Well Hello, Folks. Its been a while. I have to admit, i haven't followed too much of your team, and am sad to see that y'all are struggling. We too have had our troubles of late and are hoping to see at least some positive signs.
In the preseason, I really thought we had enough talent to BEAT Alabama. Our first Fresno State game brought me down to earth, disappointingly quickly but we nevertheless bounced back, reeling off four straight victories. Then Louisville cut down our BCS dreams and from there, its been mostly downhill.
The things that have crippled our season, is losing our two top starting corners, one to a season ending injury, the other decided to play baseball at another school. In their place, a couple of true freshmen have seen extensive action, but at times have been overmatched. This has ultimately caused us to have probably the worst pass defense in the country. Another factor holding us back was running back Paul James injury. Before he got in injured against Arkansas, he was on pace to having a TERRIFIC season. But his leg injury kept him out up until two weeks ago, and he still isn't 100%.
True Freshman justin Goodwin backs him up, and had a breakout game against SMU, rushing for 149 yards. Savon Huggins has also contributed, and has run hard, when given the opportunity.
Most RU fans are down on quarterback, Gary Nova, but I still believe in him, and think he can have a bounceback game against UConn. Up until the Louisville game, Nova was playing GREAT! After that game, Novas play has gone into the tank, and not surprisingly, so has our season. The thing is that Nova can be effective, when we have a running game. Without a running game, Nova tends to press and ultimately make mistakes. Our tight end Tyler Kroft has been somewhat of a revelation, and he is probably our best tight end since Clark Harris who is now in the NFL. As a group the WRs have been disappointing as a whole, as I expected them to be more dominant. But they have performed exceptionally well in games against SMU and Fresno State. Leonte Carroo is developing into one of the best wrs in the country. Brandon Coleman might be playing sundays next year, but i'm hopeful he will come back for another year.
The defense has been beset by a number of injuries, transfers and the NFL draft. Middle Linebacker Steve Longa is one of the best LBs in the country, and has been especially productive this year, as he is our leading tackler. Jamal Merrill is our SAM, and he was somewhat slowed down by injury. Kevin Snyder is been especially strong against the run, but sometimes struggles in pass coverage. Our DL has been progressively getting better, but still has a ways to go. Its led by three technique tackle Darius Hamilton, who is the son of former NY Giants football great Keith Hamilton. DE Jamil Merrill has been hurt by injury, but thankfully, NT Isaac Holmes has been able to avoid the injury bug. Djwany Mera is the other end. Lorenzo Waters and Tejay Johnson or Jeremy Deering are the safeties.
Looking forward to seeing this weeks game and speaking with you. Last tine i visited the RENT, it was a house of horrors for us, so this time, i'm hoping for something significantly different.
In the preseason, I really thought we had enough talent to BEAT Alabama. Our first Fresno State game brought me down to earth, disappointingly quickly but we nevertheless bounced back, reeling off four straight victories. Then Louisville cut down our BCS dreams and from there, its been mostly downhill.
The things that have crippled our season, is losing our two top starting corners, one to a season ending injury, the other decided to play baseball at another school. In their place, a couple of true freshmen have seen extensive action, but at times have been overmatched. This has ultimately caused us to have probably the worst pass defense in the country. Another factor holding us back was running back Paul James injury. Before he got in injured against Arkansas, he was on pace to having a TERRIFIC season. But his leg injury kept him out up until two weeks ago, and he still isn't 100%.
True Freshman justin Goodwin backs him up, and had a breakout game against SMU, rushing for 149 yards. Savon Huggins has also contributed, and has run hard, when given the opportunity.
Most RU fans are down on quarterback, Gary Nova, but I still believe in him, and think he can have a bounceback game against UConn. Up until the Louisville game, Nova was playing GREAT! After that game, Novas play has gone into the tank, and not surprisingly, so has our season. The thing is that Nova can be effective, when we have a running game. Without a running game, Nova tends to press and ultimately make mistakes. Our tight end Tyler Kroft has been somewhat of a revelation, and he is probably our best tight end since Clark Harris who is now in the NFL. As a group the WRs have been disappointing as a whole, as I expected them to be more dominant. But they have performed exceptionally well in games against SMU and Fresno State. Leonte Carroo is developing into one of the best wrs in the country. Brandon Coleman might be playing sundays next year, but i'm hopeful he will come back for another year.
The defense has been beset by a number of injuries, transfers and the NFL draft. Middle Linebacker Steve Longa is one of the best LBs in the country, and has been especially productive this year, as he is our leading tackler. Jamal Merrill is our SAM, and he was somewhat slowed down by injury. Kevin Snyder is been especially strong against the run, but sometimes struggles in pass coverage. Our DL has been progressively getting better, but still has a ways to go. Its led by three technique tackle Darius Hamilton, who is the son of former NY Giants football great Keith Hamilton. DE Jamil Merrill has been hurt by injury, but thankfully, NT Isaac Holmes has been able to avoid the injury bug. Djwany Mera is the other end. Lorenzo Waters and Tejay Johnson or Jeremy Deering are the safeties.
Looking forward to seeing this weeks game and speaking with you. Last tine i visited the RENT, it was a house of horrors for us, so this time, i'm hoping for something significantly different.
