it's insane depth....hard to even get your head wrapped around it when you start to look at it closely.There will be four and five stars that will redshirt and/or not make the top two at a position. Crazy depth.
Don't forget Leon Brown this year. I'm beating he starts at RT in the spring.OT: Brandon Hill, Grant Hill, Brandon Greene, Alphonse Taylor
OG: Cole Mazza, Caleb Gulledge
It's really not going to be that hard to imagine a scenario where he struggles to earn playing time. If he can't block, then we can't afford to play him because that edge seal by the TE and H-B are key to our running attack. Volger and Michael Williams might have graded out better than some of the true offensive linemen in the SECCG. Smelley was poised to win the starting job in 2009 but had an atrocious game as a blocker against VT...Dial took over and Smelley didn't see the field for meaningful duty until his Senior year (2011).It's going to be really, REALLY hard to keep OJ Howard off the field. TE's with his skill set come around about once a decade.
Howard is the first 5-star TE since Kyle Rudolph in 2008, and the highest rated TE since Martellus Bennett in 2005. He's a special player.
Yeah, I left him and Deion Belue off because I was looking at players who will have 4 or 5 years left. Sorry I didn't explain that. Just looking at our Freshmen.Don't forget Leon Brown this year. I'm beating he starts at RT in the spring.
Most of that's because he wasn't asked to block in high school. He was spectacular after the catch & caught nearly everything that came his way. Hard to say he wasn't a good blocker when he was rarely asked to. When he stayed home to block, no one got by him.It's really not going to be that hard to imagine a scenario where he struggles to earn playing time. If he can't block, then we can't afford to play him because that edge seal by the TE and H-B are key to our running attack. Volger and Michael Williams might have graded out better than some of the true offensive linemen in the SECCG. Smelley was poised to win the starting job in 2009 but had an atrocious game as a blocker against VT...Dial took over and Smelley didn't see the field for meaningful duty until his Senior year (2011).
Obviously, Howard is a different kind of athlete than Smelley. They'd probably try to use him as a flexed TE in spread packages if he demonstrates playmaking ability. Still, that kind of situational use takes away the disguise of the playcall. Ideally, you want your TE personnel not to dictate the playcall before you even lineup.
You're right though...Howard is the highest rated TE since Bennett (a pretty solid NFL TE) and Kyle Rudolph (the Pro Bowl MVP). He's going to be special if that is any indication. I'm just skeptical because I realize how key H-Back is to the whole offense. If this guy can play the run game assignments well, we're going to be onto something special.