There's been so much crap being thrown around on the board lately by the proponents of one coaching candidate or another (and I took my turn as a relief pitcher in that series of "discussions") that I thought it might be fun to look at what the next coach (whoever that may be) will find when he looks at our guys on the first day of Spring Practice:
I think ANY of the last few coaches being mentioned as in the running, will think they have died and gone to heaven. Great facilities, great support from the public, alumni, donors and casual fans. Mostly though, GREAT players - much better across the board than what they left at their previous place of employment. Including:
1) Justin Herbert - one of the top QBs in the conference as an unheralded true freshmen.
2) An OL full of young but experienced talent that is growing together and just hitting their stride.
3) A corps of WRs that, regardless of who we recruit, has some receivers with size, speed, work ethic, tenacity and still young for the most part.
4) A young TE that showed WR skills catching the ball; but also blocked well enough to earn time when the veterans were healthy and available.
5) A group of RBs that could include a player touted as a Heisman hopeful, a young scatback that reminded fans of a former consensus AA.
AND we have some solid backups that (from watching games this season) conceivably could have started for the teams the new coach left behind: Wilson, Ofodile, Mitchell, McCormick, Crosby/Okun, Benoit and Griffin.
Our defense was atrocious at times. Sometimes it was even worse. But no matter how bad they played as a unit, some of the players still stood out:
1) Jelks/Hollins - a pair of WDEs with length and quickness who are young and will become VERY good.
2) Troy Dye and Jimmy Swain - a youngster and a veteran that both discovered themselves and turned into promising LBs we can build that corps around.
3) Kirby, Baker, Carlberg & Manu - 4 young DTs who showed flashes and can form the building blocks for the interior of the DL for a few years.
4) Ugo Amadi and Brenden Schooler - a true freshman safety and a sophomore cornerback that stepped up and became the steadiest players in our secondary. They will only get better.
Like on Offense, we had backups that show promise in: Bryson Young, La'Mar Winston, Keith Simms, Apelu, Briscoe, Hotchkins, Lovette, Springs, Oliver, Williams.
This is the foundation of a VERY good team. It's a group that faced major issues all season but, by the end, seemed to be getting their acts together. It's a group that most coaches taking over new teams don't find populating their depth charts.
Regardless of who is named as the new Duck Head Coach, they're going to be inheriting a MUCH better team than they first found at their last school. Larger challenges, too; but the talent and resolve - if lead correctly - to be successful.
And I hope they are. They need it and the kids deserve it. GO DUCKS!
