And this year is almost all swing games. Four easy wins, two should be losses, and six that can really go either way (two where we’ll be solid but not overwhelming favorites, two against talented teams with new coaches that could be anywhere from great to terrible, two against somewhat less talented teams that had top 25 seasons last year and played us down to the wire)
Even if we are exactly as good as we were last year, we are going to win a little more because: 1) We start off with Hooker behind center, which cost us at least 1 game 2) A more favorable schedule The measurement I am going to be making is how well the defensive weaknesses are addressed following Spring. It might not actually matter much now because of the size of the deficit there, but I want to see that the other side of the ball is not going to be neglected like some kind of Big 12 team.
Good. Spring Practice hype is the cotton candy of football. Tastes good, but doesn't do anything for you.
I think I've posted this here before. My two biggest concerns are that there were some trends on defense last year that made me nervous. Second, what if Heupel isn't as good as Pruitt with S&C. The injuries last year could be worse this year if that's the case.
not sure how good we were S & C wise under Pruitt because we got shoved around and had few speed threats. We are definitely in better shape on offense with the tempo. Still though seems most injuries were ankles getting rolled up on which doesn’t really have much to do with S and C. Defense for sure had issues with pressure and on 3rd down where teams saw what we were doing and picked us apart or just ran the qb. I don’t care how thin you get, quit leaving an lb by himself vs spread formation and a center free to get to him at the snap. He doesn’t even have to block if he’s in the way, easy 10 yard gain
The S&C turnaround from Butch to Pruitt was noticeable. Players that are getting whooped are more likely to get injured I think. Not sure if that would include ankles but I imagine it could. It might not be the S&C program but the Heupel system--more reps for both offense and defense.
