One of the questions people have is how much is this recruiting class going to help the team in immediate terms. I guess to answer that question correctly you need to also blend in the red shirts, and grey shirts from the previous year.
The Huskies have the potential to have 25-30 players from these two classes on the field for the first time next Fall. That is up to over one third of the roster, and yes it will have an immediate, and positive impact in 2008.
The kids in highlighted in red are guys I expect to have a good chance to earn either a starting spot, or at least play quite a bit by being part of the rotation.
One place you are going to get immediate impact you can measure is on special teams. Think about what this influx of speed is going to do to improve that area?
2007
QB Ronnie Fouch is only a snap away from running this football team. All reports from Spring and Fall indicate he is going to be the real deal. Hopefully he gets some experience this year.
RB's Griffin, and Yakaboski are going to be in the competition to see who succeeds Louis Rankin. Both could have played last season but were not needed since Rankin, and Johnson were so durable.
WR Alvin Logan attracted a lot of attention last season. He will compete for a starting job being one of only three returning receivers. This kid could also move to Safety depending on need.
TE Chris Izbicki was last years big recruit but he sat out to get bigger, and stronger. It should pay off this Spring. It will be interesting to see if he can push Kirton, and Gottleib out of the way before Middleton hits campus.
OG Scott Shugert was so impressive as a frosh they considered playing him mid season in 2007. Look for him to join a crowded rotation at guard this season. Armelin, and Fancher. are developing well. Expect them to add to the meaningful depth and increase the competition this year.
On the defensive line Tyrone Duncan, and Nick Wood sat out most the Fall recovering from surgery. Both were highly thought of coming out of HS. their development will be very important to the success of the interior DL rotation. Of the two I think Wood has the best shot next year. Duncan had shoulder surgery and it takes a while to come back from that.
DE Kalani Aldrich may need another year to gain the size he needs to compete. He lost thirty pounds last season while adjusting to college life.
At LB Cort Dennison won weekly awards for being a member of the scout team. If goes 3-4 we could see a lot of him in 2008.
Safety Quinton Richardson looked ready to play physically last year, he could be moved to LB this season, or just fight it out at Safety.
Marquise Persley gained praise from the coaches as the season went on. They think he is going to evolve into a pretty good CB.
Folk sat out the Fall with a back injury, but he has the best leg on the team.
2008
At running back Freeman could start off returning kicks. I am pretty sure that Dailey, Bronson, and Fogerson red shirt but they will all get auditioned in the competition to succeed Louis Rankin.
Boyles, Aguilar and C. Polk are going to play right away because they will have a full spring and Summer under their belts. The temptation would be to red shirt Kearse, Bruns, and J. Polk, but the competition on the field early this Fall will determine the true pecking order. All these kids have the ability to play right away.
Kavario Middleton is going to be in the rotation at TE, or DE from the get go.
With Wood, and Duncan sitting out most of last Fall the Huskies are going to give shots in the rotation to Noble, Kelemente, and Ta'Amu. A lot of this depends on if UW converts to a 3-4, or sticks with the 4-3. Kelemente has the best motor. Noble has the most strength, and Ta'amu has that one thing you can't coach....massive size.
If Washington goes to a 3-4 they are going to need more inside linebackers. Bradly Roussel will play early if that is the case.
You can count on two frosh DB's getting early playing time this year to split up the class. John Tate, and Justin Glenn look to be the best prepared to challenge at corner. Maybe Vonzell McDowell picks up a RS in 2008. At Safety Taylor could play early especially if Richardson is moved to LB. If E.J. Woods ends up heading North you can count on him playing right away.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
John, I like your work, but how can you possibly look ahead to '09 with guys that are just verbals in December? There will be guys that don't make it due to academics, guys that will change their minds, etc. It's far too early to look ahead that far. There's a lot of names that looked great on paper a year or so ago (Chancellor Young, Keanteau Bankhead, etc). A look to '08 is great, but '09 is crazy at this stage!
Thanks for the kind words. I am just looking at 2008, not 2009, and the kids that have shot at playing and possibly making an impact this coming Fall.
It looks like WR, and TE are a couple of positions where you will see some kids emerge early.
I think it would be pretty hard to predict what is going to happen in 2009.
Things could certainly change by the Fall, we could have decommits, kids could fail to qualify, and we might even pick up an additional surprise or two.
Post a Comment