Jerry the Jacket
Jolly Good Fellow
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2002
- Messages
- 1,641
Just looking over the current roster, it appears that we will be losing 20 players in this year's Senior Class. Of those 8 were starters and significiant contributors to the team. The 12 leaving that did not materially contribute on the field last year are:
Brain Camp
Hal Higgins
AJ Suggs
Jack Rogers
Johathon Rowe
Greg Gathers
Clay Hartley
Will Hardy
Garren Findlay
Gavin Borgeois
Christian Schroeder
Joseph Reardon
I know these guys all made contributions throughout their careers, even if only on the scout team for a few of them. I do not want to diminish their role but only point out that during the 2003 season their playing time was limited or non-existent.
The 8 guys we lose in order of their importance in my estimation are:
Hugh Reilly - Our Center, All ACC, calls the plays for the O-Line, a quality player whose role will not be easily replaced. I would expect one of the guards either Andy Tidwell-Neal or Brad Honeycutt to move over and take this spot. We need to give the next in line some serious playing time next year somewhere down the line.
Keyaron Fox - A very good linebacker that covered receivers out of the backfield very well and played hard every down. He was a quiet leader on the defense and his skills will be sorely missed. It looks like KaMichael Hall or Phillip Wheeler will vie for this spot. While both have talent, until they gain experience we can expect an appreciable drop off in performance.
Johathon Smith - Our best play maker on offense and special teams. We will miss him and the threat he brought to our often anemic offense. We need Nate Curry to step up in this role and have to hope we find some other playmakers, hopefully Grant and Dunlap or land some top recruit like Calvin Johnson in order to maintain the level of production Smith brought to the team.
Daryl Smith - Daryl had great games and some games where he seemed to disappear. I think someone else getting a shot in the middle might not be a bad thing. We really need someone with fire in the belly to step up in take this spot. Maybe Moore, Anyansi or the new kid Chambers can help backfill this spot.
Dan Burnett - Dan turned out to be a pleasent suprise with his accuracy on Field Goals. He made losing Luke a little more bearable. I don't know what we have behind him but I know that a kicker can win or cost you a lot of games. Hopefully Jordan will come on or the Freshman Cissema (sp) can step in and do a quality job.
JP Foschi - A good blocker but a marginal offensive threat. I think his leadership will be missed more than his on field contributions. We should have some talent capable of filling in here with Darius Williams and George Cooper. Maybe Mike Matthews will get a look here as well.
Jonathon Cox - A solid performer but not irreplacible. Hopefully Scott or one of the other numerous CB candidates can step in and give us at least the same level of play next year.
Ather Brown - Similar to Cox, a good player but not a great player. Solid and able to play the pass well. We have a lot of possiblities to backfill here with Wheeler, Hall, Moore and possibly moving Reis or Gaston into an OLB role.
So in summary, I think our biggest losses from this class will be Reilly, Fox and Smith. I think we have adequate backfills on the current roster for most but will need to hope someone who has not stepped up to this point or a super star incoming freshman can add some punch to the offense and bring some leadership and fire to the defense.
This graduating class should not lower expectations in terms of results for 2004. The schedule looks similar in terms of strength of schedule and with added experience among or existing players and coaching staff, we should see some solid improvement in next year's overall record.
Go Jackets!
Brain Camp
Hal Higgins
AJ Suggs
Jack Rogers
Johathon Rowe
Greg Gathers
Clay Hartley
Will Hardy
Garren Findlay
Gavin Borgeois
Christian Schroeder
Joseph Reardon
I know these guys all made contributions throughout their careers, even if only on the scout team for a few of them. I do not want to diminish their role but only point out that during the 2003 season their playing time was limited or non-existent.
The 8 guys we lose in order of their importance in my estimation are:
Hugh Reilly - Our Center, All ACC, calls the plays for the O-Line, a quality player whose role will not be easily replaced. I would expect one of the guards either Andy Tidwell-Neal or Brad Honeycutt to move over and take this spot. We need to give the next in line some serious playing time next year somewhere down the line.
Keyaron Fox - A very good linebacker that covered receivers out of the backfield very well and played hard every down. He was a quiet leader on the defense and his skills will be sorely missed. It looks like KaMichael Hall or Phillip Wheeler will vie for this spot. While both have talent, until they gain experience we can expect an appreciable drop off in performance.
Johathon Smith - Our best play maker on offense and special teams. We will miss him and the threat he brought to our often anemic offense. We need Nate Curry to step up in this role and have to hope we find some other playmakers, hopefully Grant and Dunlap or land some top recruit like Calvin Johnson in order to maintain the level of production Smith brought to the team.
Daryl Smith - Daryl had great games and some games where he seemed to disappear. I think someone else getting a shot in the middle might not be a bad thing. We really need someone with fire in the belly to step up in take this spot. Maybe Moore, Anyansi or the new kid Chambers can help backfill this spot.
Dan Burnett - Dan turned out to be a pleasent suprise with his accuracy on Field Goals. He made losing Luke a little more bearable. I don't know what we have behind him but I know that a kicker can win or cost you a lot of games. Hopefully Jordan will come on or the Freshman Cissema (sp) can step in and do a quality job.
JP Foschi - A good blocker but a marginal offensive threat. I think his leadership will be missed more than his on field contributions. We should have some talent capable of filling in here with Darius Williams and George Cooper. Maybe Mike Matthews will get a look here as well.
Jonathon Cox - A solid performer but not irreplacible. Hopefully Scott or one of the other numerous CB candidates can step in and give us at least the same level of play next year.
Ather Brown - Similar to Cox, a good player but not a great player. Solid and able to play the pass well. We have a lot of possiblities to backfill here with Wheeler, Hall, Moore and possibly moving Reis or Gaston into an OLB role.
So in summary, I think our biggest losses from this class will be Reilly, Fox and Smith. I think we have adequate backfills on the current roster for most but will need to hope someone who has not stepped up to this point or a super star incoming freshman can add some punch to the offense and bring some leadership and fire to the defense.
This graduating class should not lower expectations in terms of results for 2004. The schedule looks similar in terms of strength of schedule and with added experience among or existing players and coaching staff, we should see some solid improvement in next year's overall record.
Go Jackets!
