Fleck has built enough depth that we will be RSing our FR unless they are just too good to keep off the field. That's a huge positive trend for a program.
I've seen Gopher fans wonder how and why Iowa/Wisconsin always seem to have a capable "next person up", this is the reason.
Agree. There are too many football fans that still view recruiting like it is basketball. In basketball you are looking for that kid that can come in and play right away. In football, even the most highly touted freshmen aren't ready to contribute right off the bat most of the time. They need time to get physically stronger and make the adjustment to the college game.
Just because a true freshman or redshirt freshman (or even sophomore) isn't ready to be a full-time starter it doesn't mean they never will be. Especially along the lines, it takes guys multiple years to really be physically ready to compete. Our D-Line has a chance to make a big step up next year as both Otomewo and Mafe enter their 4th years in the program as redshirt Juniors. Teague will be a Junior as well. Schad and MDT are both seniors so all should be physically ready to take on Big Ten offensive lines loaded with Juniors and Seniors.
So you look at that number of 7 people keep tossing out for replacements and I see 5 along the D-Line who should be able to fill in just fine for DeLattiboudere, Coughlin, and Renner.
Martin missed a ton of time at LB meaning MSM got a lot of time as a starter and should anchor the LB corps. Barber was always a solid player but he was never a dominant player, guys like Oliver, Aune, and Rush have all seen time and should be capable of producing at a similar level. Then there is the unknown of Willis and Gordon who the coaches have raved about. If one or both is ready to take on a big role next year the LB unit could take a step forward. So that addresses 5 of the departing seniors with guys that should be able to play at a similar if not better level next year.
Williamson did a great job for us. Never a superstar but a very solid player. Someone has to step into that nickel role but there are some obvious candidates on the roster who have played quite a bit in Thomas and Smith. So that takes care of 6 which again should be replaceable without a massive drop off based on the returning experienced players on the roster already.
So finally you get to the big one with Winfield. If he goes pro we have the guy who is supposed to be his replacement ready to go in Nubin but of course we have no way of knowing at this point if he will be able to play at a level similar to Winfield as those are some huge shoes to fill. The chance is still there that Winfield comes back again, if he does I see little to no reason why the defense won't be as good or better next year as the hope is that the talent will improve on that side of the ball the way it has on offense under Fleck.
The best news of all for the defense is that we have a loaded offense coming back that should be able to score a lot of points. That means we don't need the defense to be dominant we just need it not to suck. I feel very confident that we can pull that off with what we have coming back and then we just wait and see if that unit can take a step forward. In order to be a championship level team we are going to need more from the D then what we have gotten to this point. The players we are losing were all very solid guys, many with local connections, but they were not superstars and if your program is doing what it is supposed to be doing from a recruiting/developing standpoint then replacing those departing players should not be difficult.
The big question mark on D is the second unit as those players have not had their chance to shine yet. They will get it next year and we will get our first real look at the young guys that Fleck and his staff have been developing the past few seasons.
