the beginnings of OL depth is very good to see. don't think we're scaring anyone this year, but if Demond stays healthy we might manage a slight improvement on last year...
I agree that O-Line improvement is a realistic goal for the year. That will make everything easier for the offense. It will be exciting to see what Demond Williams can do with another year and that improved O-Line.
Offensive two deep is better than defense. Kind of opposite of last season. O line looks better, but they still need time to gel. I’m hopeful.
If the defense can maintain and the offense improves as hoped, this is a dangerous team to anyone not named Penn State and maybe Ohio State.
I don’t know what to expect from Oregon next season, except that they will have plenty of talent. However their new QB has not shown he is up to the task in college. Although the same could have been said about Nix before coming to Oregon. I’ll be watching them and a few others very closely in the first few weeks next season.
True, but in most of those big games he didn’t play well enough to stay at Auburn. There’s a reason he needed to find a new home. Moore had a similar experience at UCLA, but there’s no way to know how fast he will improve, or to what extent. Will he be another Bo Nix, or a DJ Uigalelei, or something between?
I love the comments on this blog. I read lots of blogs for other teams and the comments often devolve into a bunch of idiotic, and sometimes political, drivel. Commenters here usually have pretty interesting, seemingly well informed takes. Nice!
Except for that guy Christopher Oelrich of course.
As an uncredentialed, often-wrong-but-never-in-doubt talent evaluator, I have a few thoughts. Decker DeGraaf seems like a significantly more talented tight end than Quentin Moore. Tracks the ball well, great hands, good speed and great after the catch. He's a natural, instinctive play maker. As for blocking, we'll see. I'm a bit surprised that you have Geirean Hatchett penciled in at left guard. He hasn't played that much, either here or at Oklahoma, and the tape shows him having trouble with quick, lateral movement. He isn't sticky. I hope you're right, though. I'd love to see sweep plays that let the announcer say, "UW pulled two Hatchetts." I'm surprised folks are down on Azzopardi at right tackle. On tape, he looked aggressive, athletic and effective to me. He had his misses, but he was playing against the best for the first time. I really like Zach Henning and Soane Faasolo at center and guard. Faasolo had some trouble out on the island, but he's huge and really moves well. As for Finau, I imagine he'll be starting somewhere by mid-season. This is silly to say, but he reminds me of Walter Jones. A monster with a quiet body. No flailing, no contortions, no desperate adjustments.
Offensive tackle John Mills (6'6 320) committed to Texas, but Fisch flipped him. Guy's a monster. A massive dude who can drop his hips and pads and really drive. He's already enrolled.
Off topic, but what to make of the recruiting coordinator defections? Is it a bad sign? Or simply the normal churn of talent in a power 4 program? Absolute stability has never been realistic, but the loss of coaches and coordinators is mildly concerning. No?
Normally yes, but our two coordinators both left to coach with their famous fathers. I think this is an outlier, but I'm looking into anxiety meds just in case.
Husky women play Ohio State at 2 pm on the Big 10 network. They have a ways to go, but Tina Langley seems to be recruiting well and I love the team spirit. I'm more excited about them than our professionalized football team at this point. Best of all, the players you come to love don't leave!
I agree with you about UW WBB, and they are on my radar as well. I watched that game and couldn't believe how many TOs they had, but Ohio State is legit and play great team defense. Still, the inability to break a press was pretty disappointing.
If Demond stays here for 3 more years I don't see Dash being here unfortunately. Not like the old days when a QB (or any player for that matter) developed then played 1 maybe 2 years before going pro. Same goes with the WRs if some of the younger ones dont play much they will head out. Sucks for someone like Ryan Otton who gets hurt so much he'll probably never play a down.
the beginnings of OL depth is very good to see. don't think we're scaring anyone this year, but if Demond stays healthy we might manage a slight improvement on last year...
I agree that O-Line improvement is a realistic goal for the year. That will make everything easier for the offense. It will be exciting to see what Demond Williams can do with another year and that improved O-Line.
Thanks for the content, Christian.
Don't need the O line to scare anyone just need them to be solid and not get Demond sacked 10 times in a game (though a few were his fault).
Offensive two deep is better than defense. Kind of opposite of last season. O line looks better, but they still need time to gel. I’m hopeful.
If the defense can maintain and the offense improves as hoped, this is a dangerous team to anyone not named Penn State and maybe Ohio State.
I don’t know what to expect from Oregon next season, except that they will have plenty of talent. However their new QB has not shown he is up to the task in college. Although the same could have been said about Nix before coming to Oregon. I’ll be watching them and a few others very closely in the first few weeks next season.
Nix actually played in some big games at Auburn and had decent numbers before going to oregon. Moore hasnt done much of anything.
True, but in most of those big games he didn’t play well enough to stay at Auburn. There’s a reason he needed to find a new home. Moore had a similar experience at UCLA, but there’s no way to know how fast he will improve, or to what extent. Will he be another Bo Nix, or a DJ Uigalelei, or something between?
I love the comments on this blog. I read lots of blogs for other teams and the comments often devolve into a bunch of idiotic, and sometimes political, drivel. Commenters here usually have pretty interesting, seemingly well informed takes. Nice!
Except for that guy Christopher Oelrich of course.
As an uncredentialed, often-wrong-but-never-in-doubt talent evaluator, I have a few thoughts. Decker DeGraaf seems like a significantly more talented tight end than Quentin Moore. Tracks the ball well, great hands, good speed and great after the catch. He's a natural, instinctive play maker. As for blocking, we'll see. I'm a bit surprised that you have Geirean Hatchett penciled in at left guard. He hasn't played that much, either here or at Oklahoma, and the tape shows him having trouble with quick, lateral movement. He isn't sticky. I hope you're right, though. I'd love to see sweep plays that let the announcer say, "UW pulled two Hatchetts." I'm surprised folks are down on Azzopardi at right tackle. On tape, he looked aggressive, athletic and effective to me. He had his misses, but he was playing against the best for the first time. I really like Zach Henning and Soane Faasolo at center and guard. Faasolo had some trouble out on the island, but he's huge and really moves well. As for Finau, I imagine he'll be starting somewhere by mid-season. This is silly to say, but he reminds me of Walter Jones. A monster with a quiet body. No flailing, no contortions, no desperate adjustments.
Offensive tackle John Mills (6'6 320) committed to Texas, but Fisch flipped him. Guy's a monster. A massive dude who can drop his hips and pads and really drive. He's already enrolled.
Off topic, but what to make of the recruiting coordinator defections? Is it a bad sign? Or simply the normal churn of talent in a power 4 program? Absolute stability has never been realistic, but the loss of coaches and coordinators is mildly concerning. No?
Normally yes, but our two coordinators both left to coach with their famous fathers. I think this is an outlier, but I'm looking into anxiety meds just in case.
Husky women play Ohio State at 2 pm on the Big 10 network. They have a ways to go, but Tina Langley seems to be recruiting well and I love the team spirit. I'm more excited about them than our professionalized football team at this point. Best of all, the players you come to love don't leave!
I agree with you about UW WBB, and they are on my radar as well. I watched that game and couldn't believe how many TOs they had, but Ohio State is legit and play great team defense. Still, the inability to break a press was pretty disappointing.
If Demond stays here for 3 more years I don't see Dash being here unfortunately. Not like the old days when a QB (or any player for that matter) developed then played 1 maybe 2 years before going pro. Same goes with the WRs if some of the younger ones dont play much they will head out. Sucks for someone like Ryan Otton who gets hurt so much he'll probably never play a down.