I agree with you that next year will be a transition period for the o-line, especially on the left side. In your opinion, why so on the back end of the defense? Unless I'm missing something, I don't think we lose anyone in the secondary. If anything, I think we could be better with Gilman probably being a starter and Allen will probably be ready to contribute as a true frosh.
Wimbush concerns me. His mistakes are because of his mechanics. Why are his mechanics still this bad when he's been in the system for 3 years now? If he hasn't fixed his mechanics in year 3, I'm going to expect him to magically fix everything by year 4.
But, at the same time, he is REALLY dangerous with his legs and I am not a fan of keeping your best athletes on the sideline. So what do you do with Wimbush? Keep riding him and hope he can get things right? Do you have him switch to running back or slot? He has a thick body, I think he could be a pretty good running back.
Because it transitions from a backend led by Coleman, Elliot & Studstill to one where Allen, Gilman, JGH, Robertson, Moala and Griffith are the prime movers. I think 2019's back end is going to be LSU worthy. Yeah... I said it.
Wimbush... Jury's still out for me. I hope the staff can figure it out becuase I don't question if he CAN do it, I question if he WILL do it. If you make me choose, I play him as of right now. I lock Long in the film room with Louisville's '17 & '16 films. There's a way to make BW a winner. He was 9-3 and stunk well... a lot of the time when dropping back.
First thing I'd do as a basketball mind is... I'd cut out a lot of the true decision making RPO's and use it as fakes to keep the LB's honest. Get him moving fast and take out the split second where he seems to struggle.
Passing wise: I'd go back to what BW is good at. Full 5 step drop and look for his receiver down field (in HS that was Minkah Fitzpatrick), if it's not there, if the TE hasn't worked back to the ball, take off and run. When BW looks confident and has proper footwork is when he has time and has dropped back like an old school QB. The deeper drop gives him separation from the line and lets him see more of the field and how routes are progressing then when it's time to run, he can see his lanes clearly and have time to choose the best one.
ND's RPO's always seem congested right behind the line. (For that reason, I actually like the way Book runs the RPO's because he's smart enough to not rely on his wheels. Boom boom go get your 5 -9 yards.) If BW has all the pieces in front of him with room to get started, he's most dangerous like a WR more than a RB. If part of your question is do I think BW could pull a Braxton Miller? Yep. If Phil was a freshman now, I'd 100% attempt that. If Phil was coming in as EE, I may have leaned that way depending if Phil clearly outperformed him in the spring. As it is, I'd rather have Phil get some mop up snaps before the Redshirt cutoff and then shelve him until the '19 season.