When it comes to projecting the future, even speculating too much into the following season can be silly. Afterall, the preseason Top 25 rarely reflects the final rankings when everything's said and done. However, as I examine our roster, I see a lot of up and coming young talent that could proliferate into a National Title contending group by the time the 2017 season rolls around. Obviously a lot can change between now and then and it's hard to predict who's going to make the early jump into the NFL and who's going to stay for their senior year. But assuming the majority of our players decide to stick around for all four years, we could have an impressively loaded roster in about three seasons from now. Just see for yourselves:
Seniors in 2017 (* denotes player has already contributed meaningful snaps, ** denotes significant contributions):
C Thomas OserCB Terrence Alexander *DE Harrison Phillips *FB Daniel Marx *LB Kevin Palma *LB Mike TylerLB Peter Kalambayi **OG Dave Bright *OT Casey TuckerQB Ryan BurnsRB Christian McCaffrey **TE Austin Hooper **TE Eric Cotton *TE Greg Taboada *
Juniors[/B] in 2017 (both redshirt and academically who were rated as a 4-star or higher)CB Frank BuncomCB Quenton MeeksDE Solomon ThomasLB Bobby OkerekeLB Joey AlfieriOG Brandon FanaikaOG Nick WilsonQB Keller ChrystRB Bryce LoveRB Cameron ScarlettS Ben EdwardsS Brandon SimmonsS Justin ReidTE Dalton SchultzWR Trent IrwinAssuming the majority of our seniors return in 2017, not only will we be returning a ton of talent but a significant amount of experience as well (as evidenced by just how many of our projected seniors were able to contribute as freshmen). And even if just half of our highly rated 2015 freshmen/redshirt freshmen end up living up to their billing, we'll have a ton of depth as well. With the defense reloading in 2015 and the offense set to reload in 2016, it's hard to feel super confident in our ability to contend for the College Football Playoffs over the next two years. But given our promising up and coming talent, I'm really excited about what 2017 could have in store!
This post was edited on 3/17 6:08 PM by Card Tricks
Seniors in 2017 (* denotes player has already contributed meaningful snaps, ** denotes significant contributions):
C Thomas OserCB Terrence Alexander *DE Harrison Phillips *FB Daniel Marx *LB Kevin Palma *LB Mike TylerLB Peter Kalambayi **OG Dave Bright *OT Casey TuckerQB Ryan BurnsRB Christian McCaffrey **TE Austin Hooper **TE Eric Cotton *TE Greg Taboada *
Juniors[/B] in 2017 (both redshirt and academically who were rated as a 4-star or higher)CB Frank BuncomCB Quenton MeeksDE Solomon ThomasLB Bobby OkerekeLB Joey AlfieriOG Brandon FanaikaOG Nick WilsonQB Keller ChrystRB Bryce LoveRB Cameron ScarlettS Ben EdwardsS Brandon SimmonsS Justin ReidTE Dalton SchultzWR Trent IrwinAssuming the majority of our seniors return in 2017, not only will we be returning a ton of talent but a significant amount of experience as well (as evidenced by just how many of our projected seniors were able to contribute as freshmen). And even if just half of our highly rated 2015 freshmen/redshirt freshmen end up living up to their billing, we'll have a ton of depth as well. With the defense reloading in 2015 and the offense set to reload in 2016, it's hard to feel super confident in our ability to contend for the College Football Playoffs over the next two years. But given our promising up and coming talent, I'm really excited about what 2017 could have in store!
This post was edited on 3/17 6:08 PM by Card Tricks
