Future of USU Football

Behind the Bull · Post by **Behind the Bull** » December 26th, 2019, 12:40 pm

What adjustments do we need to make for this next year?

Now that Jordan Love is leaving, how will our QB situation go for this next year?
Do we need to find a newer secondary unit?
What are your thoughts for the future of USU football?

oleblu111 · Post by **oleblu111** » December 26th, 2019, 12:50 pm

Well we need help at receiver, we need R.B. improvement. O line should be better with work on the weights .Q.B. well we shall see.

Defense needs to get much stronger up front, linebacker help is badly needed secondary will be ok

Overall this will be a growing year, should get stronger as season goes on.

gomretat · Post by **gomretat** » December 26th, 2019, 1:20 pm

1) New QB
2) Tough schedule
3) Very few new players

2020 season will be dictated by how much development and improvement existing players can make in one offseason and we land a few difference makers with our small amount of open scholarships. My guess is that 2020 is a building year.

brownjeans · Post by **brownjeans** » December 26th, 2019, 2:12 pm

I'd like us to change the offense from a tightly integrated system to an offense with more dynamic formations and personnel. Be creative and fun with plays that leverage our strengths.

I want a defense that's very multiple with lots of looks and personnel packages. Put players in roles that accentuate what they do well.

Get stronger, faster, taller (at some positions). Get players thinking about how to make each other better and how they can make sacrifices (like blocking and taking double teams).

sammyhagar · Post by **sammyhagar** » December 26th, 2019, 2:21 pm

seriously man, you ask that question at this time?
pretty sure that has been beat to death the last month or two.

NavyBlueAggie · Post by **NavyBlueAggie** » December 26th, 2019, 3:28 pm

And we continue to look for comments and some sort of responsible answers from our coaching staff. Perhaps in February after the prep recruiting deadline has passed then we should expect definitive comments about direction and personnel on this team.

Behind the Bull · Post by **Behind the Bull** » December 26th, 2019, 3:32 pm

sammyhagar wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 2:21 pm
seriously man, you ask that question at this time?
pretty sure that has been beat to death the last month or two.

I feel like this question is important due to the fact it's Gary Andersen's first season back after leaving and he did not really live up to expectations.

FireAg · Post by **FireAg** » December 26th, 2019, 4:12 pm

The best, and worst, thing that could have ever happened to us have happened. And Gary is responsible.

I’m in my 50s and have to reach back in my memory bank a long time (think Eric Hipple, Rick Parros, etc) to recall where we were really competitive in the Games That Matter (GTM). I was just a kid then, but remember going to Romney to play BYU or Utah and expecting to win.

Then came the dark ages for about almost 3 decades. Sure, there was an occasional flash in the pan like the Vegas Bowl or the win at Romney over BYU in 93 (I think). But we weren’t competitive in GTM and never really expected to win. All we could realistically hope for is some good individual plays to cheer about. Our expectations were so low that we couldn’t be disappointed.

Enter Gary a decade ago. He not only talked like we were going to compete in every game, but would compete for the best local recruits make us relevant. I was skeptical because I’d heard that from everybody from Ground Chuck to Brent Guy. But danged if Gary didn’t start to deliver. And Wells continued it. He built our hopes to where we expect to compete in (just about) every game. And when we don’t even compete and get rolled in GTM by BYU or Boise or even Air Force, it hurts bad and is extremely demoralizing. It wouldn’t have hurt ten years ago. The worst thing he could have done was give us hope - and now we have some.

The future? Gary earned the right a decade ago to have another go with us if he wanted it. He wanted it and got it. It will take very hard work to recreate the magic and I hope he has the energy to do it again. But, like any coach, he deserves at least 3-4 years to do it with his system and his recruits. This year, I believe he was saddled with the obligation to do it the Wells/Yost way. Next year will be more Garys way and the years after will be all Gary’s.

I’m a supporter and believe it was the right guy (he earned it years ago) but I also hope he realizes that it will take a lot of work and energy to do it now. Maybe more than the first time.

We expect to compete In GTM and win half of them. That’s my belief in the future of Aggies football.

oleblu111 · Post by **oleblu111** » December 26th, 2019, 4:33 pm

Many posters thought we would have a year like the previous season of course we did not have as good players as last season. I hate to think what the O would have been like without Mariner that Gary brought from Utah. O line play was not good schedule was harder. Thank goodness we had a great kicker.

D lost some very good players and after Woody left they really got exposed they were not nearly as strong as they needed to be.

Much of next season will depend on the weight room growth. Gary said many times what was wrong with the team.

hickaggie · Post by **hickaggie** » December 26th, 2019, 5:04 pm

I'm not sure that Strength is the biggest issue here. They can all be stronger but it was the lack of athleticism, speed, and instincts that worries me the most. Our D lineman can get stronger and bigger but I don't see anyone returning who is going to solve the D end problem. If the Aggies are going to run a 4 man front they need to start winning recruiting battles against Wyoming and Utah and go hard after that position.

WannabeAgAlum · Post by **WannabeAgAlum** » December 26th, 2019, 5:15 pm

Maybe I have Columbi colored goggles, but I like what I've seen from him and have high expectations. I think he'll have a better/more experienced supporting cast than Jordan Love had this year. Excited for Koch to be back.

I'll be optimistic and say we get 1 more win than this year.

oleblu111 · Post by **oleblu111** » December 26th, 2019, 5:27 pm

Well you are wrong about the strength being a issue with the team when you get pushed all over the field, game is over.
The first thing you need to when building a quality football team is quality linemen on both sides of the ball, trust me been there done that. That was a huge problem last season. The D was in different line up's this past season with 3 and 4 man fronts. I would need to be in at practice with coach's input to determine why many things get done, but I can say ideas many on the board bring forth are a real shot in the dark. I will tell you the Ena and Gary know much more concerning players abilities than what You or I know.

We will not win recruiting battles with Utah.

hickaggie · Post by **hickaggie** » December 26th, 2019, 5:54 pm

oleblu111 wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 5:27 pm
Well you are wrong about the strength being a issue with the team when you get pushed all over the field, game is over.
The first thing you need to when building a quality football team is quality linemen on both sides of the ball, trust me been there done that. That was a huge problem last season. The D was in different line up's this past season with 3 and 4 man fronts. I would need to be in at practice with coach's input to determine why many things get done, but I can say ideas many on the board bring forth are a real shot in the dark. I will tell you the Ena and Gary know much more concerning players abilities than what You or I know.

We will not win recruiting battles with Utah.

But they got pushed around when we stuck a finesse edge rusher and LB at D end. They did fine last year and were told all preseason how deep and experienced the D line was. You could put Tipa in the weight room 24/7 and he's never going to be a 4 man D end. Losing the NG hurt but our interior lineman didn't pass rush well but Anderson and Unga they weren't really getting their asses handed to them down low against the run. It was everything else. The Aggies were getting killed on the outside and could not break down or play assignment football.

My point is simple. Yes strength is critical but the defense lacked much more in speed, quickness, and technique.

hickaggie · Post by **hickaggie** » December 26th, 2019, 5:56 pm

hickaggie wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 5:54 pm

oleblu111 wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 5:27 pm
Well you are wrong about the strength being a issue with the team when you get pushed all over the field, game is over.
The first thing you need to when building a quality football team is quality linemen on both sides of the ball, trust me been there done that. That was a huge problem last season. The D was in different line up's this past season with 3 and 4 man fronts. I would need to be in at practice with coach's input to determine why many things get done, but I can say ideas many on the board bring forth are a real shot in the dark. I will tell you the Ena and Gary know much more concerning players abilities than what You or I know.

We will not win recruiting battles with Utah.
But they got pushed around when we stuck a finesse edge rusher and LB at D end. They did fine last year and were told all preseason how deep and experienced the D line was. You could put Tipa in the weight room 24/7 and he's never going to be a 4 man D end. Losing the NG hurt and our interior lineman didn't pass rush well at allm but Anderson and Unga the, weren't really getting their asses handed to them down low against the run. It was everything else. The Aggies were getting killed on the outside and could not break down or play assignment football.

My point is simple. Yes strength is critical but the defense lacked much more in speed, quickness, and technique.

oleblu111 · Post by **oleblu111** » December 26th, 2019, 6:13 pm

hickaggie wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 5:56 pm

hickaggie wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 5:54 pm

oleblu111 wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 5:27 pm
Well you are wrong about the strength being a issue with the team when you get pushed all over the field, game is over.
The first thing you need to when building a quality football team is quality linemen on both sides of the ball, trust me been there done that. That was a huge problem last season. The D was in different line up's this past season with 3 and 4 man fronts. I would need to be in at practice with coach's input to determine why many things get done, but I can say ideas many on the board bring forth are a real shot in the dark. I will tell you the Ena and Gary know much more concerning players abilities than what You or I know.

We will not win recruiting battles with Utah.
But they got pushed around when we stuck a finesse edge rusher and LB at D end. They did fine last year and were told all preseason how deep and experienced the D line was. You could put Tipa in the weight room 24/7 and he's never going to be a 4 man D end. Losing the NG hurt and our interior lineman didn't pass rush well at allm but Anderson and Unga the, weren't really getting their asses handed to them down low against the run. It was everything else. The Aggies were getting killed on the outside and could not break down or play assignment football.

My point is simple. Yes strength is critical but the defense lacked much more in speed, quickness, and technique.

They lacked all of the above, but losing two good players in the front changed them a lot, one reason why play's did better running the ball outside was they leaned inside because they did not stop off Tackle runs.

The speed up offense we ran was a nightmare for defense. A rebuild of football requires strong up front players, we only had 2 of those on either side of the ball. To be frank some of the secondary tackling problem was a lack of guts, because you are not tough enough to go heads up so you dive at ankles. Which means a lack of toughness. Trust me no one teaches kids to tackle like that.

To be honest there was a lack of talent on this team I believe they over achieved with 7 wins

Agezzz · Post by **Agezzz** » December 26th, 2019, 6:23 pm

gomretat wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 1:20 pm
1) New QB
2) Tough schedule
3) Very few new players

2020 season will be dictated by how much development and improvement existing players can make in one offseason and we land a few difference makers with our small amount of open scholarships. My guess is that 2020 is a building year.

If 2020 is a building year, what was 2019?

brownjeans · Post by **brownjeans** » December 26th, 2019, 6:31 pm

I thought this thread was about the future

Post by **aggies22** » December 26th, 2019, 7:29 pm

gomretat wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 1:20 pm
1) New QB
2) Tough schedule
3) Very few new players

2020 season will be dictated by how much development and improvement existing players can make in one offseason and we land a few difference makers with our small amount of open scholarships. My guess is that 2020 is a building year.

After losing 13 seniors, 2 zero impact transfers and 2 NFL draft picks, 2020 better not be a building year. 2020 is the type of upperclassmen heavy year that you build for.

FloridaAggie13 · Post by **FloridaAggie13** » December 26th, 2019, 8:45 pm

Agezzz wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 6:23 pm

gomretat wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 1:20 pm
1) New QB
2) Tough schedule
3) Very few new players

2020 season will be dictated by how much development and improvement existing players can make in one offseason and we land a few difference makers with our small amount of open scholarships. My guess is that 2020 is a building year.
If 2020 is a building year, what was 2019?

2019 was Ena's nap.

KissMyAg · Post by **KissMyAg** » December 27th, 2019, 9:13 am

Behind the Bull wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 3:32 pm

sammyhagar wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 2:21 pm
seriously man, you ask that question at this time?
pretty sure that has been beat to death the last month or two.

I feel like this question is important due to the fact it's Gary Andersen's first season back after leaving and he did not really live up to expectations.

Feel free to read the past two months of posts for this topic...

Post by **aggies22** » December 27th, 2019, 9:18 am

hickaggie wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 5:54 pm

oleblu111 wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 5:27 pm
Well you are wrong about the strength being a issue with the team when you get pushed all over the field, game is over.
The first thing you need to when building a quality football team is quality linemen on both sides of the ball, trust me been there done that. That was a huge problem last season. The D was in different line up's this past season with 3 and 4 man fronts. I would need to be in at practice with coach's input to determine why many things get done, but I can say ideas many on the board bring forth are a real shot in the dark. I will tell you the Ena and Gary know much more concerning players abilities than what You or I know.

We will not win recruiting battles with Utah.
But they got pushed around when we stuck a finesse edge rusher and LB at D end. They did fine last year and were told all preseason how deep and experienced the D line was. You could put Tipa in the weight room 24/7 and he's never going to be a 4 man D end. Losing the NG hurt but our interior lineman didn't pass rush well but Anderson and Unga they weren't really getting their asses handed to them down low against the run. It was everything else. The Aggies were getting killed on the outside and could not break down or play assignment football.

My point is simple. Yes strength is critical but the defense lacked much more in speed, quickness, and technique.

This is 100% correct.

Post by **aggies22** » December 27th, 2019, 9:23 am

oleblu111 wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 6:13 pm

hickaggie wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 5:56 pm

hickaggie wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 5:54 pm

oleblu111 wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 5:27 pm
Well you are wrong about the strength being a issue with the team when you get pushed all over the field, game is over.
The first thing you need to when building a quality football team is quality linemen on both sides of the ball, trust me been there done that. That was a huge problem last season. The D was in different line up's this past season with 3 and 4 man fronts. I would need to be in at practice with coach's input to determine why many things get done, but I can say ideas many on the board bring forth are a real shot in the dark. I will tell you the Ena and Gary know much more concerning players abilities than what You or I know.

We will not win recruiting battles with Utah.
But they got pushed around when we stuck a finesse edge rusher and LB at D end. They did fine last year and were told all preseason how deep and experienced the D line was. You could put Tipa in the weight room 24/7 and he's never going to be a 4 man D end. Losing the NG hurt and our interior lineman didn't pass rush well at allm but Anderson and Unga the, weren't really getting their asses handed to them down low against the run. It was everything else. The Aggies were getting killed on the outside and could not break down or play assignment football.

My point is simple. Yes strength is critical but the defense lacked much more in speed, quickness, and technique.

They lacked all of the above, but losing two good players in the front changed them a lot, one reason why play's did better running the ball outside was they leaned inside because they did not stop off Tackle runs.

The speed up offense we ran was a nightmare for defense. A rebuild of football requires strong up front players, we only had 2 of those on either side of the ball. To be frank some of the secondary tackling problem was a lack of guts, because you are not tough enough to go heads up so you dive at ankles. Which means a lack of toughness. Trust me no one teaches kids to tackle like that.

To be honest there was a lack of talent on this team I believe they over achieved with 7 wins

Believe me my Aggie brother, I mean no disrespect but no one will be able to convince me that this team lacked talent.

Post by **aggies22** » December 27th, 2019, 9:34 am

Behind the Bull wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 12:40 pm
What adjustments do we need to make for this next year?

Now that Jordan Love is leaving, how will our QB situation go for this next year?
Do we need to find a newer secondary unit?
What are your thoughts for the future of USU football?

Hopefully we see a change in defensive scheme. That is the #1 change for me. Mike Sanford prefers a QB that can be more of a true running threat in an RPO offense so I think we'll see the offense change some as well.

The QB job is Henry Colombi's to lose. I think we'll add a grad transfer RB and possibly a grad transfer WR. I would count on at least one JuCo WR. I think we have a wealth of good young offensive linemen just begging to be developed and become great.

What we do on defense totally depends on if we are still pretending to be a 4-man front. If that's the plan we are still at least 5 defensive linemen short and we don't have enough scholarships to bring that many in. I do think we'll add two more JuCo defensive linemen. We still have a bunch of talented but young guys who were recruited to play linebacker if the thought of returning to a 3-4/3-3-5 were being kicked around. There are a couple of young defensive backs that showed promise but more is still needed. I think there is a good chance we'll add another JuCo cornerback or safety.

mcaggie1 · Post by **mcaggie1** » December 27th, 2019, 9:42 am

aggies22 wrote: ↑
December 27th, 2019, 9:23 am

oleblu111 wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 6:13 pm

hickaggie wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 5:56 pm

hickaggie wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 5:54 pm

oleblu111 wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 5:27 pm
Well you are wrong about the strength being a issue with the team when you get pushed all over the field, game is over.
The first thing you need to when building a quality football team is quality linemen on both sides of the ball, trust me been there done that. That was a huge problem last season. The D was in different line up's this past season with 3 and 4 man fronts. I would need to be in at practice with coach's input to determine why many things get done, but I can say ideas many on the board bring forth are a real shot in the dark. I will tell you the Ena and Gary know much more concerning players abilities than what You or I know.

We will not win recruiting battles with Utah.
But they got pushed around when we stuck a finesse edge rusher and LB at D end. They did fine last year and were told all preseason how deep and experienced the D line was. You could put Tipa in the weight room 24/7 and he's never going to be a 4 man D end. Losing the NG hurt and our interior lineman didn't pass rush well at allm but Anderson and Unga the, weren't really getting their asses handed to them down low against the run. It was everything else. The Aggies were getting killed on the outside and could not break down or play assignment football.

My point is simple. Yes strength is critical but the defense lacked much more in speed, quickness, and technique.

They lacked all of the above, but losing two good players in the front changed them a lot, one reason why play's did better running the ball outside was they leaned inside because they did not stop off Tackle runs.

The speed up offense we ran was a nightmare for defense. A rebuild of football requires strong up front players, we only had 2 of those on either side of the ball. To be frank some of the secondary tackling problem was a lack of guts, because you are not tough enough to go heads up so you dive at ankles. Which means a lack of toughness. Trust me no one teaches kids to tackle like that.

To be honest there was a lack of talent on this team I believe they over achieved with 7 wins
Believe me my Aggie brother, I mean no disrespect but no one will be able to convince me that this team lacked talent.

Amen. It drives me crazy when I hear we had a lack of talent, especially with the defensive front seven. Lack of talent..Lack of talent? Going in to the year everyone was excited about the front seven. "Strength of the team" people were saying. "No one is going to run against us" they said. We went from "Strength of the team" to "no talent"......quite rapidly.

In my humble opinion, and I have said it til I am blue in the face.......we needed ATTITUDE. Gary's teams his first go round had SWAGGER. I haven't seen that swagger yet the second go round. Not much enthusiasm on the bench and on the field. It is that attitude that can get a Kent State team to make a better team (talent wise) look bad.

Post by **GeoAg** » December 27th, 2019, 9:47 am

I think that Colombi is likely to be the starter at QB and he has shown me enough to feel good about where we will be there. Peasley can move the ball with his legs as needed. I also think Cooper Legas will end up being a great player eventually as well

At RB, I would hope very much for a healthy season from Warren. I think that Nawahine will be solid, but not spectacular. Noa has a chance to be special, but will he be able to to contribute right away? I don't think we see him RS

On the OL, they performed decently against some pretty good fronts until Koch went down. I expect they've seen that they will need to improve their strength, but I think we have decent young talent here

At TE, we'll be all right with Terrell. At WR, I am worried. We need Thompkins to become what he can be. Nathan needs to be more consistent. I expect we may still see some more names show up here, but I think this is the weakness on offense for next year. It seems like right now we just have a bunch of guys and nobody who really stands out consistently. That must change from this group.

On D...wow, I am really worried here overall. We are solid, if not deep at safety. I think we will be improved at corner and the starters will be Steele and an improved Lampkin, but I really need to see some toughness in the defensive backfield that disappeared over the course of the season

At LB...I don't see anyone on the roster currently with the ability to be what we need. We really need help here. We have some athletic guys who don't seem to have football sense (taking bad angles, not making the right fit) and some smarter players that just don't have the athletic ability of past Aggie greats. Not sure what the answer will be. Obviously there is a lot of room for improvement from the young guys. There has been a lot of talk about changing alignment back to a 3-4. Not sure how you can do that with this group at LB

At DL...The cupboard seems equally bare. Hale and Fata are decent, but we need them to take a massive step. Tei and Henenger are our best returners, but I don't see much depth and they'll get worn down

I see this D getting run on consistently and awfully. Might be one of those years where we lead in pass defense because nobody has to throw the ball. Really concerned.

I would be less concerned if I saw things that I saw from GA teams in the past like great pursuit and effort...but the team didn't have it, at least not this year.

I will consider bowl eligibility a great success next year, but I don't expect it. I think our next chance for a great year is two year's from now in Henri's senior season with a veteran OL and some time to address the defensive and WR deficincies.

BLUERUFiO · Post by **BLUERUFiO** » December 27th, 2019, 9:50 am

Serious question: how much of this is due to Matt Wells leaving the cupboard bare and how much of this is due to current coaching?

Aggieiester · Post by **Aggieiester** » December 27th, 2019, 10:05 am

Hey '22

Not trying to be a smart (I can't express myself without swearing) here but a couple your posts there seem to contradict others. One post you agree that the defense lacked speed, quickness and technique and in another post you say that "no one will be able to convince me that this team lacked talent". Speed and quickness = talent and you could even argue that technique is talent too, some pick it up and others don't.

Another one I'm not clear on: "After losing 13 seniors, 2 zero impact transfers and 2 NFL draft picks, 2020 better not be a building year. 2020 is the type of upperclassmen heavy year that you build for" but then later post that to run a 4 man front we are at least 5 defensive lineman short, (even with a switch back to a three man front we are 4 lineman short), on top of obvious immediate needs in getting a grad transfer running back/JUCO and WR's it sounds like a bit of a rebuild to me at least in certain position groups, and personally I'm not 100% comfortable where we are at Linebacker and Secondary.

frankiesaysrelax · Post by **frankiesaysrelax** » December 27th, 2019, 10:35 am

mcaggie1 wrote: ↑
December 27th, 2019, 9:42 am

aggies22 wrote: ↑
December 27th, 2019, 9:23 am

oleblu111 wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 6:13 pm

hickaggie wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 5:56 pm

hickaggie wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 5:54 pm

oleblu111 wrote: ↑
December 26th, 2019, 5:27 pm
Well you are wrong about the strength being a issue with the team when you get pushed all over the field, game is over.
The first thing you need to when building a quality football team is quality linemen on both sides of the ball, trust me been there done that. That was a huge problem last season. The D was in different line up's this past season with 3 and 4 man fronts. I would need to be in at practice with coach's input to determine why many things get done, but I can say ideas many on the board bring forth are a real shot in the dark. I will tell you the Ena and Gary know much more concerning players abilities than what You or I know.

We will not win recruiting battles with Utah.
But they got pushed around when we stuck a finesse edge rusher and LB at D end. They did fine last year and were told all preseason how deep and experienced the D line was. You could put Tipa in the weight room 24/7 and he's never going to be a 4 man D end. Losing the NG hurt and our interior lineman didn't pass rush well at allm but Anderson and Unga the, weren't really getting their asses handed to them down low against the run. It was everything else. The Aggies were getting killed on the outside and could not break down or play assignment football.

My point is simple. Yes strength is critical but the defense lacked much more in speed, quickness, and technique.

They lacked all of the above, but losing two good players in the front changed them a lot, one reason why play's did better running the ball outside was they leaned inside because they did not stop off Tackle runs.

The speed up offense we ran was a nightmare for defense. A rebuild of football requires strong up front players, we only had 2 of those on either side of the ball. To be frank some of the secondary tackling problem was a lack of guts, because you are not tough enough to go heads up so you dive at ankles. Which means a lack of toughness. Trust me no one teaches kids to tackle like that.

To be honest there was a lack of talent on this team I believe they over achieved with 7 wins
Believe me my Aggie brother, I mean no disrespect but no one will be able to convince me that this team lacked talent.
Amen. It drives me crazy when I hear we had a lack of talent, especially with the defensive front seven. Lack of talent..Lack of talent? Going in to the year everyone was excited about the front seven. "Strength of the team" people were saying. "No one is going to run against us" they said. We went from "Strength of the team" to "no talent"......quite rapidly.

In my humble opinion, and I have said it til I am blue in the face.......we needed ATTITUDE. Gary's teams his first go round had SWAGGER. I haven't seen that swagger yet the second go round. Not much enthusiasm on the bench and on the field. It is that attitude that can get a Kent State team to make a better team (talent wise) look bad.

I don’t know if this falls under strength or attitude hut how many times this last season did it seem like we had the opposing QB wrapped up for a sack just to see them break free for run or pass down field.

oleblu111 · Post by **oleblu111** » December 27th, 2019, 10:54 am

Aggieiester wrote: ↑
December 27th, 2019, 10:05 am
Hey '22

Not trying to be a smart (I can't express myself without swearing) here but a couple your posts there seem to contradict others. One post you agree that the defense lacked speed, quickness and technique and in another post you say that "no one will be able to convince me that this team lacked talent". Speed and quickness = talent and you could even argue that technique is talent too, some pick it up and others don't.

Another one I'm not clear on: "After losing 13 seniors, 2 zero impact transfers and 2 NFL draft picks, 2020 better not be a building year. 2020 is the type of upperclassmen heavy year that you build for" but then later post that to run a 4 man front we are at least 5 defensive lineman short, (even with a switch back to a three man front we are 4 lineman short), on top of obvious immediate needs in getting a grad transfer running back/JUCO and WR's it sounds like a bit of a rebuild to me at least in certain position groups, and personally I'm not 100% comfortable where we are at Linebacker and Secondary.

He may just be talking about skill position players on offense. The O line which is one area that I have quite a bit of knowledge of, was not good at all, we had two decent tackles, one went down and the other one had a off year.

I may have not explained my point as well as I should have Biggest problem on this team is a lack of strength. This should happen in the off season in the weight room, if they get stronger than we have a chance to be better

I have a very good friend that is a retired D-1 coach he watch's USU football we have very good conversations about what goes on. There are other problems that need to be addressed in the off season, most likely they will be, but strength is where you start. There may be some staff changes. I do not like to talk down coach's until I know more about what is going on with kids, and what he is being asked to do by the head man.

I honestly believe that we over achieved with 7 wins we upset a very good SDS team, and 7 wins was ok, we did have a bad loss in the bowl game where lack of strength was very easy to see.

I did see a lack of speed at linebacker, and when Woody went down that group had trouble, The secondary did not tackle well and need a lot of work, some of that was a lack of toughness not taking someone on wrapping up, and driving thru, they avoided contact to much IMHO.

El Sapo · Post by **El Sapo** » December 27th, 2019, 12:55 pm

When I look back at the season I think the WF loss was coaching. I thought we were mentally beaten before we took the field against the stench and Boise. KS beat us with more emotion and determination than physical dominance in our Bowl Game.

Lot's can change over the offseason but I'm optimistic. Let's get the same coaching staff back for a 2nd season and hope they continue to improve as a group. I'm not that worried about our players. Put me in there with the fans who think we have the players to be competitive. We've been outcoached in our losses and I'll hold GA and his staff accountable after he gets a fair amount of time on the job.

Post by **aggies22** » December 27th, 2019, 1:38 pm

Aggieiester wrote: ↑
December 27th, 2019, 10:05 am
Hey '22

Not trying to be a smart (I can't express myself without swearing) here but a couple your posts there seem to contradict others. One post you agree that the defense lacked speed, quickness and technique and in another post you say that "no one will be able to convince me that this team lacked talent". Speed and quickness = talent and you could even argue that technique is talent too, some pick it up and others don't.

Another one I'm not clear on: "After losing 13 seniors, 2 zero impact transfers and 2 NFL draft picks, 2020 better not be a building year. 2020 is the type of upperclassmen heavy year that you build for" but then later post that to run a 4 man front we are at least 5 defensive lineman short, (even with a switch back to a three man front we are 4 lineman short), on top of obvious immediate needs in getting a grad transfer running back/JUCO and WR's it sounds like a bit of a rebuild to me at least in certain position groups, and personally I'm not 100% comfortable where we are at Linebacker and Secondary.

No worries my Aggie brother! I'll clarify.

Of the three attributes listed I think we lacked technique. That is a COACHING issue not a talent issue. I can see how it could come across as confusing when three were listed and I simply "liked" the post in question.

With paragraph two. With amount of returning players 2020 SHOULDN'T be a rebuilding year. We have a junior QB, a senior RB, a senior TE, 2 senior WRs and a junior, all 5 starting offensive linemen plus 3 that saw significant playing time. Do I think we might add a grad transfer RB? Probably. Why? Because I have been told they want to add one. The only need I see offensively is to add a JuCo WR and possibly a grad transfer.

Defensively, IF they choose to stick with the 4-man. We are short handed and undersized and remain that way unless they find a way to add five more ACTUAL defensive linemen NOT converted linebackers. IF they choose to revert to a 3-man front then we only need to add two or three more dudes and that is certainly doable. The 2019 linebackers that were converted to defensive ends get to go back to their original position and suddenly we're deep there again. The secondary could stand to add a cornerback and possibly a safety but I thought Cam Lampkin could be a star.

I hope that clears that up. I'm always game to continue a solid discussion.

oleblu111 · Post by **oleblu111** » December 27th, 2019, 2:28 pm

Lets see we have a junior Q.B. with limited experience, a senior R.B. that has trouble with keeping hold of the ball. Tight end that is a good blocker, but is very slow. Wide receivers that are at best average. If the 5 returning O linemen kids will work getting stronger than maybe a big plus. No one mentions the loss of a great F.G. kicker.

A 3 man line requires good linebackers which again are average at best. In fact lacking in speed. one was used as a spy in the Bowl game, but was to slow to content their Q.B. No one teach's kids to tackle as poorly as what the secondary did perhaps a courage pill is needed there'

What I see is a step back at Q.B. same at R.B. less at receiver no one to replace Mariner, improve O line if they work hard in off season. Of course if recruiting is good we could do much better.

Defense will go as far as recruiting or new kids stepping up goes, not a good returning group IMHO

brownjeans · Post by **brownjeans** » December 27th, 2019, 3:11 pm

BLUERUFiO wrote: ↑
December 27th, 2019, 9:50 am
Serious question: how much of this is due to Matt Wells leaving the cupboard bare and how much of this is due to current coaching?

I feel like the offense was thin - but we knew that before the season started.
IMO if there are comments being made about the players not being strong enough or the talent not being there, it's a deflection of responsibility - especially if it's directed toward the defense. The defense was mostly the same players as last year and last year they played well.

oleblu111 · Post by **oleblu111** » December 27th, 2019, 4:19 pm

brownjeans wrote: ↑
December 27th, 2019, 3:11 pm

BLUERUFiO wrote: ↑
December 27th, 2019, 9:50 am
Serious question: how much of this is due to Matt Wells leaving the cupboard bare and how much of this is due to current coaching?
I feel like the offense was thin - but we knew that before the season started.
IMO if there are comments being made about the players not being strong enough or the talent not being there, it's a deflection of responsibility - especially if it's directed toward the defense. The defense was mostly the same players as last year and last year they played well.

Some of the defensive players lost from last season.
1. Woody leading tackler from last season out by injury
2. Christiansen 2nd leader in tackles
3. Ferguson 3rd leader in tackles
4. Rocquemore 4th leader in tackles
5. Wade 6th leader in tackles
6. Suli 8th leader in tackles
7. Fua 9th in tackles out injury.

Aggieiester · Post by **Aggieiester** » December 27th, 2019, 5:28 pm

oleblu111 wrote: ↑
December 27th, 2019, 4:19 pm

brownjeans wrote: ↑
December 27th, 2019, 3:11 pm

BLUERUFiO wrote: ↑
December 27th, 2019, 9:50 am
Serious question: how much of this is due to Matt Wells leaving the cupboard bare and how much of this is due to current coaching?
I feel like the offense was thin - but we knew that before the season started.
IMO if there are comments being made about the players not being strong enough or the talent not being there, it's a deflection of responsibility - especially if it's directed toward the defense. The defense was mostly the same players as last year and last year they played well.
Some of the defensive players lost from last season.
1. Woody leading tackler from last season out by injury
2. Christiansen 2nd leader in tackles
3. Ferguson 3rd leader in tackles
4. Rocquemore 4th leader in tackles
5. Wade 6th leader in tackles
6. Suli 8th leader in tackles
7. Fua 9th in tackles out injury.

So, mostly the same defense as last year except 7 out of the top 9 tacklers.
Don't forget Ingram leaving about a month before the season started

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