need to take note of what we see happening with LHCBS 2.0. Love listening to the nay sayers go into their same rhetoric (were they really RP supporters who still haven't come to their senses?) about the 2 and 3 star recruits.
If you go back and look at my post history you will see I am no purple glasses guy but I have to tell you that I see the sea starting to part again. Lets look at our big weaknesses from last year. Dline and QB. Clearly the bodies are either being brought in or moved to the right position to start to address the issues that kept our D from being able to stop even the Little Sisters of the Poor. Bill unlike RP understands how to get the most out of his roster. Moving Allred is a great one IMO and indicative of two things. 1)the Oline is in better shape in Bill's opinion than most think on this board and 2)(captain obvious)the Dline needs depth and quality upgrade. Simply getting the two returners plenty of rest to keep the quality of the snaps they do take up is huge but as Hatter has already noted, competition really does improve kids. Nothing like knowing the coaches have targeted your position with player moves and heavy recruiting to make most kids hit the offseason workouts harder to keep their position. I expect to see a better Kibble/Guidry next year. They showed periods of decent play but seemed to wear out by year end. Not surprising as minor injuries really start to wear on interior guys especially if they don't have good depth to keep their snap count down.
Looking at some of the new recruits at DE and DT the possibilities for seeing some quality depth emerge is exciting. Watching us collapse in the last half of the season to me really rotated around not having enough depth at Dline to let us play a straight up D all game. For example when Kirk was at DT the LBs were having to deal with OLine getting to the second level and you end up trying to overcompensate with either D play calling and/or players start 'reaching' outside their assignments. I can see some of the young DE types moving to DT if they aren't quick enough for D1 play in the open field. 20-30 Lbs addes to Seau and Hunter for example and we all of a sudden have big athletic DTs in the future. Would be great if they were D1 DEs but they have upside either way. I know a bit about Hunter and I am optimisitic that kid leaves KSU in five years as one outstanding DT. I look for him to RS and get bigger. Kid is the right type mentally for Bill's system. We may find by his senior year that we look back and say he was the gem in this class.
The QB situation is almost as good. Klein is smart and a worker. Bill has a track record with these type of kids. Think Brian Cavanaugh with much better wheels. Tuggle IMO will make huge strides this summer. What little I get from the inside ----most of my sources have dried up with minor exceptions---says that he is determined to be ready to beat out Klein by the fall. I fall in the camp on Sams that think he makes the field this year but not at QB. Bill knows he needs another bowl season to continue the growth and he will give up a RS if he thinks a kid will give us enough plays for an additional win. He is far more careful than RP however I will say RP was correct that recruiting is helped when kids know they can play ASAP. What little I hear on the recruiting pitch is that KSU is now talking that way to kids with some exceptions---mostly Olineman.
All in all if you aren't optimistic now you are simply someone who looks at the glass as half empty---each to his own but regardless the process is taking place and at least this year when you watch us take the field we are beginning to look like a team that belongs. I had a long time D1 coach tell me that if you really wanted to know where a program was at look at the 2nd and 3rd stringers. If you see some kids who could play D1 at some level (instead of D2) not getting on the field you had a roster that was ready to compete. The walk on level has clearly picked up. No more signing a Juco Defense intact ala the NEO signing LOL.
Snyder's at his best when he has 4 things, IMO... 1) a vertical passing game or at least a serious threat of it, 2) quality players/depth at the DL, 3) solid corners, 4) solid depth everywhere.
I think he's much closer this year than when he started at #'s 2 and 4. Number 3 may occur this season and it would be aided if Darious Thomas returns (there is still a possibility that may occur IMO). I think the vertical passing threat for this team is just not there.
Defensively, if it doesn't improve significantly this season then I'm completely assured Cosh needs to get out. I gave him a half-hearted pass last season due to lack of depth, experience, and some playmaking ability. He'll have enough this year to make significant strides..if that doesn't take place he needs to go some place far away or at the bottom of tuttle creek. He has some good players coming into the program and, of course, Arthur Brown has the capability of being a major playmaker. It should NOT be a piss poor defense this year.
Overall, Snyder was in a non-stop great mood this spring. It's obvious to see he really likes the direction of his program at the moment.
