It’s time we start breaking down each position as the season will be here in about 2 months. I don’t have any inside information, so these are mainly guesses on my part and if you take anything away from this, it’s the opportunity for a discussion.
Possible Starters:
Outside:
Kenny Johnson (6-1/200) Sr-Tr
Micah Hudson (6-0/200) Jr-2L
Donte Lee Jr. (6-3/185) Sr-Tr
Malcolm Simmons (6-0/180) Jr-Tr
I’m not exactly sure about the “how’s this gonna work?” aspect of this (i.e., who is going to be at X and who is going to be at Z), but after the spring we heard rave reviews about Kenny Johnson and Micah Hudson. Hudson has probably turned things on and I always get excited to see a guy turn things to 11. Just sort of a sign that he really wants this and whatever maturity issues he had, he’s ready to put past him. Johnson is a proven commodity and probably a bit under the radar. Last year for Pittsburgh, Johnson caught 48 passes for 695 yards, 14.5 yards a reception, and 5 touchdowns while returning 14 punts last year for nearly 13 yards a return. He basically put up those kind of numbers in an offense that really spread the ball around, they had 11 guys with 10 or more receptions and the leading receiver had 51. Last year for Liberty, a team that was 101st in passing offense, Lee caught 32 for 589, 18 yards a catch with 5 touchdowns. A bit more of a guy that’s going to stretch the field. The knock on Simmons is apparently maturity, he caught 25 passes for 457 yards, 18 yards a catch, and 2 touchdowns. That’s fine and Auburn wasn’t exactly an explosive passing offense. I don’t know anything about Simmons’ maturity issues, but there’s enough smoke there to believe that it’s a real thing. If Simmons decides to let those maturity issues continue then there’s plenty of guys ready to take his spot. I believe that.
Inside:
Coy Eakin (6-2/210) Sr-3L
Jalen Jones (5-8/180) Jr-Tr
This seems pretty easy. Eakin is the likely starter and I’d imagine that they spread him out all over the place. Jones will be a helluva change-of-pace and may be a revelation for this offense. Jones caught 51 passes for 1,167 yards, which is good for nearly 23 yards a catch, with 9 touchdowns. Granted, that was lesser than competition, but there’s a better than zero chance that he’ll be a pleasant surprise.
Tight end:
Terrance Carter Jr. (6-2/245) Sr-1L
Jett Carpenter (6-3/250) Sr-Tr
This also seems pretty likely. Having seen Carter up close, I think he’s at that 245 weight and just watching the video of the “day in the life” he’s pretty intent on being better about blocking and I think he realizes that he has to be better at it. He sems very motivated and that’s always a positive sign. At Nevada, they had the 127th passing offense, so they were very conservative and that meant that Carpenter probably saw a higher number of attempts than your average tight end. He caught 35 for 375 yards, nearly 11 yards a catch, and 2 touchdowns. Not great, but his best addition is being able to block.
Likely Back-Ups:
Outside:
Bryson Jones (6-3/195) So-1L
Leyton Stone (6-3/200) So-1L
Inside:
Tristian Gentry (6-0/185) So-1L
This is going off of memory here, but I think that Jones and Stone are outside guys while Gentry was inside. I think that Jones and Stone will be ready to step up if Simmons falters or if there’s an injury. I’m pretty confident in them. Not completely sure about Gentry, but he came into the program as an absolute stud and returned punts some last year.
Not Sure:
Michael Dever (6-1/195) Fr-RS
Quintaelyn Joyner (6-0/200) Fr-RS
Imari Jehiel (6-0/195) Fr-HS
Chase Campbell (6-0/190) Fr-HS
Kai Powell (5-11/180) Jr-Sq
Sometimes it takes time for players to figure out where they will be. I don’t see the staff as seeing players as static and they are pretty great about figuring out where they need to be. I’d also add that these guys are in no particular order. Quintaelyn is the younger brother of RB Quinten Jordan.
Tight End:
Matt Ludwig (6-4/255) Fr-HS
Jason Llewellyn (6-5/255) Sr-2L
Jack Esparza (6-4/245) Sr-Sq
Llewellyn is a back-up tight end, but he’s been a fantastic snapper since he arrived as a transfer from Oklahoma. The fact that you might not know he snaps or who the snapper is is a testament to how good he’s been. Ludwig was a late recruiting prize because of the coaching change at Michigan.