Gopherprof
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This is mostly in response to the "we will be even worse next year." It's certainly possible, but let's look at the actual losses.
Jay Thomas- Thomas has been an ok returner in his career, but injuries ruined his chance at ever being a real contributor. Thanks for your efforts Jay, but we lose nothing here.
Logan U'u- Hope you enjoyed your free education Logan. Best of luck to you.
Nick Tow-Arnett- Nick is a real quality player with good hands, but as an athlete he's below average. He's done a nice job so far this year, but Eric Lair seems like he can make up for the production. If not, someone else will.
Jeff Tow-Arnett- I haven't noticed a drop off with Trey Davis, and Davis has two more years to develop. Nothing against Jeff, thanks for your efforts and play, but will we really miss him?
Ned Tavale/U]- There was a time when Ned was a player for the team. Now is not that time.
Matt Stomes- That experiment never worked out.
Ryan Ruckdashel- Who?
Garrett Brown & Eric Small- I like Brown and Small, but I think Kirksey and Edwards can at least match their production, if not surpass it next year.
Cedric McKinley- Another guy who has contributed, so thanks, but he's just another guy, who also happened to get arrested during Wisconsin week.
Raymond Henderson- Hope you enjoyed the free education Raymond.
Derrick Onwuachi- Derrick is another guy I like, but he's not exactly irreplaceable. There may be a bit of a drop-off from McKinley, Moen, Onwuachi to Jacobs, Wilhite, Hageman, but probably not a ton.
Barrett Moen- Nothing against Moen, but a good team would not be starting Barrett Moen
Ben Kuznia- I remember.
Campbell, Lawrence, Triplett- Lawrence has been dissapointing so far, but you have to give it up for Campbell and Triplett. Both guys are lunch-pail type guys that make me proud to be a Gopher fan. That said, neither are terribly athletic and get by mostly on toughness. There will probably be a drop-off at linebacker next year, but longterm I think we're better.
Traye Simmons, Marcus Sherels- See above. We'll probably a little weaker at cornerback next year, but it's not like we're all that great there now either. Simmons could have been a lot better than he is. Sherels is another Barrett Moen type.
Rex Sharpe & Michael McKelton- Wow. There sure are a lot of seniors that aren't doing much of anything this year.
David Pittman- exhibit A why I don't usually like junior college players.
Eric Decker- obviously we'll miss Decker a ton. He's probably the only player on the team right now with a serious NFL future in front of him. That said, if there is any position on the field where we have depth it is at WR. Brandon Green, Troy Stodermire, Hayo Carpenter, and likely either Da'Jon McKnight or Bryant Allen can handle the position. Collectively, everyone on offense will have to improve to pick up the slack, but considering Decker and Tow-Arnett are the only ones leaving, I think we can do it.
So, to review, we are definitely losing a lot of experience on defense, but in most cases we have the talent to replace them. Hopefully the guys are mentally prepared to start, since that is what we are going to be losing. On offense, Decker and Tow-Arnett will be missed, but we'll return 9 starters, and guys like Gray, Whaley, and Brandon Green will all have more experience.
It's about equal to me. We'll need some leaders to step up, and hopefully the guys will be coached up enough to know the system once they get on the field. Only time will tell there.
Jay Thomas- Thomas has been an ok returner in his career, but injuries ruined his chance at ever being a real contributor. Thanks for your efforts Jay, but we lose nothing here.
Logan U'u- Hope you enjoyed your free education Logan. Best of luck to you.
Nick Tow-Arnett- Nick is a real quality player with good hands, but as an athlete he's below average. He's done a nice job so far this year, but Eric Lair seems like he can make up for the production. If not, someone else will.
Jeff Tow-Arnett- I haven't noticed a drop off with Trey Davis, and Davis has two more years to develop. Nothing against Jeff, thanks for your efforts and play, but will we really miss him?
Ned Tavale/U]- There was a time when Ned was a player for the team. Now is not that time.
Matt Stomes- That experiment never worked out.
Ryan Ruckdashel- Who?
Garrett Brown & Eric Small- I like Brown and Small, but I think Kirksey and Edwards can at least match their production, if not surpass it next year.
Cedric McKinley- Another guy who has contributed, so thanks, but he's just another guy, who also happened to get arrested during Wisconsin week.
Raymond Henderson- Hope you enjoyed the free education Raymond.
Derrick Onwuachi- Derrick is another guy I like, but he's not exactly irreplaceable. There may be a bit of a drop-off from McKinley, Moen, Onwuachi to Jacobs, Wilhite, Hageman, but probably not a ton.
Barrett Moen- Nothing against Moen, but a good team would not be starting Barrett Moen
Ben Kuznia- I remember.
Campbell, Lawrence, Triplett- Lawrence has been dissapointing so far, but you have to give it up for Campbell and Triplett. Both guys are lunch-pail type guys that make me proud to be a Gopher fan. That said, neither are terribly athletic and get by mostly on toughness. There will probably be a drop-off at linebacker next year, but longterm I think we're better.
Traye Simmons, Marcus Sherels- See above. We'll probably a little weaker at cornerback next year, but it's not like we're all that great there now either. Simmons could have been a lot better than he is. Sherels is another Barrett Moen type.
Rex Sharpe & Michael McKelton- Wow. There sure are a lot of seniors that aren't doing much of anything this year.
David Pittman- exhibit A why I don't usually like junior college players.
Eric Decker- obviously we'll miss Decker a ton. He's probably the only player on the team right now with a serious NFL future in front of him. That said, if there is any position on the field where we have depth it is at WR. Brandon Green, Troy Stodermire, Hayo Carpenter, and likely either Da'Jon McKnight or Bryant Allen can handle the position. Collectively, everyone on offense will have to improve to pick up the slack, but considering Decker and Tow-Arnett are the only ones leaving, I think we can do it.
So, to review, we are definitely losing a lot of experience on defense, but in most cases we have the talent to replace them. Hopefully the guys are mentally prepared to start, since that is what we are going to be losing. On offense, Decker and Tow-Arnett will be missed, but we'll return 9 starters, and guys like Gray, Whaley, and Brandon Green will all have more experience.
It's about equal to me. We'll need some leaders to step up, and hopefully the guys will be coached up enough to know the system once they get on the field. Only time will tell there.
