I know we've all been in "doom and gloom" mode with the transfer portal. That's legit.
We also lost some key guys to graduation (or who chose not to use the extra Covid+1 year of eligibility).
But I'm looking at this depth chart from the Utah game (attached below) and thinking about the 2022 roster.
Guys, I'm not sure we're actually worse in 2022. We may be better.
QB gets more experienced and we'll have an actual position battle between a more experienced Lewis & Shrout (who was the guy who would have started the season last year if not for injury) along with Kopp transferring in to join the battle.
RB took a major hit, but I do like Venn a lot as a recruit and this is a position a freshman can play.
WR took huge hits, but returns Arias as a starter along with MLC. Other guys flashed a bit and we've got some guys returning from injury. The addition of Sneed helps a ton and it's also a position where freshmen perform.
TE kept the front line guys and probably improved.
OL really only lost Kutsch in terms of someone who performed well in 2021. We get a few starters back. If we can pull someone from the portal (ideally a LT so Wiley could slide in to G), we'll be improved - I know, incredibly low bar - but could be competent & competitive as long as we stay healthy. Coaching + S&C need to carry us a long way here.
On the DL, I think we should be very nervous. We struggled in pass rush last year and we're losing our best pass rushers - especially if Lang leaves. I think we'll be pretty stout against the run, but we could be even worse at generating pressure. That's scary.
LBs seemed to come on at the end of the year even without Landman, so I don't think we're looking at a drop-off there from what we saw at the end of the season. This group is going to need to come together and be the heart of the defense (hopefully behind a DL that can occupy blockers like that 2016 group, ie, Sami being like Tupou).
DB is where I'm in panic mode unless we can find some transfers. Our CB duo was slated to be the strength of the defense. Safety was a weakness last year, so I don't know that losing a starter was such a bad thing, but we at least lost what would have been experienced depth. A defense that has trouble generating pressure without blitzing coupled with the defensive backfield being a weakness is a hopeless situation.
Anyway...
tl/dr summary: I think we'll be much better on offense and much worse on pass defense. Overall, 2022 expectations for me aren't high but I'm not sure that they should be lower than 2021. Schedule looks harder, but my expectation is that we'll probably end up in the 3-5 win range. (Opinion subject to adjustment based on further roster announcements.)
We also lost some key guys to graduation (or who chose not to use the extra Covid+1 year of eligibility).
But I'm looking at this depth chart from the Utah game (attached below) and thinking about the 2022 roster.
Guys, I'm not sure we're actually worse in 2022. We may be better.
QB gets more experienced and we'll have an actual position battle between a more experienced Lewis & Shrout (who was the guy who would have started the season last year if not for injury) along with Kopp transferring in to join the battle.
RB took a major hit, but I do like Venn a lot as a recruit and this is a position a freshman can play.
WR took huge hits, but returns Arias as a starter along with MLC. Other guys flashed a bit and we've got some guys returning from injury. The addition of Sneed helps a ton and it's also a position where freshmen perform.
TE kept the front line guys and probably improved.
OL really only lost Kutsch in terms of someone who performed well in 2021. We get a few starters back. If we can pull someone from the portal (ideally a LT so Wiley could slide in to G), we'll be improved - I know, incredibly low bar - but could be competent & competitive as long as we stay healthy. Coaching + S&C need to carry us a long way here.
On the DL, I think we should be very nervous. We struggled in pass rush last year and we're losing our best pass rushers - especially if Lang leaves. I think we'll be pretty stout against the run, but we could be even worse at generating pressure. That's scary.
LBs seemed to come on at the end of the year even without Landman, so I don't think we're looking at a drop-off there from what we saw at the end of the season. This group is going to need to come together and be the heart of the defense (hopefully behind a DL that can occupy blockers like that 2016 group, ie, Sami being like Tupou).
DB is where I'm in panic mode unless we can find some transfers. Our CB duo was slated to be the strength of the defense. Safety was a weakness last year, so I don't know that losing a starter was such a bad thing, but we at least lost what would have been experienced depth. A defense that has trouble generating pressure without blitzing coupled with the defensive backfield being a weakness is a hopeless situation.
Anyway...
tl/dr summary: I think we'll be much better on offense and much worse on pass defense. Overall, 2022 expectations for me aren't high but I'm not sure that they should be lower than 2021. Schedule looks harder, but my expectation is that we'll probably end up in the 3-5 win range. (Opinion subject to adjustment based on further roster announcements.)
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