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This team returns a veteran offense made almost exclusively of Seniors that will be able to put points on the board. The defense has a lot of young players, but has good speed, and should improve as they gain experience. Thus, on paper, they are about as good as last year's team was before all the injuries. Next year, however, is likely to be a big step down due to especially heavy losses, particularly including almost the entire offense.  Here is a look at the Seniors that need to step up: Offense - Basically the entire first string except center is a Senior          Tyler Tettleton - QB           Beau Blankenship - RB           Ryan Boykin - RB          Tyler Knight - TE           Troy Hill - TE           Alex Asher - TE           Anthony Talbert - TE            Mario Dovell - WR           Donte Foster - WR           Matt Waters - WR           John Prior - OT           Ryan McGrath - OT           Jon Lechner - OG           Sam Johnson - OG Defense - Defense has some very good Seniors, too           Travis Carrie - CB            Jamil Shaw - CB            Xavier Hughes - S            Keith Moore - LB            Nic Barber - DE            Ty Branz - DE The last time a team was this senior-dominated was 2006, a team that over-achieved. I think this team can over-achieve, too, because I think the defense will keep improving and be surprisingly good, and I think the offense will not stop pushing for points. Next year, though, I expect a bit of a decline, when these guys are gone, before beginning another cycle of stronger and stronger teams from 2015-2017.  Let's win it all this year! Last Edited: 8/1/2013 6:12:37 PM by L.C. “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” ― Epictetus Back to Top RSBobcat General User Member Since: 8/22/2010 Location: Columbus, OH Post Count: 4,437 Status: Offline     RE: This has to be the year    Posted: 8/1/2013 9:18:53 PM  L.C. wrote:  and I think the offense will not stop pushing for points. We might actually try to put points (or more points) on the board when we get the ball w/time left on the clock before end of half?????? RS Bobcat Back to Top Doc Bobcat General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Post Count: 4,280 Status: Offline     RE: This has to be the year    Posted: 8/1/2013 9:39:01 PM  Well said L.C. For me it hinges on the correct answers to a multitude of questions.  Some are obvious.  Some concern underclassmen.  Some I'm not sure about cause I don't know what they are. Here are some: Will we stay healthy? A big duh on this one as we saw what happened last year.  I'm not as concerned as last year since we seem to have more depth. What will the defensive line do? I'm lookin at Kendric Smith and Kurt Laseak to be game changers here.....I also like newcomer Terrel Basham.....great name by the way. What happens if Crutcher goes down? Not wishin this on anybody.....love the kid....he likes my buddy G-man so he can't be bad.  But who can help and fill in if necessary?  Purdum has a great motor.  The keys for me are Tautuaki and McCloud (there can be only one)....if both wash out we could be hurtin for certain. Will Ben Russell step up at MLB? I think he will......that makes Moore a monster OLB. Will we have the playmakers like the Indy Bowl? Cochran just outran people.  Hill in the promos looks like a TE TD mochine.  Waters can get open and who knows....a redshirt or true freshman could surprise. Will one or both of OUr new TE's produce? Talbert had a nice bowl game for NC State and Asher from NC had an unbelieveable high school career....just came thru his hometown and Tommy Jefferson's....Charlottesville VA. Do we have a kicker? Sure we have a punter....if somebody frikkin blocks....hardy friggin har.  But field goal guys......we have quantity....but do we have quality....who wins?......the Okie State guy....the Syracuse guy?....the Zanesville guy?....or the Albany guy?.....stay tuned. I have more....maybe later. Last Edited: 8/1/2013 9:50:39 PM by Doc Bobcat Back to Top L.C. General User Member Since: 8/31/2005 Location: United States Post Count: 10,497 Status: Offline     RE: This has to be the year    Posted: 8/1/2013 10:17:03 PM  Depth - I think that the depth last year was fine, until the injuries, but the number of season ending injuries was more than I have ever seen. You just never expect to lose half you starters. Most years you lose 1-2 starters. If this year is back to normal.... Defensive Line - I agree that this is the big question mark.I think it will be fine, and the players you mention will step up. Even if the defense does give up some yards/points, I think that in most cases the offense will outscore the foe.  This year will also be a great test for the new defensive line coach. I think he'll pass. Playmakers - there is no question that there are plenty of playmakers. Add Sebastian Smith, Landon Smith, and Jordan Reid to your list as players I expect to make an impact. I don't think comparisons to the Indy Bowl are apt though. I don't expect any foe to repeat the mistake that L-Monroe made. They won't jam the safeties up on the run, and they will keep them back to support the corners on deep passes. That, in turn, will cause Blankenship and Boykin to eat a chunk at a time. Still, from the foe's perspective, which is worse? Giving up 5 yard chunks to Blankenship, or 50 yard chunks to Cochran/Dovall/Foster/Smith/Smith/Reid, etc? TEs - You are right that TE is the biggest mystery on offense. I don't think there is a Jordon Thompson, but I think they will be fine. K - From the reports I read here, several of the kickers are doing fine. I think they will end up picking the best of a good lot. He may not be Weller, but he will be fine. Last Edited: 8/1/2013 10:17:45 PM by L.C. “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” ― Epictetus Back to Top Doc Bobcat General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Post Count: 4,280 Status: Offline     RE: This has to be the year    Posted: 8/1/2013 10:33:43 PM  L.C. wrote: Depth - I think that the depth last year was fine, until the injuries, but the number of season ending injuries was more than I have ever seen. You just never expect to lose half you starters. Most years you lose 1-2 starters. If this year is back to normal.... Defensive Line - I agree that this is the big question mark.I think it will be fine, and the players you mention will step up. Even if the defense does give up some yards/points, I think that in most cases the offense will outscore the foe.  This year will also be a great test for the new defensive line coach. I think he'll pass. Playmakers - there is no question that there are plenty of playmakers. Add Sebastian Smith, Landon Smith, and Jordan Reid to your list as players I expect to make an impact. I don't think comparisons to the Indy Bowl are apt though. I don't expect any foe to repeat the mistake that L-Monroe made. They won't jam the safeties up on the run, and they will keep them back to support the corners on deep passes. That, in turn, will cause Blankenship and Boykin to eat a chunk at a time. Still, from the foe's perspective, which is worse? Giving up 5 yard chunks to Blankenship, or 50 yard chunks to Cochran/Dovall/Foster/Smith/Smith/Reid, etc? TEs - You are right that TE is the biggest mystery on offense. I don't think there is a Jordon Thompson, but I think they will be fine. K - From the reports I read here, several of the kickers are doing fine. I think they will end up picking the best of a good lot. He may not be Weller, but he will be fine. If one or two of the WR's  you mentioned  steps up we will be hard to beat. Back to Top L.C. General User Member Since: 8/31/2005 Location: United States Post Count: 10,497 Status: Offline     RE: This has to be the year    Posted: 8/1/2013 11:42:12 PM  Doc Bobcat wrote: If one or two of the WR's  you mentioned  steps up we will be hard to beat. I happen to think all three will step up, and you'll have seven receivers that will be making plays. Foster, Cochran, Waters, Dovell, Smith, Smith, and Reid. I think the offensive line will be as good as last year, and you combine those receivers with a running threat from Blankenship/Boykin/Daz, a true fullback in Edmond, some decent tight ends, and a healthy Tettleton, and they will be putting points on the board. Teams will not be able to load up on the run. They won't be able to sit back and double cover the best receiver. They will just have to play honest defense, and try to hope their playmakers cover our playmakers. “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” ― Epictetus Back to Top C Money General User Member Since: 8/28/2010 Post Count: 3,420 Status: Offline     RE: This has to be the year    Posted: 8/2/2013 8:01:42 AM  Landon Smith was tearing it up last year before he.....survey says.....got injured. No reason he can't pick up where he left off. My biggest concern on offense is converting red zone trips to touchdowns instead of settling for field goals. And that's not an indictment of whoever winds up our kicker....it's just a simple mathematical fact that 7 > 3. Seems like during the Theo/Franshaw days, we were fantastic at that. I don't think it's T^2's fault we aren't doing it as well now, and I don't know that it's playcalling either. If the O can put the points on the board like they're capable of doing, I'd like to see an attacking defense. I don't mind getting burned a few times, especially with a high-scoring offense, if we can generate some sacks/turnovers. Back to Top Robert Fox General User Member Since: 11/16/2004 Location: Knoxville, TN Post Count: 2,039 Status: Offline     RE: This has to be the year    Posted: 8/2/2013 8:04:16 AM  L.C. wrote: K - From the reports I read here, several of the kickers are doing fine. I think they will end up picking the best of a good lot. He may not be Weller, but he will be fine. I hear our kickers are getting special training through the summer, above and beyond ordinary practice time. I'm confident we'll get a solid kicker out of the effort. Back to Top Kevin Finnegan General User Member Since: 2/4/2005 Location: Rockton, IL Post Count: 1,163 Status: Offline     RE: This has to be the year    Posted: 8/2/2013 9:40:52 AM  It seems obvious to say, but it also depends on which Tettleton is playing. I think it's obvious that he was injured even after he returned from sitting out the Norfolk State game. In retrospect, he may have been better served for sitting out UMass and Buffalo as well, but at the time, nobody could've known that. Breaking the season into two sections, there's the first three games against Penn State, New Mexico State and Marshall where Tyler was somewhat healthy. He then missed the next game with injury (Norfolk State) but returned to play more apprehensively against UMass, Buffalo, Akron, Miami, EMU, BGSU, Ball State, and Kent State. Then, after a long break, he once again came back healthy against Louisiana-Monroe in the bowl game. In his four healthy games, T2 was 80-121 for 1112 yards. That's 9.2 yards per attempt. In rushing, he had 134 yards in only 27 carries, an average of 4.96 ypc. In these games, he was sacked a total of 2 times. That's 2 sacks in 123 dropbacks (not counting the rushes that were to elude the pass rush), for an average of a sack every 61.5 attempts. In his eight games played while injured, Tyler was 148-246 for 1732 yards. That's only 7.0 yards per attempt. Even more glaring, in the rushing dept, he went for only 110 yards in 93 attempts, a measly 1.18 ypc. In these games, he was sacked a total of 20 times. That's 20 sacks in 266 dropbacks (again, not counting the rushes), for a sack every 13.3 pass attempts. His health is of utmost importance. For him to be completely effective, he needs to be the dual threat. He also needs to be willing to put air under the ball, a la the first quarter of Louisiana-Monroe. Back to Top Monroe Slavin General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Oxnard, CA Post Count: 9,121 Status: Offline     RE: This has to be the year    Posted: 8/2/2013 9:50:14 AM  Next year will be the year also, as guys get experience and recruiting keeps going up. Where's the band?! WHERE"S THE BAND?! DesignspiritUSA.com The Pets On The Go Collection of pet gear travel bags The Holiday Tote Bigg Bagg Collection--over-sized, reversible, extra pockets; now love carrying packages as much as you love shopping! Back to Top Bcat2 General User Member Since: 7/6/2010 Post Count: 4,295 Status: Offline     RE: This has to be the year    Posted: 8/2/2013 6:03:25 PM  L.C. wrote: If the Bobcats are going to win a MAC championship, this has to be the year. This team returns a veteran offense made almost exclusively of Seniors that will be able to put points on the board. The defense has a lot of young players, but has good speed, and should improve as they gain experience. Thus, on paper, they are about as good as last year's team was before all the injuries. Next year, however, is likely to be a big step down due to especially heavy losses, particularly including almost the entire offense.  Here is a look at the Seniors that need to step up: Offense - Basically the entire first string except center is a Senior          Tyler Tettleton - QB           Beau Blankenship - RB           Ryan Boykin - RB          Tyler Knight - TE           Troy Hill - TE           Alex Asher - TE           Anthony Talbert - TE            Mario Dovell - WR           Donte Foster - WR           Matt Waters - WR           John Prior - OT           Ryan McGrath - OT           Jon Lechner - OG           Sam Johnson - OG Defense - Defense has some very good Seniors, too           Travis Carrie - CB            Jamil Shaw - CB            Xavier Hughes - S            Keith Moore - LB            Nic Barber - DE            Ty Branz - DE The last time a team was this senior-dominated was 2006, a team that over-achieved. I think this team can over-achieve, too, because I think the defense will keep improving and be surprisingly good, and I think the offense will not stop pushing for points. Next year, though, I expect a bit of a decline, when these guys are gone, before beginning another cycle of stronger and stronger teams from 2015-2017.  Let's win it all this year! Good list of fifth and sixth year seniors. To sweeten the pot there are 17 RSJrs or Jrs. Lots of grown men and experience. "Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men." JFK Back to Top L.C. General User Member Since: 8/31/2005 Location: United States Post Count: 10,497 Status: Offline     RE: This has to be the year    Posted: 8/2/2013 7:11:17 PM  Bcat2 wrote: Good list of fifth and sixth year seniors. To sweeten the pot there are 17 RSJrs or Jrs. Lots of grown men and experience. That relatively small Junior class is the result of the weaker 2010 Recruting class, which started as a small class, but got smaller when several players left (jamal Tarrat, Kyle Snyder, Joe Stefanski, Blake Jones, and now Bryce Dietz). Really, all that is left of the 2010 recruiting class is seven players, Mark Smith, Nathan Carpenter, Brandon Atwell, Josh Kristoff, AJ Grady,  Chase Cochran, and Thad Ingol. It's that gap in recruiting that will lead to a drop in expectations next year. “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” ― Epictetus Back to Top TWT General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Alexandria, VA Post Count: 5,171 Status: Offline     RE: This has to be the year    Posted: 8/2/2013 11:22:02 PM  L.C. wrote: Bcat2 wrote: Good list of fifth and sixth year seniors. To sweeten the pot there are 17 RSJrs or Jrs. Lots of grown men and experience. That relatively small Junior class is the result of the weaker 2010 Recruting class, which started as a small class, but got smaller when several players left (jamal Tarrat, Kyle Snyder, Joe Stefanski, Blake Jones, and now Bryce Dietz). Really, all that is left of the 2010 recruiting class is seven players, Mark Smith, Nathan Carpenter, Brandon Atwell, Josh Kristoff, AJ Grady,  Chase Cochran, and Thad Ingol. It's that gap in recruiting that will lead to a drop in expectations next year. From the perspective of how this program has traditionally rolled on the backs of 5th year seniors I say you would be correct.  There are a lot of great bobcat names in their final year. Dovell and Foster were from the time when Ohio first started pumping out talent receivers like hot cakes. They've shown up in the stat sheet for a very long time. Tettleton has played in two MAC Championships and led the program to victories in 2 bowl games. He's in the top 3 of all time Bobcat QB's along with Cleve Bryant and Kareem Wilson. The program is going to have to step back from exceptional QB play to good QB play unless we have another T2 in the wings. Will there be enough strength up front across the OL and DL to deliver another 9-10 win season out of the MAC in 2014?  Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended 2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round 2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl 2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086 Back to Top perimeterpost General User Member Since: 7/6/2010 Post Count: 3,165 Status: Offline     RE: This has to be the year    Posted: 8/2/2013 11:38:40 PM  If I'm reading this roster right we'll have 25 red shirt juniors next year? That's a lot of players with 3 years in the system. MY STATE. MY TEAM. Back to Top TWT General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Alexandria, VA Post Count: 5,171 Status: Offline     RE: This has to be the year    Posted: 8/2/2013 11:45:07 PM  Monroe Slavin wrote: Next year will be the year also, as guys get experience and recruiting keeps going up. Normally Ohio is a heavy load for MAC teams to handle in the trenches. The spread pistol also is not easy to defend with the bobcats a serious threat running and throwing the ball. This program is used to winning and its filled with guys who have won a lot of football games. Its a major disappointment to drop a game against competition from outside of the Top 25. Five years ago the sense was that once in a while being Ohio we were due for a bad game. Even in a good year in the past dropping an inexplicable game was predictable. Most of the MAC East outside of us would be classified as a darkhorse team that has some legit FBS talent but would need to get hot in November to have a chance. Ohio brings its C game in November and its enough to win the division.  Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended 2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round 2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl 2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086 Back to Top TWT General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Alexandria, VA Post Count: 5,171 Status: Offline     RE: This has to be the year    Posted: 8/2/2013 11:48:08 PM  perimeterpost wrote: If I'm reading this roster right we'll have 25 red shirt juniors next year? That's a lot of players with 3 years in the system. To go along with 17 red shirt seniors in 2014. Frank has found a way to keep the team veteran in perpetuity. Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended 2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round 2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl 2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086 Back to Top Showing Replies:   1 - 16  of 16 Posts Jump to Page:   1 View Other 'Ohio Football' Topics                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               WHO'S ONLINE There are 211 Active Visitors on BobcatAttack.com 211 Guests 0 Registered Users There are no other users looking at this page.

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