Personally, I am bullish on our secondary. We all know that experience and depth matter in college football. We had neither in our secondary last year. You can't right off freshman--much less fr. safeties--based on year 1 performances (think Harrison Smith). And you can't assume that a unit can play at a high-level for 12 games without quality reserves. All that said, they were part of a 12-0 squad.
- Farley played incredibly well for a converted soccer-player, converted WR. He is an athlete from an athletic family. And he is so obviously very, very intelligent. I expect him to continue to step up his game in dramatic ways. In fact, I would not be suprised if he starts the rest of his career (I do think we will rorate more than we used to).
- Collinsworth seems like a potential D1 starter to me. He appears to have elite football intangibles (attitude, toughness, understanding to the game), even if he is not an elite athlete. He will force everyone in the unit to play tough nad smart if they want to beat him out. You are not going to go 85% knowing that the kid giving you a breather is Austin Collinsworth.
- Baratti was a true freshman last year who played all over the field in highschool, but played very little safety. He does, in fact, have pro-measuables. I see no reason to think he won't develop into a force back there, if he stays healthy. The fact that he played QB, WR, RB, and LB in high school is a very good sign, not a question mark- the coach wanted him in the action.
- Shumate seems to be like a more athletic Collinsworth. The sky is limit for him.
That is four I am very, very comfortable with, now that they have a year under their belts.
Then we have Max Redfield. Everyone in the recruiting world agrees he is a stud. I still think his playing time will depend on everyone's health. The guys ahead of him are great athletes with a year of the system under there belts. He could be a very good WR too, but I see Corey Robinson and Onuwalu already suprising people.
