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Lets Talk 2023

S

stingthemgood

Active member
Lets start to get into season mode...

Obviously QB is the main discussion that everyone wants to have. We have all contemplated if the two-QB system is a "Sac State" thing from here on out, or if there will be one guy who takes the reigns. Bobby made the two QB system work as the QB coach -- but we all are guessing if we know what his offensive philosophy will be as he has been running Taylor's offense for a long time and I can't remember what he ran at Christian Brothers when he was in charge. I think we will see a lot of Taylor's stuff, don't get me wrong, but Bobby's wrinkles (which I assume will be more deep ball forward given the speed and skill at WR we retain) will be interesting to see.

My take on the QBs

Kaiden has amazing athletic ability - none of us can question that. He hasn't gotten a true in-game opportunity since 2018 - and his travels we all know about. If he can be consistent with his mechanics and deliver the ball on time to this group of receivers, I think he is the sole QB we need. There are doubts -- a lot of Folsom's passing attack in 2018 was throw a screen or slant to Joseph Ngata and watch him run over and past everyone -- but he's had a couple years with Troy and Bobby and I have faith in Bobby to dig down and find the best in Kaiden.

Camp is interesting as the biggest take away I can give you from watching 2022 game tape on him is that his o-line was terrible, and he was forced to make a lot of backyard plays with his wideouts while throwing on the run. There are a few nice balls he threw when they max-protected where you can see a glimmer of his pocket skill - but I think the coaching staff has had to really work hard on the clock in his head in the spring. He's an absolute wild card with arm talent from multiple slots and some illusive speed (not game breaking speed like Bennett)

Hale runs a mean read-option and has since HS. He's an athlete but if he's in the game, I don't think he's a threat to throw a super deep ball. He is our most accurate passer, but probably has to stick to throwing at half the field at a time. There are places in the Big Sky and around the country where I think he could start -- but I think he's a solid third choice in this room. He has been seen taking handoffs and running routes - so I think he'll be involved in the offense in some wrinkles that Bobby might be cooking up.

I get Saffron vibes from Carson Conklin - he'll redshirt and then might have a chance to lead this team for 3 seasons and be something special.


Roster Addition to Note

Kaleb Higgins - former Folsom Bulldog who spent two years at Cal but did not see the field in two seasons. Was on Cal's Spring roster as well (#28). Was a consensus 3 star out of HS -- was listed as a CB for Cal but we have his as a Safety -- might be in the conversation to play NB this year (right now O'Hara, Pollard and Puloka are listed at NB - Pollard continues to put on weight for the position and I think his future may be bright there)
 
Interesting comment on QB’s. Personally I think Camp sees real playing time as I think we kept defenses off balance and that was an edge.

There are a few new roster additions so it will be interesting to see. I noted some deletions as well. For instance, we now have 2 punters but only 1 kicker, no back up. Not good for sure.

Bigger concern for me is what is the philosophy? Are we hammer down all 60 minutes and play to win or do we back off and play to not lose?

We have the tools do something special again this year.
 
Intriguing note on Higgins. Injured at CAL or just buried on the depth chart? He has decent size at 6’2” 200+, I wonder if the coaching staff might see him in the Mapu role eventually…

I agree with your QB outlook. I think Kaiden has potential to take job and run (literally) away with it. But, Camp will almost certainly get a decent look, and if Bennett is struggling with accuracy, he should be given a shot. If Conklin is Safron 2.0, that would be amazing. Been watching Hale since DLS days and love his burst and toughness, and quick throws. Hopefully we see him all over the field in 23.
 
Another big transfer has landed....

Jason Oliver played in 12 games at Colorado as a true freshman - mostly special teams but did get some action at Cornerback. Listed 6'0" 175.

Sharing #12 with Onterrio Smith, Jr.
 
Also don't remember if we've talked about Anderson Grover, but the former Washington State WR will be wearing #26 listed at 6'3" 195. Five catches and a TD last year.
 
DIII Transfer Ashton Moultrie is on the roster. Was a HS teammate of Fulcher. Had transferred to DII Newbury last year but didn't play for the 9-2 Wolves
 
Tough in the scheme we run to only have 3 QB's on the roster. We have seen the injury bug bite us at QB before, but not for a long time. Hopefully it doesn't catch us this year.
 
Good comments on this upcoming season.

Maybe the total domination of the BSC these past three seasons has made me delusional, but I'm not concerned about the QB situation. The fact that we have some good talent vying for the starting role(s) and that we retained a quality coach that has proven capable of developing talent leaves me at ease with our situation. Solid, consistent QB play gets us a 4th straight BSC title.

Looking at the offense as a whole, we lost some key guys but we are still stacked. 4 starters on the offensive line return (another reason I'm not overly concerned with the QB situation), a damn good RB in Fulch, arguably the best TE in the BSC in Martin, and a handful of WRs that have proven they can get the job done. The reality is the QB just needs to take care of the ball and the talent around him will ensure the Hornet offense is in the upper tier of the BSC again.

Defensively there are some holes to plug, but it wasn't a dominant unit last season, it was more of a clutch unit that came through when it mattered most. If the Hornets can improve at DE (need more sacks/pressure this season without a blitz) this can be a better unit than a year ago. Bailey is going to be a load at LB and with a few guys returning in the secondary, we shouldn't see a huge drop off.

My biggest concern, and this is not a troll, is at kicker. For those of us that were around in 2011 when our kicking game was so horrid that we gave up attempting PATs, you can understand why this is atop the list. Both place kickers are new to the roster and while it would take some effort to be as bad as that 2011 kicking performance, you just never know how this will pan out come game time.

As a team, yes there will be some growing pains early on but ultimately the soft schedule will allow the Hornets room to make some early mistakes without costing us wins. Statistically it's nearly impossible to improve on the numbers from a season ago, so technically there is no where to go but down. However, we've proved that we own this conference now. Barring a rash of injuries to key players, my prediction is that we earn a 4th straight BSC crown.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. :king:
 
SDHornet said:
Good comments on this upcoming season.

Maybe the total domination of the BSC these past three seasons has made me delusional, but I'm not concerned about the QB situation. The fact that we have some good talent vying for the starting role(s) and that we retained a quality coach that has proven capable of developing talent leaves me at ease with our situation. Solid, consistent QB play gets us a 4th straight BSC title.

Looking at the offense as a whole, we lost some key guys but we are still stacked. 4 starters on the offensive line return (another reason I'm not overly concerned with the QB situation), a d@mn good RB in Fulch, arguably the best TE in the BSC in Martin, and a handful of WRs that have proven they can get the job done. The reality is the QB just needs to take care of the ball and the talent around him will ensure the Hornet offense is in the upper tier of the BSC again.

Defensively there are some holes to plug, but it wasn't a dominant unit last season, it was more of a clutch unit that came through when it mattered most. If the Hornets can improve at DE (need more sacks/pressure this season without a blitz) this can be a better unit than a year ago. Bailey is going to be a load at LB and with a few guys returning in the secondary, we shouldn't see a huge drop off.

My biggest concern, and this is not a troll, is at kicker. For those of us that were around in 2011 when our kicking game was so horrid that we gave up attempting PATs, you can understand why this is atop the list. Both place kickers are new to the roster and while it would take some effort to be as bad as that 2011 kicking performance, you just never know how this will pan out come game time.

As a team, yes there will be some growing pains early on but ultimately the soft schedule will allow the Hornets room to make some early mistakes without costing us wins. Statistically it's nearly impossible to improve on the numbers from a season ago, so technically there is no where to go but down. However, we've proved that we own this conference now. Barring a rash of injuries to key players, my prediction is that we earn a 4th straight BSC crown.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. :king:
Click to expand...

While a dropoff wouldn't surprise me, I do share a lot of the same feelings as you, SD.

Last year whenever Bennett, or even Hale came in, the offense still pretty much moved the ball at will (even if it was garbage time). Granted there were probably a few more procedure/false start penalties, etc., you could see that the machine was well-oiled regardless of signal caller. The biggest factor for success this year as a team will be Fresques' ability to step in to the play-caller role. Taylor brought innovative and predictably unpredictable formations and schemes. Will the well run dry, or has Fresques sponged up enough of the Taylorisms to take the ball and run with it?

I think the defense takes a step forward that the rest of the conference doesn't see coming this year. Of course we lose Mapu, but this is a skilled and experienced group with the core DL, LBs, and DBs and coaching staff all returning.
 
SDHornet said:
My biggest concern, and this is not a troll, is at kicker. For those of us that were around in 2011 when our kicking game was so horrid that we gave up attempting PATs, you can understand why this is atop the list. Both place kickers are new to the roster and while it would take some effort to be as bad as that 2011 kicking performance, you just never know how this will pan out come game time.
Click to expand...

There are three kickers on the roster, not two. Nick Clegg, as mentioned in the other thread, was a late add who decommited from McNeese State --- all signs point to him being the real deal. Highest rated kicker recruit we've had on the roster since Juan Gamboa

https://twitter.com/nickclxgg/status/1627755555183001602?s=20
 
Serious Question here.

Your take on coaching staff? Lot of Twitter sportswriters post that people are underestimating Taylor’s ability to pull out the W, and though they are saying talent still there but coaching staff does not have the same skills.

My thought is Defense will remain the same, probably improve so 50% is like unchanged, other than talent improved. I think he only occasionally stepped in here, when a foot to backend was needed.

Offense. Was Taylor only one calling plays or was he taking input from Bobby since he was in the booth? Did TT have a much bigger hand in coaching QB’s? Will the offense have same edge to it? More smash running mixed in?

Thoughts?
 
stingthemgood said:
SDHornet said:
My biggest concern, and this is not a troll, is at kicker. For those of us that were around in 2011 when our kicking game was so horrid that we gave up attempting PATs, you can understand why this is atop the list. Both place kickers are new to the roster and while it would take some effort to be as bad as that 2011 kicking performance, you just never know how this will pan out come game time.
Click to expand...

There are three kickers on the roster, not two. Nick Clegg, as mentioned in the other thread, was a late add who decommited from McNeese State --- all signs point to him being the real deal. Highest rated kicker recruit we've had on the roster since Juan Gamboa

https://twitter.com/nickclxgg/status/1627755555183001602?s=20
Click to expand...

I missed that. Good to know we have a proven D1 kicker on the roster. That removes that as a concern for this season.
 
HornetHope said:
Serious Question here.

Your take on coaching staff? Lot of Twitter sportswriters post that people are underestimating Taylor’s ability to pull out the W, and though they are saying talent still there but coaching staff does not have the same skills.

My thought is Defense will remain the same, probably improve so 50% is like unchanged, other than talent improved. I think he only occasionally stepped in here, when a foot to backend was needed.

Offense. Was Taylor only one calling plays or was he taking input from Bobby since he was in the booth? Did TT have a much bigger hand in coaching QB’s? Will the offense have same edge to it? More smash running mixed in?

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I know a little about how that all worked while TT was at Folsom and "officially" the co-head coach. What I don't know is if they kept everything 100% in tact at Sac State. My guess is that they mostly did. While TT was the ultimate play caller, he, Richardson, and Fresques were extremely tight and worked together as a team. They made decisions as a team. Fresques learned a lot from TT's playbook on how to mentor QB's and run offenses. And of course Bobby, too, was a QB himself.

It's been well chronicled that TT was very hands off regarding the defense. He allowed Andy Thompson full autonomy over it. While he was the brainchild and ultimate decision maker of the offense, I'm fairly confident he accepted a fair amount of input from both Bobby and Kris.

That's why I'm confident this well-oiled machine is going to continue to roll. Just like at Folsom, TT built up a sustainable model at Sac State.

I also believe he began deferring a lot of the day-to-day QB mentoring that he was famous for over to Bobby years ago. We'll find out soon enough whether Bobby can succeed on his own. While there may be some bumps in the road, I believe Bobby has been properly prepared and is ready for the challenge.
 
HornetHope said:
Serious Question here.

Your take on coaching staff? Lot of Twitter sportswriters post that people are underestimating Taylor’s ability to pull out the W, and though they are saying talent still there but coaching staff does not have the same skills.

My thought is Defense will remain the same, probably improve so 50% is like unchanged, other than talent improved. I think he only occasionally stepped in here, when a foot to backend was needed.

Offense. Was Taylor only one calling plays or was he taking input from Bobby since he was in the booth? Did TT have a much bigger hand in coaching QB’s? Will the offense have same edge to it? More smash running mixed in?

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Bobby was a big part of the game plan during the week - but focused on the QBs during the games and Taylor called the plays. But, the game sheet was Bobby and Taylor with a sprinkling of Richardson. I am not worried about the game plan - I am worried about adjustments to the game plan. Taylor was also not a fan of scripts -- I think Bobby likes them a bit more from conversations with him in the past. I think we might be back to scripted starts for the first time since the Sperbeck area. Not saying its a bad thing, persay.
 
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