JimSox said:
Ifanse listed behind Ott at RB. Justin Williams-Thomas OR Stredick third. Javian Thomas not listed, of course.
Elams-Orr listed at ILB. At the other ILB spot Uluave listed ahead of Rutchena OR Antzoulatos.
I don't see any changes on the DL or at OLB or among the DB's.
Still no Sam Jackson V listed at QB, only Mendoza with Finley only backup.
This link is to the entire game notes. I haven't figured out how to get a link to just the depth chart, which is page 4 of the notes.
https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/calberk.sidearmsports.com/documents/2023/11/7/23FB-Cal-GameNotes_Washington_State.pdf
Having finally gotten a chance to review the depth chart, I noticed that the team is impressively young.
We are set to lose very few starters and even fewer impact players that are hard to replace. Of course, the qualifier is that we retain most or all of our R-JRs who might graduate this school year.
Overall Depth Chart- 10 seniors (5 offense, 4 defense, 1 STs)
- 12 R-Juniors (6 offense, 5 defense, 1 ST--Taj Davis plays both offense and STs and just listed on O)
Starters- 5 seniors (3 offense, 2 defense)
- 5 R-Juniors (2 offense, 2 defense, 1 ST)
Key Backups- 1 senior (1 offense)
- 4 R-Juniors (2 offense & 2 defense Taj Davis listed on O not listed on ST )
Key Losses On Offense- Barrett Miller LT
- Isaiah Ifanse RB
Key Losses on Defense- David Reese OLB
- Patrick McMorris S
No key losses on STs
Potential Additional Losses of Note on Offense- Brian Driscoll C
- TJ Session RT
- Taj Davis WR
Potential Additional Losses of Note on Defense- Brett Johnson DT
- Myles Jernigan OLB
- Craig Woodson S
Lachlan Wilson P could also be gone after this season due to graduation
It seems to me that, when you return more than 2/3 of your starters on a unit it bodes well for that season.
If we include each "or" in the depth chart as a starter, at least part time, here is the following range of losses from least to most for each unit:
Range on offense = 3-5 Range on defense = 3-6Range on STs= 0-1If we include each "or" in the depth chart as a starter, at least part time, here is the following range of returners from least to most for each unit:
Range on offense = 8-10Range on defense = 9-10Range on the 7 ST positions listed = 5-7From this review, it looks like very few players will be hard to replace.
Other observations/conclusions:
- The biggest concern is at OT where we might lose both and don't have anybody that great to step in. There are some names like Nick Morrow and Everett Johnson. Hopefully we pick some more in the portal and/or in the 2024 class.
- Losing Ifanse would normally hurt but we are really deep at RB so it doesn't
- We could probably use some upgrading at WR especially if we lose Taj Davis after this season. Rashawn Clark is a 4 star commit for 2024 but he is listed as an athlete which leaves it somewhat of a mystery where he will play. His size is consistent with WR or DB and he starred at both in HS
- Of course losing Brett Johnson would hurt but there is some depth and experience there with Correia and Mckenzie. And BJ Canady is a well regarded recruit for 2024
- Not included in this analysis is Jake Sirmon, who is OFY. But his loss will also be felt. At OLB, it will be up to Myles Williams and Xavier Carlton to fill the shoes after losing both starting OLBs This should be another focus of the portal.
- Probably more concerning than OL is our safety position, where we could lose 4 of the 5 listed on the depth chart. It is one thing to lose McMorris but to also lose Craig Woodson would really hurt. We do have a highly regarded safety coming in 2024 in Brooklyn Cheek but not sure he could step in right away as a high 3 star. It's possible Clark might need to play both ways when he arrives in 2024. But it's also possible that some of our CB depth could be raided for conversions to safety. I see Jeremiah Erby as a good candidate
- If we lose Wilson P we most certainly will have to search the portal again for a punter as we don't have anyone returning behind him and nobody recruited. He could actually end up being the biggest loss as he is having an all-conference caliber season.
EDIT: I should add that, while we are in good shape for 2024, the above notes show that we do have some positions that could be weak next year if not successfully addressed either with existing players shifting positions or with additions via portal or recruiting. The are, in order of level of concern...
- Punter
- OLB
- OT
- Safety
- Wide Receiver
