This hasn't been mentioned yet, but one thing that I am excited about this year is how much improved our offensive line should be. We lost a bunch of guys to injury last season and also had a bunch of guys RS from the 2011 class. When you add to that guys we recruited from the 2012 class, I think there is reason to be excited. With Mitchell gone and the #1 still TBD, I am assuming that we will run the ball more early on this season. Even if Padron ends up being named the starter, he will have only had 2 weeks of live drills prior to the Idaho game. Vitto and Adams also have limited, or no, live game experience at this level. We need to run the ball this season, and I think we really may have the offensive line to do just that.
That said, I am interested in knowing the status of Miller, Forgette, and Butorac after season-ending injuries in 2011. They were all pretty bad injuries that I assume took a while to recover from. Especially Forgette's which was a broken fib if I remember correctly.
It looks like we might be a little inexperienced at LT, but we have a lot of experience everywhere else, even with guys that are 2 or 3 on the depth chart due to all the injuries last season.
Left Tackle:
79 - Cassidy Curtis (6-7 - 290 - Fr.) - Great frame for the tackle position and must be highly regarded to be listed as the #1 LT coming of his RS year. He appears to have put on a lot of size since he was signed out of HS as well. Is this kid gunna be the next Michael Roos?
78 - Clay DeBord (6-6 - 290 - Fr.) - RS'd last season. Great size and I expect he'll rotate out fairly frequently with Curtis.
Left Guard:
70 - Steven Forgette (6-4 - 300 - Jr.) - Is he 100%? Had that horrible injury in the Montana game. I am hoping he comes back strong for his Junior season.
72 - Aaron Neary (6-4 - 275 - Fr.) - RS'd last season.
62 - Zackary Johnson (6-2 – 275 - So.) - Transfer from WSU, don't know a lot about him.
Center:
52 - #Drew Reynolds (6-1 - 290 - Jr.) - Looks like there's some competition at Center. I expected to see Miller at Center, but he's now listed at RG.
or 75 - Jase Butorac (6-3 - 285 - So.) - Expected to see him at RG, another guy who may not be 100% yet.
61 - Jay Deines (6-4 - 275 - Fr.) - RS'd last season.
63 - Branson Schmidt (6-1 - 255 - Fr.) - RS'd last season.
Right Guard:
77 - #Brandon Murphy (6-4 - 295 - Jr.) - I expected to see him at tackle, but think he moved over to Guard last season due to the all the injuries there.
or 66 - Ashton Miller (6-2 - 300 - Jr.) - Expected to see him at Center, is he 100%?
60 - Derek Weston (6-3 - 265 - So.) - Saw a lot of PT last season after transferring from UW. Could be a key player coming off the bench this season.
59 - Jordan Ellisen (6-2 - 300 - Fr.) - I believe he RS'd last season.
Right Tackle:
76 - #Will Post (6-6 - 295 - Sr.) - He should be an all-Conference type guy this season and may have a shot at playing on Sundays next season if he has a solid Senior year.
73 - T.J. Boatright (6-5 - 265 - Fr.) - Moved over from TE, RS'd last season.
The below guys I assume are either RSing or vying for a position. I'm a little surprised to not see Gomez listed on the depth chart, as he was one of our bigger signing on the OL from the 2011 class if I remember correctly. He may have been a non-qualifier last season, so it may be that's it a wait-on-grades thing. Assuming he will be eligible, I expect to see him somewhere in the rotation. Boule and Griffin both seem to have the size to play right now, but I expect both with RS in 2012 unless we have a repeat of last season <knock on wood>.
74 Will Boule OL 6-7 295 Fr. HS El Dorado Hills, Calif. / Oak Ridge HS '12
67 Thomas Gomez OL 6-3 310 Fr. HS* Graham, Wash. / Graham Kapowsin HS'11
65 Austin Griffin OL 6-4 315 Fr. HS Hillsboro, Ore. / Jesuit HS '12
62 Zack Johnson OL 6-2 275 So. TR* Stanwood, Wash. / Stanwood HS '10 / WSU
72 Aaron Neary OL 6-4 250 Fr. HS* Richland, Wash. / Hanford HS '11
So overall, we are fairly young, but appear to be very deep, which bodes very well for this group over the next couple of years. I'm excited about this group and I wanna see them push some people around this season so we can run the damn ball! :nod:
That said, I am interested in knowing the status of Miller, Forgette, and Butorac after season-ending injuries in 2011. They were all pretty bad injuries that I assume took a while to recover from. Especially Forgette's which was a broken fib if I remember correctly.
It looks like we might be a little inexperienced at LT, but we have a lot of experience everywhere else, even with guys that are 2 or 3 on the depth chart due to all the injuries last season.
Left Tackle:
79 - Cassidy Curtis (6-7 - 290 - Fr.) - Great frame for the tackle position and must be highly regarded to be listed as the #1 LT coming of his RS year. He appears to have put on a lot of size since he was signed out of HS as well. Is this kid gunna be the next Michael Roos?
78 - Clay DeBord (6-6 - 290 - Fr.) - RS'd last season. Great size and I expect he'll rotate out fairly frequently with Curtis.
Left Guard:
70 - Steven Forgette (6-4 - 300 - Jr.) - Is he 100%? Had that horrible injury in the Montana game. I am hoping he comes back strong for his Junior season.
72 - Aaron Neary (6-4 - 275 - Fr.) - RS'd last season.
62 - Zackary Johnson (6-2 – 275 - So.) - Transfer from WSU, don't know a lot about him.
Center:
52 - #Drew Reynolds (6-1 - 290 - Jr.) - Looks like there's some competition at Center. I expected to see Miller at Center, but he's now listed at RG.
or 75 - Jase Butorac (6-3 - 285 - So.) - Expected to see him at RG, another guy who may not be 100% yet.
61 - Jay Deines (6-4 - 275 - Fr.) - RS'd last season.
63 - Branson Schmidt (6-1 - 255 - Fr.) - RS'd last season.
Right Guard:
77 - #Brandon Murphy (6-4 - 295 - Jr.) - I expected to see him at tackle, but think he moved over to Guard last season due to the all the injuries there.
or 66 - Ashton Miller (6-2 - 300 - Jr.) - Expected to see him at Center, is he 100%?
60 - Derek Weston (6-3 - 265 - So.) - Saw a lot of PT last season after transferring from UW. Could be a key player coming off the bench this season.
59 - Jordan Ellisen (6-2 - 300 - Fr.) - I believe he RS'd last season.
Right Tackle:
76 - #Will Post (6-6 - 295 - Sr.) - He should be an all-Conference type guy this season and may have a shot at playing on Sundays next season if he has a solid Senior year.
73 - T.J. Boatright (6-5 - 265 - Fr.) - Moved over from TE, RS'd last season.
The below guys I assume are either RSing or vying for a position. I'm a little surprised to not see Gomez listed on the depth chart, as he was one of our bigger signing on the OL from the 2011 class if I remember correctly. He may have been a non-qualifier last season, so it may be that's it a wait-on-grades thing. Assuming he will be eligible, I expect to see him somewhere in the rotation. Boule and Griffin both seem to have the size to play right now, but I expect both with RS in 2012 unless we have a repeat of last season <knock on wood>.
74 Will Boule OL 6-7 295 Fr. HS El Dorado Hills, Calif. / Oak Ridge HS '12
67 Thomas Gomez OL 6-3 310 Fr. HS* Graham, Wash. / Graham Kapowsin HS'11
65 Austin Griffin OL 6-4 315 Fr. HS Hillsboro, Ore. / Jesuit HS '12
62 Zack Johnson OL 6-2 275 So. TR* Stanwood, Wash. / Stanwood HS '10 / WSU
72 Aaron Neary OL 6-4 250 Fr. HS* Richland, Wash. / Hanford HS '11
So overall, we are fairly young, but appear to be very deep, which bodes very well for this group over the next couple of years. I'm excited about this group and I wanna see them push some people around this season so we can run the damn ball! :nod:
