SB Nation - Robert Marve

Our 2009 ACC Blogger Awards Ballot

Brian @ BCI — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:45:24 -0000

More photos » by J. Pat Carter - AP

Miami head coach Randy Shannon is BC Interruption's ACC Coach of the Year. Sebastian the Ibis gives us his stamp of approval on this selection. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter)

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For the second straight year, the SBNation Virginia Tech blog Gobbler Country is hosting a blogger version of the postseason ACC Football Awards. Our ballot is below, and just in time for tomorrow night's ACC Championship Game.

Issues or comments on our ballot go to the comments section.

Coach of the Year - Randy Shannon (Miami Fla.)

With all due respect to Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson, Randy Shannon has our vote for ACC Coach of the Year. Shannon has the Hurricanes back on an upward trajectory, winning 2 more games each year in his first three seasons (5 in 2007, 7 in 2008 and 9 in 2009). Unlike Johnson, Shannon didn't exactly inherit a team that had all the right pieces to work in his system. After putting an end to the Patrick Nix / Robert Marve experiment and installing Mark Whipple as offensive coordinator, the Hurricanes have gone from a team that ranked 89th in total offense in 2008 to 35th in 2009. This year's Miami team is probably a overtime win over Clemson from a BCS bowl at-large berth. Finally, when considering voting for Randy Shannon over Paul Johnson, remember that this matchup was already played on the field with Miami coming away with the 33-17 victory.

Also considered: Frank Spaziani (Boston College), Paul Johnson (Georgia Tech)

Offensive Player of the Year - C.J. Spiller (Clemson)

Although probably not even a top 3 running back in the ACC (Ryan Williams, Jonathan Dwyer, even Montel Harris), Spiller gets the nod for Offensive Player of the Year. Spiller is equally good out of the backfield as he is in the receiving game, and is a game-changer on special teams. We'd go as far to say that Clemson probably doesn't sniff the ACC Championship Game this season without Spiller.

Also considered: Ryan Williams (Virginia Tech), Demaryius Thomas (Georgia Tech)

Defensive Player of the Year - Luke Kuechly (Boston College)

Call us homers ... but what this true freshman did at linebacker is truly remarkable. Not many true freshman get to start at linebacker in a BCS conference program, but Kuechly took his opportunity filling in for Mark Herzlich and Mike McLaughlin and hit a home run. Kuechly's 142 tackles placed him second in the country behind New Mexico's Carmen Messina. Kuechly also found the end zone for the first time in his career off a 28 yard INT return in a 31-10 win over Central Michigan. Kuechly also literally flew through the air on a Maryland 4th and 1 preventing the Terps from continuing a fourth quarter drive. There were certainly other impressive performances turned in by ACC defenders in 2009, but given the shoes he had to fill and the impact he had on the Eagles Top 25 defense, we give Kuechly the nod here.

Also considered: DeAndre McDaniel (Clemson), Derrick Morgan (Georgia Tech)

Rookie of the Year - Ryan Williams (Virginia Tech)

While Kuechly could very well also be the pick here, we'll go with Ryan Williams of Virginia Tech. Williams knocked the ball out of the park filling in for the injured Darren Evans, rushing for 1,538 yards and finishing the regular season 3rd nationally in rushing yards behind Heisman Trophy candidate Toby Gerhart and UTEP's Donald Buckran. Williams rushed for over 100 yards in 9 out of the Hokies 12 games this year, turning in two breakout performances in the Hokies last two regular season games - 120 yards, 4 touchdowns vs. NC State and 183 yards, 4 touchdowns at Virginia. Williams 19 touchdowns on the ground led the conference and placed him tied for fourth nationally.

Also considered: Luke Kuechly (Boston College)

Wrapping up the 2009 Season

BoilerTMill — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:04:41 -0000

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope everyone out there has a safe and happy holiday. The posting will likely be scaled back slightly over the next few weeks before Christmas. The recent temp job I accepted is going to need me for some extra hours so that will cut into some of my writing time. I do have press access for the Wake Forest game next week, however, so that should be fun. If anyone finds any worthwhile news during the day feel free to post it via fanshot and I'll get it to the front page as soon as I can. Also, if you feel like doing a post of your own you can do it via Fanpost on the right. I haven't pushed these features too much in the past, but they are great ways to expand the community here. Now on with the football wrap up.

I am not quite sure what to think about this. When seeing some preseason predictions of 2-10, 1-11, 3-9 with maybe a pair of Big Ten wins, the 2009 Purdue football season looks pretty good. When you actually sat down and watched all 12 games, as I did (minus Northwestern) it is hard not to think that 10-2 was possible. That leaves me with mixed feelings. We were much better than advertised, but not as good as we could have been. Ultimately, 5-7 is probably about right based on the amount of inexperience we had on offense. Even then, those players overachieved.

That is what makes this season wrap up so hard. How do I put it in proper perspective? I guess we can look at each game individually.

Toledo W 52-31

This was the only game that one of the guys over at the Rivalry, Esq. Gave us coming into the season. It was with good reason too, as the Boilers were never seriously threatened and Ralph Bolden had a field day. The only major concern was poor tackling and poor coverage over the middle against Toledo's short drop passing attack. The tackling would be hit or miss all year long. Joey Elliott threw three interceptions, but two were tipped balls as we had the foreshadowing of turnovers. All told it was a good opener. We were in control throughout and never let Toledo get within two scores.

At Oregon L 36-38

And you thought the Ducks visit to Ross-Ade was letting one get away. Essentially, we handed Oregon 19 points in their home stadium. I called this as an upset Purdue win while everyone else predicted blowout and I was damn near right. We had a Duck team that would go on to steamroll USC beaten in their own house. An early interception deep in our own territory led to a field goal. Oregon later returned an interception and a bad snap for a score. We also had an extra point blocked, forcing us into a failed two point conversion attempt in the final minute. Still, this team didn't die when giving them those 19 points. We earned the respect of Oregon fans everyone, as they knew they were lucky to escape this one with a win. I know the guys over at Addicted to Quack have been big fans of Purdue all season because of this game. Unfortunately, "We had it," would become a theme for the season.

Northern Illinois L 21-28

Just an ugly game. If we played them 12 more times I would absolutely pick us 12 times. We had zero business losing this game and we know it, especially when Toledo would later beat Northern Illinois. Purdue got outclassed and outplayed in every phase, yet NIU still needed a late fake punt to hold us off. I am fully confident that we would have scored to tie if they had actually punted there. We should have never been in that position in the first place. Two fumbled punts and a penalty for roughing the kicker only allowed seven points, but they allowed NIU to dominate the time of possession. The offense never got on track until late in the third quarter. I said before the season that if we lost this game we had no business going to a bowl and I was right. It is the difference between a bowl and nothing right now. If we played this game today we win by three touchdowns, easy.

Notre Dame L 21-24

Another missed opportunity. After Jaycen Taylor gave us a late 21-17 lead we let Notre Dame drive down the field, converting a 3^rd and long and a 4^th and goal. The timeout called by Danny Hope before a late 3^rd and goal is unforgiveable. Even if they don't spike it they are running plays in the hurry-up. That means they are less likely to convert. I'll give Jimmy Montana credit though. His winning TD pass to Kyle Rudolph was a good one.

Northwestern L 21-27

This is the second worst game next to the Northern Illinois debacle. If we simply take a knee deep in our own territory late in the first half we save 13 points and three turnovers. Even with the mistakes we had a chance t win late but a pair of incompletions inside the 10 cost us the game. I am glad I was in Miami for this one. I thought ESPN's gametracker was stuck on repeat with all the fumbles. At least Northwestern had quite a season after this one.

At Minnesota L 20-35

This game was almost as bad as the Oregon game. Minnesota's offense was horrible all year, agaisnt us they barely tried to pass. One big pass completed to Eric Decker set up a game changing touchdown. From there the floodgates opened with more turnovers. This was capped by a backbreaking blocked field goal returned for a touchdown. It was almost identical to the figgie Chris Summers had blocked in 2007, only Minnesota actually held on to the ball for a score. This is yet another game I wih we could have back. If we could replay every loss I would predict wins in this order, from most likely to least likely:

Northern Illinois
Minnesota
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Michigan State
Oregon
Wisconsin

And of those, the only one I am sure we would lose is Wisconsin. I might pick Oregon, given how hot they can be. In the other five I would pick us right now.

Ohio State W 26-18

Quite simply, this is the biggest win the program has had in nine years since beating the Buckeyes in 2000. This was a better Ohio State team, but that win essentially sent us to the Rose Bowl, so it is bigger. Considering that three of our four Big Ten losses easily could have been wins, This could have sent us to the Rose Bowl as well, giving us a rematch with Oregon. With the way Ohio State has finished the season I am still shocked by this win. Without it, they would still be on a record Big Ten road winning streak. They would also be hoping for a miracle in the last two weeks for an outside shot at the national title. It was one of the most memorable games in Ross-Ade Stadium because it was completely unexpected. It also proved another preseason prediction of mine true: that we would end the losing streak against ranked teams. Ohio State was the only team that was ranked at the time we played them. Compare that to last year, where Oregon, Notre Dame, Penn State, Ohio State, Minnesota, Michigan State, and Iowa were all ranked at game time. If we win a conference championship in the next three years it will be because of this game.

Again, one of the happiest moments ever at Ross-Ade

Illinois W 24-14

This was kind of a boring game in retrospect. Everyone was still buzzing about the OSU upset. Illinois was awful before looking like a real football team the following two weeks. I would call this game the most dull of the season. We built a big lead and sat on it. That's what good teams do. It was nice not to have to hang on until the final seconds in a Big Ten win too.

Wisconsin L 0-37

Wisconsin Jumped Around all over us...

Did we show up in Madison? This was the worst game only surpassed by the NIU debacle. Yes, we were physically dominated in both games. At least you can expect it with Wisconsin. The Badgers played essentially a perfect game and we did not. There were absolutely no positives from this game, which made the next one that much more surprising.

Michigan W 38-36

Boiled Sports called the Ohio State game a sharpie loss. They were wrong. I called this a sharpie loss. I was wrong. The game will mostly be remembered for the simmering Danny Hope-Rich Rodriguez fued at the end, but I will remember it as HOLY CRAP WE JUST WON IN ANN ARBOR!!!! I don't care that it was over the first Michigan team to finish last in the Big Ten in over 45 years. Knowing our history since 1966 I thought we had no chance. It was stunning because we kept making big play after big play. We overcame yet another 14 point deficit to the Wolverines, and now we have a two game winning streak in a series where we have just 14 wins total. An alert reader is sending me a DVD copy of this game. They are awesome for that.

Michigan State L 37-40

This is the game where our bowl hopes officially died. It is probably about four games later than most people expected them to die. The play they died on was Michigan State's long TD pass after we had gone up 11. If the defense can force even a long scoring drive there the game is pretty secure. Instead, we gave up a long TD, had a figgie blocked, gave up another TD, got a figgie to tie, then promptly gave it back with a long kickoff return. This doesn't even account for the fact that we gave them seven points on the game's first play. It's a tough loss, but we had plenty of chances to make sure this one didn't matter in terms of getting to a bowl.

Indiana W 38-21

An important win because we shared the same record with IU coming in for the second straight year, but dominated the game. We showed that despite similar records, there is still a gap between Indiana and Purdue. It is now up to us to make sure it gets larger and not smaller.

There are tons of positives coming out of this year. We finished at .500 in the league after two straight seasons below. We were 4-2 in the last six games after being 1-5 in the previous six. We won a road game for the first time since 2007, and now have a two game road winning streak. We beat a ranked team for the first time since 2003. the next step is combining the two and beating a ranked team on the road. That is something we haven't done since winning at Wisconsin in 2003, and something we didn't do much under Tiller.

Offensively, we lose our quarterback, but we gain an experienced one in Robert Marve. If you go strictly by recruiting rankings, we can line up four star talent next year at guard (Ken Plue), running back (Al-Terek McBurse), receiver (O.J. Ross), Tight End (Jeff Lindsay, though he was a 4-star linebacker), and quarterback (Marve). Defensively we have to replace the entire secondary, but Josh Johnson, Chris Quinn, and Charlton Williams all have some playing experience. I think there is a certain guard on the basketball team that might be interested in a one year gridiron curtain call. At the very least, Kramer could provide much needed depth. It is safe to say he would be a fan favorite as well.

Just to show I am completely delusional, I think a 6-0 start next year is entirely possible. It is possible, maybe even likely, that Charlie Weis will be gone and Jimmy Montana and Golden Tate will both go pro. That evens the playing field in the season opener quite a bit. We have no excuse whatsoever for losing to Ball State, Western Illinois, and Toledo in the non-conference season. In conference play I believe we can beat Minnesota, Northwestern (our first two Big Ten games), Michigan (ignore this if they field a defense next year), and Indiana. Three of those games are at home, so they need to be wins (a sidebar, it absolutely sucks we beat the league champ, but still went 3-4 at Ross-Ade. WTF?). That leaves Ohio State (tough at home), Wisconsin (They tend to dominate us physically), Michigan State (toss-up road game), and Illinois (a wild card with their sheer talent) as tricky games. Notice three of those four are on the road. Michigan State should be better, while no one know what to expect from Illinois anymore. The Illini could just as easily win the entire Big Ten as they could finish dead last.

So what should we expect? In a down Big Ten everyone is looking to improve. I think we showed the most improvement over anyone as the season went along. If we keep it going into next year, I expect at least an 8 win season. We will return to a bowl unless we crap the bed in one of those three easy non-conference games. With a few breaks we might even challenge for the Big Ten title.

Yes, I have lost my mind.

The 2009 Bucket Game: A preview of something more?

BoilerTMill — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:53:42 -0000

The records paint a familiar story. Purdue and Indiana both come into this season's Bucket game with losing records. Both teams are already eliminated from bowl contention. While this was also the case in 2005 and 2008, this one in particular feels like a throwback to the mid-90's when neither team was very good. A case could be made that 2005 would have been different if the current 12 game schedule had been in effect. Purdue likely would have scheduled a 1-AA or MAC opponent, grabbed another win, and would have been 5-6 playing for a bowl instead of 4-6 and done under that last 11 game year. In 2008, however, both teams took a huge step back after just the second season in which both Indiana and Purdue went bowling. Indiana was downright awful. Purdue suffered injuries to its top two quarterbacks and wasn't much better even when they did play.

The Bucket Game itself has rarely meant much nationally. Only in 1979 and 2007 did both teams go to a bowl game. In 1967 it decided the Big Ten title when the Hoosiers beat an undefeated (in Big Ten play) Purdue team to go to Pasadena for their only visit. A Purdue win might have meant a National Championship for the boilers, though a non-conference loss to Oregon State had knocked them from #1 earlier.

2009 feels different though. Both teams are 4-7 going into Saturday's contest. As John from Crimson Quarry stated yesterday, it is just the eighth time both teams have carried identical records into the season-ending game. It feels different because both teams could have identical records, yet be playing for so much more. With just slight improvement in a few areas, Saturday's game could be setting the table for a much better 2010 season on both sides.

Someday these scenes may mean more outside the state of Indiana.

Purdue has beaten Toledo, Illinois, Ohio State, and Michigan. Indiana has beaten Eastern Kentucky, Western Michigan (a Toledo clone), Akron, and Illinois. The Wolverines and Buckeyes are hardly on the same level as Akron and Eastern Kentucky, but the Toledo and Illinois wins are similar. The losses paint an even closer picture. Indiana got blown out at Virginia in a game it probably should have won. While Purdue didn't get blown out, the Northern Illinois loss was similar, while the actual Wisconsin game was a similar blowout. Both teams had Northwestern beat and blew it. Indiana's implosion at Iowa was like Purdue's at Minnesota. Indiana outplayed Michigan only to lose in Ann Arbor much like how Purdue outplayed Oregon in Eugene. Indiana's Wisconsin loss is a lot like Purdue's Michigan State loss in that the teams traded blows until one finally was left standing.

Among the four teams not going to bowls this year, I think Purdue and Indiana each have the best hopes of making the jump next season. Michigan is a wild card that may still take another year to come around. Illinois is, well, Illinois. In a conference that has been south of mediocre, however, Purdue and Indiana have each shown enough improvement to be encouraged for next year. It will begin with the non-conference season, as both teams have realistic shots at going 4-0 next year. Purdue has no excuse not to be 3-1 after a disastrous 1-3 this year. We should never lose games to the likes of Toledo, Ball State, and Western Illinois. Notre Dame could be in a total rebuild. If they are, the opener in South Bend has to be a win. Indiana has an even easier non-conference schedule against 1-AA Towson, at Central Michigan (without Dan LeFevour), at winless Western Kentucky, and at home against a bad Akron team. Again, there is no reason to not be at least 3-1 against that record, and 4-0 is more likely.

Once you get to the Big Ten there is more than enough room to get at least four wins. Both teams play Illinois, who might take a step back with Juice Williams graduating and Rejus Benn thinking of pro ball. Northwestern is not going to be significantly better. Michigan is going to be a question mark for at least another year. If anything, Purdue catches more of a break as they face Minnesota and Michigan State, who will be worse than Iowa and Penn State. Wisconsin and Ohio State will be tough games for both, especially since the Badgers only come to West Lafayette.

Both teams want this as momentum going into next year. There is enough talent returning on offense that each team can legitimately think about eight win seasons next year. Purdue has a wild card in Robert Marve, who does have 10 starts under his belt. he'll definitely be helped by having a 1,000 receiver come back in Keith Smith as well as a 1,000 rusher in Ralph Bolden. That is why this is an important preview game for both teams. Purdue wants to show that even in a rebuilding year it is still better than Indiana. If there is one thing Tiller did consistently it was keep the Bucket in West Lafayette. His 10-2 record against IU featured a series of blowouts. The only two losses were to the two best Indiana teams in that time by nine total points. Tiller had wins of 62-10, 63-24, 52-7, and 56-7 in there. Danny Hope wants to show he can keep that trend going.

Indiana wants to show they have turned around from a 52 point blowout. The Hoosiers surprised me this year by being much more competitive than originally thought. If they get the Bucket they will gain momentum that was lost in a disastrous 2008 season. They also want to show they can close a game after blowing so many late leads this year. Both teams have overachieved from preseason expectations. The winner will have a leg up on the "Team That Could Surprise in 2010" category, which is rarified air for IU's program.

I am stripped of all but pride

BoilerTMill — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:14:04 -0000

by Tom Strattman - AP

about 1 month ago: Michigan State running back Edwin Baker (4) picks up yardage as he tries to get away from Purdue safety Torri Williams (2) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in West Lafayette, Ind., Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Tom Strattman)

View full size photo »

The above lyric from Metallica is appropriate. After today's 40-37 loss we have only pride and the Bucket to play for this season. While it is disappointing, it is far from a horrible thing considering where we were going into the Ohio State game. We went from questioning if a 1-11 season was probable to playing for a bowl in the penultimate game of the season. Now we can build for next year with a statement win over Indiana.

That is why I think this season is a success regardless of the outcome of so many games. Yes, games against Oregon, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, and Michigan State would absolutely be wins if not for our own mistakes. Still, this season was not the 1-11 disaster many were picking even before it started. This team has shown more heart than recent Purdue teams. This team has never quit. This team has performed above expectations and has a win over the Big Ten's Rose Bowl representative and a close loss against the likely Pac-10 representative. This is growth from last year.

As for the mistakes that cost us today's game, they were unfortunate, but they can be corrected. That is also a sign of growth. We were 3-8 at this point last season, yet we seemed to have no heart or direction. The eight losses were by 6 (in overtime), 17, 14, 13, 22, 11, 14, and 5. This year, our seven losses were by 2, 7, 4, 3, 6, 15, 37, and 3. To me, that is a huge step forward from where we were. We are now to the point where other teams are not beating us except for our own mistakes. The next step is to correct those mistakes. If we do so, we will become a very good football team.

Positives from the Michigan State game:

Joey Elliott - Can you imagine if he had been a starter earlier in his career? If anyone deserved to lead this team to a bowl it was Elliott. After his TD pass to Cortez Smith you could see the passion as he ran off the field. He has grown by leaps and bounds this year, and I will miss his attitude.

Cortez Smith - Cortez has had a phenomenal two weeks and is putting himself in position to fill Aaron Valentin's role next season. The guy knows how to get open and get first downs. We can always use a guy who can use the chains.

Keith Smith - Keith will be a top target for Robert Marve next season. We have plenty of other options too. This is why I am already excited for next year. We return a bunch of experience at the skill positions and Keith will lead the way.

Jeff Lindsay and Kyle Adams - This was another fine week from our tight ends. They kept the chains moving with several critical catches. It is nice to add these weapons and we need to keep them involved in the offense next year.

Dan Dierking - I've always thought Dierking was undersized as a running back, but he made two huge catches today. That running back continues to be wide open on the wheel route, as Bolden was uncovered several times if we had looked for him.

Michigan State - It is rare that I credit the other team, but dammit if I wasn't impressed by the Spartans today. We truly outplayed them, but they made us pay for every mistake and made some huge plays when they needed to. I thought the game was over after Bolden's second TD. We had an 11 point lead on senior day with under 12 minutes left. The defense was rested, so I thought they would come out fired up. What ensued was a frenzy not seen since The Fumble game. Sparty earned this one today. They won a hard fought game.

Negatives from the Michigan State game:

Special Teams - I want J.B. Gibboney gone. Things were better without him. The past two seasons we were among the top 10 in kickoff coverage without a special teams coach. Today we acted like it was illegal to tackle the returner. The breakdown on the block field goal was huge. I don't mind Carson Wiggs missing the 49 yarder before halftime. You can't hit them all, but the other stuff is getting ridiculous. Chris Summers at least had a good game.

The defense - They had a great effort ruined by just a handful of plays, but they were big plays. They held for field goals after two long returns, but all three offensive touchdowns were the result of big MSU plays. They had a chance to really make a statement when up 11 and it last one damn play. To be fair, MSU provided excellent protection all day, but still. We had breakdowns two plays after we would look great. Just frustrating.

Covering Keshawn Martin - I hope this young man has a comfortable trip home because I don't want to see him again.

Up next:

As I said above, I am still incredibly proud of this team. The season will finish better than people thought, but not as good as it could have been. It is still progress. While I as at the Black & Gold Mine after the game I was listening to the call-in show after the game. Those that are attacking Danny Hope and saying he won't learn or it won't get better than this need to calm down.

Danny Hope did not miss tackles on kickoff coverage. Danny Hope did not miss the block that caused the blocked field goal. Danny Hope did not fail to execute on the field. What we are seeing are things that can be corrected. As long as the coaching staff recognizes this and works to do it for next season we will be fine.

Is it really that bad that we have lost seven games, five by less than a touchdown. We have been much more competitive than anyone expected. It is a base to build on for what can be a breakout year next season. The talent will only get better, while the departing seniors have never once quit on this team. That attitude will hang around. I will only be worried if the same mistakes continue unabated next year.

Keeping the Bucket next week is paramount. Both teams are 4-7, but both teams were 3-8 last year and 62-10 happened. We must exert our will and show that we are still much better than Indiana to gain confidence going into next year.

As for next year, I am expecting a big leap forward. First of all, playing Toledo, Western Illinois, and Ball State should be three easy non-conference wins. As middling as the Big Ten has been this season we should count on at least three conference wins, and if we improve I think we can win five. Are you really going to count us out of any game except maybe Ohio State? We can even make a big statement by ending Notre Dame's national title hopes in week one.

We're playing for next season now. It is this team's choice as to which way it wants to go. If we choose to focus on the positives of what we accomplished while striving to fix small mistakes we will do very well. If we choose to be negative and blame others for our failures we can expect another bowl-less season in 2010.

Welcome to the Fold: O.J. Ross, Ricardo Allen, and Chevin Davis

BoilerTMill — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:02:13 -0000

I apologize for the lateness of this entry. I started a new job today that I'll be working through the end of the year and did not have a chance to work on an entry. The entries will probably be later on the day for a few days at least until the job schedule settles down.

In the meantime, I don't know a single Purdue fan that wasn't excited with yesterday's news. O.J Ross' commitment means that we will have a four star lineman (Ken Plue), running back (Al-Terek McBurse), quarterback (Robert Marve), and receiver on offense. Allen is a guy that can play immediately in the secondary, probably pairing with Jhonny Faustin to give us to very fast corners. Davis is more of a mystery, but it will be interesting to see how he fits it in with a young and suddenly very crowded receiving corps.

Boiled Sports beat me to the punch a bit with some video today, but here is what else I found on these three guys:

O.J. Ross - WR - Speed, speed, speed. Ross appears to be ready to step in at the slot receiver position and produce like Dorien Bryant did for four years. If he has better hands and can avoid Dorien's trademark tipped-pass-interception it will be even better. If Ross is good enough to start immediately, expect him to be inside with Keith Smith on the outside. If he has the talent to start immediately it could be a very good thing, as we will go from barren to deep at wide receiver in a hurry. Remember, we still have Keith Smith, Keith Carlos, Cortez Smith, Waynelle Gravesande, and Antavian Edison back as guys that have caught passes this year. We also get Gary Bush, Eric Williams, and Xavier Reese from this year's class that are currently redshirting (Edison may yet redshirt as well). In 2010 We get Jeremy Cornelius, Charles Torwudzo, and Isaiah Williams to go with Ross and Davis. Cornelius, Torwudzo, and Williams are more likely to be outside receivers, but the common component is speed.

We desperately need good hands from Ross

Cornelius is clocked at 4.45, Ross 4.4, Edison 4.45, and Williams 4.4. Coach Hope has already shown that it will be open competition every week, so whoever can catch the ball with regularity will get to play. That is especially true after this past week's display in Madison, where even Keith Smith had the drops.

Ross is a big play guy. His stats last year tell the story. Like many of our other recruits, these guys come from a program that knows how to win as well. Mainland was 11-1 last season, falling by just a single point in round 2 of the state tournament. This year they are 6-2 so far.

Ricardo Allen - CB - More speed. I can see Allen pairing with my quickly developing man crush Johnny Faustin to be a pair of lockdown corners. The only knock against them I can see is size. Faustin is 5'10" 170, While Allen is 5'9" 175. It has been said of both that if they were taller they would be even more sought after. I like these guys, but Have visions of the short Chris Clopton getting dominated on fade after fade in the Rose Bowl to Washington's bigger receivers.

It is a very good sign when you search a cornerback and the first photo you see is him with the ball.

I don't think size will be much of an issue though if they can live up to their athleticism. I also really like E.J. Johnson as a ball-hawking safety, so I think he fits in well with these guys. They aren't as tall as David Pender and Brandon King, but they may be more athletic.

Chevin Davis - WR - With all the receivers mentioned above where does Davis fit in? He is a bigger receiver than Ross, but he might be suited to a slot role more because he doesn't have a ton of size. I see him more as a developmental player that will redshirt next year, but I could be wrong. Mainland's coach has talk about how all three of these guys are hard workers, so I wouldn't rule out seeing him on the field immediately. His stats last season were comparable to Ross', so we might have a hidden gem here.

The mystery of this group?

We can't think of Davis as simply riding the coattails of Ross and Allen to Purdue. He is a damn fine ballplayer in his own right that has been gathering plenty of interest from other schools.

ACC Roundtable 7: Steak Knives, Coffee and Tacos

Brian @ BCI — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:52:46 -0000

This week's ACC Roundtable is hosted by Joe Ovies of AM 850 The Buzz Sports Radio, THEE Blog and ACCSports.com fame. As we are in the home stretch, Ovies asks for our ACC Coach of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, choke artist of the week, and advice on good Mexican food in Boston.

His questions and our answers follow.

1) Now that we're in the home-stretch of college football, we have enough material to begin campaigns for ACC coach of the year and player of the year. Who ya got and why?

With five weeks left in the college regular season, our ACC coach of the year vote goes to Randy Shannon. It's amazing what a difference a year makes. I guess the turnaround in Miami was as simple as cleaning house and getting rid of Robert Marve and Patrick Nix. Even with the overtime loss to Clemson last weekend, Shannon has the Hurricanes at 5-2 and firmly in the Top 25 of both major polls (despite going into the season unranked). Miami has wins over 3 ranked teams - at No. 18 Florida State, No. 14 Georgia Tech and No. 8 Oklahoma. Miami should be significantly favored in each of their remaining five games, and a 10-2 (6-2) season off the heels of a 7-5 (4-4) season a year ago is a good enough turnaround this year for us to give Shannon the nod. Yes, it's true that Paul Johnson has his Yellow Jackets in the drivers' seat for their second Coastal Division crown. With all due respect to Johnson, however, this coach of the year vote was decided on the field in early September.

The ACC Player of the Year vote this year is a complete mess. Taking a look at the ACC Preseason Football Team doesn't help much either. Russell Wilson? Meh. Jonathan Dwyer? Hasn't had nearly the same type of season as a year ago and shares the spotlight with Josh Nesbitt. Josh Nesbitt? Good legs, horrible quarterback. Christian Ponder is putting up sick numbers, but his team is 3-4. Riley Skinner is on a .500 team at the moment. At the risk of going with the hot hand, our vote goes to C.J. Spiller. Spiller currently ranks 5th in rushing yards with 547 yards behind a couple of Yellow Jackets (who all they do IS run the ball). He has 267 yards receiving, and is third in the nation with 459 yards, 3 touchdowns returning kickoffs. The guy does it all and is a big reason Clemson took hold of the ACC Atlantic Division race over the past two weekends.

2) Would your 2009 ACC coach of the year stand a chance in the SEC battlefields of recruiting and gameday management against the likes of Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, and Lane Kiffin?

This season? Absolutely. The bottom drops out in the SEC real quick this year. After Florida, Alabama and LSU, there's a whole lot of mediocrity throughout God's conference this year. Over a longer time frame, I think Miami is one of the few ACC programs that has the name brand recognition and history that could equate to success in the SEC. Florida State being the other program. Anyhow, it would make recruiting in the SEC very interesting as U of. Florida wouldn't be the only team in the state.

3) Getting away from the breathless week-to-week win/loss reactions such as "OMGZ!1!JUAN! WE WON, BCS NEXT!" or "WTF, WE'RE DA SUX. FIRE COACH!", where is your head coach in 5 years. If no longer with your school, how does the exit go down?

Spaz probably retires in 5 years. His contract runs through the 2013-2014 season and I've stated before that I don't think he will stick around beyond the terms of his current contract. While this is his first year as head coach, remember that the man is 61 years old and only 2 years younger than Frank Beamer. Gone are the days of the dinosaur-like figurehead coaches built from the Paterno/Bowden mold, and I find it hard to see Spaz coaching well beyond 66. Spaz will quietly ride out into the sunset. BC will either hand the reigns to a younger coordinator or they'll conduct yet another coaching search.

4) Coffee is for closers only. Which means plenty of ACC teams are walking around with empty cups after failing to finish off opponents or lock up divisions. As the worst offender, who gets the steak knives?

The same program who gets our vote for ACC Coach of the Year also gets the steak knives. The Hurricanes are getting the caffeine withdrawal shakes this week after their 40-37 overtime loss to Clemson. All Miami had to do was win the rest of their games and they could have all but locked up the Coastal Division crown. The division title may or may not have come down to a tiebreaker with Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Miami all at 7-1, but Miami simply had to keep winning to stay ahead of Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech in the BCS standings. Instead, Miami is now a pedestrian 2-2 in the ACC and facing a significant uphill climb to get back into the Coastal Division standings.

5) Bob Griese wants to take you and Juan Pablo Montoya out for tacos. Where's the best joint in town?

You can find me, Bob and Juan Pablo down at Anna's Taqueria on Beacon Street chowing down on a Super Chicken Burrito. Sweet deliciousness. Aren't convinced of Anna's superior quality Mexican food? Then let this Yelp! review sway you:

You know it's a special place when you can throw up a burrito the night before and still crave one the next day. This has happened more than once.

Now if that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is.

Your vote for ACC Player of the Year? Coach of the Year? Best taco joint in Boston? Leave them in the comments section.

Season over

BoilerTMill — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:14:09 -0000

Year one of the Danny Hope Era is virtually in the books. Halfway through the season we are sitting at 1-5 and things seem to be getting worse every week. After the Oregon loss, there was a general consensus that we wouldn't go on another long slide like in previous years. This is not the same team that played at Oregon though. I think if we played them right now we'd lose by 50.

I can accept mistakes. They were expected. I can accept growing pains. They were expected. What we have seen the last two weeks, however, is signs of a team just getting worse and worse. I am now convinced that the only way we can win a game is if we either have a perfect performance or play an opponent that is absolutely worse than us. We are physically, emotionally, and mentally incapable of overcoming the smallest of mistakes or adversity.

Saturday was just another example of it. One mistake, a busted coverage on the long throw to Decker was all it took. It set up Minnesota's score, and from that point forward we were outscored 35-3 over the critical middle portion of the game. We had another awful interception, another special teams fumble, and another shanked punt. Each mistake is magnified because as you fall behind more and more, the more you need a deep passing game. We don't even bother to try and have a deep passing game.

The blocked field goal was another critical play. I think it was the right call because there is still plenty of time left. If you get it, you are down 12 and you don't need a 2-point conversion later. Instead, it was blocked. Ironically, the same player that simply dropped a blocked field goal return for a TD was there to pick it up and complete the return this time. It is a ten point shift against a team that has a sad history of providing such shifts in the negative. The rest of the game might as well have been played with a running clock.

The sad thing is that we have a ton of guys that are playing hard. It is a shame that the defense is going to have 28 points on its record today, because they played a great game. Unfortunately, anyone, even a punchless offense like Minnesota's, can score when you give them the ball at the 30 or closer. Chris Carlino and Jason Werner continue to improve as linebackers. For the first time in a long time, I remember seeing plays where a running back would hit one of our linebackers and actually stop moving forward instead of simply pushing the linebacker over.

Joey Elliott is another guy that had a good game today. He had one bad throw for an interception and a few overthrows, but he gave us an element of mobility in the pocket that we never had with Painter. He did a fantastic job of keeping plays alive with his feet. He deserves better than we have done this season. He has made his mistakes, but they are mistakes that we could easily recover from if we didn't have so many elsewhere.

I honestly don't know what to think anymore. I am tired of caring, but I know I cannot separate myself enough from this team to stop caring. As a result, every Saturday is exhausting because we find ways to lose games we should win. It is difficult to point to one thing that can be fixed and it would immediately change things. You cannot totally blame Joey Elliott. You cannot totally blame the coaching staff. You cannot totally blame the players because it is a perfect storm of all three coming together for this.

This season is now about building for next year. We have to win another game. I don't care how. We just need to win a game so we can prove to ourselves it is still possible. The defense needs to keep fighting because I can definitely see some positives in a group that has had no favors done for them in five weeks.

If you want to blame a member of the coaching staff, blame J.B Gibboney. For someone that was brought in because of an emphasis on special teams it has sure been an emphasis. Every single element of this area has gotten worse. We never have running lanes on kickoff returns. The fumbles, ugh, the fumbles <breaks something>. The low kicks. The shanks. It is just ridiculous. it is not just one player, either. Every single unit is flat out awful and that has to be laid at the feet of the unit coach.

Do we see more Caleb TerBush in the next few weeks? It is a shame that it has taken Elliott this long to get on the field because he could be a really good quarterback with more experience. TerBush needs to play some though simply because he will be here next year and Elliott will not. It is probably Robert Marve's job to lose, but TerBush and Henry still need to see some time because Injuries can happen. With Marve being a mobile quarterback it is even more paramount to give someone like TerBush some playing time.

I was also encouraged once again that this team did not give up, even when down 22 points. It is the only thing we have right now, but this team just keeps fighting even when people as optimistic as me start to give up. It is not going to pay dividends this year, but it will as the talent level continues to improve and as we gain more experience.

This season is over, but the program is not done. We now have six games left to play the role of Spoilermaker and build for a turnaround season next year. The talent is certainly there. There is even better talent coming. Few teams get the opportunity to gain the experience that we can over the next six games. Let's make it happen.

'Nole Your Enemy: The Miami Hurricanes' Offense

FSUncensored — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:51:10 -0000

We continue our " 'Nole Your Enemy" Series with The Miami Hurricanes. Yesterday we looked at Miami's defense. Today, we'll discuss the offense. Previously we looked at South Florida (Offense, Defense) and continued with BYU's Offense and Defense. Last week we previewed BC's Offense and the Boston College Defense, and UNC's Offense, and Defense.

This year, the Hurricanes have a new offensive coordinator after firing Patrick Nix. The new man is Mark Whipple. Tomahawk Nation discussed him previously, here (HS Coach breaks down his film from his last stop at UMass.). Whipple is decidedly pro-style. We can now add to that report, as one cane player recently revealed that Miami has been running a lot of shotgun with 3 or 4 wide receivers. By all accounts,when Miami spreads, they will spread to throw, not spread to run, as their young quarterback isn't spectacularly fast, and he has no capable backup. I also expect to see a lot of Shotgun with 2 backs, as Miami showed in the spring game.

As usual, we will look at last year's team, discuss personnel changes, and then try to give you the best idea of what MIami will run Monday night. How good was Miami's offense last season? Let's use advanced measures which disregard performance after a game is already a blowout, and adjusts for opponent!

So Miami had an offense in the bottom half of the middle group of ACC offenses. But we can go much more in-depth than this- and we will.

Miami has about the 45th best offense in the country last year, in terms of efficiency on a drive-by-drive basis. That's not impressive, but it isn't anywhere near as horrible as their defense. For whatever reason, that isn't getting much press, but I digress. It is of course reputation, not performance, that carries the day.

Let's have a look at their play-by-play basis, using the Varsity Numbers S&P+ system, developed by Bill Connelley:

By this measure, Miami again had an offense in the middle of the conference, 58th nationally.

But what about in conference play? The ACC plays the best defense in the country (most defensive minded head coaches, most defenses in the top 10, 15, and 25, and most NFL 1st round defensive draft picks over the last 3 years).

So once they got into ACC play, the Canes were better. They went from the bottom of the middle group to the top of the middle group! Their overall numbers were dampened down by their UCF performance (20 points).

So we're looking at a group that rounded into form by the mid-season mark. But what were their strengths and weaknesses?

Again, Miami's passing offense was at the top of the middle group, in conference play. I try to use conference play because the opponent adjustments are less severe. If their passing offense was slightly above average, and their total offense was slightly above average, what do you think their rushing offense was?

Miami had the 4th best rushing game in conference, which is consistent with everything else we have seen.

I have to ask the question... if Miami wants to continually spew the "youth" moniker, why fire the guy who led that "youth" to an above average offense in a conference that sent 10 teams to bowl games?

So this year the Canes return most of their offense.

Quarterback

Under Center, the canes have Jacory Harris. He was a highly touted QB out of Miami Northwestern and played well at times last season. The 6'4" 188lb Sophomore is now the unquestioned leader of the team because Robert Marve and two other scholarship quarterbacks transferred this off-season. Miami has no depth at quarterback, which could lead to a more conservative scheme from Whipple than he'd prefer (as the linked article at the beginning of this story notes, Whipple wants to run 5 guys out in routes- now he might have to keep a back or a tight end in to block). Let's look at Harris' numbers from a season ago:

Opponent Result Att Comp Pct. Yards Yards/Att TD Int Rating Charleston So. W 52-7 26 16 62 190 7.3 1 0 136 @ 1 Florida L 3-26 4 2 50 10 2.5 0 0 71 @ Texas A&M W 41-23 7 4 57 27 3.9 0 0 90 North Carolina L 24-28 6 4 67 39 6.5 0 0 121 21 Florida St. L 39-41 7 3 43 32 4.6 0 1 53 UCF W 20-14 6 4 67 14 2.3 0 0 86 @ Duke W 49-31 28 18 64 185 6.6 4 2 153 Wake Forest W 16-10 8 4 50 41 5.1 0 0 93 @ Virginia W 24-17 21 12 57 160 7.6 2 0 153 15 Virginia Tech W 16-14 2 1 50 3 1.5 0 0 63 @ 22 Georgia Tech L 23-41 18 13 72 162 9 2 1 173 @ North Carolina St. L 28-38 20 12 60 138 6.9 1 2 114 + California L 17-24 41 25 61 194 4.7 2 1 112 Totals 194 118 61 1195 6.2 12 7 126

Okay, some of those look pretty good, but let's have a closer look. My conclusion is that we should call Jacory Harris the "garbage man."

Statically, Harris' most impressive game came against Georgia Tech. I was surprised by this because I didn't remember him having a great game against the Yellow-Jackets. So I dialed up that game on my DVR and watched. Guess what? All of Harris' rushing yards and 131 of his 162 passing yards came in the 4th quarter. Big deal? Well, the Canes were down 41-10 at the start of the 4th quarter. It was garbage time. Georgia Tech had shut it down. Stats are a great tool as a record of performance, but here again we see why you have to look at them in context, and remove garbage time possessions. Real-Time Jacory: 4-7, 31 yards, 0 Touchdowns, 1 Interception. Garbage Time Jacory: 9-11, 131 yards, 2 Touchdowns, No interceptions.
Against North Carolina State, he again pumped his stats when the game was already over. With 2:35 left in the game, the Wolfpack went up 38-21 and the game was over.. Then Jacory "Garbage Time" Harris took over. He rushed twice for 20 yards, and went 4-6 for 51 yards and his only touchdown. If only he could play that well in real time (8-14, 87 yards, 1 TD, 1, INT- far less impressive).
Not as big of a deal here, but against Duke, the game was over at 41-24, with 7:48 left, and Harris went 3-4 for 36 yards.
This isn't specifically garbage time, but Duke had by far the ACC's worst pass defense last year, and it wasn't even close. Still, I will not classify the entire Duke game as garbage time, though I am tempted.

While it is admirable and smart for Miami to get some work in for their young quarterback, a lot of Harris' good efforts came when the defense was no longer trying and the outcome of the game was no longer in question. This is pretty remarkable.

Jacory Harris in ACC Play	ATT	COMP	YARDS	%	YARDS/ ATTEMPT	TD	INT	Rating
Real Time	89	51	542	57%	6.1	6	6	117
Garbage Time	21	16	218	76%	10.4	3	0	210

So in his garbage time performances, Jacory Harris was the best quarterback in the history of college football. Literally. 210 is just insane.

In watching Harris' tapes, he seems to have average arm strength, but is pretty accurate. Harris is good at lofting balls over the head of opposing defenders, particularly over linebackers. It's important to take good drops against Harris.

Here are two you-tube clips if you are so inclined.

Jacory Harris (via pimpflex88)

Jacory Harris leads Miami to a game tying TD vs. UVA (via rusty98um11)

Harris is a decent runner, but he isn't great. He isn't afraid to scramble out of the pocket, if necessary, and throws well on the run, so maintaining contain will be paramount. But it's doubtful he will be utilized on any designed runs, due to the aforementioned lack of quarterback depth. He does have a really smooth delivery and a calm demeanor, however, which has to be encouraging for Canes fans.

The question of how much Harris has improved is yet to be answered. Has he grasped the new offense under Whipple? Does he have the arm to throw all the things Whipple wants to throw. Can he fit the ball into tight windows? Will he have the patience for some slower-developing routes to come open if Whipple decided to keep extra blockers in for pass protection? I'll speculate about this tomorrow in the official TomahawkNation preview, and we'll find out Monday Night.

Running Backs

Miami has a stable of talented backs. It starts with he electric 6'0" 200lb Greg Cooper. Cooper had a good game going against the 'Noles last year, before the Canes abandoned the run. He can take any run to the house, though needs to be more consistent on a down-to-down basis. He also has great hands, and Miami will throw him the ball a lot this year. It's not unreasonable to think he could average 4 catches per game. Complimenting Cooper is Javarris James. Like Cooper, the 6'0" 215lb Senior, gets hurt quite often. When healthy though, he is Miami's best back and excels at keeping the chains moving. James isn't the best home-run threat, but he is difficult for DB's to tackle when he runs with momentum. Also in the mix are 5'10" 180lb scatback Lee Chambers, who will catch some balls for the Canes this year. The Canes use a fullback he is 5'9" 255lb Patrick Hill. Hill is a very good blocker, but he doesn't run or catch the ball often. He's an excellent candidate to stay in and block when the Canes throw the ball. And there's one more name you should know- Mike James. The 5'10" 220lb Sophomore has dazzled Cane fans throughout practice and on some days he looks like Miami's best back. Not listed in the two-deep, it's uncertain how much playing time he will get.

Miami has preached staying true to the run and pounding the rock this year. With their full compliment of backs healthy (unlike last year), Miami will look to run the ball right at Florida State, and do it often, particularly if the weather is poor.

Wide Receivers

This is by far Miami's most impressive unit. They have 7 targets rated 4* or better. Almost every team in the country would trade their lot for Miami's. The most physically impressive is 6'2" 205lb Sophomore Aldarious Johnson. Physically, he reminds me of Andre Johnson (former Cane great now with the Houston Texans), though he is nowhere near as good yet. He went to high school with Harris, and they have a great rapport. Up next is 6'4" 215lb Sophomore Laron Byrd. He is a serious big-play threat and should remind FSU fans of Jarmon Fortson, or NFL fans of Braylon Edwards. Byrd is also a serious threat in the red-zone. He needs to work on his consistency, but the tools are there. 6'3" 215lb Junior Leonard Hankerson has been named a starter as well, and he's the elder statesman of this group. Not the freak athlete that Byrd is, he is a big body with good hands who can consistently move the chains. Profiled last week was 5'10" 165lb Sophomore Travis Benjamin. He killed FSU last year, running a reverse for a score, catching a pass for a score, and amassing an insane performance on kickoffs. At Tight End, the Canes feature 6'3" 250lb Senior Dedrick Epps. Epps isn't special, but he is solid and can hurt the Noles if they don't cover the tight end, like many Cane tight ends have not. Career underachiever Richard Gordon has been in and out of Shannon's doghouse, but the 6'4" 270lb Senior might be a threat in multiple tight end sets. With his size, he is a good blocker and an excellent red-zone threat. Don't sleep on 6'8" Tight End (and Cane basketball player) Jimmy Graham. He's impressed with his hands, and while not a blocker, is a very raw but very scary receiving threat.

I'll discuss this more tomorrow, but Miami's receiving corps looks to have a personnel advantage over the Noles.

Offensive Line

The most important group on the field gave Miami some trouble last year. On the whole, their linemen were big, but not particularly strong or flexible, and obviously out of shape. This year they return 3 starters and have 6 players who have game experience. This unit sould be considerably better. At Left Tackle is 6'7" 310lb former tight end Jason Fox. Fox is the rock of this group, an excellent pass protector and average run blocker. He allows the canes to focus their protections on blitzers and weaker areas of the line. At Right Tackle is 6'7" 305lb Matt Piphi, who can best be described as average. He could impress this season but isn't particularly talented and has shown nothing to warrant praise to this point. He is a new starter. At left guard will be 6'7" 334lb Orlando Franklin. Franklin is huge and was highly touted coming out of high school. He is a Junior and started 11 games last year. Very inconsistent, he also resembles an alien. If he can put it all together, he will be very good for the Canes. In a somewhat surprising move, 6'2" 320lb Sophomore Harland Gunn beat out Joel Figueroa for the starting right guard position. Gunn is the better athlete than Figueroa, though 30lbs smaller, and Cane fans look to have a good one in him. He's obviously going to be mistake prone in his first ever Canes game. Moving from Guard to Center 6'3" 310lb A.J. Trump. He's a smart Senior with good feet, and has over 15 starts at various line positions.

I'll discuss this more tomorrow, but Miami's offensive line was wildly inconsistent last season. They lacked effort and at times Cane fans had to be embarrassed with their performance. They are more experience dthis year, and under a new offensive staff, they almost have to be better.

I expect Miami's offense to make the jump from the Mid 40's to the high 20's or lower 30's this year. Everything points to them being better. Tomorrow, I'll discuss why they might not be better in the game 'Nole fans care about- the Labor Day Showdown.

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A look at the depth chart

BoilerTMill — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:39:18 -0000

With a little more than a week to go we have a good idea of how the depth chart will be when we kick off against Toledo in nine days. Honestly, there haven't been many surprises. We know some of the freshmen have been doing well, but we will truly have no idea until we take the field against Toledo. In the meantime, this is what the current depth chart looks like:

I have Delusions of grandeur for this team, but those are the best delusions to have. This handy poster also works for Notre Dame's National title hopes.

Quarterbacks:

1. Joey Elliott, Sr. (5)

2. Caleb TerBush, Fr. (RS)

There is no real surprise here, although the rhetoric from coach Hope is that Elliott will now be the primary guy and TerBush will only play mop up duty. This is a change from before camp, when it was thought there might be a platoon system. I like this. I would much rather settle on one guy and go with him rather than constantly rotate guys. I am sure Robert Marve would have something to say about that too. Rob Henry also seems to have emerged as the third string guy if needed. I think he will play only if necessary early in the year, but we may eventually reach a point where he will redshirt if he hasn't played at all. that would leave us with 5th year senior Chris Bennett as the #3 guy. If that is the case, expect a major battle for the starting job next year.

Running backs:

1. Ralph Bolden, So.

2. Jaycen Taylor, Sr. (5)

This position is very interesting, as Bolden seems to be hanging on to the number 1 spot. It may be semantics, as we know that Taylor will play plenty. The big mover seems to have been Frank Halliburton. Halliburton gives us a bigger option back there, and I would not be averse to some two running back sets. Dan Dierking will also see some time. The most interesting question will be Al-Terek McBurse. In Tuesday's practice report McBurse was not mentioned as one of the true freshmen likely to play this year. This may be our deepest position on the field right now. McBurse may be getting squeezed by the number of experienced backs in front of him. I doubt he will redshirt, but you never know.

Wide receivers:

1. Royce Adams, Sr.; Keith Smith, Jr.; Aaron Valentin, Sr.

2. Keith Carlos, Jr.; Gary Bush, Fr.; Antavian Edison, Fr.

This is an interesting dichotomy of experience vs. youth. Smith and Valentin are by far the most experienced players, so it is no surprise they are starters. Adams is a transfer from the defense, but has been here for three years. At least with Adams we have the option of switching him back to defense if depth becomes an issue. Edison has drawn rave reviews since camp opened, so I expect him to see the field a lot. Bush and Carlos were slightly late bloomers, but they have separated themselves from the other freshmen and from others like Waynelle Gravesande that have been here awhile. Everything I hear about Carlos is that he is electric with the ball in his hands, but he has a tendency have the drops at times. I would still prefer to have Smith as an outside receiver since he gives us the most size by far.

Tight ends:

1. Kyle Adams, Jr.

2. Jeff Lindsay, Jr.

I think Adams was missed greatly last year. We did not have a consistent safety valve at tight end like we did with Dustin Keller and our offense suffered for it. Adams and Lindsay should pick up that slack. If they can produce on the level of Tim Stratton, Charles Davis, and Keller I will be very happy. Colton McKey is also expected to contribute once his knee is better. Lindsay may be used as a bit of an H-back and is a great blocker.

Offensive Line:

1. Tackles: Dennis Kelly, So.; Zach Jones, Sr.; Guards: Ken Plue, So.; Zach Reckman, Sr.; Center: Jared Zwilling, Sr.

2. Tackles: Ryan Prater, Jr; Peters Drey, Fr. (RS); Guards: Rick Schmeig, Fr. (RS); Justin Pierce, Jr.; Center: Andrew Brewer, Fr.

I think this is where we will see the most improvement this year. If you think about it, we never had any consistency last season along the offensive line. We didn't even have it in spring practice. Injuries prevented that from happening all year. That will pay dividends this year as we have had consistency and plenty of guys have experience. All five starters were starters at some point last season. Prater and Pierce also got some experience, so there is a little bit of depth as well. I like that Drey, Schmeig, and Brewer are freshmen that could be anchors of the line in 2010 or 2011. This is how you improve the team in a hurry. Plue gives us a true road grader to generate tough yards on the ground. By necessity, we will likely run the ball more this year. As long as the line lets us run more I really don't care. I think it will be a benefit in the long run.

I pray our current offensive line does not replicate this picture.

Defensive Ends:

1. Ryan Kerrigan, Jr.; Gerald Gooden, So.

2. Robert Maci, Fr. (RS); Nickaro Golding, So.

I think it is more important for Gooden to have a good year than Kerrigan. Kerrigan is the known commodity. If Gooden can generate a pass rush on his own it will prevent teams from double teaming Kerrigan. Improved play from our defensive tackles is also critical. Among the backups, I am most disappointed in Keyon Brown. He had a fantastic bowl game against Central Michigan, but has done nothing since. As a senior, he got beat out by the redshirt freshman Maci on the two deeps. Golding should be an interesting addition. Kevin Pamphile has shown a ton of promise so far, but since this is just his second year playing football he will probably still redshirt unless he goes completely nuts in practice.

Defensive Tackles:

1. Mike Neal, Sr (5); Kawann Short, Fr. (RS)

2. Adam Brockman, So.; Nick Mondek, So.

Mondek and Short are in a battle for the other tackle spot opposite Neal, but in the end the whole team will win. Both players are going to play this year in a rotation, which will also keep Neal fresh. Neal is supposed to be one of the best tackles in the league, while Short was named to CFN's all-redshirt freshman team this summer. This is not a bad thing, considering how bad our run defense up the middle has been. Right now, we have a total of six guys that we can rotate in and out along the line. I fail to see how this is a bad thing.

Linebackers

1. Jason Werner Sr. (5); Joe Holland, So.; Chris Carlino, So.

2. Antwon Higgs, Fr.; DeVarro Greaves, So.; Dwayne Beckford, Fr.

Depth Depth Depth! We actually have depth at the linebacker position. Beckford and Higgs would have been starting in years past as true freshmen. Instead, they are promising guys that will play, but won't be counted on to be fantastic early with no one behind them. Werner, Holland, and Carlino could all be back next year if Werner applies for a 6^th year of eligibility due to his past injuries. Let's just wrap Werner in bubble wrap now before the opener please. We actually have enough depth to consider some 4-4 sets when facing good running games. This group has to stop the run, especially against teams that can't run like Notre Dame and Indiana. Too often we have been gashed not only by good running teams, but awful ones like Notre Dame's. If this group along with the experienced defensive line cannot stop the run we will not win many games this year. If they do stop the run, our defense alone is good enough to win five or six games.

Defensive Backs

1. Corners: Brandon King, Sr; David Pender, Sr.; Safeties: Torri Williams, Sr. (6); Dwight McLean, Sr.

2. Corners: Josh Johnson, Fr.; Charlton Williams, So.; Safties: Albert Evans, So.; Josh McKinley, Jr.

At first I was very concerned about depth here. All through the summer we heard about how we had our entire secondary back that was the number one pass defense in the conference last year. Then, in camp, we hear about them being gassed all the time and hurt. With no real depth behind them alarms began ringing in my head. Fortunately, some depth has come along. McKinley and Williams have seen the field, just not much last year. Johnson seems to be one of the biggest surprises among the true freshmen. Evans is an interesting commodity that was still recovering from a knee injury much of last year. E.J. Johnson could make an impact next year as a true freshman with McKinley and Evans.

Among the starters, It is fantastic we have so many starts returning with Pender and King. We need those two to produce more interceptions. McLean has the look of a guy that likes to hit people, hard. He is expected to make a big leap after being a littler overmatched last year. He could be the stereotypical guy that makes a big jump from year one to year two out of JuCo. Torri Williams needs to just stay out of trouble off the field. In what I hope is some karmic payback due, he is the last remaining player that played in The Fumble game, so he is due some good news in his career.

Specialists:

1. Kicker: Carson Wiggs, So.; Holder: Joey Elliott, Sr; Punter: Chris Summers, Sr.; Long Snapper: John Finch, Jr.

2. Kicker: Chris Summers, Sr; Holder: Kris Staats, Jr.; Punter: Carson Wiggs, So.; Long Snapper: Andy Huffman, Sr.

I think we were all impressed with Wiggs last year. He set a school record with a 53-yard field goal at Ohio State, so distance is not a problem. If he struggles, we do have an experience (if somewhat streaky) kicker in Summers to back him up. I think Summers will also benefit greatly this year from concentrating solely on punting. It may have been a bit much to ask him to do everything last season. Summers may continue to kick off as well. I am kind of surprised that Elliott is the holder, as Staats did a good job last season when Painter was hurt. I think Painter may have been part of the kicking issues as well, since many of the problems we had on placements went away once Staats took over. Finch may be the starter by default for now. He finished the season there last year, but Huffman was hurt and continues to be bothered by an elbow injury. Huffman just went on scholarship and had started over 30 straight games at long snapper before his injury

Returners:

1. Kickoffs: Aaron Valentin, Sr; Royce Adams, Sr. Punts: Aaron Valentin, Sr.

2. Kickoffs: Punts: Royce Adams, Sr.

Kickoff returns have been a major strength in each of the last two seasons. In 2007 we had three returns for scores. Punt returns have been an afterthought since Anthony Chambers graduated. We have to get more from this area. The same is true when it comes to coverage. We are good on kickoff coverage, but punt return coverage was terrible last year. We gave up returns for scores to Oregon and Michigan, so we have to improve there. Don't forget the blocked punt we had at Ohio State that became a touchdown as well.

We have plenty of speedy freshmen that could emerge here later on. McBurse, Ishmael Aristide, and other have been mentioned as potential returners. Eric Williams, a freshman wide receiver with speed, may find a niche here too.

Post-Alaska Boilermakings

BoilerTMill — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:05:57 -0000

As promised, I am back in the saddle and ready to find some good Purdue stuff out there. I'll be taking a deeper look at Ohio State later this week, but for now here are some things I missed last week.

The Daily Gopher says we are a must-win game - This went up yesterday as a response to my own Q&A with TDG. To me, this game is one of the biggest toss-ups of the year. I believe it was a game we would have won if the Painter had not gotten hurt last season. Our defense limited them to two big plays that set up both touchdowns. Offensively, we relied on a redshirt freshman seeing his first real time at quarterback. If our defense can play as well I really like our chances to generate more offense.

Oregon is working hard - At least we are getting a little respect about this game now, as ESPN's Ted Miller calls our game with the Ducks one of the most dangerous Pac-10 non-conference games. This goes back to matchups. Realistically, our 4-8 team had no business hanging with their 10-3 team last season. You can't even give us a significant home field advantage. Still, we took them double-OT and in reality, should have won easily. For some reason we just matched up well with them. Their defense loses just enough to give me confidence. The Ducks are working very hard this offseason under new head coach Chip Kelly. This will either improve things further, or lead to a burnout and bad start as they face a brutal slate of games top open the season.

Ross-Ade not that great - I don't think we'll ever score really high in terms of a game day atmosphere, but we're certainly better than a few schools on Adam Rittenberg's list of Big Ten Stadium experiences. I've been lucky enough to see Purdue play in seven of the current Big Ten venues, plus I did see a game in the Metrodome. I would say Purdue is right in the middle. We're definitely above Northwestern, the Metrodome, Indiana, and Illinois. Michigan State had its plusses, but I still wasn't overly impressed. The Gestapo-like security and cold weather probably had something to do with that. Ohio State in 2003 was one of the best Game Day Experiences I have ever had, while Michigan in 2007 was pretty bland. Here is how i would rate the college venues I have seen a game in, with a few non-conference places in there.

1. The Rose Bowl - Little else in sports is better.

2. Ohio Stadium - Massive props for Script Ohio. The crowd was loud, educated, fairly friendly, and made the place shake.

3. Miami Orange Bowl - It was a travesty they tore this place down. I saw one game here,t he second to last Miami game played there, and even half empty the place oozed history. If it had been a good night game it would be #1.

4. Michigan Stadium - I saw it in a blowout, but it was still impressive to see such a huge stadium packed to the rafters.

5. Ross-Ade Stadium - This is my personal bias. I am not a fan of some of the jumbotron clips, but I do love "I am an American", Shout, and When Worlds Collide. We need to bring back the Jumbo Heroes.

6. Memorial Stadium (Illinois) - All three times I was there it was rather bland and it was pre-renovation, but it has some promise.

7. Spartan Stadium - Not great, but not too bad, either. It is a solid place to watch college football.

8. Aloha Stadium - I was impressed with Hawaii's crowd. They were loud, but very cordial as we left the Stadium. many of them thanked us for coming all the way out there for the game.

9. Ryan Field - It has some promise, but Northwestern will always be fighting an uphill battle in terms of attendance.

10. Joe Robbie/Pro Player/Dolphin(s)/LandShark Stadium - The Canes do a good job of trying to make it into a college venue, but it is no Orange Bowl. They threw away a great home field advantage by leaving the Little Havana.

11. Nippert Stadium (Cincinnati) - Few stadiums are older (Cincy has played at the site since 1902), but it was really tiny without a ton of great history.You know it is not a great stadium when a former player there died of blood poisoning after getting infected from droppings left after a pre-game chicken race.

12. The Metrodome - At least the Minnesota fans were nice.

13. Memorial Stadium (Indiana) - Two of the four times I have been here Purdue fans have turned it into Ross-Ade South. The tailgating is great, but most of the time fans just longingly look at Assembly Hall across the parking lot.

14. Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (Louisville) - A nice new stadium, but the worst fans I have ever encountered. We went for the 2006 game against Miami and were yelled at, taunted, and had stuff thrown at us as we left simply for wearing Miami stuff. Easily the worst fans I have ever encountered in college football. I will never go back there again.

Rankings pending:

Autzen Stadium - heading out there in September.

Camp Randall Stadium - possibly heading up for the Halloween game.

Robbie Hummel is back from Europe - Sounds like a pretty successful trip for the lad.

Robert Marve is misty-eyed at leaving the U - Oh great. Why does this feel like Jeff George all over again?

Neil Armstrong walks on the moon - I know it has nothing to do with sports, but to me, it is the proudest moment in the entire 140 year history of Purdue University. I view the moon landing as one of the top achievements in the history of mankind. The fact that a Purdue grad was the first to set foot on the moon makes it even cooler. Yesterday marked the 40^th anniversary of Neil's one small step. Every Purdue grad and student I know is extremely proud to call him our own, too.

Neil had a little experience handling flag when he led Shout last season. If you're out there reading, Neil, one of the coolest things you could do is leave a comment on this blog.