Some more thoughts...

[fballcoach65]

Decent turnout for the W&M game. Fun, lively crowd for the most part that made watching a painful game more enjoyable.

Not sure why W&M started Hefter and kept him in most of the game. Mitchell was supposed to start. I expect Mitchell to be their starter for the next few years, and he could be trouble.

230 yards of total offense - horrible. 93 yards rushing and 1/3 of that was Drake from the wildcat. 136 yards passing with an average of 4.7 yards per catch. With the exception of the wildcat, zero creativity/new wrinkles by the OC. All season long.

X will be back next season, and Dykes will be able to play the entire season. We are losing Yarborough and Williams but Doherty will be back and More and Singleton have proven themselves to be good players, and if we can keep the line healthy the run game should improve next season.

Defense was solid until there were 3 minutes left in the game. Bonehead personal fouls kept W&M in the game. No reason to have multiple dumb fouls in a game - while the players are ultimately responsible for taking those actions, it comes back to coaching.

CAA officials were once again awful. Several questionable calls on UR, and W&M did not get penalized until the 4th quarter. Officiating has been bad all season, and the CAA needs to do something about it,

The majority of starters in the W&M game on both sides of the ball will be back next season, which is promising. Combine that with a group of redshirt freshman that all played well in their 4 games and one of the top recruiting classes in FCS, I think we will be getting better quick.

We will see several players who can return not coming back. Some, like KJ, will make that decision on their own. Some will have the decision made for them by RH and the staff. Regardless, this house cleaning needs to occur so that the team is comprised of players that will buy into the system. Like W&M alum Mike Tomlin said about Leveon Bell - "we want volunteers, not hostages." We need a team full of players that 100% want to be there. We won't be losing much in those players that do not return, with the exception of Simpson (and Brissett should he decide not to return).

Just my thoughts/opinions - feel free to disagree.

 

[MolivaManiac]

I like having you on the board here.... Appreciate your posts.

I like the way some of the young talent is assembling on our roster. A few thoughts on that...

I like what is going on with the offensive line. Yarborough is a loss and Williams did a yeoman's effort this year but there is a real opportunity to get better. Coleman offers versatility now that he's had a year at tackle. Settepani and McConnell both did a really nice job inside. If More and Singleton both start at Tackle next year, we can move Coleman back to his normal Guard position and we've got 5 pretty solid starters. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that Taz Sumpter is a guy that's going to be able to stay on the field but he does offer some depth. Doherty can compete with the freshman tackles when he's healthy again.

I'd really like to see a BCS transfer quarterback come in to compete with Mancuso. I really like what we have coming back at RB. WR is a slot where we need some new guys to step up. That might be a spot for a transfer too.

The defensive line could be pretty impressive again, even without Clyde, and we have some young pups that really give us some depth. Talon James #87 looks like a player. Need Murray or Eldridge to step up and fill Clyde's shoes. Kobie Turner's in the mix there too. Swegheimer and/or Caleb Brooks should figure in the rotation at End.

I really hope Billy Caughell is back to work with our young guys Overstreet and O'Connor at LB. Jordan Payne also looks like a productive player. Linebacker is a spot where we could probably use a transfer.

In the secondary, we need these guys to step up next year. Trent Williams and Daniel Jones have the ability to be leaders of the defense. Vinson and Nicholson flashed some ability at the end of the year. Springs is still there. Lots of talent in this group that really needs to step up next year.

Lot's of "Ifs" going into the offseason but some reasons for optimism.

 

[ChoppinBroccoli]

Russ was really upbeat and optimistic in both his weekly show and post-game interview. He is very excited about next year. It was a refreshing change from the sad-sack comments he's been making. Maybe he got some constructive criticism on that.

He is very aware that turnovers killed this season. From the 14-point swing at Stony Brook to spotting Delaware 16 points in the first five minutes to the pick-6 in what was a tight game with JMU.

Our losses this year were to a bowl-bound FBS team, 5 playoff-bound FCS teams, and a better-than-their-record Villanova which just destroyed Delaware. Fewer turnovers and we would have been right in the mix.

 

[UR79&Peanuts]

Very refreshing to read a positive post thanks
We will return to the top

 

[Spiders10]

Despite this season, I am still confident Russ can get us back. 9th rated incoming class is a start. That said, the coaching staff needs a shake-up

 

[32counter]

If Deontez and Jay decide to move on,we have no girth at RB.X,Howard and Dykes are all about 5-9,185 after a heavy meal at the Dining Hall.If we are to run even 30% of the plays(15-20 per game) not sure our backs can take the pounding.X has been shown to be injury prone.The other 2 guys wont be too far far behind.Not having a big back or two reduces our ability to even attempt to have a running game over a 12 game regular season schedule.

This offseason,our DBs should be taught on how to better cover opposing WRs that have 3”-5” height advantage.We cannot hope to properly cover a WR by facing him and watching his eye/arm movements.
Having the Wake transfer back will help.

The incoming frosh QB from Tenn looks like he’ll be high on the depth chart.

 

[KBBFL]

I’ll offer my analysis regarding returning players and the 2019 season.

OL: This is a group that my high school coach back in the day would say needs to get in a bar fight. The talent is there and they have proven to be very capable of protecting the passer, but they lack the tenacity and attitude that a strong running game requires. I don’t see the opposing defensive line getting moved off the ball nearly enough.

RB: I really like this group, X if healthy and that’s a big if having lost two seasons to knee injuries. The two freshman are dynamic, Dykes is an X clone and Howard is a one cut burner. However, as I said above, the running games success hinges solely on the OL ability to move defenders.

WR: Losing a lot of talent. If Dejon comes back, this group will still be one of the better groups in the CAA. If he doesn’t, we have a bunch of young unproven options. Maffe has shown to be a playmaker out of the slot and his size is unique at the position. Who is going to step up out of the rest of them?

TE: We are going to miss #9 and #88. Stephon was arguably the most versatile player on the team and Geraghty was an effective blocker. Anthonie Powell and Andrew Tsangeos should battle it out in the spring, and hopefully one of them steps of to own the position.

QB: the most important position on the field. Mancuso has talent but too often was careless with the ball. Chenault is a capable backup who can go into the game and run the offense seamlessly, but I don’t see him having the physical attributes to be a dynamic QB. Will our highly touted true freshman push for time? Is this a position that a BCS transfer could come in and steal? I hope all of the above, I want to see some competition from this group.

DL: Handsdown the most talented group on the roster, but as we have learned the last two seasons it takes more than a dominant defensive line to play good defense. Mo Jackson can take over a game, Ritten has been the model of reliability and consistency. Reynolds had flashed. Who steps up to fill the hole that Clyde leaves? For 50 games straight we have gotten used to seeing 97 out at defensive tackle. We need someone to be the interior pass rushing presence that he was.

LB: this group will be solid, but I don’t see a absolute playmaker. With the defensive line that will be in front of them, all they need to do is fit the right gap but that process will take some time as I expect to see some new faces at the position. Payne, Dressler, and Overstreet all started at some point this season.

DB: The group that worries me the most. This year we saw a ton of freshman and sophomores across the secondary and no one seemed to own the role. Losing Micah for the season hurt more than we could imagine as I don’t believe many of the younger players were ready for playing time. I can’t watch us getting burned on anymore double moves.

 

[Captain Anderson]

Some great insights and observations in this thread. I am hopeful on the defensive side of the ball because we seem to have a lot of talent on the DL coming back. A good defense always starts up front and if those guys are stopping the run, forcing double teams, and pressuring the qb then you've got a great fighting chance. My biggest concern on the whole team (as has been stated by many other posters) is the secondary. I don't know if it was youth or if we need a position coach change there but we need guys who can and will tackle back there and we need to coach them up on technique in terms of finding the ball in the air and making a play on it.

 

[MolivaManiac]

TE: We are going to miss #9 and #88. Stephon was arguably the most versatile player on the team and Geraghty was an effective blocker. Anthonie Powell and Andrew Tsangeos should battle it out in the spring, and hopefully one of them steps of to own the position.

Is Geraghty definitely gone? I'd love to have him back for one more year.

 

[KBBFL]

Is Geraghty definitely gone? I'd love to have him back for one more year.

I’m assuming that any of the guys who walked on senior day are departing