Seriously, I have no idea how the snaps get distributed here because there is seemingly a lot of talent (I have written that before and been wrong) and with the addition of the redshirt freshmen and other freshmen, how will the snaps break down? For this positional breakdown, I have definitely broken this down by class because it makes it that much easier for me to see. So, let’s begin with the seniors. I think for the most part, this offense will roll with at least 1 tight end most of the time and at least 1 running back, so that leaves 3 receivers.
Drae McCray s the first slot receiver and should start. That’s my guess. It would also seem clear that Kelly gets the other start. He had 61 receptions for 923 yards, averaging over 15 yards a catch, with 8 touchdowns. Also of note, he’s the exact height that I think the staff wants in a receiver. Not over 6’3″ and shifty enough to get around to get open. In my mind, Brown, Boyd, and Hocutt are all backups with Brown and Boyd probably getting more snaps than others. Brown had 22 catches for 256 yards while Boyd had 5 for 41.
- Drae McCray (5-9/185) | SR
- Brady Boyd (6-1/205) | SR
- Drew Hocutt (6-0/190) | SR
- Jordan Brown (5-11/185) | SR
- Josh Kelly (6-1/192) | SR – Washington State
Douglas was the big transfer from Florida and Morgan was lesser known from Central Missouri. Douglas probably had a ton of potential, but hasn’t been able to live up to it, largely because of injury. He’s only had 11 and 10 catches at Florida so he’s a bit of an unknown. I’m not personally ready to plug him into anything.
- Haydon Wiginton (5-11/195) | JR
- Caleb Douglas (6-3/200) | JR – Florida
- Price Morgan (6-0/170) | JR – Central Missouri
The only sophomore is Eakin and he got the start at the end of last year, but it seemed as if the coaches were done with Jerand Bradley, Loic Fouonji and J.J. Sparkman. My guess is that he’ll start, at least early, but we’ll see.
- Coy Eakin (6-2/210) | SO
The group of redshirt freshmen is the group we don’t know anything about other than their recruiting tape looked outstanding. These are all high-end athletes and although I expect some of them to play. Meeks is obviously the other slot receiver type, but Crest, West, and Valsin are all wideouts.
- D.J. Crest (6-3/195) | R-FR
- Aiden Meeks (5-10/175) | R-FR
- T.J. West (6-1/195) | R-FR
- Kelby Valsin (6-1/195) | R-FR
Hudson is the jewel of the class and the expectation is that he will start, but again, I don’t know that he’s guaranteed anything and Kelly and Eakin are likely to start ahead of him with McCrae likely getting the other spot. Johnson, Myers, and Turner aren’t slouches, but this is already a crowded field and if there is the expectation that they’ll get time, I don’t see how there’s that many snaps.
- Micah Hudson (6-0/193) | FR
- L.J. Johnson, Jr. (5-11/183) | FR
- Chandlin Myers (6-3/163) | FR
- Tyson Turner (6-2/190) | FR
From a returning production standpoint, things don’t look outstanding, but Kelly being in the fold, Eakin having a year under his belt, the redshirt freshmen having a year in the system, and Hudson on the way, things should work out okay. I don’t know how the slot will workout, that’s maybe my greatest area of concern, but my guess is that some of these guys will play both slot and outside.