Next Year's Depth Chart

[Wishbone 0]

Does anyone have any idea how next year's two-deep depth chart will look? I think we will have a solid team. I think we will be more of a passing team next year. Will Trey Smith and Carl Stewart play at the same time or will we go back to using a fullback?

[AUHansel 0]

Does anyone have any idea how next year's two-deep depth chart will look?  I think we will have a solid team.  I think we will be more of a passing team next year.  Will Trey Smith and Carl Stewart play at the same time or will we go back to using a fullback?

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I'm not sure if Tre will even start. We've got Carl Stewart and Kenny Irons. They are both very good, and have size on Tre.

I think we will have a pretty solid team. I think we should be alright on offense. We will have some veteran receivers that have done a great job this year. Our line will change some, and maybe a lot. Ingle and Lindsey are gone, and maybe McNeill. If McNeill goes in the draft, they may struggle a little, but Leon Hart was a great recruit and will gain size in the offseason. The big question on offense is Cox. We know he has a pretty good arm, but he hasn't really had a whole lotta action thus far. He will have to do pretty well right off the bat because Ga Tech isn't a bad team, and they are first on our schedule. But he do have our first five games at home, so he gets a break, and will be able to gain experience at home and not in a hostile environment.

On defense we lose Carlos, Junior, Langenfield, Ratliff, Eddins, Graves, and Sowell.

we might struggle on the inside line a little, but the ends should be fine. Linebackers should be fine, as they all should return. The hard part is replacing Carlos and Junior. Not sure what they'll do with those positions. I know David Irons is spost to be pretty good. Ive heard some rumors of herring maybe moving to LB.

We do lose basically all of our best players, but we have some pretty good replacements. I'm sure that we should do alright next season, but I don't see near the same success with this years team. But we should finish in the top three in the SEC West. I think LSU will finish ahead of us and Bama has a chance to also. I think second in the SEC West will be our finishing spot next season. We should challenge for the West, but I think LSU beats us at their place next season. If we win that then I think we win the west. Bama will be a good team next season and they should be right on our heels. Our hardest games are all on the road, and only two of our last 6 games are at home, which sucks.

[PChamp119 96]

We are bring back one of the top receiving corp's in the nation - ALL OF THEM!

Our Freshman Defensive Ends were the sack leaders in the SEC and were All-SEC.

Travis and AT Williams are both returning.

Cooper Wallace is a great TE returning.

A power FB is returning.

And then some very good players in every other position but QB and RB. I know Kenny Irons looked great at A-Day, but that's different from the SEC and games on Saturday - so I'm still waiting on that one. Carl Stewart - I'm not sold on him yet either. He didn't really impress me as much as everyone made him out to be. I honestly thought Tre was the most impressive back at A-Day.

But a lot of the other positions - lineman especially - we had very good backups. The Secondary - with the exception of David Irons (from what I hear anyways) is going to kill us.

Overall... I predict next year's team will be similar to this year's Tennessee team.

[mcgufcm 4,096]

as far as a two deep i'll take a stab at it:

qb– brandon cox, calvin booker (although it may be blasphemy to say, this could be reversed)

tb– kenny irons, tre smith, brad lester

rb (ronnie back)– carl stewart, tre smith

fb– jake slaughter, mike mclaughlin

wr– devin aromashodu, ben obomanu

te– cooper wallace, cole bennett, kyle derozan

lt– marcus mcneil (he's gonna stay i think), leon hart

lg– ben grubbs, jarrod britt

c– steven ross, your guess is as good as mine (i think leon may actually find his way into the starting lineup here if he can man the spot b/c steven is going to miss spring, then you have cope, ward, and the frosh harness)

rg– tim duckworth, jonotan palmer

rt– troy reddick, king dunlap

wr– courtney taylor, james swinton

wr– anthony mix, lee guess

de– stanley mcclover, quentin groves (although he could start at the other spot too)

dt– wayne dickens, pat sims

ng– tj jackson, josh thompson

de– marquis gunn, chris browder

wlb– a.t. williams, montavian collier

mlb– travis williams, kevis burnam

slb– kevin sears, karibi dede

cb– david irons, lorenzo ferguson, patrick lee

ss– tony bell (just a personal opinion), eric brock

fs– will herring (i really doubt he moves), steve gandy (kevin hobbs was running number two here until irons got hurt and he moved so he could be back)

cb– montae pitts, anthony campbell, zach gilbert

none of that takes into account incoming freshmen breaking in for major pt. we're a little thin at linebacker so i expect at least a couple of those guys to play next year. defensive backs could also get a crack if they come prepared. there are a lot of bodies, but not a lot of experience in the corners (only pitts and gilbert have seen meaningful minutes, lee's time was garbage time).

offensively i'm the opposite from everyone else. i think we'll come out run heavy next year. it takes more time to grasp the qb position then running back. plus, all three of our guys have sec experience in meaningful games and two have started (irons and smith). i figure we let cox or booker slide into the job not chuck and duck from game one. i really like the guys on the oline if we can find some depth at center.

[JTTIGER 0]

I think that Auburn will sign Antoine Smith and he will see playing time his first year. I agree, Carl Stewart does not impress. Smith will bring much needed help to the RB positon if we can sign him.

[ezeskeezy 0]

Carl Stewart doesn't impress? Shoot...

[TrueBlue72 0]

Carl Stewart looks every bit as good at this stage in his career as Ronnie Brown did!!!! Some backs seem to hit the college game in full stride and others have to work into it; Stewart and Brown seem to fit the latter category. Cadillac was in the first category.

Stewart is a very versatile athlete, Tenn. decathalon champ, if I remember correctly, who plays RB. Borges will find a way to use that versatility to our best advantage. We have a solid core of returning RB's, with Tre and Kenny Irons leading the way, Stewart not far behind followed by freshmen Lester and Watson. Watson seems to have the most upside; he is short and sturdy looking with EXTREME speed (4.35) and may get some opportunities returning kicks if he handles the ball well.

I see that the coaches are making a push for Antone Smith of south Florida. He is one of the top five RB's coming out of HS in most analyses and is a Darren Sproles type of back, small with blazing speed and moves.

Just remember, the consensus after losing Dansby, Thomas, McNeil and Torbor to the NFL last year was that the defense would be weak this year. This year, we have a similar situation on both offense and defense, less experience, but lots of young talent. On offense, everyone now has one year in the Borges offense. I believe that we will be able to start just as quickly as we did last year with the limited playbook. On defense, do we lose any more this year than last? I don't think so!

I'm not predicting another 12 - 0; those are rare, but I believe we will have a solid season with a chance to play for the SEC championship if the breaks fall our way.

[AuNuma1 1]

Tony Bell at SS...I can't wait to see him play. I've heard a lot of good things about him. I saw him in Sam's the other day and man he's tall.

[AUloggerhead 2,227]

Carl Stewart doesn't impress?  Shoot...

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??? I don't know where that thinking comes from, either. He looks like a Ronnie Brown clone to me. Remember, Ronnie wasn't all that impressive as a redshirt freshman. It took him at least 2 years to start producing big time.

The key hole to fill on the offensive side are on the OL & at QB. Also, Borges still has aspirations to be a HC. He may get a call in the off season from some school willing to take a chance on him. I hope it doesn't happen. Cox & Booker will definately benefit more under his tutelage. Still, taking a team with essentially the same personnel from 8-5 to 12-0 will certainly turn some AD heads around the country.

On the defensive side, the front seven should be as good or better than this season. The secondary needs some major help. I see the same problem looming with Chizik that I see with Borges. That's the paradox with having top notch coordinators: you won't have them for long. WDE 12-0

[TrueTiger 0]

I think booker getst he qb job..

[AuNuma1 1]

TU21, were you on the sideline for the SECCG?

[PChamp119 96]

TU21 - i thought I saw you too (pregame I thought i saw you walking up and down)

Plus, did Tony Bell end up redshirting? I hadn't heard his name much after the first few games.

[AuNuma1 1]

I sat behind the bench but I don't think I saw him...you guys see Mayo throw SEC t-shirts into the crowd as soon as the game ended? I was on the opposite end of that row.

[rexbo 104]

The key offensively will be the line, if we open up holes and give Cox some time, Borges will find the right combination of passing and running to get the ball down the field, no doubt...

[AUHansel 0]

Just remember, the consensus after losing Dansby, Thomas, McNeil and Torbor to the NFL last year was that the defense would be weak this year.  This year, we have a similar situation on both offense and defense, less experience, but lots of young talent.  On offense, everyone now has one year in the Borges offense.  I believe that we will be able to start just as quickly as we did last year with the limited playbook.  On defense, do we lose any more this year than last?  I don't think so! 

I'm not predicting another 12 - 0; those are rare, but I believe we will have a solid season with a chance to play for the SEC championship if the breaks fall our way.

130415[/snapback]

the difference between this year and next will be the amount of seniors on the team. we lose a lot of seniors and all of our best players, so we won't have the same leadership that we had this year. also, having a qb like JC helps. he had a lot of experience and dealt with a lot of pressure.

[mcgufcm 4,096]

tu21, anything in particular make you think booker over cox? just wondering. and i'm not worried in the least about the line if marcus returns. nall has done a solid job from day one with that crew. he's got options, and he'll have those guys ready. the backfield is the question mark for me. you don't just go from a guy like jason to any other qb without some speed bumps. and you certainly don't lose caddilac and ronnie without losing something at running back. those two guys were amazing. if nothing else this year, they forced defenses to stack the line even after jason started ripping teams up. they were the ones that opened up our offense even though the numbers were down a little.

[AUTaxMan 0]

I think Tray Blackmon is an immediate impact player and will compete for a starting job next summer. He mentioned in an intereview yesterday that he hopes to start, but if he doesnt, he plans on seeing some serious playing time.