2017 roster/depth

[AE 87]

I don't see Taquan Marshall in the QB mix next season. He's just too one dimensional as of this season in terms of being a true dual threat. He's very talented with the ball in our hands, but in order for our offense to run at the highest levels, we need a good passer. TM is not that yet. We could see him back at AB or redshirted.

I think what we'll see will be similar to what CPJ did with Tevin and Vad in 2012. I think MJ will be the starter, but the better of Lucas Johnson and Jay Jones will be the backup who gets a series or two a game, and more if he has a good day (ala Vad vs UNC 2012). We know what we have in MJ. Just a very solid QB who knows our offense, but he's not the best passer.

Jay Jones is the wildcard IMO. Very good athlete, shiftier and possibly the fastest of the QB. His senior film showed a better passer. Good size at 6'1. Kinda resembled Josh Nesbitt a bit...which is a good thing.

LJ could be the special one of the group. Best passer of the bunch (in terms of HS film), good size, good speed, and willingness to put his head down. Might see an even more explosive offense with LJ if he's everything we think he could be.

I know this much. CPJ will not be hesitant with QB follows or midline with any of these QBs like he was with JeT. Our skill guys will be deep, and our QBs won't have to carry our offense like JeT did last year. Then you add the experience and depth the OL is building this season.

Prediciton: GT will have a top 10 offense next season.

I tend to agree with this, though I don't have any inside info on Lucas and Jay to base that agreement on. However, I think that MJ is a better passer than one might infer from "not the best." I wouldn't be surprised either if he holds off LJ or if LJ overtakes him by the end of the season, but it would be because LJ is that good rather than because MJ is not getting it done.

 

[SidewalkJacket]

The experience we will have at AB/BB and OL will look a lot like 2014 levels, which I think was the key to our second half dominance that year. Perkins, Hill, Zenon and Bostic were so good; so dependable with their blocks, pitch relationships, etc.

This experience will be critical with a first-year starter at QB.

Speaking of QB, I once hoped LJ would end up winning the 2017 job. However, I now believe the doubt some of us have about MJ's passing will quickly be a non-factor due to our increasing pass pro. It was sooo much better this year, and I can see even more improvement in '17. With grizzled vets at WR and maybe our best pass-catchers at AB, MJ should be able to simply make a good read and find the wide-open man (because there is ALWAYS one).

 

[tech_wreck47]

If we were playing a game tomorrow, with only the guys available now (no redshirts and no incoming freshmen), it might look like this:

QB: Jordan, Marshall
AB: Searcy, Green
AB: Lynch, Cottrell
BB: Mills/Marshall
WR: Jeune, Camp
WR: Stewart, Howell
OL1: Devine, Klock, Braun, Bryan, Marshall
OL2: Stickler, Lee, Cooper, Morgan, Morgan

DT: Adams, Glanton
DT: Cerge-Henderson, Branch
DE: Freeman, Simmons
DE: Saint Amour, Merriweather
LB: Mitchell, Alexander
LB: Curry, Lewis
DB1: Austin, Austin, Gray, Griffin, Duhram
DB2: Walker, Simmons, Johnson, Dotson, Campbell

That's not counting on a single redshirt or incoming freshman or transfer. I'll take that team and be quite happy with it!!

Cooper will be the center next year more than likely.

 

[Ugasux]

Going to be an exciting spring to see what develops for sure!

 

[gt365]

I like to see J. Johnson and L. Simmon playing more on the DB1. Need more big dB playing next year!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[MeatWrench]

Butker is a huge loss.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

MJ's biggest weakness right now is his perimeter game. Sometimes he makes crazy pitches, but most of the time he keeps when there's more to be had on the pitch. I'm very confident he'll get it worked out with first team reps all through spring and summer camps.

 

[SidewalkJacket]

MJ's biggest weakness right now is his perimeter game. Sometimes he makes crazy pitches, but most of the time he keeps when there's more to be had on the pitch. I'm very confident he'll get it worked out with first team reps all through spring and summer camps.

Agreed, although I can easily see the return of soul-crushing death marches between called gives (unbalanced my favorite!), QB keeps, midlines, rocket tosses!!!

 

[chewybaka]

We have a LOT of talent coming back on both sides of the ball. We are losing 2 starters on O and 4 starters on D. Just take a quick peek:

18 of 22 from the depth chart Saturday return, with JT, FB, IW and EF all leaving:
QB: MJ, TQM, plus both of the freshmen we put on scholarship this past year coming off their redshirts.
AB: Lynch, Searcy and Green are all back, plus Gantt coming off his redshirt, Jarrett and Cottrell. I'd guess we might move TQM or MLD back to AB this spring.
BB: Marshall and Mills are both back, plus Quaide and Benson, we don't graduate anyone here.
WR: Jeune and Stewart are back, we don't graduate anyone here.
OL: Losing Fromayan and Burden, everyone else is back. This should be a strength for the next few years. Only Devine and Marshall will be seniors next year.

On D, 17 of 22 on the depth chart are also expected to return.
DT: losing Gamble hurts, but we have KCH, Adams, Glanton and Branch back here.
DE: we should be strong here next year, with everyone but Chungong back. Excited about Freeman, ASA, Simmons (and watch out for Jordan Woods net year)
LB: I'm excited about Mitchell being back, and I could see Swilling starting immediately, but we also have Vic Alexander, David Curry, Terrell Lewis and others back. Only losing PJ Davis here (though that's a big loss).
secondary: literally everyone is back, and we are bringing in some very talented freshmen.

There's a lot of reason to be excited about where the program is going forward. Here's the part I think is most exciting: We won 8 games with 23 of 44 guys on the 2-deep being freshmen and sophomores. That means more than 50% of the guys on the 2-deep have 2 years or more of eligibility.

Nice summary...thank you for assembling this...

 

[GTFLETCH]

We will be back in the ACC Championship game in 2017

 

[DaddyBill]

Y'all don't forget Tre' Jackson should be in the mix at LB.

 

[stech81]

MJ's biggest weakness right now is his perimeter game. Sometimes he makes crazy pitches, but most of the time he keeps when there's more to be had on the pitch. I'm very confident he'll get it worked out with first team reps all through spring and summer camps.

I think he will be fine after working out over the summer.

 

[Chas_Jacket]

Perhaps Oliver will be the Brad Stewart of this year's class and start as a true freshman at qb.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

We will go as far as the QB and defense takes us. I'm afraid we will see a lot of 8 in the box.

 

[gtg936g]

I don't understand why some folks complain about JT. He made some mistakes, but he also won the orange bowl, and beat UGA twice. He is a winner, and we will miss him. It is always hard losing a person on a team that has the will to win.

 

[g0lftime]

If MJ doesn't show that he can pass better than he has shown, we will see 8 in the box until he proves he can beat people throwing the ball. It is very unlikely he can last an entire season if he runs the ball 30 times a game like he did in his one full game this year. This offense is most effective when the threat of the pass is good enough to keep the safeties and corners honest. He has to develop a decent passing game and handle the pitch option better than he has shown so far for us to be really competitive next year.

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

A lot of water will flow over the dam between now and next season. Like someone mentioned earlier, each team and each season is different. Certainly we have some nice pieces to build upon and we have to see how things will come together. A heady QB that can perform in the clutch hopefully will emerge but it will take some time to establish that. The season opens with UT at the new Mercedes stadium and we will put a team out there that is untested and unproven. It's always interesting to see what emerges. It's part of the allure of the great game of college football. I hope we can start fast and play with confidence early on. If we can and then grow and improve from game to game, we can have another great season. Hopefully our guys will come together and play hard for each other right out of the gate. As always, I will be there pulling for them and hoping for the best.

Go Jackets!

 

[jeffgt14]

Y'all don't forget Tre' Jackson should be in the mix at LB.

Should've been in this year. We need some of that fire at the position.

 

[Southpaw13]

I'd guess with the latest QB commit, we see TQM move back to AB this spring, we have 3 other QB's that we like and that need reps. I would guess we might also see MLD move back to AB, but I guess that part depends on how much the coaching staff likes Gantt.

I'd actually like to see both of those guys redshirt to give them some space eligibility wise from the other AB's right now, but I doubt that happens.

 

[UgaBlows]

I think Mathew Jordan is going to be a very good QB next year, he has a much better arm than what he showed vs. VT, and his strong inside running will bring back the long soul crushing drives that we love and miss.