2018 Wildcats

[CoralSpringsCat]

My biggest concern is replacing at the same level of excellence, Tyler Lancaster....I thought NUs ability to stop the run led by Lancaster,,helped them make up for their other deficiencies and for the most part not have to outscore anyone to win as well as help contribute to the great play of Joe G and Paddy Fischer.

I think JT will be the one to replace Lancaster’s level of excellence...he and Gaz were outstanding in the MCB. We’ll just need someone to step into the level of JT this season...there are plenty of candidates (as outlined here). With so much young talent, DL is the least of my worries.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Really? I don’t recall thinking my that but I don’t pay Much attention to star ratings. Perhaps they clued in after his stellar senior season.

You might be thinking of his brother Alex Miller who was woefully undervalued himself being our second lowest rated recruit in 2016.

 

[corbi296]

You might be thinking of his brother Alex Miller who was woefully undervalued himself being our second lowest rated recruit in 2016.

I remember alex being ridiculously low but I thought Sam was only a mid pack rated recruit.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Will Devon O'Rourke be ready to step in as a true freshman?

No idea, but hopefully we have an abundance of talent there and Devin can use the redshirt year to get even stronger. Either way, he is going to be a good one.

 

[BleedingPurple15]

We'll be good next year, but I'm not sure that our record will reflect it. The schedule becomes at least twice as difficult next season than this season.

 

[Hungry Jack]

I remember alex being ridiculously low but I thought Sam was only a mid pack rated recruit.

Sam was briefly a 4 star on Dennys. His rating faded a bit, prolly because he committed early and left the circuit. But I remember watching his junior tape of him moving like a cat at 250lbs and thinking we had a real gem.

 

[Catbeast]

Are we going to be better? Worse?

Gotta think the D will still be pretty nasty. Just becoming a perennial strength now under Hank. Our backers are going to be awesome. We lose Lancaster, which is huge, but our DL depth is pretty strong. Gaziano is going to be a terror and we have a ton of ridiculous DE depth. I like Jordan Thompson and we've rotated in a bunch of bodies at DT that I am not to worried that someone will step up. Lose a ton in the secondary though - Igwebuike, Quiero, McSheppard (not to mention Watkins), though we did get a lot of reps with the underclassmen given the injuries. Will be interesting to see who steps in at the other safety opposite McGee and I guess it will be Mayo or Williams (maybe Bullock?) opposite Hartage.

Offensively - well you have Clayton, who assuming comes back strong from injury, will hopefully finally blossom into that senior QB with all the skills and intangibles. We lose JJTBC, but I'm not worried at all with Larkin and Moten succeeding. The OL hopefully improves *shudder* with 4 starters returning (having to find a center to replace North) and most of our WRs are back, including hopefully Jalen Brown. Gotta think the offensive actually improves next year.

Could we win the West and even the B1G next year?

Questions in the secondary are the biggest IMHO, magnified by a new coach there.

What say the rest of you?

I don’t know whether we will get better or worse

I think what everyone needs to keep in mind is that the West will be getting much tougher because of better head coaches.

Frost will likely make Nebraska much tougher a la UCF.

And Purdue is getting stronger too.

I think Fleck will succeed at Minn, say what you will about his style.

All this means is that for NU to continue to beat its West bretheran and contend for BIG 10 championship, what will Fitz do to make us fundamentally better???

New facilities. Ok, good. But other schools have this too. I’ll argue we will be at parity. Stadium still stinks.

Recruiting? How will we get better players? 4 and 5 stars? More of them?

Coaching and Development? Fundamentally what is happening here?

I’d argue unless recruiting and coaching get fundamentally better, we won’t see Indy soon. Worse, we may fall in the West because others are determined to get stronger and pass us.

Hope I am wrong in this analysis.

 

[pawildcat]

No one is offended. Just trying to make the point that Miller is a really good DE and is likely to get much better with a year of playing experience under his belt and another full offseason of work on technique/weight room. In my opinion he already is a much better DE than Ifeadi ever was and has the potential to be better than Dailey or Wotton.

Agree. The kid is already good, and based on our pass results on the defensive line I seem no reason not to expect him to be even better over the next couple of seasons.

 

[scru]

I don’t know whether we will get better or worse

I think what everyone needs to keep in mind is that the West will be getting much tougher because of better head coaches.

Frost will likely make Nebraska much tougher a la UCF.

And Purdue is getting stronger too.

I think Fleck will succeed at Minn, say what you will about his style.

All this means is that for NU to continue to beat its West bretheran and contend for BIG 10 championship, what will Fitz do to make us fundamentally better???

New facilities. Ok, good. But other schools have this too. I’ll argue we will be at parity. Stadium still stinks.

Recruiting? How will we get better players? 4 and 5 stars? More of them?

Coaching and Development? Fundamentally what is happening here?

I’d argue unless recruiting and coaching get fundamentally better, we won’t see Indy soon. Worse, we may fall in the West because others are determined to get stronger and pass us.

Hope I am wrong in this analysis.

So, you would prefer Frost, Fleck or Brohm and their staffs over Fitz and his? I wouldn't. He has established a winning culture in the program and is getting the facilities to match. He's getting players that fit the program model regardless of their stars. They buy in, are coachable, and want to contribute to achieving new heights. They are also true student athletes. NU may not challenge for B1G championships regularly, but the team under Fitz looks like it will make regular bowl trips and have opportunities when the ball bounces right to vie for a crown. That works for me!

 

[NJCat]

So, you would prefer Frost, Fleck or Brohm and their staffs over Fitz and his? !

Yes, No and Yes. Two of those staffs look really solid. Fleck is a clown.

 

[TerraCat]

Actually Sam Miller was our second highest recruit for the entire 2017 class behind Ernest Brown. One of the services had Miller as a 4 star. Our 3 highest recruits were all DL in 1) Brown, 2) Miller and 3) Kent.

Were Brown and Kent redshirted this year? Why isn't Brown in the conversation for next year? Didn't he come in with a lot of hype?

 

[corbi296]

Yes, No and Yes. Two of those staffs look really solid. Fleck is a clown.

LOL.

 

[SciCat]

Yes, No and Yes. Two of those staffs look really solid. Fleck is a clown.

Frost and Brohm would fail miserably at NU, and I’m pretty sure you’d be at the forefront of the calls for their departure.

 

[BigNUFan51]

I don’t know whether we will get better or worse

I think what everyone needs to keep in mind is that the West will be getting much tougher because of better head coaches.

Frost will likely make Nebraska much tougher a la UCF.

And Purdue is getting stronger too.

I think Fleck will succeed at Minn, say what you will about his style.

All this means is that for NU to continue to beat its West bretheran and contend for BIG 10 championship, what will Fitz do to make us fundamentally better???

New facilities. Ok, good. But other schools have this too. I’ll argue we will be at parity. Stadium still stinks.

Recruiting? How will we get better players? 4 and 5 stars? More of them?

Coaching and Development? Fundamentally what is happening here?

I’d argue unless recruiting and coaching get fundamentally better, we won’t see Indy soon. Worse, we may fall in the West because others are determined to get stronger and pass us.

Hope I am wrong in this analysis.

I’d argue that a more competitive Big Ten West could actually improve our chances of achieving the goal of a Big Ten West Title. Have you seen the conference record for Wisconsin since Chryst got there? Something really special is going on in Madison.

As far as evaluating the 2018 outlook I’ll wait until I hear the prognosis on Thorson.

 

[NJCat]

Were Brown and Kent redshirted this year? Why isn't Brown in the conversation for next year? Didn't he come in with a lot of hype?

Brown played but was pretty ineffective. Needs to bulk up.

 

[BigNUFan51]

Yes, No and Yes. Two of those staffs look really solid. Fleck is a clown.

Fleck is a really good coach who is killing it on the recruiting trail. He managed to sign the top JUCO QB in the country who is apparently he real deal.

Frost is also going to be a big time thorn in our sides for a long time. Brohm is a great coach, but I don’t see him staying in West Lafayette for the long haul.

 

[NJCat]

Frost and Brohm would fail miserably at NU.

Why?

Brohm took a lousy team and coached them up to win a bowl game. He had much less talent than a typical NU team and worked miracles.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Fleck is a really good coach who is killing it on the recruiting trail. He managed to sign the top JUCO QB in the country who is apparently he real deal.

Frost is also going to be a big time thorn in our sides for a long time. Brohm is a great coach, but I don’t see him staying in West Lafayette for the long haul.

He better be killing it on the trail because they looked brutal in Evanston this year.

 

[SciCat]

Why?

Brohm took a lousy team and coached them up to win a bowl game. He had much less talent than a typical NU team and worked miracles.

It takes more than just being a good coach to succeed at NU.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Suddenly there are some pretty good coaches in the B1G West (or in Fleck’s case, recruiters).

Oh, and then there’s that guy in Champaign.

 

[BigNUFan51]

He better be killing it on the trail because they looked brutal in Evanston this year.

So did Franklins Lions the first year they played us.

Fleck IMO is the 2nd best coach in the conference. He’s real deal.

 

[SciCat]

So did Franklins Lions the first year they played us.

Fleck IMO is the 2nd best coach in the conference. He’s real deal.

Hmmm. Sounds like you’re trolling.

 

[pawildcat]

So did Franklins Lions the first year they played us.

Fleck IMO is the 2nd best coach in the conference. He’s real deal.

He might very well be good, but I'd wait a couple of years before anointing him the next messiah. He's in the big leagues now.

 

[NJCat]

He might very well be good, but I'd wait a couple of years before anointing him the next messiah. He's in the big leagues now.

Job #1 should be to find a QB. The guy last season was pathetic.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

Sam Miller is going nowhere. He will play DE opposite Gaz and they will form the best DE duo in the Big Ten next year. These guys REALLY GOOD.

Good defensive line. We need CT healthy. I love our kicker also.

 

[BigNUFan51]

Job #1 should be to find a QB. The guy last season was pathetic.

The kid he brought in from the JUCO ranks is very highly regarded.

 

[NCRNU71]

Job #1 should be to find a QB. The guy last season was pathetic.

Their QB also left the program after the season ended.

 

[NJCat]

Their QB also left the program after the season ended.

That's why I said it was Job #1......

 

[pawildcat]

Brown played but was pretty ineffective. Needs to bulk up.

That was a pretty small sample size on Brown.

 

[DaCat]

Brown played but was pretty ineffective. Needs to bulk up.

Likely he will get a good opportunity next year. Gaz, Samdup Miller, and Goens played more, but after that it is up for grabs. Assume Mark Gooden, Tommy Carnifax, Trevor Kent, and Devin O'Rourke will also be in the mix for DE. Maybe they move someone inside.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Likely he will get a good opportunity next year. Gaz, Samdup Miller, and Goens played more, but after that it is up for grabs. Assume Mark Gooden, Tommy Carnifax, Trevor Kent, and Devin O'Rourke will also be in the mix for DE. Maybe they move someone inside.

Would lay odds that Carnifax moves inside for 2018.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

Will Xavier Washington be back?

 

[Deeringfish]

Will Xavier Washington be back?

I think I read that he will not be back.

 

[Deeringfish]

No idea if we'll be better or worse, but a 10-win season is always tough to top.

Will have to see if, for starters, Fitz's head doesn't implode due to having to open at Purdue on a Thursday night.

I don't think Fitz will mind the Thursday night opener. Any other week it is a problem because it screws up the weekly routine and give one team only four days to recover and prepare but in this case you have all summer to prepare for the opener and extra days to prepare for game two. I think it is a real advantage for week two guys are not yet used to the bumps and bruises of live play and will have two extra days to recover and two extra days to prepare.

 

[Deeringfish]

Candidly, Godwin did not have his best season. I thought Kyle was the more consistent and reliable safety this year and perhaps throughout his career. As far as next year goes, I have very few concerns about our defense. Pace is a star in the making and McGee has been a reliably good player. We have a lot of talent and depth at CB. The only concerns I have may be lack of established depth at DT and safety. If we stay healthy overall and particularly at those positions, the defense will be dominant.

I got the feeling that teams were playing away from Godwin and 1) he got a little bored 2) he tried to be involved which took him out of position. I could be wrong about that but he was so highly acclaimed and we had all those injuries. Why wouldn't teams plan to attack the weaker parts?

 

[Deeringfish]

We'll be good next year, but I'm not sure that our record will reflect it. The schedule becomes at least twice as difficult next season than this season.

While I agree that the schedule appears more difficult, the up side is when we do win it is not just a W for NU, it is a Loss for a top competitor. What would the result of hanging on to our lead at Wisconsin have been? We would have been undefeated in the West and Champion based on head to head competition. You just can't be the best unless you beat the best and you can't beat the best unless you play them.

 

[corbi296]

I got the feeling that teams were playing away from Godwin and 1) he got a little bored 2) he tried to be involved which took him out of position. I could be wrong about that but he was so highly acclaimed and we had all those injuries. Why wouldn't teams plan to attack the weaker parts?

I think it was more a function of him wanting to show that he could be the leader of the defense and in so doing tried to do too much. He was caught out of position a lot this year biting aggressively on play action fakes and coming off his main responsibilities to help others.

 

[Deeringfish]

I think it was more a function of him wanting to show that he could be the leader of the defense and in so doing tried to do too much. He was caught out of position a lot this year biting aggressively on play action fakes and coming off his main responsibilities to help others.

I could see that too and with all the injuries and so many younger guys playing, I could imagine a guy thinking it was up to him to make up the difference. Which can mess up the bigger team picture.

 

[willycat]

It takes more than just being a good coach to succeed at NU.

I'll just ask, has NU not had a coach that was a "good fit"? I'm not talking about just wining but previous coaches like Ara, Alex, Green and even Venturi and Peay were good guys. So I would think that Brohn and Frost would fit fine.

 

[DaCat]

I'll just ask, has NU not had a coach that was a "good fit"? I'm not talking about just wining but previous coaches like Ara, Alex, Green and even Venturi and Peay were good guys. So I would think that Brohn and Frost would fit fine.

The point is how successful, and for how long, would the other coaches be? Fitz is unique because of his success as a player, his uncurbed enthusiasm for the university as an alum, and his success as coach for the past 11 years.