We’re 3 ½ weeks away from spring ball, I wanted to dedicate a few discussions to some big questions headed into spring camp. These are the big questions I’ll be looking to see answered (or at least addressed) during spring camp.
Who is QB1? – All early signs point to Reese Phillips for a multitude of reasons. A senior, the only one with in-game experience in Stitt’s offense, was the highest up on the depth of returning QBs from last year. Phillips in prior camps has showed smooth movement in the pocket in the face of pressure and some better/quicker running skills than we had in Gustafson. Where Phillips fell short in camps last year appeared to be a full grasp of the offense, where Chalich and Gus had a leg-up with 1 more year running the offense over Reese. Behind him are two highly touted recruits. Caleb Hill comes in from a JuCo and appears to bring a physical presence we don’t have in other QBs. I believe he was in the top 15 of all JuCo QBs this last year and if you looked at other guys ranked at his level they were going to FCS non-power 5 schools. Of course with Hill the big question is how much of the offense will he be able to effectively run this early into his Griz career. There’s also RS-frosh Gresch Jensen who I’ve heard great praise about how he’s really taken an incredible effort to study and learn the offense as best as possible. Jensen ran the scout team offense last season but that doesn’t necessarily mean he was running Stitt’s offense.
Who will be our new RG and RT? – Devon Dietrich and Jackson Thiebes have graduated, and while Sprunk, Villanueva, and Reese return that leaves two starting spots open. There’s two experienced options in seniors Robert Luke who has played some guard and Mike Ralston who backed up at RT last season. Then there’s the big stable of youth in Jackson, Hart, Eickmeyer, Scott, Meyer, Torres, and Beaver. I’m sure Germer has an idea on his depth chart and I’m quite interested to see how it all comes together.
Will any younger/newer WRs break through? – The starting corps plus most of the depth of the WRs returns. Last years starters in Curran, Calhoun, JLM, and Horner all come back. Behind them Eaton, Lyons, Eaton, and Taylor are also back. Then there’s this class of RS freshman that are coming up, Toure, Corbin, Nagler, Akem, and Nash. Add in some upper classmen in Simis & McLaughlin too. Stitt loves to bring in a ton of WRs. So who breaks through and will there be enough chances for some of these young guys to show what they could possibly do this season?
Will the WR corps show improvement over 2016? – Last years corps was touted as talented but young, and that youth showed through at some very inopportune times. Drops and poor blocking stood out many times as the worst moments. With this group going from untested and green to a group of veterans with some incredible young talent in depth… we will need to see them take that next step.
Who else will split carries with Jeremy Calhoun? – I’m going to assume Jeremy will be our main dude this season, and hopefully he has a healthy and concussion-free season. Behind him though there’s Tre Favors, Cody McCombs, and Rey Green… that’s it for the spring, save some possible walk-ons/try outs. Favors had a great spring camp last season but found himself still sunk behind Calhoun and Nguyen last year. McCombs also flashed some good talent but had to sit since he transferred in. Green is highly thought of recruit coming off his red shirt.
Will we see any more adaptation or changes with the offense? – It’s honestly tough to get a read on the offense and defensive scheme/strategy in camps because it’s not as situational and they’re running through sets regardless the situation it seems. However I’ll be trying to pay attention in the scrimmages to see if Stitt shows any adjustments to the offense we’ve seen so far. Adding in another talented (but younger) coach in Troxel and having Ferriter take over for Swett should make for some interesting observations. It’ll be interesting to see how the inside WRs show with Trox and if Ferriter can get some boosted performances from the outside WRs like he was able to produce with JLM/Horner/Bingham last season.
Those are the big ones for me, what other questions on offense would you like to see addressed?
Who is QB1? – All early signs point to Reese Phillips for a multitude of reasons. A senior, the only one with in-game experience in Stitt’s offense, was the highest up on the depth of returning QBs from last year. Phillips in prior camps has showed smooth movement in the pocket in the face of pressure and some better/quicker running skills than we had in Gustafson. Where Phillips fell short in camps last year appeared to be a full grasp of the offense, where Chalich and Gus had a leg-up with 1 more year running the offense over Reese. Behind him are two highly touted recruits. Caleb Hill comes in from a JuCo and appears to bring a physical presence we don’t have in other QBs. I believe he was in the top 15 of all JuCo QBs this last year and if you looked at other guys ranked at his level they were going to FCS non-power 5 schools. Of course with Hill the big question is how much of the offense will he be able to effectively run this early into his Griz career. There’s also RS-frosh Gresch Jensen who I’ve heard great praise about how he’s really taken an incredible effort to study and learn the offense as best as possible. Jensen ran the scout team offense last season but that doesn’t necessarily mean he was running Stitt’s offense.
Who will be our new RG and RT? – Devon Dietrich and Jackson Thiebes have graduated, and while Sprunk, Villanueva, and Reese return that leaves two starting spots open. There’s two experienced options in seniors Robert Luke who has played some guard and Mike Ralston who backed up at RT last season. Then there’s the big stable of youth in Jackson, Hart, Eickmeyer, Scott, Meyer, Torres, and Beaver. I’m sure Germer has an idea on his depth chart and I’m quite interested to see how it all comes together.
Will any younger/newer WRs break through? – The starting corps plus most of the depth of the WRs returns. Last years starters in Curran, Calhoun, JLM, and Horner all come back. Behind them Eaton, Lyons, Eaton, and Taylor are also back. Then there’s this class of RS freshman that are coming up, Toure, Corbin, Nagler, Akem, and Nash. Add in some upper classmen in Simis & McLaughlin too. Stitt loves to bring in a ton of WRs. So who breaks through and will there be enough chances for some of these young guys to show what they could possibly do this season?
Will the WR corps show improvement over 2016? – Last years corps was touted as talented but young, and that youth showed through at some very inopportune times. Drops and poor blocking stood out many times as the worst moments. With this group going from untested and green to a group of veterans with some incredible young talent in depth… we will need to see them take that next step.
Who else will split carries with Jeremy Calhoun? – I’m going to assume Jeremy will be our main dude this season, and hopefully he has a healthy and concussion-free season. Behind him though there’s Tre Favors, Cody McCombs, and Rey Green… that’s it for the spring, save some possible walk-ons/try outs. Favors had a great spring camp last season but found himself still sunk behind Calhoun and Nguyen last year. McCombs also flashed some good talent but had to sit since he transferred in. Green is highly thought of recruit coming off his red shirt.
Will we see any more adaptation or changes with the offense? – It’s honestly tough to get a read on the offense and defensive scheme/strategy in camps because it’s not as situational and they’re running through sets regardless the situation it seems. However I’ll be trying to pay attention in the scrimmages to see if Stitt shows any adjustments to the offense we’ve seen so far. Adding in another talented (but younger) coach in Troxel and having Ferriter take over for Swett should make for some interesting observations. It’ll be interesting to see how the inside WRs show with Trox and if Ferriter can get some boosted performances from the outside WRs like he was able to produce with JLM/Horner/Bingham last season.
Those are the big ones for me, what other questions on offense would you like to see addressed?
