The quarterback spot was a rollercoaster. Returning starter Quentin Bush went down early in the season and then Oliver Robertson went down in relief right after that. The Gilbert Cassell experiment was legendarily bad. We finally got some stability once we tinkered with the offense and allowed Reggie Pollard to manage games for us. This position can only go up next year as we only lose Cassell and we bring in a top ranked recruit in Adam Gerhardt.
The run game was an obvious strength with Mike Hicks and the trush frosh Dixon Horner. They complimented each other nicely. Everett Weyand continued to get some spot duty as the third guy. At FB, freshman Nolan Ramsey took over the job from Peter Hardy and was an immediate stud for us. We lose no one at these spots next year and bring in freshman power back, Austin Clancy.
All four TE's saw action this year but the position found some stability once Lincoln Bates took over the starting job from Mercury Gatson. He will have to fight for his starting job next year with the addition of the two freshmen, Everett Emmons and Shane Wilson. Gatson graduates.
The WR position was a bit of a question mark with last year's graduations of Mel McWilliams and Rufus Johnson. Ben Cash really answered the bell at the WR spot by topping those guys' numbers. Dana Beyer was the #2 and essentially all the production was from those two. We didn't sign any recruits at WR for the second straight year.
This offense has always gone the direction the offensive line has and that's been led by the trio of Kerry Bradley, Randy Bartee and Howard Scott. Bartee and Bradley graduate and will be missed. Claude Flynn will also be gone; he and Les Dicaprio split the snaps at the RT position.We bring in 4 freshmen next season so we'll see who takes the 3 new openings alongside Scott and Sean Villars.
The defensive line went from a major weakness in 2004 to a strength in 2005. This was due to an infusion of young talent, particularly at defensive end. Rufus Ingersoll and Troy Manning were immediate difference makers and Ingersoll was named a Freshman All-American. Paul Gillespie was playing well before an injury ended his season. At DT, returning starters Vinny Houck and Ethan Clemons really upped their game as well and we got contributions from freshman Andrew White and senior Brock Thomas. Thomas graduates as does DE Jason Frederick. This unit will be even stronger next year as we also add freshman Peter Washington.
This group battled through some issues in 2005. It's strong at the top with freshmen Rondell Reese and Ian Tate and sophomore MLB Irving Nelson but there's very little depth beyond that. That showed when Reese was lost for the season early. Junior TJ Brady and sophomore Jimmie Perez filled in at the spot but neither are good enough to be full time starters. Reese will be healthy next season and we bring in three more freshmen to add more depth to the position.
Another position with little to no depth. We ended up putting two walk-on's on scholarship this year because they got so much playing time (Jermaine Walters and Eugene Nixon). Alonzo Barnes was our guy at CB but his play took a step back this season. He returns next year alongside freshman Wade Lake whose play improved gradually over the season.We bring in two solid incoming freshmen in Pete Chance and Henry Armendariz who will immediately challenge for spots. At safety, Bennie Contreras started as a true frosh and played okay. Him and Clifton Norris were serviceable but replaceable. Their jobs will be on the hot seat with freshmen Trent Graham and Sedrick Hanaki arriving in the fall.
Quinn Blackwell retained the starting K job and went 11-14 and missed one XP. Mitch Burton and Van Muerch are capable backups. The punting position has been a headache for two years as we consistently lose the field position battle. Both Harvey Davison and Mickey Hoffman have gotten their opportunity. Davison graduates and the redshirt will come off Courtney Guffey next season. Hoffman will have to win the job again.