Important position races

[musicman2343]

Was Rice moved back to Running Back?

That's what I have heard.

I just hope he stays HEALTHY this year!

I hope EVERYONE stays healthy this year!

[Class of 61]

Spring practice is coming soon, and Clawson said earlier that all positions were open for competition. What all races are of great importance and who's in contention? Here's a few that stick out to me:

QB: Schilz, Hurley, Johnson
I don't think Johnson will be competing yet and will redshirt, so that means we'll have a RS-soph, RS-fresh, and true fresh. So basically the competition will probably be Schilz vs. Hurley. I don't know a ton about Hurley, but I liked what I saw out of Schilz a lot until the injury, and it seems like he never really hit again the level he was playing against Troy and Marshall. This should be a great race and the competition will make all three better players.


Other thoughts on position races?

Unless I've missed something re: transferring out etc., is there any reason to "forget" about Aaron Pankratz yet?
I know he's had some shaky outings, but I also remember him looking fairly decent against Boise 2 yrs. ago, albeit vs. backups... he entered last year as the ONLY QB who'd even thrown a pass in a game, lost the job to Shilz, came back in for the Michigan game, which would've been a tough assignment for any QB. He's from my hometown and I'd like to see him at least get a chance to compete again this year. If he gets beat out, so be it.

[Siborg]

Pankratz is still there. Who knows, he might make strides and get back in the mix. Motivation is a wonderful thing.

Rice was listed as Rover last year behind Boo Boo and Tim Moore. It makes sense to move him to tailback or fullback.

I gotta believe there is more need on the O-line than D-line so I'm guessing Roussos stays put. Possibly redshirting to get another OL year under his belt.

[IMAFALCONFAN]

You can't discount all the kickers because some of them haven't had the opportunity to show what they can do on the field yet ... Oczypok, Stein, Schmeidebusch, Tate ... seems like the job is anyone's for the taking. I read in the paper back in the Fall that Stein and Burkhardt were considered "even up" when Wright was struggling.

[able1]

I'm not personally discounting anyone. Things could change if someone makes huge strides over the summer, but that's what it's going to take. I am saying I know, directly from the coaches, how they feel about the situation over the last 2 seasons, and where they stand on the situation at the moment. It doesn't get any more blunt than the way it was just recently stated. They've not been at all happy with anyone on the roster. There's a reason some of those guys didn't see the field, even as the others were struggling. That's why Wright was brought in and handled everything for awhile last year and that's why they brought in Tate. They're hoping he turns out to be the answer. Remember how early we got his verbal? Kickers rarely get offers that early. That in itself is a huge indicator of how frustrated the coaches have been with the kicking game.

Schmeidebusch was brought in to fill a specific need. He's a punter, and a very good one. He's also the only true punter on the roster. The place kickers will get a chance again between now and the beginning of the season. Anything could happen, but if someone doesn't step up in a big way between now and then, Schmeidebusch and Tate will be the starters.

[daspollak]

Pankratz is still there. Who knows, he might make strides and get back in the mix. Motivation is a wonderful thing.

Rice was listed as Rover last year behind Boo Boo and Tim Moore. It makes sense to move him to tailback or fullback.

I gotta believe there is more need on the O-line than D-line so I'm guessing Roussos stays put. Possibly redshirting to get another OL year under his belt.

If Roussos can help this team they won't redshirt him. I would love to see him go back to the D. We can never have too many bodies on the D-line.

[Siborg]

I just hope all the competition gives us a better team this year. 2-10 was a long and miserable season. I'm sure the players and coaches feel the same.

[Flipper]

Per the spring prospectus...Roussos is still an OL, Rice is still a LB and Pankratz will "provide depth" at QB as Schilz and Hurley battle for the #1....

[h2oville rocket]

Per the spring prospectus...Roussos is still an OL, Rice is still a LB and Pankratz will "provide depth" at QB as Schilz and Hurley battle for the #1....

Ah, yes- the dreaded "will provide depth". My hometown newspaper did an article about another local guy high jumping at UT. The last sentence of the article stated "Another local high jumper, Dave Bruns, is expected to provude depth for dual meets in several events". Nothing worse than damning with faint praise although I probably didn't deserve even that notice. Mr. Pankratz has my sympathy!

[Flipper]

Be honest..could what you did be accurately described as the high jump?

[h2oville rocket]

Be honest..could what you did be accurately described as the high jump?

No, I usually laid off dope before meets so I was pretty much straight when I jumped. Ooooh, you meant...I get it. In that case no, probably not. Well, higher than you but relative to the good guys-an emphatic no. Sucks being 5'9".

[MarkL]

How about wide receiver depth? We know Kamar Jorden will be a star again this year. I believe Hutson, Hodges, and Justus Jones all fought some injuries last year so none were in much. I'd sure like to see them do well this year. I'm really excited to see who steps up of Shaun Joplin, Nick McKnight, and Marcus Beaurem. Eugene Cooper is pretty clearly our punt returner and possibly also a kick returner. I hope he emerges as a good depth guy at receiver. So ... we should have a good strong senior class of receivers, and hopefully we'll see good depth at receiver this year.

More importantly .... last year was the second straight year with big injury problems. Pronty and Wiley were both supposed to start for all of 2009, and both were out basically all year. Last year, our depth guys were injured for much of the year. Hopefully this year will be injury-free in the receiving corps.

[Siborg]

It sounds like Clawson is happier with the RB position. He mentioned Pettigrew having 4 strong days of practice and said they appeared to be 4 deep. Last year he was not happy with anyone but Geter until he moved Hopgood over from WR.

DE, CB and Safety are my biggest concerns on D. In other words, the defense needs some help. I think we have some young talent but we need some guys to step up fast. I might have to fly up to watch the Spring game. I need a football fix. Baseball hosts TSUN that same weekend.

[Flipper]

With Morgan And Leacock starting, I think we'll be good at safety. In fact, I think the strength of our defense is in tthe middle. We're strong at DT, MLB & safety.....If this were baseball, we'd be favored to win it all

[FORT MEIGS ROCKET]

How about wide receiver depth? We know Kamar Jorden will be a star again this year. I believe Hutson, Hodges, and Justus Jones all fought some injuries last year so none were in much. I'd sure like to see them do well this year. I'm really excited to see who steps up of Shaun Joplin, Nick McKnight, and Marcus Beaurem. Eugene Cooper is pretty clearly our punt returner and possibly also a kick returner. I hope he emerges as a good depth guy at receiver. So ... we should have a good strong senior class of receivers, and hopefully we'll see good depth at receiver this year.

More importantly .... last year was the second straight year with big injury problems. Pronty and Wiley were both supposed to start for all of 2009, and both were out basically all year. Last year, our depth guys were injured for much of the year. Hopefully this year will be injury-free in the receiving corps.

Was wondering what the word is on Shaun Joplin ?