Billy Ratliff
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It did take a while. I wish we had him for another year though.Bituli will be the guy missed most. Warrior didn't decide to show up until Mid season; and still got burned some.
And much more the philosophy of CJP and his staff imo. Identify the quality of good young men that fit your locker room, your scheme, needed skills and bring them in. Don't worry about of the assigned * rating by some guy who couldn't get a job as a High school coach.I'll take another Eric Gray all day. Don't worry about stars. Identify good talent that also fits your scheme, regardless of star rating.
It did take a while. I wish we had him for another year though.
Bituli will be missed as much anyone to wear the orange. He'll be hard to replace. I imagine the D will take a step back without him. It'll be hard not to.
Hopefully it comes together quickly. Someone is going to have to step up into Bituli's role. We were not nearly as good without him last year. I'm not saying we'll be bad. I just doubt we start the year as good as we ended last year, on that side of the ball.Losing Bituli and Taylor hurts. But we have good talent at LB and we return our entire DL, entire secondary except Warrior and Buchanon?
To’oto’o will take that role. Now who will take Henry’s spot? Banks, JJ, Crouch most likely. Or possibly one of the Whitehaven LBs. Will be find, IMO.Hopefully it comes together quickly. Someone is going to have to step up into Bituli's role. We were not nearly as good without him last year. I'm not saying we'll be bad. I just doubt we start the year as good as we ended last year, on that side of the ball.
I agree it will be To'oto'o eventually. But he's just going to be a sophomore. Expecting him to be on Bituli's level out of the gate next year is probably a tall order. I question the idea that Banks will be back. Well have to see who Henry's running mate ends up being. That not being clear also makes me think the D will have some work to do in order to get back to where we were. We'll have to wait until week 1 to see exactly how much work.To’oto’o will take that role. Now who will take Henry’s spot? Banks, JJ, Crouch most likely. Or possibly one of the Whitehaven LBs. Will be find, IMO.
Yes. So were most of the impact players on last years roster. I hate Butch too, but you can’t say he didn’t bring in talent.
To’oto’o was the #2 ILB almost the moment he stepped on campus....hence the guys he jumped transferring. No one is close so he will take the calls and the next best ILB will take his former role.I agree it will be To'oto'o eventually. But he's just going to be a sophomore. Expecting him to be on Bituli's level out of the gate next year is probably a tall order. I question the idea that Banks will be back. Well have to see who Henry's running mate ends up being. That not being clear also makes me think the D will have some work to do in order to get back to where we were. We'll have to wait until week 1 to see exactly how much work.
We'll just have to see on Banks. Discipline issues aside, he has a ton of potential. Henry will definitely take the calls. I just don't see him being as good as Bituli, immediately. He'll probably get there. He might even pass him. But I expect it to take a little time. You don't lose someone like Bituli without dealing with some growing pains from an underclassmen replacement. I'm not knocking To'oto'o. I'm just being realistic.To’oto’o was the #2 ILB almost the moment he stepped on campus....hence the guys he jumped transferring. No one is close so he will take the calls and the next best ILB will take his former role.
And Banks will be back. Question is whether it’s spring or fall.
Replacing warrior will be a breeze. Loved what I saw from the young guys back there. McCollough in the box is a FORCE. If we can just get an athletic guy next to To’o we will be fine. He’s right next to Henry. He can tell him where to go every play.The O should make strinds next year. If they don't, something is wrong. If the D is able to maintain at all without Bituli/Warrior, we should be 1 or 2 games better. If one of the QBs can pass JG early, we'll be cooking with gas.
Bituli and Jennings. No way to replace the leadership those guys brought.
We'll just have to see on Banks. Discipline issues aside, he has a ton of potential. Henry will definitely take the calls. I just don't see him being as good as Bituli, immediately. He'll probably get there. He might even pass him. But I expect it to take a little time. You don't lose someone like Bituli without dealing with some growing pains from an underclassmen replacement. I'm not knocking To'oto'o. I'm just being realistic.
Hot take, but Bituli will he replaced with Henry T. The kid grew up immediately and will be a dominant all American caliber linebacker for next two seasons. Jennings will be the biggest loss because he was leader of the entire team. Very rare a receiver is that person but he’s what made the entire program tick along with the entire fan base. He was to football what Admiral was to the basketball program last year.