• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

2019 Deacon Football Preview Thread

This may be a bit nitpicky but you can almost say that about any position when you lose a long term starter to graduation. I haven't considered the dline a concern for some time. A backup player at one position out of four just to me, is not a whole dline concern. We have had depth concerns at almost every position as Clawson has continued to build up the talent level.

Dline to me has been one of the bright spots. Last year we were worried about one player to step in behind Boogie and Allen looked ready in surprisingly few snaps played. Two years ago we Rodney, Yarbary, Bateman, Kamara, and Tyler Williams at DT and at DE we had Ejiofor, Dunn, Calhoun, and Black. The year prior to that we had Josh Banks, Tylor Harris, Sheldon Lewinson, Yarbary, and Rodney at DT with Dunn, and Ejiofor, Black and Calhoun at DE. This year, DT is definitely a quality depth issue so not arguing that but we have 3 solid DT's in Kamara, Williams and Bergan and if Bothroyd can slide in successfully with Boogie and Allen splitting time occasionally sliding inside, we'll be ok. Hopefully Fox will be our only injury for the season (asking a lot, I know).

Two of those 4 guys you mentioned have yet to play DT at the collegiate, ACC-level. Two of the remaining were back ups.
 
Agree on Bothroyd but Williams played 72 snaps specifically listed at DT against Syracuse in the participation chart and that is his natural position. Yes, he lined up mainly as a DE. Clawson has said the the DT and Edge DE spots have very similar skill sets which is why Yarbary would slide out to DE and Ejiofor occasionally would slide in depending upon the situation. The transition for Williams back to DT where he practiced his freshman year, with his experience at DE and DT last year should be seamless. Bergan played 205 snaps and Kamara 352 as backups but those were not inconsequential snaps, playing in every game.
 
The problem at DT is depth. The defensive end position has Boogie and Allen. The drop end position has Walker, Johns, and McCollom. We've also had Justin Williams, Will Smart, Isaiah Chaney, Rondell Bothroyd, Royce Francis, and Adam Winter come in as, ostensibly, DEs. That's 11 players for 2 positions. We've heard some will move to DT, and that the positions are interchangeable, but they may struggle and will definitely be undersized.

At DT, we've got Kamara, Williams, and Bergan. That's 3 players for 2 positions. I get that the positions are fluid, we may only play one DT at a time, etc. but even if you move 2 players from the group above, this group is thin. We've struggled to recruit (e.g. Jaden McKenzie) and retain (e.g. Kelija Brown) DTs over the past several years. This was clearly an issue that the staff tried to address by bringing in Miles Fox, but his injury means we are thin and undersized again.
 
We're not going to win any recruiting battles against tOSU, where McKenzie went.
 
The problem at DT is depth. The defensive end position has Boogie and Allen. The drop end position has Walker, Johns, and McCollom. We've also had Justin Williams, Will Smart, Isaiah Chaney, Rondell Bothroyd, Royce Francis, and Adam Winter come in as, ostensibly, DEs. That's 11 players for 2 positions. We've heard some will move to DT, and that the positions are interchangeable, but they may struggle and will definitely be undersized.

At DT, we've got Kamara, Williams, and Bergan. That's 3 players for 2 positions. I get that the positions are fluid, we may only play one DT at a time, etc. but even if you move 2 players from the group above, this group is thin. We've struggled to recruit (e.g. Jaden McKenzie) and retain (e.g. Kelija Brown) DTs over the past several years. This was clearly an issue that the staff tried to address by bringing in Miles Fox, but his injury means we are thin and undersized again.

I mentioned in the initial post that quality DT depth was an issue so am in agreement.
 
I trust the staff to solve the problem. Somebody will step up. We have bodies, it's when we don't, like last year at LBs, that we are in big trouble. We'll win a game we should lose, and lose a game we should win. Go 7-5 then on to another Bowl trophy for the show case.
 
David Hale seems to be pretty knowledgeable about the ACC football landscape. He has been throwing out various positional group rankings in the ACC. He has ranked the OL, special teams, rushing attacks, and QB positions in the upper half. Which seems to be some good press.
 
David Hale seems to be pretty knowledgeable about the ACC football landscape. He has been throwing out various positional group rankings in the ACC. He has ranked the OL, special teams, rushing attacks, and QB positions in the upper half. Which seems to be some good press.

Link?
 
Just went through, really good stuff. Just crazy how good Clemson is at this point.

Here are his conference offensive rankings:

O-line:

1. Clemson
2. Boston College
3. Syracuse
4. Pittsburgh
5. Wake Forest
6. Virginia
7. NC State
8. Miami
9. Virginia Tech
10. UNC
11. Duke
12. Florida State
13. Georgia Tech
14. Louisville

Running Game:
1. Clemson
2. UNC
3. Boston College
4. Miami
5. Wake Forest
6. Syracuse
7. Pitt (a wait-and-see approach is probably warranted here)
8. Georgia Tech
9. Virginia Tech
10. Louisville (RBs are a huge question, but QBs offer an alternative)
11. NC State (lots of room to move up… but need to see it to believe it)
12. Florida State (love their backs, if only that’s all that mattered)
13. Duke
14. Virginia

QB's

Elite Tier:

1. Clemson
2. UVA (some really impressive numbers for Bryce Perkins)

In Good Shape:

3. WF
4. BC
5. Cuse
6. VT

It Could Be Worse:

7. FSU
8. L'ville

Could Go Either Way:

9. State
10. Miami

Don't Screw Things Up:

11. Pitt
12. Duke

We'll Get Em Next Year:

13. UNC
14. GT

Receivers:
1. Clemson
2. Virginia Tech
3. Syracuse
4. Pitt
5. Florida State
6. NC State
7. UNC
8. Miami
9. Wake Forest
10. Louisville
11. Boston College
12. Virginia
13. Duke
14. Georgia Tech
 
Wow. Based on that, he thinks we have one of the top offenses in the league, maybe in the next tier behind Clemson.
 
Surprised our receivers are only ranked 9. That seems to be one of our best positions.......although we did lose some real talent from last year.
Also, how can UNC's running game be ranked 2 if their Oline is ranked 10? Guess he's just looking at the RBs on their own.
 
Surprised our receivers are only ranked 9. That seems to be one of our best positions.......although we did lose some real talent from last year.
Also, how can UNC's running game be ranked 2 if their Oline is ranked 10? Guess he's just looking at the RBs on their own.

Also, UNC's OL blocked really well for the running game last year, but could not protect the passer at all.
 
Surprised our receivers are only ranked 9. That seems to be one of our best positions.......although we did lose some real talent from last year.
Also, how can UNC's running game be ranked 2 if their Oline is ranked 10? Guess he's just looking at the RBs on their own.

There are a lot of question marks at WR. The position has a high ceiling with so many players with the potential to blow up, including our 4* tFR. But we lost our two most consistent threats. Surratt is the only returning starter.
 
There are a lot of question marks at WR. The position has a high ceiling with so many players with the potential to blow up, including our 4* tFR. But we lost our two most consistent threats. Surratt is the only returning starter.

So our receivers have much 'unproven upside potential'
 
I'm not impressed by our WR at all right now. There is potential, but not much in the way of proven ability. Washington had a great 3-4 game run at the end of 2017, but was completely ineffective last year. Surratt had a couple good games but was not an impact player over the rest of the season. Hinton has not yet done much of anything as a wr. Counting on a true freshman WR is a fool's errand.
 
So our receivers have much 'unproven upside potential'

Right. 9 was generous. We could easily be top 4 or bottom 4 at the end of the season.

If we won’t have a go to WR, the offense will depend too much on Newman’s legs to grind out tough yards. If Sage steps up, Hinton is a reliable exciting option, and Washington returns to his end of 2017 form, watch out.

Washington's last six games of 2017: 6-133 (Louisville), 8-84 (@ND), 7-113 (@Cuse), 3-29 (State), 1-8 (Duke), 9-138 (A&M)
 
Last edited:
Looks like the Cutcliffe love affair is about over for this guy.
 
Right. 9 was generous. We could easily be top 4 or bottom 4 at the end of the season.

If we won’t have a go to WR, the offense will depend too much on Newman’s legs to grind out tough yards. If Sage steps up, Hinton is a reliable exciting option, and Washington returns to his end of 2017 form, watch out.

Washington's last six games of 2017: 6-133 (Louisville), 8-84 (@ND), 7-113 (@Cuse), 3-29 (State), 1-8 (Duke), 9-138 (A&M)

If I recall correctly, Scotty Washington was injured a good part of 2018. If he is now healed up and stays healthy, he could be a top receiving threat in the league.
 
Right. 9 was generous. We could easily be top 4 or bottom 4 at the end of the season.

If we won’t have a go to WR, the offense will depend too much on Newman’s legs to grind out tough yards. If Sage steps up, Hinton is a reliable exciting option, and Washington returns to his end of 2017 form, watch out.

Washington's last six games of 2017: 6-133 (Louisville), 8-84 (@ND), 7-113 (@Cuse), 3-29 (State), 1-8 (Duke), 9-138 (A&M)


If they are all healthy, I think their size and physicality will be their strength. Hinton is probably 3" taller and 30lbs heavier than Dortch. A healthy Washington should be a grown man and we already know Sage is really physical and can make a tough catch in traffic.
 
Back
Top