Okay okay okay....
Bear with me and let’s assume Pruitt isn’t replaced.
What would your priorities to fix this team? What assistants would you move around? What seniors would you try and talk into staying? Etc...
For me, in no particular order:
- I’d look to move on from Weinke. Ty Simpson recruitment be damned. I mean, it’s hard for me to be too critical of him because JG is a bag of ****, Bailey missed the entire offseason, and Mauer was suicidal so doubt he was focusing on his craft. But as bag a ****** as JG is, he’s regressed. Shrout never has improved, etc. I’d look at Tee Martin as the natural replacement. Him or Long.
- Id move Osovet to something other than TE coach. We’ve gotten nothing from the position all year, and it was fairly damning when Jacob Warren, during his media availability, pointed out how the tight ends had to teach Joe about the position. That ain’t good. Joe is a creative offensive mind and seems like a talented recruiter. He has a position on the staff - but Im not 100% sure what it is yet.
- Niedermeyer has a background in defense, and I hate to judge him too harshly, but I’m not sure he needs to be coaching ILB’s. HT has regressed this year and neither Banks nor Crouch have improved.
- I’d tell Len’Neth Whitehead that yeah, I know you want to play RB, but his path to the field is at LB. There was a lot of talk during his recruitment that his best position was LB. With Gray, Dee, Smalls, Hodge, and the incoming freshman - we have a log jam at running back. Meanwhile, outside of HT- we have nothing proven at LB. Some players have flashed, like Joseph, but for my money, LB is our biggest question mark going forward.
- I’d thank Brandon Kennedy and most of the seniors for their service. Maybe ask Fant, Solomon, and Palmer to come back.
- I’d tell Cooper Mays to spend the entire offseason working at center. And I’d sell Cade on the idea of playing side by side with his brother if he’s willing to return.
- Id do my best to bring Tosh or Bo Davis in as DL coach.
- Id scour the earth for a transfer quarterback. Darriel Mack, formerly of UCF, would be someone I would look closely at. Dual threat QB with a few years eligibility left. Played well against LSU a few years back. I’d encourage every QB not named Harrison Bailey or Kaiden Salter to “look around” this offseason.
- Previously expressed my concern about linebackers so like above, I’d make finding a transfer linebacker or two a priority. Especially if someone has an ounce of pass rushing ability.
That’s all I have off the top of my head.
There's so much dysfunction.
QB- You have to be able to recognize and play talent. There is zero excuse (even COVID) about the QB play. They should have been grooming Harrison from day 1 to be a starter. If he doesn't understand the entire playbook, that's fine, condense it for him and let him learn and grow rather than playing JG game after game and watching him literally throw games away with multiple pick 6s. Don't cower under some weak ass comment about freshman getting hurt or w/e that was. Play your best players. Not to mention the "best chance to win" comments during a year where we are winning 2-3 games. Obviously kick Weinke to the curb as he is terrible.
RB- A lone bright spot. They looked a little shaky at the beginning but Gray is really showing out. We had bigger hopes for Ty but he's just not that great of an SEC back. Small has looked decent in certain areas but I'd love to see a bigger back out there. Pass protection has been suboptimal.
OL- Lots of talent accumulated but average production. Friend needs to go in the worst way. There are so many 4-5 star talents on this line yet we are 88th in average rush yards per attempt. Fire Friend. IDGAF is he is your best friend. He's not getting the job done.
TE- There is no talent or coaching here. Osovet has credibility here for whatever reason but if the comments from Warren are true about them telling him about TEs, he needs to go.
WR- Hard to evaluate this position because how bad JG has been. We aren't getting separation consistently. Hyatt is a lone bright spot. It seems inexcusable that you can't get your WRs to learn the route trees and be able to contribute earlier. That's gotta be on Tee. Get more speed on the field and get the ball to your playmakers.
D-line- Just abysmal this year. No pass rush. DL coach gets fired mid season. Can't recruit well at the position. I'm not sure what the fix is other than bringing in an extremely reputable coach and being able to start recruiting at a lot higher level.
LB- Again, awful outside of HT who has regressed some this year. Nieds is a good recruiter but needs to be fired because he cannot coach. I'm not sure what Felton brings. There have been flashes of talent (e.g. MoJo) but he isn't playing a lot. We can't rush the passer. We can't defend the middle of the field. I'd say move Crouch to OLB and make him a pass rusher only. Losing Lewis here really hurts because he probably starts next year.
DB- The calling card for Pruitt but again, just has been bad. Bryce is talented, no doubt. But Alontae just doesn't have the fluidity for CB. He's more of a safety IMO. You just lost your best CB recruit in McGhee. I will say that the lack of a pass rush hurts here but you have to be better. We can't defend slants. WRs routinely run free and don't have defenders near them. Tank is a step too slow for the SEC (reminds me of TK Jr). Flowers is inconsistent. Ansley has been a bad hire and hopefully can move on to a different job.
Recruiting- One of the main reasons we hired JP. But he just isn't getting the job done at a level that we need for success. Recruits aren't dumb, they see the product on the field. Play for anemic offense that can barely score 20 ppg? Pass.
Defense? The "Xs and Os guru" is giving up 31 points per game and is routinely showing the inability to cover simple slant routes over and over.
