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Our young talent

johnny2x2x

johnny2x2x

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2011
Messages
12,627
Sure we'll lose several key players off the D next season, but the young talent that is contributing on both sides of the ball makes me think that this team is still on the rise. We can be better next year than this year. Besides a lot of good players with junior status returning next season (Rush, Drummond, Hicks Kiterridge, Hill, Lipett, Mumphrey, Langford, Kruse, Gleichart, T. Jones and Dennis)these are the players with freshman or sophomore eligibility that are contributing right now.

Sophomores:
QB Conner Cook
OL Jack Allen
OL Donovan Clark
OL Travis Jackson
FB Trevor Pendleton
WR Andre Sims Jr
WR Aaron Burbridge
DL Shilique Calhoun
DL Branden Clemens
DL Damon Knox
DL Joel Heath
DL Matt Scarpinato
DL Lawrence Thomas
LB Ed Davis
CB Trae Waynes
S RJ Williamson
CB Arjen Colquhoun
LB Darien Harris

Freshmen:
OL Jack Conklin
TE Evan Jones
TE Josiah Price
TE James Lyles
DB Demetrius Cox
DB Mark Meyers
WR Monty Madaris
FB Riley Bullough
CB Darien Hicks
RB Delton Williams

All of these freshman and sophomores are playing and contributing with several of them being stars (Calhoun, Cook, Conklin, Davis etc). The staff is doing a fantastic job of keeping the pipline full and we've basically been reloading now. Of the seniors we lose, Max Bullough will be the toughest to replace, but there is certainly a lot of talent up and coming. Dennard will be replaced by Waynes as the boundry corner, Waynes will be replaced by Hicks or Ezra Robinson. Lewis is already losing snaps to a bigger and faster RJ Williamson at safety. Ed Davis is the heir apparent to Denicos Allen and had 2-1/2 sacks Saturday. Defensive tackle is one of the most stacked and loaded position on the field, and DE is loaded too.

The O line has been rotating 8 guys all season, so the departures of Treadwell and Fonoti aren't going to be as paiful as they could have been, we'll miss Treadwell's toughness inside, but Jack Allen, Travis Jackson, and Conner Kruse will make up the interior of the O line next season, all have played extensivle and 2 were freshmen all americans. Jack Conklin is a fixture at LT for us for the next 4 years, he's a stud and it's incredible the job he's done there as a freshman this year. Donavon Clark has played extensively and should replace Fonoti. Have lots of talented younger guys (Higgins, McGowan, Kieler) that will join the rotation.

Bennie Flowler is the only skilled position player of note that we lose.

No reason to think we take a step back next season, should continue to build more depth. The offense should be much improved next year and the defense will still be at minimum a top 10 unit in the nation.
 
Comp had a great quote in his article today, i can't take credit for it but see below

The Spartans tapped Michigan out with a self-sharpening defense that seems to trot out a new, ready-for-domination, redshirted underclassman every week. This time, it was sophomore second-string linebacker Ed Davis who registered 2.5 of the Spartans' seven sacks. His play symbolized the depth of the program, its defensive foundation, which will carry on into November, December and 2014
 
Forgot to mention true freshman RJ Shelton, kid is electric. Also McGarrett Kings is a sophomore and might be our #1 WR.

MD has built this team for long term success. He's still building it up and has lofty goals, the facilities upgrades, and the enhanced recruiting efforts are the next step to elevating this program further. The goal of competing for a B1G title most years has been realized. The current goal is to get to and win a Rose Bowl, but that's not the final goal. MD wants to win a Natty Tiitle, we're still a ways from competing for one, but that's the final goal for our program
 
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johnny2x2x said:
Forgot to mention true freshman RJ Shelton, kid is electric. Also McGarrett Kings is a sophomore and might be our #1 WR.

MD has built this team for long term success. He's still building it up and has lofty goals, the facilities upgrades, and the enhanced recruiting efforts are the next step to elevating this program further. The goal of competing for a B1G title most years has been realized. The current goal is to get to and win a Rose Bowl, but that's not the final goal. MD wants to win a Natty Tiitle, we're still a ways from competing for one, but that's the final goal for our program
Click to expand...

those who thought we peaked in 2011 and 2012 was reality were sorely mistaken. last years team had the foundation of a stifling defense but had no QB, this year we solved that problem and we're back.
 
Sbee said:
those who thought we peaked in 2011 and 2012 was reality were sorely mistaken. last years team had the foundation of a stifling defense but had no QB, this year we solved that problem and we're back.
Click to expand...

And that could be the difference between last year's MSU/OSU game and a likely rematch in Indy. Cook is a solid kid who appears to be growing with confidence every time out. Played his HS ball just ten minutes from my house. Nice to see him do well. Another Walsh alum will do his best to make Connor's life miserable in the B1G Championship but I'm sure they'll embrace before and after, regardless of the outcome.
 
Sbee said:
those who thought we peaked in 2011 and 2012 was reality were sorely mistaken. last years team had the foundation of a stifling defense but had no QB, this year we solved that problem and we're back.
Click to expand...

Last year was a blip, it is evident now that it was 80% on Maxwell, and 20% on bad luck. We lost 5 close games that we easily should have won with a decent passing game. This year, while we aren;t the Baylor Bears, we have a much better offense with a ton more play makers. On defense, do people remember how terrible of a season Johnny Adams had? Dennard has been a huge upgrade, and Trae Waynes is easily better than Adams already and he's a sophomore. Just as big of a difference is that sophomore Shilique Calhoun is an upgrade over Will Gholston.

What's also heartening is that it seems the coaches have consistently called which players are going to be studs. We heard Jack Conklin was great on the practice squad last year, well, this year he's a very good freshmen starter at LT. We heard that Calhounwas going to be a special player, he is. We heard that Ed Davis was killing it all spring, he's ready to become a star. Now we are hearing that our 1st string defense could not handle Damien Terry on the scout team this week as he was doubling for Devin Gardner. Terry is going to be on the field next season no matter how much better Conner Cook gets.
 
johnny2x2x said:
Last year was a blip, it is evident now that it was 80% on Maxwell, and 20% on bad luck. We lost 5 close games that we easily should have won with a decent passing game. This year, while we aren;t the Baylor Bears, we have a much better offense with a ton more play makers. On defense, do people remember how terrible of a season Johnny Adams had? Dennard has been a huge upgrade, and Trae Waynes is easily better than Adams already and he's a sophomore. Just as big of a difference is that sophomore Shilique Calhoun is an upgrade over Will Gholston.

What's also heartening is that it seems the coaches have consistently called which players are going to be studs. We heard Jack Conklin was great on the practice squad last year, well, this year he's a very good freshmen starter at LT. We heard that Calhounwas going to be a special player, he is. We heard that Ed Davis was killing it all spring, he's ready to become a star. Now we are hearing that our 1st string defense could not handle Damien Terry on the scout team this week as he was doubling for Devin Gardner. Terry is going to be on the field next season no matter how much better Conner Cook gets.
Click to expand...

all of that being said, Michigan is a few OL away from being a very solid team. other than the domination in the trenches, it would have been a close game. they need to upgrade that unit next year, they lose two senior tackles but will have valuable experience at guard, those guys are getting torched this year but could get better.

they'll be better but we sure as hell aren't going anywhere.
 
Sbee said:
all of that being said, Michigan is a few OL away from being a very solid team. other than the domination in the trenches, it would have been a close game. they need to upgrade that unit next year, they lose two senior tackles but will have valuable experience at guard, those guys are getting torched this year but could get better.

they'll be better but we sure as hell aren't going anywhere.
Click to expand...

Given what we are returning to our D line next year, they're going to have to be a lot better, because I expect our D line to have improved significantly. Ron Burton has also been a huge addition to this staff, the D line technique has improved immensly.

Apparently the 100+ recruit weekend we had was a smashing success and we'll be reaping the benefits very soon.

What a big difference a few weeks make. After the ND game we are all pretty down, but it's obvious MD has a plan and it's working.
 
johnny2x2x said:
Given what we are returning to our D line next year, they're going to have to be a lot better, because I expect our D line to have improved significantly. Ron Burton has also been a huge addition to this staff, the D line technique has improved immensly.

Apparently the 100+ recruit weekend we had was a smashing success and we'll be reaping the benefits very soon.

What a big difference a few weeks make. After the ND game we are all pretty down, but it's obvious MD has a plan and it's working.
Click to expand...

do you think Riley moves to LB to replace Max?
 
Sbee said:
do you think Riley moves to LB to replace Max?
Click to expand...

You would hope that he's playing LB in practice right now then if that's the case. Not sure what the plan is for the Mike LB, Max is like a 2nd DC out there, he knows everything the offense is trying to do and has an amazing memery for offensive plays he's seen before and the correct response to them. Darien Harris is a possibility, so is moving Taiwan Jones over, he certainly has prototypical size. Jon Reschke has been hurt and he has the head for it, maybe a little more physically talented than Max also, but it would have been nice if he has been able to practice all fall.

Max is the QB of the defense, I don't hink you replace him with 1 guy, more guys are going to have to be involved. MD and company have a plan, I think they know they have several options. Every year college teams lose several key players, we've shown we can replace them in most cases. Max is a film junkie, he watches a ton of game film and is able to transfer what he sees there to the field with amazing accuracy, he's also gotten most of that defense to study more film.

The LB from Wisconsin, Borland, is fantastic, he makes a ton of plays, he makes more tackles than Bullough, but I would say that Max Bullough helps his teammates make more plays than Borland does, he gets guys lined up correctly every time.
 
Are you thinking those who stay will be champions? Can we say that? Maybe we can get michigan to change their slogan to "those who stay will be...meh"*

*please note, this was a joke among Spartans (and apparently one buckeye). It was not meant to antagonize or offend michigan fans in any way and I still intend to root for michigan in all of their remaining games. In reality, I'm not particularly confident in the outlook for MSU based on what we lose on defense and don't lose on offense.
 
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johnny2x2x said:
Last year was a blip, it is evident now that it was 80% on Maxwell, and 20% on bad luck. We lost 5 close games that we easily should have won with a decent passing game. This year, while we aren;t the Baylor Bears, we have a much better offense with a ton more play makers. On defense, do people remember how terrible of a season Johnny Adams had? Dennard has been a huge upgrade, and Trae Waynes is easily better than Adams already and he's a sophomore. Just as big of a difference is that sophomore Shilique Calhoun is an upgrade over Will Gholston.

What's also heartening is that it seems the coaches have consistently called which players are going to be studs. We heard Jack Conklin was great on the practice squad last year, well, this year he's a very good freshmen starter at LT. We heard that Calhounwas going to be a special player, he is. We heard that Ed Davis was killing it all spring, he's ready to become a star. Now we are hearing that our 1st string defense could not handle Damien Terry on the scout team this week as he was doubling for Devin Gardner. Terry is going to be on the field next season no matter how much better Conner Cook gets.
Click to expand...

I'm not ready to call last year a blip just yet. I said going in that almost no record will this year will make us a great or even really good team because the competition is sooo weak. our offense still sucks - we had 5 drives that started at midfield against michigan and only got 1 field goal from them. osu is still overrated and their defense is pretty soft. That gives us a chance to run the table but I think our next 2 games will be tougher than our last. Not counting any chickens just yet.
 
johnny2x2x said:
What a big difference a few weeks make. After the ND game we are all pretty down, but it's obvious MD has a plan and it's working.
Click to expand...

This is my point - beat a bunch of carp teams and all of a sudden we're great? We're improved but how much? Hard to say given the opponents. Personally, I think the defense gets ALL of the credit. The offense has yet to do anything against a good defense. With the field position we had in the first 45 minutes, we should have had AT LEAST 9 and as much as 21 more points.
 
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Spartanmack said:
I'm not ready to call last year a blip just yet. I said going in that almost no record will this year will make us a great or even really good team because the competition is sooo weak. our offense still sucks - we had 5 drives that started at midfield against michigan and only got 1 field goal from them. osu is still overrated and their defense is pretty soft. That gives us a chance to run the table but I think our next 2 games will be tougher than our last. Not counting any chickens just yet.
Click to expand...

the truth is that the SEC is so crooked that i don't compare big ten teams to those schools. i consider the big ten to be one of the last pillars of relatively honest competition so if we're good within the big ten, that's good. otherwise we're going up against teams that oversign, take questionable kids, pay players, etc.
 
Sbee said:
the truth is that the SEC is so crooked that i don't compare big ten teams to those schools. i consider the big ten to be one of the last pillars of relatively honest competition so if we're good within the big ten, that's good. otherwise we're going up against teams that oversign, take questionable kids, pay players, etc.
Click to expand...

I don't disagree re: the SEC but let's be honest - the B1G is at a cyclical low. Beating michigan at the moment is not what it used to be. osu's record belies where the program stands relative to it's tradition, psu is a mess, purdue is in a perennial tailspin. When was the last time Nebraska won a Big 12 title? We don't lose to just the SEC teams in bowl games.
 
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Spartanmack said:
I don't disagree re: the SEC but let's be honest - the B1G is at a cyclical low. Beating michigan at the moment is not what it used to be. osu's record belies where the program stands relative to it's tradition, psu is a mess, purdue is in a perennial tailspin. When was the last time Nebraska won a Big 12 title? We don't lose to just the SEC teams in bowl games.
Click to expand...

When has the B1G been so much better? We have a legit top 5 team, 2 other teams top 20, and 2-3 knocking at the door. It's not like the B1G has perennially had 4 or 5 top 15 teams. Just because Michigan isn't all that good doesn't mean the rest of the B1G isn't about what it normally is. The B1G is actually pretty deep, you have 6-8 teams that are pretty good including 2-3 who might be very good.

When was the B1G so much better?
 
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