kirklandduck

Seattle's not bad, sunny during the day but it freezes at night so I have to salt my driveway and doorsteps every couple days.

I've got mixed feelings about this. I'd be ok with something like a shoulder patch, very minimal. But if they start trotting out players that look like Nascar drivers then 🤮

Love the article! The next season will be interesting as there's much more starting depth returning than the previous season. Echoing the obvious, Dante will need to show continued growth in his ability to read defenses and keep his eyes downfield under pressure. He showed steady improvement over the course of this past season so there's no reason to believe he won't. The big question mark on offense (to me) will be the offensive line. Last season it was good (maybe very good at times) but not elite. In particular the OT spots on both sides. Isaiah World and Alex Harkey overall did well but when facing the best DLs they really did struggle to protect Dante...I view them as high floor/low ceiling guys that kept things generally stable and on a winning path during the regular season but when the CFP came TT and Indiana really worked them over. I hope Coach Dan shores up the line better this time around, before anything else on the offense can be considered the OL needs to be addressed first.

They were the exception not the rule. I surmise it will not be as smooth for them next season as their 5th and 6th year senior starters age out.

I read somewhere that he’s asking $2.5 million, a ton of money for a single lineman. If Oregon gets him I hope he’s worth it!

One thing to seriously consider: Raiola isn't sitting behind a 5 year veteran like Nix or Gabriel to learn from. He's going to be next to a peer that's roughly at the same level of development in their respective careers. OBD better hire one heck of a QB coach soon.

This. Cig has the luxury of a boatload of players that have been in his system for multiple years at JMU. After this season, his roster will start to flux with new people and we'll start to see cracks in the foundation.

This is very true and also puts even more focus on x's and o's from the coaches than ever before.

This is definitely something I've been noodling about (and everyone else should too). A ton of those guys are transfers from JMU where they've played under Cignetti's system for years. When they're gone, who's going to replace them? Curt can bring in other transfers but a 5 year veteran from another program, while a better option than a redshirt underclassman, just isn't the same as someone who's spent their entire collegiate career in the same system. I highly doubt the same magic is going to be there for Indiana next season, they better savor it now.

I was wondering when the official announcement was going to come. That being said, I have a ton of questions that will hopefully be answered in the coming months: Both are excellent position coaches, I wonder if development in those respective positions will suffer since they're now performing two roles at once? Will defensive line recruiting take a step back without Lupoi? Will TEs have a more prominent role in the offense with Mehringer at the helm? Will they hire a QB coach+passing coordinator? Will the offense feature an enhanced passing game? Bring back the bird bombs!

Gary Bryant Jr. is also out of eligibility after 6 seasons. He wasn't a lights out receiver but steady and reliable when needed, I think he's good enough to at least get onto a practice squad in the NFL somewhere.

This will be Ayedin Breeland's and Elijah Rushing's time to work into the 2 deep and show what their development over the last couple years has yielded.

Not surprised at all. Jamari Johnson has shown he's got what it takes to be TE1. Depth behind him is a concern, Andrew Olesh will need to show that he developed well over his redshirt year.

https://247sports.com/college/oregon/article/oregon-lands-commitment-from-top-transfer-portal-safety-koi-perich--270678194/

I hope he's healthy and not injury-prone.

Probably why Blake Purchase just hit the portal.

If Dante leaves for the NFL I would prefer Leavitt over Raiola. If Dante stays then Raiola since he's indicated the willingness to sit for a year. At the end of the day the chips will just fall where they may and Drew will need to adjust appropriately. That being said, if they're running the same offense next season I feel like it does better with a true dual threat QB. Nix did it the best, Gabriel was pretty good too. Dante unfortunately is a pure pocket passer, he doesn't do much with his legs other than a handful of designed QB runs and even then he's pretty slow despite him not being a huge guy.

High quality QB coach who can also be the passing coordinator.

Honestly I think he needs 2 more years.

This. Every time I've seen Dante's face this season I haven't seen any kind of look in his eye that signals killer instinct like we've seen with Bo and Dillon. No snarl, no angry look. Just deer in headlights.

I think Jamari Johnson and Sadiq are going to be incredibly important in the red zone this game..

Really wish we weren’t in the hole from the get go. They need to score on this one.

What exactly is Dante looking at? That defender was dangerously close to the receiver. The very first play he throws an INT. Ridiculous.

I hope the OL woke up on the wrong side of the bed and play angry.

That might work with cherry flavored antacids. Aaaah, old man life…