Spring Practice

[Siborg]

I checked the previous years rosters but there is only one other Spring roster available. Last year, we had only 67 players listed on the 2018 Spring roster, in the fall we had 100. This year we have 80. Spring is always thin w/o graduating seniors and most Frosh not on campus yet. I had some spare time and looked back a few years. Hopefully this is readable.

YEAR WR TE RB ST QB OL LB DL DB Total
Spring 12 7 6 6 4 13 6 11 15 80
2018 14 6 7 6 5 15 12 15 20 100
Spring 7 3 3 5 4 11 11 9 16 67
2017 16 5 6 7 5 16 14 17 17 103
2016 13 3 9 6 5 18 11 14 23 102
2015 16 4 6 8 4 16 12 15 16 97
2014 13 5 4 5 5 16 13 15 18 94
2013 15 6 8 6 6 16 11 20 18 106
2012 14 6 6 8 6 18 11 15 17 101

[Flipper]

Exactly...

We're really thin at DL and LB

[JohnFloyd4Life]

WIth the 20 incoming freshmen receiving scholarships two are listed as LBs four as DL. The Spiess kid is listed as an ATH, I bet he ends up as an LB. I don't know if any of these guys have play right away potential but it might not matter. Not sure about the million walk-ons we have coming in.

[Falconwriter]

This is exactly the kind of roster that can give you a hint as to the quality of your coaching staff. If they manage to find players to fill obvious holes, and end up having some success...well, that's great coaching. We've seen it at BG with guys like Urban Meyer, so it isn't impossible. Sometimes, coaching at a mid-major is akin to coaching high school. You've got a limited amount of talent and need to find the best places to put that talent so the team benefits.

[Flipper]

On defense...that's the kind of roster that will make you think the coaches are miracle workers. Defense hasn't been our strength since Clawson left. I don't see that changing next year.

There's a vid online of Loeffler talking about he early practices. Said the first practice film showed a defense that doesn't run to a ball and an offense that doesn't play hard until the whistle. Apparently, these kids are going to learn that workaholics don't like people who cut corners

[MarkL]

There's a vid online of Loeffler talking about he early practices. Said the first practice film showed a defense that doesn't run to a ball and an offense that doesn't play hard until the whistle. Apparently, these kids are going to learn that workaholics don't like people who cut corners

That reminds me a lot of this time in 2009. The Brandon staff got lax in 2008 with the little things. Clawson believed the little things win championships. It was a complete culture change.

[BGSU33]

EJ Junior and Croslen have left...

This was a MASSIVE blow to the interior DL. These two both logged major starts on the inside. Losing one of them would have been tough enough to overcome, but losing both of them like this was a major blow. It completely affects the starting rotation and depth of the interior DL big time. Teams still have until early April to sign guys. But right now we almost certainly need a P5 grad transfer to help lessen the blow.

[Flipper]

Junior is a huge loss....IIRC, Croslen wasn't playing as much. Was pretty effective as a freshman though.

Depth is a definite issue, that's for sure

[BGSU33]

Junior is a huge loss....IIRC, Croslen wasn't playing as much. Was pretty effective as a freshman though.

Depth is a definite issue, that's for sure

Croslen started all 9 games he appeared in this past season. He missed a few games with an injury if I remember correctly and played both inside and outside this past year. He was a Minnesota decommit who we signed late a few years ago. Junior started 10 games inside. So that's two returning starters that just walked out the door at a position we were already short on depth and quality production.

[JohnFloyd4Life]

Junior is a huge loss....IIRC, Croslen wasn't playing as much. Was pretty effective as a freshman though.

Depth is a definite issue, that's for sure

Croslen started all 9 games he appeared in this past season. He missed a few games with an injury if I remember correctly and played both inside and outside this past year. He was a Minnesota decommit who we signed late a few years ago. Junior started 10 games inside. So that's two returning starters that just walked out the door at a position we were already short on depth and quality production.

Yes, this is definitely bad. We are going to see true freshmen on our D Line for sure.

[Flipper]

Or we see a transfer come our way...

https://247sports.com/Article/NCAA-tran ... 127866941/" target="_blank

[JohnFloyd4Life]

I really hope so. Our whole defense is ripe for P5 veterans who haven't gotten a shot to come in and make a huge difference. When the grad transfer rule came into effect I really thought it would be a huge benefit for schools like BG. Eilar Hardy for example coming in from ND in 2015 made a huge difference on that team. But for the most part it's gone the other way, maybe Austin Dorris will be the next Hardy this year but we've had more situations like Gehrig Deiter and Cam Jefferies moving up from BG than Hardy's moving down.

[Tony4BG]

Noticed a pic by Falcon Club on Saturday a few people watching practice. Was it open to members or was it coaches for Jr Day?

[Siborg]

Lachey is no longer on the roster. We still have 6 TE on the roster so no surprise if one or two leave or move to another position. We were recruiting his little brother so this does not bode well for that.

[MarkL]

Loeffler had a post practice interview where he talked about changing the culture. To running hard for two hours and not shuffling around. To running to the ball.

That explains a lot. This turnaround is going to take some time.