If we are lucky, we will have a few true impact fish. Some may play by sheer talent. Others by necessity. I trust the staff will be extremely aggressive in the portal, where will depend on who leaves by their own decision or by or "mutual agreement." From what we saw this year, here is my breakdown of assuredly where we I believe we will need help next year.
- RB - I'd be lying if I didn't say Owens' and Moss" injuries weren't concerning. Foot injuries are always worrisome to get back to 100%. I'm amazed he came back as soon as he did. Prayers for his continued recovery. Moss is fantastic when healthy, but he has been nicked a lot for us and he runs to contact...a lot. Prayers for him as well. A back in the portal to hedge is a lot to ask, so I think we'll have to ride with the fish if required.
- TE - Unquestionably a need in the portal again. TE are just too important in our offense. We need at least 3 serviceable ones to make this offense hum. Green is 100% Ag and a leader so praying for him to return to full health, too. Would not like to have to push Armstrong to field early as he requires some bulking up.
- WR - Really?! Do I have to even write this?! We need it all. Speed to take the top of the defense, slots who can run precise routes, 50/50 guys who can box out, but mostly guys who can run routes and get open, especially against tight coverage. We've got a couple of building blocks as solid possession guys if they stick it out, but we desperately need more explosiveness outside. I do like Bussey's development, though. Myles might push his way into playing time. Wish he was an EE.
- O Line - Really depends on who stays and who goes. We won't know that for a bit. I don't know how aggressively we go into the portal because truthfully I'm not sure how the staff feels about the 2s and 3s if we have to replace. I trust Coach Cushing to make the evaluations and shake them out. If not good enough, we hit the portal. I suspect we may look at tackles if Zuhn or Crownover test the waters, but could Rogers play early? Perhaps. Hard part. Portal guys want to be recruited to start. Understand that.
- D Line - Say it with me. Rebuild. And the way we played this year that's not a bad thing. No unit was more disappointing. Looking at what we need going forward, I'm going to do something I don't usually do...compare us to that hated school in Austin. Yeah, sorry Ags, gotta do it. There was a reason the sips were working so hard at flipping our fish DT signees. Yeah, that's right! It's because our fish look a lot more like them now and that's not a bad thing at all. Still, there is a lot of work to be done. I would be stunned if we didn't sign at least a couple of guys at DT and DE. Love our fish class! If they can learn the ropes without having to play a ton of snaps, that will be great.
- LBs - This is one of our position groups I feel best about going forward, though I really don't like how York was utilized this season. I just get the feeling he was pressing from game 1 trying to make every play and the schemes did little to help that. Scooby was a lot better than anticipated and our backups are very solid. I'm not sure we add in the portal. Maybe one hybrid. Our fish look great!
- CBs - Absolutely have to have at least one to flight corner in the portal. End of story. Probably need a nickel, too. We have an outstanding fish class, but let's not put that kind of pressure on them. Lee coming back helps even if he's not a # 1. A better pass rush would certainly help the back end.
- S - We've certainly got some players back there even if some had off years this season. That said, I wouldn't mind seeing us get one or two guys in the portal to help shore it up. Safety is a key position in our defense and we were really inconsistent there this year, both in tackling and coverage. Again, better pass rush will help. I really do like Davis. He's a monster hitter already.
