Recruiting needs - offense
Let's start up front - Tackles Zambrano and Asche with Pope challenging plus Gudaitis. G/C - it depends. Is Bussone going to play C or G? If Bussone is the Center, then Mueller and Rios at G. If Bromagen is the C, then I would look for Mueller and Bussone at G.
Looks good on paper but none of the players listed started every game. Drew Bones was the iron man on the O-Line, starting every game this year but he is gone. If the O-Line avoids the rash of injuries it had this year it could be substantially improved. I would take a player that could provide immediate help at G/C.
TE - We lose our top two (Taula and Deming) so we could take a transfer here but we do have TE's in the pipeline. Spaulding and Charles got some playing time this year. Presson looks like a good prospect. Is he a TE? H-back? FB? I'm including him with the TE's because there is playing time available here. We have more good prospects in reserve.
RB - It will be hard to attract a transfer RB because a healthy Mueller will be hard to beat out. None of the existing backs will overtake him. We'll go back to Mueller #1 and Wright #2 next fall and see how long they last.
QB - Zack Annexstad is the projected starter but I do not have the same feeling about him that I do about Mueller. Zack will need to compete for the job in the spring and summer. We should evaluate the progress of Tommy Rittenhouse and take a hard look at Valpo transfer Kaplan. The good news is that the QB position was much better in '22 than it was in '21, and it could improve again in '23. If we do take another transfer it is likely to be a young one like Kaplan.
WR - WR is a major recruiting need and I thought that before receivers starting heading for the transfer portal. Our top two receivers this year were Sobkowicz and Carr. Thankfully they are both coming back as of this writing. But both players have deficiencies. Carr doesn't have much length and his hands are only average. He can be deadly after the catch due his speed but it is not easy to get the ball in his hands. Sobkowicz has great hands, and he is surprisingly shifty, but his speed is average at best for a WR. He doesn't get much separation which explains why Zack frequently throws him back-shoulder passes. He's not really open so his best chance to catch the ball is to turn before the defender knows the ball is there.
Naturally we want a transfer that has it all. Size, speed, great hands, great moves after the catch etc. We'll probably only get some of that but I'm not giving up on the idea that we could get it all. If you're a WR at Alabama or USC do you know how many WR's you have to compete with? You could be a 4-star receiver behind 5-star guys. You've had the big school glory but you haven't been targeted nearly as much as you would like. You want an 80 catch, 1,000 yard plus season the NFL scouts will notice so you start looking at D-I schools that really need someone to step in and be the man. That's us.
Let's start up front - Tackles Zambrano and Asche with Pope challenging plus Gudaitis. G/C - it depends. Is Bussone going to play C or G? If Bussone is the Center, then Mueller and Rios at G. If Bromagen is the C, then I would look for Mueller and Bussone at G.
Looks good on paper but none of the players listed started every game. Drew Bones was the iron man on the O-Line, starting every game this year but he is gone. If the O-Line avoids the rash of injuries it had this year it could be substantially improved. I would take a player that could provide immediate help at G/C.
TE - We lose our top two (Taula and Deming) so we could take a transfer here but we do have TE's in the pipeline. Spaulding and Charles got some playing time this year. Presson looks like a good prospect. Is he a TE? H-back? FB? I'm including him with the TE's because there is playing time available here. We have more good prospects in reserve.
RB - It will be hard to attract a transfer RB because a healthy Mueller will be hard to beat out. None of the existing backs will overtake him. We'll go back to Mueller #1 and Wright #2 next fall and see how long they last.
QB - Zack Annexstad is the projected starter but I do not have the same feeling about him that I do about Mueller. Zack will need to compete for the job in the spring and summer. We should evaluate the progress of Tommy Rittenhouse and take a hard look at Valpo transfer Kaplan. The good news is that the QB position was much better in '22 than it was in '21, and it could improve again in '23. If we do take another transfer it is likely to be a young one like Kaplan.
WR - WR is a major recruiting need and I thought that before receivers starting heading for the transfer portal. Our top two receivers this year were Sobkowicz and Carr. Thankfully they are both coming back as of this writing. But both players have deficiencies. Carr doesn't have much length and his hands are only average. He can be deadly after the catch due his speed but it is not easy to get the ball in his hands. Sobkowicz has great hands, and he is surprisingly shifty, but his speed is average at best for a WR. He doesn't get much separation which explains why Zack frequently throws him back-shoulder passes. He's not really open so his best chance to catch the ball is to turn before the defender knows the ball is there.
Naturally we want a transfer that has it all. Size, speed, great hands, great moves after the catch etc. We'll probably only get some of that but I'm not giving up on the idea that we could get it all. If you're a WR at Alabama or USC do you know how many WR's you have to compete with? You could be a 4-star receiver behind 5-star guys. You've had the big school glory but you haven't been targeted nearly as much as you would like. You want an 80 catch, 1,000 yard plus season the NFL scouts will notice so you start looking at D-I schools that really need someone to step in and be the man. That's us.