#1: Which of the 4 former offensive starters are missed most?
King, just for his ability to affect the game with his feet and make something out of nothing.
But the real question is who will we miss the least? For me, that would be Braylon Jones. Don’t get me wrong, he has been a solid player as a right and left guard. He started all of 2017 it left guard and all of 2018 at right guard.
The move to center has been a difficult transition and his performance dropped. It is understandable, to a point, because it is a much different position that asks a lot more of a player. This is the guy making the pre-snap calls with the OL and he has to deliver the ball on target, then he has to get out and execute his assignment.
The most obvious struggle was getting the ball to the QB on-target in the Wazzu game. He was consistently inconsistent. Everything starts with the snap and when that disrupts the QB’s rhythm, it disrupts the timing of everything the offense is trying to do. The snap has to be something so routine that the QB should never have to think about it.
#2: Single out a player that has impressed you this season.
Grant Stuard.
His motor has never been in question. He has been flying around the field every time he has stepped on it since the 1st day he got here. Many times that flying around left him out of control and out of position but that has changed this year. Better coaching helps, go figure.
More often than not, he is where he needs to be and is still going 110 mph. He is far from the most talented player on the roster but he is a perfect example of a player and staff maximizing every ounce of talent he has.
The only thing I ask of a player is to give it everything they have and he is wildly successful at that. The only thing I ask from the coaching staff is to put players in a position to succeed and they have done a great job with Stuard.
#3: What’s your season record prediction today and why?
My predictions have always been my expectations. My expectation this year was 7-5 and a bowl win. That hasn’t changed.
I expected wins against Prairie View, Tulane, North Texas, UConn, SMU, Tulsa, and Navy. We dumped the Tulane game and still have 4 of my expected wins in front of us. Before the season I would have been surprised with anything less than 6 wins. Now, I still expect with win 7 but with the turmoil and an unsure QB spot, I will no longer be surprised if we miss a bowl game.
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