Taking the ISU glasses off...

**ajk4st8** · 06-17-2008, 08:46 PM

Here is what I see as far as troubling questions...

QB- Little experience as far as playing 4 quarters to win a game. Athleticism is there.... but is a solid QB? I hope so.

RB- JJ Bass was good. A Rob was solid. Scales is a bulldog. Jason Harris might be the most athletic 4th string RB we have had in a long time. If JJ is ok to play and we stay healthy... we could be solid here.

TE- Solid blockers, average recievers. We will see if Colin Franklin is actually as good of a reciever as we have been told.

WR-- RJ and Hamilton are pretty solid. Good possession guys. Wallace Franklin didn't produce last year, so it would be a pretty big leap of faith thinking he will be star this year. Sounds like SJ is pretty solid (although only a true freshman) and Carlson could get some PT this year too.

Oline- Since we didn't really lose anything, I like this position. Lots of depth. Athletic guys. I love the fact that we had a good push at times late in the season. Am I the only one who thinks that our Oline cut down on penalties bigtime last year?

DE Taylor and Lyle will be ok. I do like both guys. Parker is also darn solid. Im just afraid the lack of proven DTs will allow these guys to get plenty of blocking.

DT Ugh. Not looking forward to this position this year. We have a long list of recruiting studs who have never seen the field, so lets hope that one of them comes out of nowhere to be a stud. We have some solid young players (Black, Johnson), but losing Tuba was HUGE. Might be the biggest loss from last year.

LB I think we could be 'ok' here. Jesse Smith makes me sick when he in pass coverage, but I love his nose against the run. Raven, Garrin are super athletic, but not the biggest guys in the world. Again a position where we need some guys who have really never touched JTS playing surface to step up.

DB Allen Bell and Singleton will make solid corners. McDowell will be good again. Hopefully Chris Brown can heal up for some PT next year. Smith is an OK safety, still waiting for him to have a great year. It is only pn paper but it looks like we landed a great class of DBs.

Kicker-- MAJOR worry again. Relying on 2 new HS kickers is not fun. Crossing my fingers these guys are ok.

We have a lot of positions where we are relying on guys who have never produced in a D1 game before. Dline is so important, so lets pray we have about 4 DTs that really have game.

Our obvious strength should be running the ball and the short passing game. Hopefully that is enough to win at least 3 games next year.

My prediction 4-8

**Al_4_State** · 06-17-2008, 08:53 PM

I'm slightly more optimistic. Since the end of last season I've felt this is a 5-7 team. We were very close to being a 5-7 team last year, and I feel across the board, we have more experience, and most importantly those players are no longer learning a new system, thats worth one win to me. Also, the much easier schedule should give us another win. 5-7 in 2008, 7-5 in 2009.

**CycloneWarrior** · 06-17-2008, 09:07 PM

dont forget ricky Thompson as the 5th string running back. He's pretty good

**jaretac** · 06-17-2008, 09:13 PM

I'm more optimistic too. In 04' we had allot of new players and we put up a good fight- including a bowl win. This year most of the "new players" have some experience, maybe not 4 quarters but some is better then none. I still haven't convinced myself that we can get to a bowl. It depends on how good the Big12 is this year and I don't think it will be as good as last year.

**Benny34** · 06-17-2008, 09:32 PM

Solid write up but I too am saying 5-7.

**ripvdub** · 06-17-2008, 09:36 PM

Originally Posted by jaretac

I'm more optimistic too. In 04' we had allot of new players and we put up a good fight- including a bowl win. This year most of the "new players" have some experience, maybe not 4 quarters but some is better then none. I still haven't convinced myself that we can get to a bowl. It depends on how good the Big12 is this year and I don't think it will be as good as last year.

Good point. Its amazing what a few new faces and a new attitude can do to a team. Just look at the 2004 season and then the 2005 season. Complete turnaround.

**CrossCyed** · 06-17-2008, 09:57 PM

5-7 seems like a good solid number. I'll be disappointed with less than 4. I think 6 is a legit possibility.

Showing progress is key.

**bfross** · 06-17-2008, 10:00 PM

Originally Posted by jaretac

I'm more optimistic too. In 04' we had allot of new players and we put up a good fight- including a bowl win. This year most of the "new players" have some experience, maybe not 4 quarters but some is better then none. I still haven't convinced myself that we can get to a bowl. It depends on how good the Big12 is this year and I don't think it will be as good as last year.

As much as everyone returns, barring injury, I don't know how it won't be better actually.

**ajk4st8** · 06-17-2008, 10:14 PM

I agree... Id give anything to be bowling next season.

**Phaedrus** · 06-17-2008, 10:18 PM

Take off your Cyclone glasses?

Heck, I had first-generation cardinal and gold Lasic when it first came out.

**jaretac** · 06-17-2008, 10:19 PM

Originally Posted by bfross

As much as everyone returns, barring injury, I don't know how it won't be better actually.

If your talking about ISU- absolutely!

If you are talking about the Big12, think about this. Baylor, Texas A&M, and Nebraska all had major coaching changes. How many teams are able to turn it around in one year after a major coaching change? If any of those three do well this year it will be A&M with their solid run game. I think Kansas St. will continue to struggle, and Ron Prince will loss his job this year. I also think that Oklahoma State will not be as good this year- that's just my opinion though. Kansas- will not be a 12 win team this year. They will be very good, but probably 8 or 9 wins are more realistic.

**Clones85'** · 06-17-2008, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by cyclonedefender

dont forget ricky Thompson as the 5th string running back. He's pretty good

No offense to Ricky, but why would he comment on a 5th string RB? He is giving a break down of how each position will be. He didn't list the entire depth chart. Ricky won't play so I don't see why he would list him

**MaxPower57** · 06-17-2008, 11:27 PM

I wish Jason Harris would've been moved back to the secondary last season and possibly redshirted. The guy got carries as a true frosh and started at safety as a soph, yet didn't see the field outside of being a gunner on special teams as a jr, and most likely wont play much as a senior.

With the depth at RB and the lack thereof at S pulling the old off/def switcheroo for him one last time in my opinion would benefit not only him but also the team as he is one of the fastest players on it.

This team's success will lie upon having solid QB play, having a semi-dependable kicker, and having adequate enough DTs to at least somewhat stop the run.