Thought I'd take a crack at projecting who I think will be where going into this season. I know I don't have all the players that could potentially start on here, as I've not seen enough of the RS Freshman, Props, Walk-ons, etc to make any judgements on them. I'll leave that to those who have been to more practices - feel free to add your :twocents: on who you think will be where.
Offense:
Quarterback: With Burgett moving to Safety, EWU will have three backups competing for the #2 spot. I honestly haven't seen enough of Pannelli to gauge where he might be at. Based on stats alone, it looks like Vitto is having a pretty solid spring. I don't see any scenario that would involve Vernon Adams, the 2011 signee not red-shirting this fall.
QB - BL Mitchell
QB - N. Gauthier or A. Vitto
QB - G. Pannelli
Running Back: At the moment, it looks like EWU will have 5 different backs competing. With TJ gone, the door should be wide open for the starting RB spot, but in reality I think we will see running back by committee with the only Senior being Beumonte and some very talented youngsters. Brown proved in the playoffs that he could be a productive back even as a true Freshman. Because of this, I gotta think he's the early favorite, but as I said I think it's going to be lots of guys getting carries. I could also see Bronson getting a fair amount of PT to start the season and even more if he proves that he can handle the load of 20 or more carries a game. The 1-2 combination of Brown and Bronson is very intriguing. Beumonte should continue to get carries in short yardage situations as well as in the FB spot and should be another monster again on special teams. C. King and D. Johnson will also be competing for playing time and could see some action. I think both were injured last season. Lots of depth at this position - something we lacked a little of when TJ went down late in the playoffs.
RB - M. Brown
RB - D. Bronson or D. Beumonte
RB - C. King or D. Johnson
(Two-back set)
FB - Z. Gehring
FB - D. Bronson or D. Beumonte
Tight End: Lots of young guys vying for the starting spot here with Martin graduating. Both Gehring and Seto saw considerable playing time this season. We also have a couple Freshman TE's coming in this fall in Jake Withnell and T.J. Boatright, both 6-5 225. I could see one or both of them red-shirting this fall, however. With the experience we do have returning, I think we're going to see more productivity from the TE position this fall.
TE - Z. Gehring
TE - D. Miles or R. Seto
TE - P. Mealey
Wide Receiver: Lots of possibilities at WR with tons of depth. Only Senior lost is Gant, but we gain C. Mitchell and a few others. Kaufman and Edwards should be the go-to guys again, although again there's going to be a fair number of players seeing PT. Our WR's are going to present a lot of match-up problems again this season with the noticeable height advantage they will hold over most defensive secondaries.
WR - B. Kaufman
WR - C. Mitchell
WR - A. Wright
WR - N. Edwards
WR - T. Hart
WR - A. Clark
WR - G. Herd
WR - A. Wright
Offensive Line: The O-line should be solid with almost everyone returning, save Myers (starter), and Leahey who had a somewhat limited role this season coming off that bad injury. J. Butorac and J. Hansen (both 2010 RS) could also fit in this line-up somewhere. Not sure whether any of the true Freshman we signed this year will play, as we seem to be pretty solid.
LT - G. Jackson
LT - C. Worthington
LG - S. Forgette or J. Antonson
LG - R. Turpin
C - C. Powers
C - J. Butorac
C - A. Miller
RG - B. Murphy or > Butorac
RG - J. Antonson
RT - W. Post
RT - C. Humphrey
Defense:
Defensive Line: I think we're going to have the most depth on the defensive line as we've had in years. Hell, maybe ever. Tons of possibilities here. So much talent and athleticism at the end positions, and realistically any of those guys could start. Big questions as to who will fill the other tackle position next to Renard, and will they move Ena back to LB with Sherritt graduating? It'll be interesting to see where Zylstra and Boothroyd (both 2010 RS) will fit in.
LE - D. Gaylord or P. Ena
LE - E. Day
LDT - A. Pulu or E. Cook
LDT - W. Katoa
RDT - R. Williams
RDT - C. Moetului
RE - J. Ceja or P. Ena
RE - A. Larry or E. Day
Linebackers: Losing Sherritt will be tough, but again plenty of depth and talent in the LB positions. I almost expect Johnson to be as productive as Sherritt was his Senior season. Questions at backup MLB - does McCarthy play? I think he does, simply because most of our returning LB's are outside types. We need a backup MLB with size, and McCarthy is the answer there. If not, then perhaps Ena will get moved back to LB with all the depth at DE and start in one of those spots. Where does Goldwire fit in? Hard to predict.
SSLB - T. Washburn
SSLB - R. Haehl
SSLB - J. Puglsey
MLB - Z. Johnson
MLB - J. Goldwire or C. McCarthy*
WSLB - G. Williams
WSLB - B. Gentry
WSLB - J.C. Agen
WSLB - J. Walker
Cornerbacks: On paper, probably the biggest questions right now lie at the CB position with both Hoffman and Calcote graduating and Gauldin leaving the program?? (is this even confirmed?) Chaten, Baines, and Lee are all returners with a decent amount of experience. You can see this position being a point of emphasis with the coaches as they have moved two excellent athletes in Markeem Adams and Trenton Pinson into the defensive backfield. Both of these players are very, very fast. I expect the heavy passing teams to test us early and often, but I honestly think we'll be ok with the exceptional athletes we have at corner. I forgot about Gibbs who fits in here - if you remember, he's the guy who switched from playing basketball to football this past season.
FCB - J. Chaten, A Gibbs?
FCB - M. Adams, B. Schuetzle, T.J. Lee, or M. Pinson
FCB - M. Adams, B. Schuetzle, T.J. Lee, or M. Pinson
BCB - R. Baines, A Gibbs?
BCB - M. Adams, B. Schuetzle, T.J. Lee, or M. Pinson
BCB - M. Adams, B. Schuetzle, T.J. Lee, or M. Pinson
Safeties: Anyone's guess here outside of the first couple of spots. So many guys we haven't seen that were either hurt last year or are new to the program. One thing's for sure, barring injuries we should be a lot more deep at both safety positions.
S - M. Johnson
S - D. Shepperd
S - J. Roberts
S - B. Lechtenburg
S - A. Brown or J. Minnerly
S - C. Gayton
S - E. Robinson
S - A. Gibbs
S - S. Burgett
Kickers/Punters: An additional year should help our kicking game out some. With Zuber graduating, we'll have a new punter starting who I do not think has any PT at this point.
K - M Jarrett
K - K. Miller
P - C. Homan
Thoughts? Like I said, this is a very early analysis. I know that things will change some going into and coming out of summer ball, but this is my take right now. As I stated, I know there's going to be some Props and RS guys from last year that are going to make an impact and compete for starting spots. Right now I just don't have enough visibility on them. Hell, there could even be some True Freshman playing next year, although maybe only a couple with all the depth we have returning in almost every position. Is it fall yet? :thumb:
