QB: Golson, Rees, Kiel, Hendrix, Zaire.
Plain and simple. Golson is our future, Rees is a great "closer" and Kiel.. akward situation for him. I would like to see Hendrix leaves the team, honestly. I just think he is a very good player and he can be the starter in another good university, i feel bad for him sitting in the bench without any chance to play.
RBs: Bryant, Mahone, Atkinson, Mcdaniel.
Very hard to make a prediction here because the competition is absolutely open. First of all, there are different players. The only pure RBs are Bryant and Mahone. Atkinson is an Athlete, Folston & Carlisle can play in the slot too and Mcdaniel can play anywhere.
Atkinson got an excellent straight line speed so i would love to see as a Wideout, i'm not a big fan of him at the RB position. Folston or Carlisle, one of them, will play in the slot full time, i'm 100 percent sure. Mcdaniel can be move to another position but i would love to see some carries for him next season (and not in the garbaje time).
WRs: Daniels, Jones, Smith, Brown, Ferguson.
Well, the starters here are Jones and Daniels, i think we all agree in this one. Then we got the curious case of Justin Ferguson, he plays a lot of snaps in Dublin and then he disappears the rest of the season. Chris Brown is "rare" but with one year of experience, more frame and mature, he will be fine, its all about development in his case. Not expect a lot of Daniel Smith, good in his blocking duties but no more. We will see if some freshman can have any impact.
TEs: Niklas, Koyack, Welsch.
The year of the truth for both, Niklas and Koyack. Niklas played OL in his HS days, OLB in his freshman year and now Tight End. He is a monster and he can run, he needs time but he will be fine, i think. I'm not expect another Fasano, Rudolph or Eifert but i got trust in him. Koyack was the best TE in the country in his HS days but doesnt look like that in his first two years. I think they can develop a good chemistry, Niklas more a blocker and Koyack as a catcher. We will se if Welsh can see the field, he was injured last year but he looks like another Dan Mccarthy or Tyler Stockton, a ghost. I expect good things with Smythe and Heuerman too.
OL: Martin-Watt-Heggarty/Hanratty-Lombard-Stanley.
I think Martin is one of the best LTs in the college football, top 3-5 in his position. His stock is not too high because he's undersized but he is a beast from the blind side, he dominated every game this year. Watt is a lock on the LG and the C position i think is another very open competition with a lot of names involved.
In the right side, i would like to see Lombard as a Guard, i think he is a more natural guard than tackle. In the RT i would like to see Stanley, looks very good in tape. But i think we will see Nick Martin at the RG position and Lombard as a RT. I expect some Montelus when Chris will gone.
DL: Tuitt-Nix-Day
Nix in the middle with Springmann as a backup, anyway i think Springman is better at DE position, i remember Jarron Jones in his HS days as a NT, but in the roster he is listed as a DE. Tuitt and Day as a defensive ends, i think Day is more of a three-technique in a 43 but i hope he does well. Hounshell looked good in his freshman year so i think he will be a good addition this year after his injury. I'm in love with Isaac Rochell, beast in the run defense, love his disruptiveness and he plays with leverage, he will play as a freshman. Jarron Jones is the mistery here and i would like to see Ishaq Williams as a DE. Too big to play at the Cat position, i think he can be a excelent pass-rusher off the edge, something like Corey Lemonier at Auburn with 255 lbs.
LBs: Smith-Calabrese/Fox-Grace/Moore-Shembo
Not big fan of Spond, i think he is just good in coverage but average at best in the other areas. Jaylon needs to be the starter since the first day. I'm curious with Councell too, listed as a starter in Dublin and then he disappeared. In the cat position obviously Shembo is the boss and i think Okwara will see a lot of field (specially if Ishaq plays at DE).
The middle is maybe the worst unit in South Bend without Manti. Honestly, i don't got a lot of trust in Grace or Moore. Grace was a DE/OLB in his HS days, mid-low ranked player and we dont see him in two years, i dont know why but i think in him and i remember Anthony Mcdonald. Moore sounds like another Steve Filer type player, a good special teams player, we hear good things about him but at the end of the day he never plays. In the other hand you got Fox/Calabrese, two average players at best. I'm truly feel that Joe Schmidt can fight for playing time, a Walk-on.. I dont see enough level in the middle.
Safeties: Farley/Shumate
If Slaughter doesnt back and Farley remains as a starter, we can see a big fight for playing time. Shumate, Baratti, Collingsworth, Hardy and others fighting. I think Shumate is the most complete, he can hit hard and he feels confortable playing in the box against the run but as a nickel we saw that he is good in coverage, i like him a lot. I think Baratti and Collingsworth can be along with Shumate the favourites, looks like Hardy, Turner or badger are behind this guys. Also i dont know why but i think Redfield will end as a WR.
CBs: Jackson/Russell
Locks. I would like to see another CB playing some snaps (like when we played with Walls, Gray and Blanton) but looks like Jalen Brown and Josh Anderson are "out". We will see if Lo Wood can contribute after his terrible injury and if Luke specially and Butler can do the same.
