4 more days!
The preseason calendar was formed based on the recommendations of the SEC's Return to Activity and Medical Guidance Task Force.
With the revised calendar, coaches will be able to conduct up to 14 hours per week of strength and conditioning, meetings and walk-throughs from Aug. 7-16.
On Aug. 17, coaches will be allowed 25 practices, limited to 20 hours per week of practice time. The standard five-day acclimation period is still in effect, requiring players to go two days in helmets only and two days in shells before going to full pads.
SEC schools will be required to provide student-athletes a minimum of two days off each week until the week before the first game.
If all holds I’m really looking forward to what I think should be Monday’s (8/17) fall camp kick-off presser by Pruitt. Of course the blame fool media guys we have are probably going to want to talk about Covid and player unions but hopefully Pruitt will keep them focused on our starting fall camp.
I’ve spent a few days going back over our incoming class (freshmen) and while much of what we hear in the recruiting/signing process is hype I wanted to try to identify based on team needs which freshmen will potentially have the best opportunity this year for immediate impact.
I have 3 candidates. I already think Mays and Gibbs will be a factor so this is just focusing on the freshmen. My guys are Hyatt, Lawrence, and Joseph. The truth is we have a slew of guys who could really elevate our team but I wanted to whittle my candidates now to a limited few.
I like Baron as a pass rusher but as I understand it he doesn’t yet have any pass coverage skills so Joseph who has already developed that skill set gets the edge at linebacker. I think the middle is probably going to be manned by some combination of HT, Crouch, Banks, and Peterson, so Eason which could be an immediate impact guy in the middle may have a steeper climb to make.
Jalin Hyatt has received a lot of favorable press for his route running ability and since by most accounts he’s the 2nd fastest guy in the entire conference I think he gets the edge over Calloway, Wideman, and Holiday, any or all three of which could also emerge as major factors based on their impressive athletic talent. I just think Hyatt is potentially farther along in developing his ability as a route runner and so that’s the reason for my pick here.
Keshawn Lawrence is I think too good of a talent in the secondary to keep off the field. I know a lot of people see him at corner but I see him paired with McCollough at safety which is where I also think we need him.
Anyway, those are my top 3 freshmen to keep an eye on as we head into fall camp. There are others. Obviously fans are going to be salivating for any mention of Harrison Bailey. I’ll take what comes. I think he’s capable and perhaps already physically ready but his limitation may be on how fast he can master the playbook. jmo.
I like Omari Thomas and Dominic Bailey but at the moment I think Thomas may have the edge in getting more snaps this year. We’ll see. I was definitely wrong last year thinking Williams might outperform Middleton. I like Bailey and think he comes from a powerhouse program that has tons of success. We’ll see but for now I give Big O the edge here.
Len’Neth Whitehead is a kid I’m really excited about. The kid was squatting 500 lbs and benching 350 lbs as a junior in high school. He’s a smart kid, 3.2 GPA. Reportedly 100% of the graduates from Athens Academy go on to 4-year colleges. Whitehead went up against Brock Vandagriff’s Prince Avenue school and beat them every time but last year after rushing for 2 TDs in the first half Len’Neth injured a ligament in the middle of one of his feet. Athens still won the game but Len’Neth was out for the rest of the season.
I researched his injury to see whether or not he might have a shot of being ready this year because with Jordan gone I think there’s potential opportunity for either he or Hodge. Anyway, I think Whitehead’s surgery was in December. I guess after the injury there’s a wait time to allow the inflammation to go away before surgery. After surgery there’s generally 6-8 weeks where he has to keep weight off of the foot and then the screws that are typically inserted are removed after 3-6 months. I’d love to know where he is at in his recovery/rehab program. Whether it’s Whitehead or Hodge, they’re going to need to learn their blocking schemes because if they can’t pass block then pretty much every damn time we put them on the field we’ll be telegraphing the play to some extent, something that drives me absolutely ballistic. There were some who considered Jordan to have been our best pass blocking RB.
I’m really excited about this team and I know many may suggest I curb my enthusiasm but I’m not thinking this could be our best team since 2015, I’m thinking this could be our best team since 2001. jmo.