SB Nation - Nate Chandler

Opening Our Files: Roundup on Tennessee Previews & Other Volunteer Notes

Nestor — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:00:26 -0000

So let's officially open up our collective notebooks on Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols under first year head coach Lane Kiffin is coming off a picture perfect opener against newly minted D-1 Western Kentucky. The numbers the Volunteers piled up against the Hilltoppers were pretty sick. From the Tennessee team report posted over at Yahoo! Sports:

Western Kentucky turned Jonathan Crompton into Peyton Manning Lite, as the senior quarterback tossed five touchdown passes Saturday in a season-opening 63-7 annihilation at Neyland Stadium.

"To see Jonathan throw for five touchdowns today, more than he threw for all of last year, was really good for him," Kiffin said. "This is a quarterback and an offensive line that has been torn apart for a while now."

Crompton and the O-line did the tearing in front of a sun-drenched crowd of 98,761. Tennessee finished with 657 yards and 34 first downs, numbers that would have required three games to amass last year when the team went 5-7 and cost Phillip Fulmer his job.

Tailbacks Montario Hardesty and Bryce Brown each rushed for more than 100 yards and scored a touchdown. Hardesty rolled up 160 and Brown, a highly touted freshman, ended with 104.

Monte Kiffin’s defense had the Hilltoppers in minus numbers during the third quarter and allowed only 83 yards in 46 snaps. Western Kentucky picked up just six first downs.

The Volunteers piled up video game numbers on both sides of the ball, racking up 657 total yards and 34 first downs on offense, while limiting the Hiltoppers to 6 first downs (apparently their only first down in first half came via a penalty).

Yeah, I know it's kind of easy to dismiss those crazy numbers because they were taking on a hapless Hilltoppers bunch that was apparently playing their first D-1 game. However, I am not going to discount this kind of performance in their opening game under new coach, because it (at least on paper) shows that they are trying to put together a team with lethal killer instincts.

Bruins will have a puncher's chance though (even though at this point I am not seeing how we can pull out this win with a freshman QB and a completely revamped OL). The Tennessee team we are going to play this season is going to be a bit different than the one we shocked at the Rose Bowl. I have gathered some of the pre-season notes on their personnel from around the web with the latest update from our colleagues at Rocky Top Talk (RTT), after the jump.

So Kiffin (or should I say the Kiffins?) will be waiting for the Bruins with a team that returns 12 starters (7 on offense and 5 on defense) from last year's team. Paul Meyerberg from the New York Times has the following lowdown on the key losses from last year's team:

Key losses: Tennessee’s losses on offense are most felt at receiver, where the team lost two 2008 starters to graduation and another pair of potential 2009 starters to injuries. Lucas Taylor was one of Tennessee’s more dependable targets last fall, making 26 grabs for a team-leading 332 yards. The Vols also lost the part-time starter Josh Briscoe, who made 14 receptions for 176 yards and a score. Making matters worse, U.T. lost the senior Austin Rogers (14 for 180) for the season in the spring because of an A.C.L. tear, and may also be without the junior Denarius Moore for much of 2009. Moore, who made 11 receptions for 271 yards (a team-best 24.6 yards per reception), broke his left foot two weeks ago and may miss as much as three or four months. The team also faces a gap on the right side of its offensive line, where it lost guard Anthony Parker and tackle Ramon Foster (27 career starts). In the backfield, running back Arian Foster (570 yards, 1 touchdown) might have had a disappointing senior season, but he still departs as the team’s second-leading career rusher (2,964 yards). As a junior, Foster earned all-SEC honors after rushing for 1,193 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also added 83 career receptions, 19 as a senior. The would-be junior Lennon Creer, the team’s second-leading rusher last fall with 388 yards, opted to leave the program in April.

On defense, Tennessee lost a pair of starters at each level: the line, linebackers and secondary. The biggest is most likely end Robert Ayers, who earned all-SEC honors as a senior. He seemed to put it all together in his final season, making 49 tackles, a team-best 15.5 for loss, and 3 sacks. At tackle, the 21-game starter Demonté Bolden had 35 stops (6 for loss) as a senior. Middle linebacker Ellix Wilson led the team with 89 tackles, and added a sack and an interception; a fine season for the first-year starter and team leader. Rounding out the losses at linebacker are Nevin McKenzie (53 tackles, 10 for loss, a team-best 5 sacks) and Adam Myers-White. The U.T. defense must also replace cornerback DeAngelo Willingham and safety Demetrice Morley. Willingham, a two-year starter, finished second on the team with three interceptions. The would-be senior Morley added 42 tackles and 2 interceptions, but was kicked off the squad after violating team rules. That’s the second time Morley has been kicked off the team in three years; he won’t get a third shot.

Now don't get lulled into a false sense of comfort after reading those grafs. ~~First of all not sure where NYT got their info on Lucas Taylor because I still see him listed in Tennessee's depth chart this season. So that's a mistake~~. As for their losses at WRs, they have plenty of youngsters sprinkled through their depth chart (PDF) (HT hooper at RTT via Chattanooga Times Free Press).

Also, despite the loss of Paker and Foster at the OL, the Voluntees will have a powerful, huge veteran OL ready for the Bruin front-7 this weekend in Knoxville. If I read their correctly everyone except their center is over 300lbs and all of their starter are upper classmen (except for Jarrod Shaw, the 6-4, 332 Jr. who is listed as "Co-No-1" with Aaron Douglas, 6-6 282 red shirt freshman) From Athlon Sports' pre-season capsule on the Tennessee OL:

Chaney (OC John Cheney, who who Kiffin pried away from the St. Louis Rams, - BN Ed.) has brought with him a zone blocking scheme that has enabled the Vols’ linemen to play with more aggression. The interior line is strong with fourth-year starter Josh McNeil at center flanked by fellow seniors Jacques McClendon and Vladimir Richard. Senior Chris Scott has a hold on left tackle duties, while Jarrod Shaw and converted tight end Aaron Douglas are battling for the starting job at right tackle. "Last season was rough," Richard says. "But Coach (Kiffin) is a competitor. He loves smacking people in the mouth." After years of defensive dominance in practice drills, the UT offensive line stepped up and proved it could hold its own in the spring.

On other key returnees let's go back to that capsule from the NYT:

Players to watch: He’s undoubtedly the best defensive player in the F.B.S. But in my mind, the strong safety Eric Berry is the best player in the country – regardless of position. Yeah, there’s that quarterback down in Gainesville, so maybe Berry’s coming in second. That shouldn’t detract from what we’re all seeing from the talented junior: he’s the best defender U.T. has developed since Reggie White, and in my mind, if Tennessee shocks the SEC and wins 9 or 10 games, Berry should receive very heavy consideration for the Heisman. Through two seasons, Berry stands second in the N.C.A.A. with an SEC-record 487 interception return yards, a total coming off of 12 interceptions. His single-season outputs in this category rank first (265 yards last fall) and third (222 in 2007) in SEC history. Last fall, Berry tallied 73 tackles (8.5 for loss), 3 sacks and 7 interceptions, two of which he returned for scores. (He may have been Tennessee’s best offensive weapon.) For his efforts, Berry was a unanimous all-American – U.T.’s first since 1990 – and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. The only college safety I’ve seen match Berry’s combination of speed, ferocity and ball skills was the late, great Sean Taylor. So, as you see, he’s the king of the U.T. defense. Who will help carry the load? The Vols return the junior Dennis Rogan at one cornerback spot, as well as the 2007 starter Brent Vinson. Also competing for a starting spot at corner are the sophomores Art Evans and C.J. Fleming, though I wouldn’t be surprised if one of Tennessee’s heralded incoming freshmen make a push for playing time. U.T. will look toward the freshmen Prentiss Wagner and Rod Wilks or the sophomore Stephaun Raines at free safety. The senior Rico McCoy (87 tackles and a sack last fall) is the lone returning starter at linebacker. Making the push to join him in the starting lineup are the juniors Nick Reveiz (middle) and LaMarcus Thompson (strongside), each of whom played important roles on special teams a season ago. Besides McCoy, U.T. is very young and untested at linebacker. The situation is a little clearer on the line, where the juniors Ben Martin (18 tackles, 1 sack) and Chris Walker (15 tackles, 3 sacks) have secured their places as the starters at end. You’ll likely find the senior Dan Williams (48 stops, 8.5 for loss) on the nose, while the senior Wes Brown (37 tackles, 2.5 sacks) finds himself in competition with the freshman Montori Hughes for the second starting spot on the interior.

On offense, the senior Jonathan Crompton will again be the starter at quarterback. Let’s ignore the fact that his starting job has come by default. Quite simply, Crompton must be better in 2009 than he was a season ago. It shouldn’t be too difficult, as he did not play up to his potential last fall: 86 of 167 (51.5 percent) for 889 yards, with four touchdowns against five interceptions. He can – and should – be better, but some aspects of Crompton’s game must improve. His touch, for example. Crompton lacked it last fall, when he seemed to throw every pass as hard as he could. His decision-making must also improve. His only competition for the starting job is the junior Nick Stephens, who has missed most of the last five months while recuperating from a hand injury. Stephens started six games last fall, putting up numbers similar to Crompton’s (840 yards, 4 touchdowns, 3 picks). The senior Montario Hardesty ascends to the top spot in the backfield after rushing for 271 yards a season ago. That total leads all returning Volunteers. He may be the lead back, but the Vols will also give carries to the sophomore Tauren Poole and the true freshman Bryce Brown, the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the 2009 cycle. Brown chose U.T. in part because of the potential for immediate playing time, so expect to see his number called early and often. Three starters return up front, led by the potential all-conference center Josh McNeil. The senior enters his final season with 35 career starts, the most of any active Volunteer. McNeil was a freshman all-American in 2006 and an honorable mention all-SEC selection in 2007. He’s joined up front by the senior left tackle Chris Scott and the senior left guard Vladimir Richard. I’m intrigued by the potential of the redshirt freshman Aaron Douglas, a former tight end who is in the hunt to start at right tackle. Given his experience and lack of prototypical size (he’s only 282 pounds, my word), can Douglas be the presence required of the right tackle in the run game?

Well as mentioned above looks like Douglas impressed the coaches sufficiently enough that he earned a spot on the depth chart as "co number 1" (whatever that means) with Jarrod Shaw. In some ways, Douglas sounds like he is the same situation as Nate Chandler found himself last year (when we were hurting for bodies at OL) as the coaches are doing whatever they can to incorporate his size and athleticism into the lineup.

Now in terms of what to expect next week, my bet is that Kiffin and Cheney will devise a plan on offense in which they will rely on a power running game. Again from Pete Fiutak's preview at Scout.com:

What to watch for on offense: Power running. The coaching staff will try to pound the ball, rely on the tremendous defense, and try to control the game and the clock. The passing game will try to push the ball deep a little more to stretch things out, but the offense will spend most of its time using its humongous, veteran line to pave the way for a fantastic group of backs. The backfield was good enough to get by, and then came the recruiting class with Toney Williams, David Oku, and the No. 1 prospect in America according to CFN, Bryce Brown, all ready to make a huge impact and upgrade the stalled ground attack.

What to watch for on defense: A ton of interceptions. All the pieces are there for the secondary to come up with a phenomenal year. Not only is there track star speed across the board, but there’s all-everything safety Eric Berry as the sheriff in the Tampa 2 scheme, but the pass rush should be better. Even with Robert Ayers off to the NFL, the Vol defensive front should be more active with Ben Martin and Chris Walker two speedsters on the ends who should be camped out in opposing backfields.

Going back to their offense, I am still shocked at how the Tennessee coaching staff from last year forgot to run the ball down our throats last season at the Rose Bowl. They had piled up around 180 yards rushing and 2 TDs running the ball against our defense last year yet for some inexplicable reasons they decided to go away from that and depend on Crompton's arm. I just don't think Kiffin is going to make the same mistake. I fully expect them to come after our front-7 all evening long with their powerful OL, and do what they can to wear us down on their home turf. This is going to be a huge challenge for our defense.

I think the key for us on Saturday is going to be somehow get on the board early. If they we can get on the board early and then force them to go away from the game plan of running the ball down our throats, we will have a shot.Needless to say special teams is going to be a huge factor. We are going to need our kickers to give us good field position as much as possible forcing the Volunteers to go long drives. Otherwise if we fall behind early and make early mistakes on offense, the situation has the potential to snowball out of control like last year in BYU.

It will take supreme concentration and focus on our part to hang in there early against the Volunteer emotion, and then somehow put ourselves in position to steal the game in second half. My head tells me that we are simply too young and inexperienced (on offense) to pull this off. My heart is pulling for our guys to make me eat crow on Saturday night. So that's what I have for initial notes on the Volunteers to get the scouting started for this week. I will throw it back to you start filling up the info. folders on Tennessee (either via comment thread here or in the FanPosts).

GO BRUINS.

Football Fall Practice (8/15): The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Ryan Rosenblatt — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 03:58:40 -0000

Originally, I had planned on just going to today's late practice. I'd wait until the put the pads on and started hitting, but after further consideration, I decided that a full day in Westwood sounded like a pretty good idea so I checked out both practices today and got to hang out with some friends for a while in between. If any of you out there in the SoCal area haven't been to a football practice before, I highly, highly recommend it. You can grab a meal in Westwood, walk the campus a bit and learn more about football than you have ever leanred in your life. Getting to be within feet of the players and coaches, you can see everything that goes on and if you listen to the coaches talking, it's like sitting in a class on football so for all you Bruins out there, try to make your way out.

Getting back to the on-field action today, it was a decent day of practice. The energy was there for the most part, but there were a couple times, especially at the end of the morning practice, where the energy took a noticeable drop. It was good to see guys hitting again in the afternoon, even if they weren't taking ball carriers to the groun. The full pads and contact gave you a much better indication of the line play though. There was a decent number of recruits walking around and we even got word that Marquis Jackson, a DE, will enroll this spring and be available for spring practice. Of note was the absence of Randall Carroll, who is nursing a groin injury.

The Good

Offensive Line- Let's define what "good" means for our offensive line. "Good" is today's performance where there was the occasional big hole, but running backs weren't going down for a loss and were routinely getting to the line before getting hit. "Good" is Kevin Prince being able to get to the back of his drop and look for a couple seconds without the pocket collapsing and even when there was pressure, being able to scramble to one side because both sides weren't crashing down on him. "Good" is only one false start even though Prince used several hard counts and having Prince call out line rolls and slides at the line with enough confidence in his line to be able to recognize them and execute. The offensive line was far from dominant today and the defensive line was definitely the better of the two sides, but the offensive line was respectable and helds its own for the most part. With the offensive line's inexperience and play last season, that's pretty darn good.

Tight Ends- Prince is going to the tight ends often and the tight ends are giving him good reason to come back to them. We're using a lot of multiple tight end sets so they'll need to play a big role this year. In the receiving game, they've shown good hands. Off the top of my head, I can remember only one dropped pass from a tight end all day and that was by Cory Harkey on a ball he should have had, but was a little behind him. Besides that, the tight ends were reeling everything in and were doing a good job of running crisp routes to make themselves available. Nate Chandler made an absolutely sensational grab in the morning practice to catch the attention of everyone at Spaulding Field. Blocking-wise, the tight ends did well to help on the defensive ends, but until the defense starts mixing in more blitzes, it will be tough to tell exactly how they're progressing in that respect.

Pass Coverage- Our secondary is just stout. There is no other way to say it. Even with our question mark at strong safety, which I'll get into later, the defensive backfield just doesn't leave much room to throw the ball. What amazes me is not how good they are in man coverage, where their athleticism lets them run with receivers, but the cohesion they show in zone coverage. Despite just getting into training camp, the linebackers and secondary pass receivers along to each other very well and close down quickly when a catch is made. I mentioned how involved the tight ends were and a big reason for that is because the receivers were covered deep and Prince only had his tight ends to go to underneath.

Milton Knox- Especially in the late practice, Knox was extremely explosive. He hits the hole hard and runs with a low center of gravity that will make him tough to bring down. The biggest difference between Knox last year and this year is the confidence with which he is running. Last year he hesitated a bit and sometimes got happy feet in the hole. Today, he was making one cut and going hard. He wasn't asked to do much blocking so I can't speculate on how much playing time he will get this year, but he looks like he can be an explosive ball carrier.

Terrance Austin- With the rest of the receivers struggling to get separation, it was the experienced Austin who found space underneath and on intermediate routes to give Prince a go-to option. Because Austin is often charged with the intermediate routes, he and Prince will have to develop a good rapport if the Bruins are to thrive because Prince won't have time to throw deep all the time no matter how improved the line is.

The Bad

Strong Safeties- On Wednesday, I listed the play of Dye and Love as "ugly," but they were better today so they got bumped up to "bad." Both Dye and Love looked better in coverage and while they weren't breaking on balls as well as you'd like to see, they were reading the field better and putting themselves in good enough position to take a portion of the field away from Prince. Dye still gets caught out of position too often though and Love still plays like a man half his size. During tackling drills, the 6'4,'' 210 lbs. Love got knocked back by the 5'11," 183 lbs. Brandon Sermons. Love better start getting lower and establishing leverage or he'll find himself on the bench.

Christian Ramirez- He made a nice grab coming out of the backfield in the afternoon and made a couple defenders bounce off of him in traffic, but Ramirez was not the best running back on the field today or even the second or third best. Ramirez did not show much ability to break a big one and wasn't even hitting the hole quickly enough to pick up four of five ugly yards. He didn't play last year so he may still be getting back in the groove, but he's going to have to step it up if he's going to be our #1.

The Ugly

Special Teams- I mentioned on Wednesday that our special teams were poor and that it isn't unusual this early in training camp. It's still not unusual for special teams to struggle, but they were horrid today. Even when a return went well, it wasn't because the return team did their job well as much as it was poor coverage. Eric Chalifour was taking the kicks in the afternoon and wasn't kicking it consistently, deep or high. There was a blocked punt as the line got pushed four yards deep and some bobbled balls on kicks and punts. On the whole, the special teams can only be described with words not suitable for those under the age of 13.

The Wait Is Over For Bruin Football: Practice Starts Today

Nestor — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:00:14 -0000

So it all starts today. As mentioned over the weekend the season gets started today with a "Media Day" in the morning and then first practice (which is open to public) at 3:30 pm PST. I am sure we are going to be reading stories from the Media Day and first practice starting tomorrow starting later this evening and with our usual roundup in the AM. Already there are few notes up on the official site that should get all of us ready for the camp.

Following the tweeter feed yesterday it was pretty clear the players were coming back to Westwood yesterday. Everyone of them sound excited and fired up (Case in point here is Taylor Embree). Here are the details from the official site:

On Sunday afternoon, the veteran UCLA football players reported to camp. The first team meeting is scheduled for tonight. On Saturday afternoon, the newcomers reported to camp and went through a series of orientation meetings on Sunday.

Monday's schedule includes position meetings in the morning and a short walkthrough. The players will participate in Media Day at noon and at the same time shoot portrait photos for television broadcasts and other material for the Rose Bowl video board.

The first practice is scheduled for 3:00 pm. For the first few days, head coach Rick Neuheisel and the coaches will split the team into two groups so the players can receive more one-on-one coaching from the staff. The first group will begin practice at 3:00 pm. The entire team will work on special teams for 20 minutes at 4:20 pm and then the second group will practice from 4:40 - 6:00 pm.

I hope some of you get to make it out there either today or sometime in the coming weeks. Just reading through the position overviews it becomes clear how intense the competition is going to be this year. We just need to have the players stay healthy. More details after the jump.

Note "several" of the walkons are not reporting for camp until after the first game or the start of school. Also, it looks like Jayson Allmond is another scholarship freshman who is not going to report because he is waiting for issues related to NCAA Clearinghouse issues to be resolved. Perhaps Brian Price can give him a call and tell the kid to hang in there.

The official site also posted whole bunch of pre-season notes. There were few details I found to be interesting and worth sharing. First here are the players we are going to have this season who missed entire if not most of last season due to injury and other issues:

WHO WAS MISSING -- The following players, who will return to the team for 2009, were listed in the 2008 pre-season two-deep or figured to play a prominent role, if available for action last season: Offense --- TE Logan Paulsen - missed 11 g to injury; OL Jeff Baca - missed 3 g to injury; OL Darius Savage - missed 2 g to injury; OL - Sean Sheller - missed all 12 g to injury; OL - Mike Harris - missed 7 g to injury; RB - Christian Ramirez - missed all 12 g due to academic eligibility issues; FB Trevor Theriot - missed 9 g to injury; Defense --- Kyle Bosworth - missed 10g to injury; DL - Jess Ward - missed 5 g due to injury; DL Reginald Stokes - missed 1 g due to injury.

So here is these guys staying healthy in 2009. All those injuries meant UCLA had a lot of cubbies getting action this past season:

YOUTH AND EXPERIENCE -- UCLA played a total of 22 freshmen (11 redshirt and 11 true freshmen) in the 2008 season. Sixteen of the twenty scholarship players included in that group are scheduled to return in 2009. Of that group of sixteen returning players, 11 have starting experience (Defense --- So. Rahim Moore, S - 12 g; So.R Steve Sloan, LB - 9 g; So. R Akeem Ayers, LB - 3 g; So. Datone Jones, DL - 2 g; So. Tony Dye, S - 1g; Offense --- So. Cory Harkey, TE - 7 g; So. Taylor Embree, WR - 8 g; So. Jeff Baca, OL - 8 g; So.R Nate Chandler, TE - 2 g; So. Derrick Coleman, RB - 1 g; So.R Mike Harris, OL - 5 g).

Needless to say it will be exciting to see how these guys can improve on this year. Also, a total of 29 players saw action for the first time in 2009:

FIRST ACTION -- A total of 29 players (17 offensive and 12 defensive) saw their first action as a Bruin during the 2008 season (11 true freshmen - seven offensive and four defensive players (LB Sean Westgate, S Rahim Moore, TE Cory Harkey, WR Taylor Embree, S Tony Dye, WR Antwan Moutra, WR Nelson Rosario, RB Aundre Dean, RB Derrick Coleman, OL Jeff Baca, DL Datone Jones); 11 redshirt freshmen - five defensive and six offensive players (DB Courtney Viney, LB Steve Sloan, LB Akeem Ayers, DB Glenn Love, OL/TE Nate Chandler, RB Raymond Carter, DL Justin Edison, WR Ryal Jagd, QB Chris Forcier, TE Glenn Rauscher, OT Mike Harris), six redshirt sophomores - three offensive and three defensive players (OL Brandon Bennett, LB Mike Schmitt, DL Reginald Stokes, OL Sonny Tevaga, OL Jake Dean, DB Garrett Rubio), one redshirt junior (QB Kevin Craft).

Of course some of those guys such as Carter, Dean and Craft are either no longer with us or will probably not get much action this coming year. However, I think those numbers show how Neuheisel will not hesitate to put in his young guys in there if they are competing hard out at Spaulding and doing what the coaches are asking them to do.

Lastly, the pre-season notes also has some interesting numbers on freshman QBs record at UCLA during last 20 years:

*2002 (8-5, T 4th Pac-10) -- Matt Moore (Fr.) game 8 win over Stanford; Drew Olson (Fr.) game 9 win at Washington; game 10 win at Arizona; game 11 loss to USC; game 12 loss to Wash. State; game 13 bowl win over New Mexico.
*1999 (4-7, 9th Pac-10) -- Cory Paus (Fr.R) game 3 win over Fresno St.; game 5 loss at Ariz. State; game 6 win over Oregon; game 7 loss to Cal; game 8 loss at Ore. State; game 9 loss to Arizona; game 10 win over Washington; Ryan McCann (Fr. R) game 11 loss at USC.
*1995 (7-5, T 5th Pac-10) -- Cade McNown (Fr.) game 3 loss to Oregon; game 5 win over Fresno St.; game 6 win over Arizona; game 7 win at Stanford; game 8 win over Cal; game 9 loss at Ariz. State; game 10 loss to Washington; game 11 win at USC; game 12 bowl loss to Kansas.
*1992 (6-5, 8th Pac-10) -- Rob Walker (Fr. R) game 2 win at BYU; game 3 win over San Diego State; game 4 loss at Arizona; game 5 loss to Stanford; game 10 win at Oregon; Ryan Fien (Fr.) game 7 loss to Arizona State.
*1990 (5-6, T 6th Pac-10) -- Tommy Maddox (Fr. R) game 3 loss at Michigan; game 4 win at Wash. State; game 5 loss to Arizona; game 6 win over San Diego State; game 7 loss at Cal; game 8 win over Oregon State; game 9 loss at Oregon; game 10 win at Washington; game 11 loss to USC.
*1989 (3-7-1, 9th Pac-10) -- Bret Johnson (Fr. R) started all 11 games. game 1 loss to Tenn.; game 2 win over San Diego State; game 3 loss to Michigan; game 4 win over Cal; game 5 win over Ariz. State; game 6 loss at Arizona; game 7 loss at Oregon State; game 8 loss to Washington; game 9 loss at Stanford; game 10 loss to Oregon; game 11 tie at USC.

You can sense that Cade McNown was kind of an anomaly and even he had a roller coaster first two years. Bret Johnson, Rob Walker, and Ryan Fien were total disasters (well Johnson was just a disgrace).

Anyway, those numbers above are fairly sobering and should be datapoints we all take into account before deluding ourselves with visions of grandeur that takes over average college football fans around this time of the year. I still think Prince will be an upgrade from what we saw last year. However, given how legends like McNown struggled during their first year in college we should keep our expectations in check.

GO BRUINS.

Plenty Of Targets For Prince & Co: Options At Wide Receivers & Tight Ends

Nestor — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 17:46:03 -0000

So to date we have taken a look through the options available at quarterbacks, running backs, and the offensive line of this year's team. Provided that our offensive line improves from last year's dreadful season and Kevin Prince and co. can provide steady play at the quarterback position, we might be able to see some fireworks courtesy of our wide receivers and tight ends this coming season. These are two positions Bruins will be loaded IMHO heading into this football season.

Let's go through the wide receiver position first. The two guys slated to start are Taylor Embree and Terrence Austin. From Sam Saig at All Pac-10 blog:

The top three receivers from last year’s squad are back, including sure-handed sophomore Taylor Embree.

The 6-3 194 pound Embree burst onto the scene last season, setting school records for receiving yards (531) and receptions (40) among freshmen wideouts. His 531 receiving yards led all Bruins in 2008 and his 40 catches were second on the team. Embree’s fantastic freshman season garnered national attention as he was named second team Freshman All-American by The Sporting News. He played in all 12 games, and started eight.

Embree is a possession-receiver in the best sense of the term. The Overland Park (KS) native is an exceptionally gifted route-runner and possesses rare instincts that allow him to separate from defenders. Those instincts could make the cerebral sophomore Kevin Prince’s emergency option whenever a play breaks down.

Embree does not shy away from contact, and routinely ran dangerous "across-the-middle" routes last season. He uses his big frame very well, and has tremendous hands that seem to catch everything, especially for first downs. Embree enters the season as one of the premier offensive threats for the Bruins.

Joining Embree as a starter will be senior Terrence Austin. Austin led the team in receptions as a junior with 53. He finished second on the team with 461 receiving yards and one touchdown. The 5-11 173 pound flanker is a multi-talented athlete that can hurt the opponent in a variety of ways. He set a school record last season with 1,878 all-purpose yards, which broke Maurice Jones-Drew’s mark of 1,863. Austin also became the first Bruin ever to eclipse 1,000 yards on kickoff returns (1,109).

Austin is very effective on reverses and trick plays, giving the ultra-creative Norm Chow a speedy playmaker to utilize in 2009. Last season, Austin had 13 carries for 90 yards (6.9 YPC). Teammates and coaches alike have praised the Long Beach Poly (CA) product for his leadership qualities, and he was voted as one of the team captains at the end of spring. Austin will be a key contributor for the Bruins in 2009.

Sam mentioned how Taylor doesn't shy away from contact and has no fear running across the middle. I think we can say the same about Austin given the courage he displayed last year (just think back to the Oregon game in Eugene). The question that folks will have is whether Embree or Austin will be able to give us that breakaway option at WR. Sooner or later at least Austin is going to have to house it this year because hopefully he is going to get some strong competition this year. More on that after the jump.

So who will Austin and Embree get that competition from? Well we already have Nelson Rosario on the fold who at least in terms of size (6-5, 214) and athleticism provides us the kind of target we probably haven't had at WR position since the days of Danny Farmer and J.J. Stokes. Case in point:

Photo Credit: dabruins07 (flickr)

He had some money grabs last year (v. Tennessee and Stanford). He also has no problem running those difficult routes. He caught 11 passes for 169 yards in his freshman year and I can't wait to find out the kind of season he will come up with in his second year.

Meanwhile, speaking of kids giving Austin a push in the department of speed, we have to talk about Carroll:

[I]t’s Carroll, and his where-did-he-go speed, who could give the passing game a quick-strike element that would have to be respected.

Carroll, who played at Los Angeles Cathedral High, will have to show he’s ready. At 5 feet 10 and 184 pounds, he could use a little more meat. His savvy level needs to grow.

All that will come. What Carroll already possesses is afterburner speed, as he was a two-time California state champion in the 100 and 200 meters.

Senior linebacker Reggie Carter has seen that speed on display during seven-on-seven workouts this month.

"When the ball is in the air, he goes and gets it," Carter said. "There have been some passes where I thought, ‘No way anyone gets that,’ and he takes off and gets there."

That element could make an already solid group lethal.

That should given folks incentive to pack the Spaulding Field every day starting Monday. I guess the main question right now is whether our much maligned OL will give Prince and co. enough time to find and strike targets like Randall.

Randall will not be on the only option at WRs for Kevin. We will have seniors like Gavin Ketchum as hopefully reliable options. Gavin at 6-5 210 pounds also provides a huge target for our QBs and he has shown decent ability to block downfield. Both Gavin and Rosario (along with Embree) should be able to provide options as attractives targets when our offense gets into the red zone. In addition to these guys we will also have young talents such as Antown Moutra, Jerry Johnson and freshman Ricky Marvray available in our depth chart. I have heard lot of great feedback on both Moutra and Johnson in terms of their size and speed. I am going to assume if those guys prove themselves at Spaulding Chow and Neuheisel, will not hesitate from calling their numbers on game day.

Speaking of big targets, we haven't even gotten to discuss our TEs yet. The TE position will be rich and deep in proven talent provided Moya and Paulsen can stay healthy. From the LA Times:

The absences of Moya (ankle surgery) and Paulsen (broken foot) gave UCLA coaches reason to be concerned in the spring -- so much so that Nate Chandler was shifted back to tight end from offensive tackle. Now offensive coordinator Norm Chow calls it the deepest p

osition on the offense and the place where he has the least worries … for now.

Injuries and other issues created a stockpile at tight end, where the Bruins have multiple personalities, starting with seniors Paulsen and Moya.

Paulsen, who was granted a medical hardship after breaking his foot in the 2008 season opener, is big and alpha-dog physical. Moya, who sat out the 2007 season due to personal reasons, was effective finding seams in the defense and led the team with three touchdown receptions. Both will fill those roles again.

But what makes tight end a Bruin stronghold are Cory Harkey and Morrell Presley.

Harkey, a sophomore, spent the 2008 season on the learning curve and the offseason in the weight room. He is 15 pounds heavier, up to 254 pounds, and is expected to be an effective point of attack tight end, as well as a gifted receiver. Harkey and Paulsen fit well into Coach Rick Neuheisel’s declaration that the Bruins "will be able to run the ball or die trying."

Harkey and Chandler will definitely give CRN and Chow physical options when they will attemp to ram the ball down opponents throats. Keep in mind, from what we have heard and read Presley at 6-4 222 can also provide a physical option even though chances are Chow might also line him at wide to create mismatch nightmares for opponents.

The bottom line right now is that we will able to take advantages of the talents available at these two positions if and only if we can get credible performance from our offensive line and quarterback this coming season. If our OL can generate an above average running game and give Prince and co. enough time to locate the targets, it could be a very fun season. We are not going to know the answers until we see what transpires at Spaulding starting Monday and then game time in less than 30 days. The anticipation is killing me.

GO BRUINS.