Stengths/Weaknesses

[mmiller_34]

What are the Jacks strong and weak points as they enter this season? Offense? Defense? Spec. Teams?

[mitchell]

Re: Stengths/Weaknesses

Strength - one of the best running attacks in DI-AA.

Weakness - Inexperience on the Defensive side ( i.e. LB's, DB's)

[JackTwice]

Re: Stengths/Weaknesses

Here is my opinion by position:

Offense - could still get better if the player rabbitden hinted about on another thread comes through.

QB - Kardoes (recovering from back surgery), Berry, Burkhardt and Crawford will all vie for PT.

Line - Lost 3 guards need to have some freshman and reserves step up. Return both starting Tackles and the Center. Look for Redshirts Casey Knips, Evan Skiles and Nate Koskovich to vie for some playing time along with returners Dusty LeBrun, Nick Flesnar and Luke Witte.

WR - Lost Davis and Molitor but still pretty deep. Need someone to step up and be the go to guy that Davis was. Look for Dusty Snyders, Micah Johnson, Paul Aanonson, JaRon Harris, Brock Campbell, Mike Steffen, Chris Doblar and Britt Haroldson all vie for playing time

RB - Very deep with Watson/Koenig then look for Monke/Paula/Hohn vie for the third slot with Nash Simet also here.

TE - Very young and experienced. Wagner (Jr) leads the way with Dan Dykhouse (Sr) Matt Anderson & Luke Greving (So)

DEFENSE - going to be very young on defense this year. We need leaders to step up and take over.

Line - Lose Koenigsfeld, Fischer (Both DJ and Paul from what I hear) Gain depth with the return of Willie Jones and the step up of Steven Bazata. Look for at least one of the new freshman to play again this year.

LB - YOUNG YOUNG YOUNG. I expect to see RSFrosh to get significant time here. Isaiah Jackson and Chris Johnson impressed coaches last year to the point they dressed for the first two games just in case. Return Starting outside LB Andrew Hoogeveen and Backups Justin Kubesh and Marty Kranz provide experience. We also have Brad Herman, Kris Stone and Matt Grimlie coming off Red shirt

DB Lost McCall, Epps, Klein, Perry - Essentially 3/4 of the safeties that saw time are gone and 1/2 the corners. Return starter Jeff Hegge at corner with Joe Blackman looking to fill in for Hank - Also Justin Horn, Tyler Koch and Brock Gentile and possibly one or two newcomers vieing for time. As far as safeties Look for Glenn Fox, Jimmy Rogers (who also almost didn't get redshirted) to see some playing time.

In the end I would say we are going to be young defensively but I also think we are going to be faster and possibly be a better defense as the season rolls on.

Special Teams - Kickers are the strength with the Redshirts and some of the younger guys adding some speed - we should get better here.

[Jacks02]

Re: Stengths/Weaknesses

My biggest questions are probably the defensive backfield and QB and WR on offense.

Special teams should be great with Bainbridge, Douglass, and return man Jaron Harris all coming back.

We have some very good backs in Koenig and Watson, and have some good young recruits ready to step up and challenge for a spot (Hohn and Monke come to mind).

We lose arguably our best receiver ever in Josh Davis and another solid guy in Molitor but seem to have some promising youngsters in Steffen and Harris

QB should be an interesting battle between Berry, Kardoes and Crawford, who was highly regarded coming out of Arizona as a redshirt last year.

The defensive backfield is probably my biggest question mark as we lose McCall, Perry, Epps, James, and Klein as well as leading tackler Kirch at LB. Stig had alot of good comments about some of the redshirts (Blackman comes to mind). Hopefully they can grow up quick as we have Wisconsin-Lacrosse for a tune-up before facing the likes of Montana, Northern Iowa, and Nicholls State.

Just talking about it has me geared up for next year, can't wait for another season to begin!

Go Jacks!

[mmiller_34]

Re: Stengths/Weaknesses



My thoughts on WR and QB positions.

Im excited to see JaRon Harris at WR. He could very well be an explosive deep threat for us with his speed.

I like Berry at the QB position this year, he showed himself more than a contender there during his game against Georgia Southern last season. Kordoes is an athlete, he is a huge QB. But he hasnt proved himself an efective throwing QB yet.

[thebluehatman]

Re: Stengths/Weaknesses

for my thoughts on offensive big play makers read the first attempt at this posting named offensive staters...berry starting backed up by probably kardoes(rumour was something about him possibly playing d).
running back split between koenig and watson...wrs doblar and j-ron along with synders and johnson probably in four deep, most likely doblar j-ron and one of the other 2 in 3 deep...wags starting again with great conditioning from b-ball backed up but the tight end by committee...the line i guess i dunno but whatever we didnt lose probably will play good...defense hope we can stay kind of solid and stable...douglass is gunning the field goal record i believe 8 or so away from it...good team i think.

[Alumguy]

Re: Stengths/Weaknesses

Defense must be the emphasis point. We will score points. Next year's win/loss record will be decided by our defense ... specifically the LBs and DBs.

[jackmd]

Re: Stengths/Weaknesses

I think it comes down to line play on both sides of the ball. We have plenty of talent in the skill positions but that means nothing if the line can't at least hold their own. With the inexperience at LB/DB the D-line becomes even more critical. Pass rush has to be there.

I think we will be good on special teams again. Need to really cut back on stupid penalties. Nearly killed us in the UNC game to end the year and were a big problem all last season. Stig needs to make it clear that bonehead penalties won't be tolerated.

[JACKGUYII]

Re: Stengths/Weaknesses

Boneheaded playcalling in the redzone should not be tolerated either. It cost us in the Montana game for sure.

[mitchell]

Re: Stengths/Weaknesses

I think plays like the one at Montana are ones that can make you look like a genius when they work, and a fool when they don't. But I think having a coach that is confident and willing to take a risk is a good thing.

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

Re: Stengths/Weaknesses

I think it comes down to line play on both sides of the ball.  We have plenty of talent in the skill positions but that means nothing if the line can't at least hold their own.  With the inexperience at LB/DB the D-line becomes even more critical.  Pass rush has to be there.

I think we will be good on special teams again.  Need to really cut back on stupid penalties.  Nearly killed us in the UNC game to end the year and were a big problem all last season.  Stig needs to make it clear that bonehead penalties won't be tolerated.

It's amazing how good even inexperienced linebackers can look with a good D-line. Not having fat guys in their face every play makes it much easier to make tackles. Something I'd like to see is a legitimate pass-rush. Now, that's something that everyone wants and very few teams get, but a guy can dream. Most teams have to rely on blitzes to get pressure. It'd be nice to have pressure with a 4 man rush.

As for the penalties, in a game like UNC I think it sometimes gets away from all involved. The ref's sounded like they were struggling to maintain order as were both coaches. Believe me, Stig doesn't tolerate dumb penalties. Heck, he doesn't even tolerate swearing (unless in the heat of the battle).

[jackrabbit1979]

Re: Stengths/Weaknesses

Does anybody know how the RS freshman performed last year during practice, scrimmages, etc.  What can we expect from them this year?  I haven't heard too much about Crawford, is he going to have an impact at all.  Sounds as if Jackson, Rogers, and Blackman may be able to see some time this year. I would expect Hank Goff to be a monster this year as a true soph. after a year of playing time and catching up to some of the competitors with a full year of training.

Also, what about Ruey Dei, I saw him at a bball game this winter and he looks as if he has bulked up his frame considerably.  

[mitchell]

Re: Stengths/Weaknesses

I've also noticed how HUGE Ruey has got. When we first came here I thought he might be a wide reciever at how tall and skinny he was. Now he looks built like a rock. Is he a DE or a LB.

[jackrabbit1979]

Re: Stengths/Weaknesses

I know he came in as a LB and is still listed there on the roster. He definately has the heights and wing span to play Dline. Can you imagine trying to complete a pass over him.

Does anybody know how he performs on the field?

[JackTwice]

Re: Stengths/Weaknesses

I've also noticed how HUGE Ruey has got. When we first came here I thought he might be a wide reciever at how tall and skinny he was. Now he looks built like a rock. Is he a DE or a LB.

Several of the players have added some beef through winter workouts. Ruey is playing Dline this year.

Our defense will be extremely young with mostly Sophs and RS freshman seeing significant time and I would guess anywhere from 2-4 of the incoming frosh getting playing time.