very long time if he plays to his potential. Lawson is fully recovered and ready to go. He didn't lose any quickness and he is bigger and stronger. Pass rush should not be a problem for us with these two guys on the field. This was non-existent on the plains last season.

Defensively we have question marks, but I don’t think they are huge question marks. The strengths of the defense are LB, DE and Safety. IF Muschamp does what we all think he will, CGM will have the luxury of being able to throw it 30 times a game without worrying about time management or 3-and-outs. I think we can score lots of points, so again, if the defense is solid, there aren’t many teams that can out score the Tigers from Opelika, and that's what it'll take IMO.


We play a tough schedule with road games @Ark, @TAMU, @LSU. IMO the toughest game road game is @Arkansas. The month of September will be interesting though with Louisville, @LSU and MSU. We have to get out of Sept. undefeated to have any shot at being in any type of championship game.

25 days & counting!

I agree - DM77 is by far the most pessimistic "Tigah" fan I've ever encountered.....period!

[camlock]

Plus, you are ALWAYS overly pessimistic as a Tiger fan ....definitely the most pessimistic of any I read or speak to regularly.

While that is true...would you be an optimist if you had Les Miles as your head coach?

How is Ole Miss looking?

As to the Bama commentator, I heard someone on talk radio (may have been Phil Savage) say that on paper, this Bama team is the most talented roster in the history of college football. Every class on campus was part of a #1 recruiting class. That is absurd!

I get your point about Les Miles, but he is surrounded by very good coaches and lots of talent...I would never expect him to struggle to win...may not win championships when he likely should be in contention, but he'll win in general...

I have no clue about Ole Miss...I think generally speaking, Ole Miss has the most talent and overall depth that it has had in a very long time; but the team obviously has questions like at QB and those questions are the unknown for the upcoming season. The positive, all 3 QB's that are vying for the job at Ole Miss are talented athletes that have had lots of opportunities at the highest levels of college football, prospectus is one of them can do well for Ole Miss...that's not a prospect Ole Miss has always had in response to questions headed into the season. I also think every player lost to graduation last year, there is an equally capable player waiting in the wings. I expect good things.

[mshunter77]

Update on Bama QB situation. Coker is showing he has all the physical talent to be one of the better QBs in the country and even an NFL caliber arm but is just not clicking mentally. Still seems hesitant and gun shy, not making quick reads and decisions. That does not translate well for success when he will be facing some nasty DLs in the SEC.

[camlock]

Update on Bama QB situation. Coker is showing he has all the physical talent to be one of the better QBs in the country and even an NFL caliber arm but is just not clicking mentally. Still seems hesitant and gun shy, not making quick reads and decisions. That does not translate well for success when he will be facing some nasty DLs in the SEC.

You live in MS and you went to school in Starkville...stop reporting on Alabama football!

[camlock]

Update on Bama QB situation. Coker is showing he has all the physical talent to be one of the better QBs in the country and even an NFL caliber arm but is just not clicking mentally. Still seems hesitant and gun shy, not making quick reads and decisions. That does not translate well for success when he will be facing some nasty DLs in the SEC.

He'll hand it to Henry and make easy throws to genetic lottery freaks, Alabama will compete for championships....end of story

[stang67]

Update on Bama QB situation. Coker is showing he has all the physical talent to be one of the better QBs in the country and even an NFL caliber arm but is just not clicking mentally. Still seems hesitant and gun shy, not making quick reads and decisions. That does not translate well for success when he will be facing some nasty DLs in the SEC.

You live in MS and you went to school in Starkville...stop reporting on Alabama football!

Amen!

[Deltamud77]

Esjay, what is the deal with Duke Williams? Heard that he has left the team, but that is not confirmed.

I cannot comment with any degree of enlightenment about Ole Miss, but I can tell you what I expect of them. I think that they will be in contention for the West in late November. They arguably have more talent in their starters than any team outside of Alabama. (four, maybe five, first rounds draft picks) If their O-line can stay healthy, they are going to ruin a lot of days for non-Ole Miss fans.

The problem for OM is that they play at Alabama. I think they can play with Bama, and on a neutral site, beat Bama...but it will be hard to beat them at home (plus the refs ).

Cam, everyone is worried about the QB situation at LSU. I am too. However, I am more worried about severe lack of depth at LB and DL. It Beckwith or any of the DL get injured, LSU is in real trouble.

If LSU sucks, I hope somehow the stars align and Chip Kelly gets fired at Philly. Maybe Chip will show up on the Bayou. A boy can dream at least.

[camlock]

Esjay, what is the deal with Duke Williams? Heard that he has left the team, but that is not confirmed.

I cannot comment with any degree of enlightenment about Ole Miss, but I can tell you what I expect of them. I think that they will be in contention for the West in late November. They arguably have more talent in their starters than any team outside of Alabama. (four, maybe five, first rounds draft picks) If their O-line can stay healthy, they are going to ruin a lot of days for non-Ole Miss fans.

The problem for OM is that they play at Alabama. I think they can play with Bama, and on a neutral site, beat Bama...but it will be hard to beat them at home (plus the refs ).

Cam, everyone is worried about the QB situation at LSU. I am too. However, I am more worried about severe lack of depth at LB and DL. It Beckwith or any of the DL get injured, LSU is in real trouble.

If LSU sucks, I hope somehow the stars align and Chip Kelly gets fired at Philly. Maybe Chip will show up on the Bayou. A boy can dream at least.

My bet is that LSU gets out of Brandon Harris this season (and yes I believe Harris will play over Jennings) about what Auburn got from Nick Marshall last year...and that will be good enough to be much improved on offense. On defense I think they will be much better on DL than some expect. The LB depth might be an issue if one or two key guys get hurt, and it might cost them a game or two, but I believe there is enough talent on that roster and that coaching staff that they'll work around it and still be a tough out....Again, they might not be in title hunt but I just don't see a team that will "struggle to win" for any extended period this season or the foreseeable future...

as an Ole Miss fan, I personally think with access to spring and the little media let out from practice this fall camp, Chad Kelly is going to be better than Bo Wallace...a lot better. That might not mean a whole lot on Bo's behalf, but Bo Wallace won a lot of games with a lot less talent than this team has and if true that should concern people on other sidelines. It's really easy to throw out the stuff about Kelly getting in trouble, and he's earned that to an extent, but the reality of all of it is that he hasn't been in any trouble short of a fight at home on holiday break and a freshman with a bad attitude at Clemson. The leaning on Kelly getting in trouble is a weak crutch for the reality of what he really has or has not done...and if he's as good as he was billed to be out of HS and shown in JUCO, he's on a team with a lot of talent and could be a big story.

Ole Miss O-Line stays moderately healthy and they get mediocre play from QB (which is about what Bo gave them by the stats) they are as good as last year...and with the exception of the Arkansas debacle game, Ole Miss was two or three plays from undefeated...Arkansas doesn't happen is Treadwell and Auburn doesn't happen. LSU game being what it was, that team was then 11-2 or 10-2...we'll see, short of something unforeseen I think Ole Miss is 7-1 going to Auburn and that game hinges it all.

[eSJay]

Esjay, what is the deal with Duke Williams? Heard that he has left the team, but that is not confirmed.

I was told "he got to fighting" with Trayvon Reed (the 7' basketball thug) a couple of week ago. He has been given a list of things he has to do before he returns (per CGM).
I haven't heard anything about suspension or leaving the team. Not saying it isn't true, I just haven't heard that.

Duke is the man ON the field, but off the field leaves much to be desired. This is not his first time breaking team rules! Some kids never learn....even if it costs them millions!