Nuthin better than getting your mojo back playing against Hankerchief Jr College of the blind and poor directional A & T. I think i like this part of the SEC schedule. 😅
In all seriousness. I'm going to be brief with the position groups today and spend more time on the 3 things i think are very important leaving this game. That said...gimme the W. It was needed and it was right on time.
QBs: jfa (still not quite ready to capitalize yet) has solidified his position as "the guy". Two things i really liked about his game irrespective of opponent. 1. He took care of the ball. 2. Had made a few big plays when presented (he missed 2 more). Both bode well for his confidence as we get closer to the end of the season. A lot of his success needs to be credited to JJF and the new qb coach. They're putting jfa in position to be successful. I noticed pretty early into the game that we'd literally gone back to Lebbys '22 and '23 offense and that was a clear vote of confidence to jfa that he's the guy moving. I also believe it helped the entire offense as the guys were able to rely on muscle memory. Add Hawks athleticism and we've got a solid cupboard of qbs. That said...anyone who believes jfa has now arrived is mistaken. Hes gotta take more advantage of plays schemed up well. He's still missing too much. GRADE: 79
RBs: short and sweet. Our RBs are much better athletes than Maine. They will get major props if they do it again next week. There is, however, something to be said about Barnes's noticeable improvement and vision...AND X Man could be something. He offers a different body for opponents. A 200 yard back is NEVER a bad thing. Im actually excited to see how 2 does next week. He does it again and I'll officially be a fan. GRADE: 88 Deductions for opponent and a fumble. Hey I'm a hard grade for an A.
OLINE: We'll focus on the youth movement here as they've given us some hope of improvement. ELP is gonna be a fan fave. He was literally one of the funnest guys to watch while in the game. Yes, he got a penalty, but he cleaned up the pile a few more times without penalty. And you could CLEARLY see he had the Maine guys distracted and "tattle telling" to the refs...guys that matters. Again, idc the opponent. You like to see your guys play physically and thru the whistle. The belly flop was CLASSIC. Autry has light feet and better feet than 58 and Ozeata is a solid second level blocker..............vs Jr College of Maine 😅. In all seriousness. Itll be fun to see if younger guys can get to the second level vs better comp. At least they look like they know what they're doing. Also Everett is needed. Hopefully he truly gets healthy. GRADE: 75 Youth movement gives me hope. Also see the same deduction the rbs got.
Wrs/TEs: Lets get this out of the way first. Addition by subtraction...salute to JJF for NOT featuring the TE position as his primary target 👌🏽. Hellofa self study and correction..seriously. There's no way in heaven 10 should be top 2 ,EVER again, in targets per game. With that out the way. Salute on a 100 yard game for a wr. 13 made the play (he almost dropped it 😬🫣) and the others were solid. I wish we could connect with Ragins or Thompson down the field one time. Both can run and are being wasted. GRADE: 79.
COACHING/SCHEME: Really smart to get back to an actual identity. As a unit the team looked cohesive and confident. Lebbys offense is much better than what we've thrown out there the last month or so. We have a plan and actual plays that compliment eachother. Also, the players look more confident and are playing faster. It'll be key to stay out of obvious passing downs as we head into the final 3wks. Im pleasantly surprised with JJF as an OC. I just hope we're committed to attracting the best possible candidate at the end of the season. JJF will have his chance to show his worth the next 3wks and potential bowl game. GRADE: 85. He def gets a curve 😅
DLINE: DTs are cooking. DEs are mid. Period. We should dominate the edge against a Jr College and we didnt. We schemed up some good pressures but did not impose nearly enough on the edge. I like our DTs vs almost anyone in America. Our DEs are "regular degular" if you ask me. Miguel has to coach them up. I want to see guys who 👀 SEC good play more and be effective. Thats PJ and Okoye. GRADE: 75
BACKERS: They were having fun. I noticed a few stronger fits by Stuts...which was really good. Kip was Kip. Mckenzie was a liability in pass coverage (Stuts likes covering grass too). Honestly, I couldn't see numbers well, but the backers were schemed into many 1 on 1s in run fits and did well. They all pretty much leave a lot to be desired in pass coverage. It's a tech issue if u ask me. Even in zone..backers have to declare by carrying seam routes and drags/overs while others pull the trigger and force the edge. It's a big weakness right now. GRADE: 75
DBs: Youth movement. Pups look good. Lil Bowen is probably our best db. Kids money in zone, man and forcing the edge in run support. His biggest attribute is recognition. He sees things quickly and pulls the trigger. Jacobe looks good out there and even though they hit him on the deep post. The qb read the coverage and threw the ball to the one spot to beat our coverage (Cover 4) deep middle as the safeties are robbing. Hardy is a guy i LIKE. He's my next RSJ. Next year when Peyton is high and RSJ is in the box...we will get even better. If Peyton isn't up to it..Hardy will give him competition. GRADE: 77 Two extra points as puppies are playing the best.
SPECIALS: Aside from a good run from Peyton that i believe got called back..they did what they were supposed to do. GRADE: 75
COACHING/SCHEME: I like our scheme. We're a little passive in places i think we should play more assertive, eliminating air on clear passing downs. However, i do believe BV and Zach understand our ends may not get home and that compromises our dbs in coverage..so i getit. We schemed up some solid stunts and run blitzes (zone blitzes). I liked seeing Stuts have better tackling technique, but we gotta see it against the big dawgs. GRADE: 76
FINAL THGTS...
1. Games like this are new. It'll be a good little data point to point to (pun intended) for the last 3 games IFF ('if and only if' for my non Science nerds) we show major improvements the next three games. We've basically NEVER had an FCS game this late in the season and my HOPIUM tells me this could provide confidence headed into a winnable game against Mizzou.
2. Youth vs Experience. The pups are, by in large, BETTER athletes than the older guys. Along the oline, at TE, in the secondary, I'd even say the RBs and DEs (RMT not withstanding). We are out of any "playoff" scenario and in my humble getting these guys ready to play is much more important than upgrading from the Sooner Mall Bowl to the Galleria Bowl. You're either in the tournament or the season was a growth lesson. We're clearly "growing" this season. With that Mizzou, Bama and LSU give us a great litmus test to see if our youth are going to be SEC good. Let them play alot. Screw that 5th year redshirt in an era where guys like DG can play 7 years for 3 different programs and guys like Key Lawrence can leave three really good programs like Tenn, OU and Ole Miss and still be talking about playing next year. The "here and now" is all that matters.
3. Identity. We have one. We'll see the best version of this team now. We'll see if our qb is the leader and winner we all hope he can be. We see if JJF is a diamond in the rough that can be a future piece. Fact is...aside from Stein...if JJF goes 3-0 and 30+ points to end the season and jfa becomes (JFA) again..you have to seriously consider him sticking around vs a Pitt, Penn State or Texas State unknown. I wouldnt have even considered this before last week. I'm also aware of the fact that I'm sipping a ton of HOPIUM, but let me do so this week. We'll address next week...next week. Get some of our stud wrs back...IE Gibson and Anthony plus the growth of the pups. Gimme ELP and Autry, plus portal upgrades on the oline. Gimme Tatum, XMan and yes Barnes and you have a solid supporting cast who's played a lot against top SEC talent going into next year. I firmly believe we are in much better shape today then we were 3 weeks ago. If we were in wk3 going into SEC play I believe we're much more competitive against a Tennessee wk 1 of conf play.
Here's to seeing if playing an FCS a week before the end of the schedule works. I certainly feel 🤏🏽 much better and am hoping we turn a page come next Saturday. We'll all be watching closely cheering for our inner locked OU.
#Boomer
