Tearz49ers presents: In Pursuit of Perfection (NCAA Football '14)

[Tearz49ers]

Re: Tearz49ers presents: In Pursuit of Perfection (NCAA Football '14)

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[gsutiger]

Re: Tearz49ers presents: In Pursuit of Perfection (NCAA Football '14)

Boom only rated over 90, but there are some players around him and D looks solid could be a good year

[Tearz49ers]

Re: Tearz49ers presents: In Pursuit of Perfection (NCAA Football '14)

Boom only rated over 90, but there are some players around him and D looks solid could be a good year

It's kinda what I expected, we started last season with only two players rated over 85 OVR so I am pretty happy with how last season went and how the players progressed. As you say the D progressed well, played ok last season but its much more improved now and I am excited to see if we can handle the better teams within the SEC this year a little better than last year.

[Tearz49ers]

Re: Tearz49ers presents: In Pursuit of Perfection (NCAA Football '14)

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Kentucky finished last season with a 42-35 victory over then ranked #20 Southern Miss in the Liberty Bowl that meant the Wildcats finished the season 7-6 and gave Mark Stoops his first winning season as the head coach in Lexington since he took over from Joker Phillips back in 2013. The Wildcats were much improved on offense under co-offensive coordinators Eddie Gran and Darin Hinshaw and although the team lost starting quarterback Drew Barker early in the season (The quarterback is now gone from the program) it's offense didn't miss a beat.

Previewing the Kentucky Offense in 2017:

Kentucky returned all its starters from last season other than quarterback Drew Barker (Retired) and center Jon Toth. For the first time since Mark Stoops took over as head coach the offense will continue under the watch off its coordinator(s) from the previous season in Darin Hinshaw and Eddie Gran and thank god for that because the Wildcats were just awesome on offense last season and finished the year with college football's 5th best total offense.

Now senior Stephen Johnson replaced Drew Barker as the starting quarterback last season when the later went down and whilst he finished the season with twenty one passing touchdowns his starting job going into spring is under the threat of three other quarterbacks. Gunnar Hoak made just one appearance last season after the Wildcats rescinded his red-shirt whilst Zy'Aire Hughes didn't see any action but it might not even mean a thing to these three quarterbacks because the odds on favourite for the job is incoming true freshman and former four-star prospect Brandon Dixon who has all the tools on paper to become one of college footballs best quarterbacks.

Stanley Williams returns after breaking the school record for most rushing yards in a season in 2016 when he rushed for 1670-yards (SEC's leading rusher) and he will team up with the much improved Mikel Horton and freshman Corey Booth in what could be a triple-header to give any opposing defense's nightmares.

Once again the biggest key to a successful season for the Wildcats offense will be based around its rushing attack and the offensive line proved last season they could open the holes for that to happen and the Wildcats fans must be rubbing there hands together because it returned four out of five starters along the line which also improved in protecting the passer in 2016.


Previewing the Kentucky Defense in 2017:

Unlike last season the Kentucky defense can boast all but two of its returning starters from last season and that will give defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot a lot to thing about after the defense ranked #5 against the rush in 2017.

Courtney Love did everything that was expected of him in 2016 after transferring from Nebraksa, he led the team in tackles with 83 and was a finalist for the Dick Butkis award, hes also made the All-NCAA first time this season. He along with Jordan Jones and Denzil Ware will give a stable pass/rush defense behind the defensive line.

The secondary lost its best player in Blake McClain and his backup from last season Marcus McWilson also departed leaving the defense with junior Marcus Walker who didn't feature last year and true freshman Jacob Coley as the potential replacements, thankfully Mark Stoops can rely on Mike Edwards to tutor either Walker or Coley what with Edwards returning as the fourth leading tackler from last years defense.

Stoops said he wanted his defense to be more aggressive last season and they were, the unit as a whole recorded 36 sacks and it returned its leading sacker defensive tackle Matt Elam who recorded 9 of those sacks, Elam has been honoured as a first team all-NCAA.

The defensive line lost one of its ends in Courtney Maggins (45 tackles, 6 sacks) and Stoops has tried to replace him by moving linebacker De'Niro Laster to defensive end after the former transfer struggled to make an impact on the defense last season, but through the practices we have seen so far he looked a lot more established at the defensive end position in this Wildcats defense.

Previewing the Kentucky Special Teams in 2017:

Austin MacGinnis was 100% healthy last season after a poor 2015 and it showed, the now senior missed only one of eighteen field goal attempts last season. Grant McKinniss downed 20 punts inside the 20 yard line last season, that was just under 50% of all his punts throughout the whole season as a true freshman, the Wildcats might be better on offense and McKinniss could be used less this season but expect him to continue with the same sort of numbers in 2017.

The return game once again failed to churn up much to shout home about. It has been reported that true freshman Corey Booth will take over both the kick and punt return duties in 2017.

Final Analysis

If both the offense and defense can be improved in the passing game then the Wildcats could be onto something special in 2017. The most exciting feature going into spring will be who is under center come the Wildcats opening game at home to Texas A&M; The Wildcats do not play in week one.


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[Tearz49ers]

Re: Tearz49ers presents: In Pursuit of Perfection (NCAA Football '14)

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[Tearz49ers]

Re: Tearz49ers presents: In Pursuit of Perfection (NCAA Football '14)

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[Tearz49ers]

Re: Tearz49ers presents: In Pursuit of Perfection (NCAA Football '14)

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Positions of Need: OG, HB, DT, MLB
Target # of Recruits: 35



WR Jaylen Brown [WR #1]: 6'3", 203lbs | Niles, IL




HB Malik Dixon [HB #7]: 6'2", 220lbs | Youngstown, OH
DT Tanner Avery [DT #16]: 6'5", 262lbs | Kirksville, MO
HB Marcus Wesley [HB #15]: 6'1", 211lbs | Redding, CA
DE Tyler Stepehens [DE #11]: 6'5", 237lbs | Plant City, FL
ATH Elijah Powell [ATH #40]: 6'2", 200lbs | Massillon, OH
HB David White [HB #20]: 6'1", 210lbs | Del Rio, TX
WR J.J. Brown [WR #43]: 6'1", 186lbs | Mansfield, OH
TE Jeff Cantrell [TE #3]: 6'4", 233lbs | Deerfield Beach, FL
QB Miles Madison [QB #7]: 6'2", 201lbs | Jeffersontown, KY
TE Matt Hunter [TE #13]: 6'4", 255lbs | Niles, OH
DE Kris Engel [DE #18]: 6'6", 266lbs | Lebanon, OH




OG Steven Floyd [OG #74]: 6'1", 286lbs | Villa Hills, KY
OG Derrick Allen [OG #12]: 6'4", 299lbs | Bradenton, FL
DT Chris Utley [DT #23]: 6'5", 283lbs | Ft. Lauderdale, FL
OT Aaron Charles [OT ##29]: 6'4", 314lbs | Lyndhurst, OH
OG Jake Blanks [OG #27]: 6'3", 297lbs | Louisville, KY
OG Shaun Bryan [OG #88]: 6'6", 277lbs | Troy, OH
DT Dan Brant [DT #21]: 6'2", 275lbs | Lakeland, FL
DT Taylor Brittain [DT #103]: 6'5", 269 lbs | East Bradenton, FL
OT Marvin Mills [OT #14]: 6'3", 342lbs | Elizebethtown, PA
DT Nick Davis [DT #45]: 6'3", 280lbs | Cleveland, TN
OT Jarrett Hooper [OT #42]: 6'6", 332lbs | Sanford, FL
HB Chris Veney [HB #57]: 6'1", 205lbs | West Pensacola, FL
MLB Marvin Casey [MLB #25]: 6'0", 234lbs | Point Pleasant, WV
WR Antoine Frank [WR #139]: 6'0", 178lbs | Brownsville, FL
CB Eric Jones [CB #31]: 6'3", 178lbs | Hollywood, CA
QB Jared Harrison [QB #27]: 6'1, 200lbs | Bardstown, KY
MLB Joe Young [MLB #52]: 6'0", 228lbs | Shelbyville, KY
WR David Singleton [WR #73]: 6'2, 224lbs | Russellville, KY
FS Tony Cannon [FS #52]: 6'5", 182lbs | Edgewater, CO
SS Jonathan Collins [SS #25]: 6'1". 182lbs | Mishawaka, IN




OG Nick Watson [OG #103]: 6'6", 296lbs | St. Marys, OH
OG Cameron Breedlove [OG #140]: 6'6", 261lbs | Sunrise, FL




OT Josiah Huff (Juco) [OT #173]: 6'7", 343lbs | Solon, OH



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[Tearz49ers]

Re: Tearz49ers presents: In Pursuit of Perfection (NCAA Football '14)

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[Tearz49ers]

Re: Tearz49ers presents: In Pursuit of Perfection (NCAA Football '14)

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RETURNING CHAMPS LEAD THE WAY IN SPRING

Last season the Tennessee Volunteers finished atop of the college football world after beating Washington in the title game. The Volunteers have a strong chance to end this season in the same spot, that could be the best explanation as to why the returning champions are the No. 1 in this years pre-season rankings. Butch Jones' men will face plenty of competition, though, starting the season with back-to-back games against Big XII teams in Kansas State and #10 Oklahoma before opening their SEC campaign against an improved Arkansas team.

The surprising part of this year's pre-season top five comes from the fact it doesn't feature last years championship loser's Washington who miss out at the No. 6 position. The question we have to ask isn't whether the likes of Alabama, Ohio State and Michigan who all feature in the top five will play a role in the national semi-finals because it's pretty clear they will all make that push this season but it will in fact be whether or not the likes of Clemson (No.8), Oklahoma (No.10) and Texas (No.17) can all live up to their pre-season hype? There are more questions than answers right now, but don't worry: The start of the season is just a few weeks away.









Tennessee built a championship winning team around their star quarterback in Joshua Dobbs, well he is now gone and the pressure to succeed will fall into the hands of junior Quinten Dormady. Dormady did see some action last season when Dobbs was injured for a single game and the former four-star prospect looked pretty comfortable with his surroundings throwing for three touchdowns. Dormady will also have the pleasure of throwing passes to last season's leading receiver Josh Malone who avoided the pull of the NFL to return for his senior season, oh! And the small measure of the returning Jalen Hurd who rushed for ten touchdowns last season.

The defense may have lost Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Cameron Sutton but don't be fooled into thinking it returns as a weaker unit than in 2016. Defensive End's Jonathan Kongbo and Derek Barnett, linebacker Darrin Kirkalnd Jr. were all stars of a solid front seven last season even if that now lacks both Shy Tuttle and Joey Cave who have since transferred from the program.








Michigan's best player by a country mile is do-it-all Jabrill Peppers and look for the junior to make an impact on the Heisman race this season but on the defensive side of the ball he isn't the only player who will give oppossing teams coming to the Big House nightmares this year. The defensive line for the Wolverines features two of the best tackles inside the Big Ten in Maurice Hurst and Bryan Mone who sit alongside Rashan Gary who we all expect to make a massive impact in his sophomore season.

It's on offense where the Wolverines will be retooling in 2017, especially at receiver where they lost both Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh to go along with tight end Jake Butt to the NFL, that was the Wolverines top three pass catchers from last year. Wilton Speight is still there is this season under cetner but Jim Harbaugh did loose his top rusher in De'Veon Smith but look to senior Ty Isaac and sophomore Chris Evans to fill the void at running back.








For the first time in three season's the Alabama Crimson Tide will not be entering the college football season with an unproven guy under center. Blake Barnett won the job ahead of freshman Jalen Hurts last spring and the now sophomore didn't disappoint the Crimson Tide faithful passing for thirty touchdowns and 3091-yards, along with Barnett; Bo Scarbrough and Damien Harris will continue a tradition Tuscaloosa tradition of having two NFL calibre running backs at one time.

The Crimson Tide defense features one of the nastiest shutdown backfields the SEC will see this season with the likes of Minkah Fitzpatrick, Tony Brown, Anthony Averett and Marlon Humphrey all lockdown corners and thats before we even talk about Ronnie Harrison and Deionte Thompson at the safety positions.








Last season the Buckeyes had to contend with the fact they lost half of their starting depth chart to the NFL, well that isn't the case in 2017 and look to Urben Meyer to build a potent two punch team as the Buckeyes look to return to the College Football playoffs this season after missing out last time around.

J.T. Barrett had the Big Ten's best quarterback rating (158.9) during the 2016 season despite not throwing for more than 3000-yards on the season, he did throw for thirty touchdowns though. Barrett will be helped by the returning best player in college football from last season in Heisman winner Curtis Samuel who once again has all the tools to not only dominate the Big Ten but the whole of college football in general.








UCLA were the best team in college football through the first fourteen weeks of the season by record (12-0) but that was until they were handled by the Washington Huskies in the Pac-12 title game.

The offense returns its two best players in Josh Rosen and SoSo Jamabo but its offensive line will start three out of five players who didn't feature last season but it will feature Darren Andrews who was Rosen's favourite target last season who caught 65 passes for 983 yards and seven touchdowns.

The defense will be the Bruins downfall this season as its sees just four seniors in starting positions in Jaleel Wadood (FS), Kenny Young (MLB), Nick Terry (DT) and Eddie Vanderdoes (DE); look for sophomores corner Dechaun Holiday and linebacker Mique Juarez to have breakout seasons for a young Bruins defense.

2017 Conference Winner Predictions:

-- ACC: Clemson
-- Big XII: Texas
-- American: Houston
-- Big Ten: Michigan
-- Conference USA: Marshall
-- MAC: Western Michigan
-- MWC: Colorado State
-- Pac-12: USC
-- SEC: Alabama
-- Sun Belt: Arkansas State

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[Cheese2121]

Re: Tearz49ers presents: In Pursuit of Perfection (NCAA Football '14)

I have so so much catching up to do on this my friend but my gosh is this top notch. The writing and the layouts are just out of this world and I know I say that every time but it can't be said enough. I love the immersion and depth you are putting into this especially with your looks around the rest of the league. I really feel it adds so much. Good luck on the new season!

[Tearz49ers]

Re: Tearz49ers presents: In Pursuit of Perfection (NCAA Football '14)

I have so so much catching up to do on this my friend but my gosh is this top notch. The writing and the layouts are just out of this world and I know I say that every time but it can't be said enough. I love the immersion and depth you are putting into this especially with your looks around the rest of the league. I really feel it adds so much. Good luck on the new season!

Glad to see you around in here again bud, I have missed ya! I am really trying with this one. I have never used a team I consider a rebuild before so it is all fresh and gives me good ideas for what I want to do and what I want to write about.

[Tearz49ers]

Re: Tearz49ers presents: In Pursuit of Perfection (NCAA Football '14)

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True-Freshman Brandon Dixon will be the guy under center for A&M game.

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LEXINGTON, Kentucky -- Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops has named true freshman Brandon Dixon the starting quarterback following practice on Tuesday.

"I had a conversation with Coach Stoops today," Brandon Dixon told reporters after practice. "He has decided that I was going to be the starting quarterback come the game against Texas A&M in a few weeks time. He kinda congratulated me on fighting through the process and competing against the guys who have spent more time in the system that me, he encouraged me to maintain the same mindset I have had since I enrolled here and everything will be fine."

There are a lot of different things that have factored into the Wildcat's coaching staff making this decision. Although senior Stephen Johnson passed for close to 2000-yards and 21 touchdowns in place of Drew Barker last season, he doesn't have the same arm as the freshman Brandon Dixon and that was pretty clear to see during the last few weeks scrimmages.

"There both great kids at the end of the day," Stoops said. "But we feel like our offense flows better with Brandon under center however we know that should this change in the next few weeks that we have an accomplished senior sitting behind him. The decision didn't sit well with Stephen, but we never expected it too and it shows how competitive the kid really is, he understands and knows that he has to be ready if his time comes."

Dixon went 8-3 last season with Cardinal Mooney High School, his season eneded with a 17-12 loss to Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin in the second round of the state playoffs. He passed for for 2955-yards and 27 touchdowns whilst rushing for 875-yards and 13 touchdowns along the way.

He came into camp rated as a four-star prospect, he ranked as the 17th best quarterback in last season's recruiting class and as the #2 ranked dual-threat quarterback by ESPNU.

With Zy'Aire Hughes moved to running back this spring the Kentucky Wildcats will now depth chart with Dixon at #1, his backup will be senior Stephen Johnson and sophomore Gunnar Hoak will be the third quarterback on the depth chart.

"We talked as a staff this weekend," quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw said. "We decided that Brandon is going to be our starter and we know he is excited about that, we are excited to see him go at it this season and we will plan to make sure we get the best out of him."

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[Iron Dragon]

Re: Tearz49ers presents: In Pursuit of Perfection (NCAA Football '14)

Will be interesting to see what the freshman can do.

[Bigsheen]

Re: Tearz49ers presents: In Pursuit of Perfection (NCAA Football '14)

Dixon is that one stud that change the face of a program if he pans out. His first game should be interesting.

[Tearz49ers]

Re: Tearz49ers presents: In Pursuit of Perfection (NCAA Football '14)

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***BYE WEEK***

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