Presser and Depth Chart

It's official.  It is game week. BG has UCLA on the horizon and today was the presser and the depth chart came out as well.  Let's take a look.

Loeffler gives the worst presser in program history. He rarely says anything interesting.  Today was no exception.  (The questions from the media are no better..."how does it feel" and other things).

Anyway, by my count three things of note.

1)  They are not talking any more about Terion Stewart to protect his priavacy, which 100% makes sense to me.

2)  All the guys on the line are going to play.

3) The most interesting piece was when Coach talked about getting the players BG needs to compete.  He said that the portal made it possible--he doesn't know if we would have gotten here with HS players. Which is just interesting and essentially indicates that we were behind and no on track when the portal finally hit big.

Anyway, that's what we got.

So, the depth chart is also out. 

To break it down a little.

I think most of us were curious who was going to emerge from the now crowded OL room to make the two-deep. For reference, after losing Murphy and Van Gorder, BG returned five lineman who started at least once last year.  Grant, Bank-Wall, Padgett, Zimmerly and Wollschlaeger.  All five of them remain on the two-deep.

Grant started mostly at C this year and will start at G.  Wollschlaeger made two starts but was ID'd as a comer and is 4th Team All-MAC on Phil Steele.  He will start at RT.  Banks-Wall is the backup at LT, Zimmerly at RG and Padgett at LG.

The other three starters are Tunde Fatukasi, the Rutgers transfer who didn't commit here until August. He will play the vital LT positon.  Jakari Robinson, the Memphis C who is the only Sr. on the offensive line, will start at C. Bronson Warner, from Abiliene Christian will start at RG. BG also has transfers backing up at LT, C and RT.

The line simply must be good enough.  It certainly will be better, but it has to be good enough.  Let's hope we have the talent and depth we need to block the run and pass protect.

(UPDATE: Cincinnati Burger Guy had a good question in comments.  What happened to Marcelo Mendiola, who as an OL transfer from UC.  The answer is that he was in camp but left the program.  Here is a potentially relevant tweet from him---Mendiola, not Cincinnati Burger Guy).  Most likely, not starting "ain't for him."

Sometimes you gotta read between the lines…. Everything ain’t for you

— Marcelo Mendiola (@celo2times) August 22, 2022

No real surprises at the skill positions.  The WRs will be a rotation of Broden, Lewis, Hiliare, Osborne, Croom and Embry, which should be pretty strong.  Not quite as important who starts.  TEs are Sims and Gazarek, with Harold Fanin jumping onto the two-deep as a true FR.  And RBs appear to be Mosely and Patterson with Keith and Johnson being more 3rd down/passing game backs.

Cam Orth is the backup QB and Drew Gunther is the #3.

On defensive side....

BG is putting a 3-4 on its depth chart.  The defensive line--Haire, Hawkins and Brooks as starters, with Brown, Roberts and Porter as backups.  These are the lineman we returned from last year.

The four LBs would also appear to be a strength.  You have Anders, probably our best defender, Bryce Brand back from injury, Blaine Spires, who was talked up as being vastly improved, and then Brock Horne and Wake Forest transfer DJ Taylor.  The other backups are all players who were with the team last year.

In the back end, BG returns Jordan Anderson and Davon Ferguson.  They add transfer Chris Bacon and DeShawn Jones, Jr. who had 2 pics in the OU game last year.  The second line is Day, Burton and Simms, all program guys, and then Samford transfer Jordan Oladokun.

Special teams is an area of concern this year.  The punter is Sami Sir, an Australian.  The K is an "or" with Mason Lawler, who is our KO specialist, and Owen Rozanc, the transfer from West Liberty.