Spring Football Depth Chart

[Eda]

All that mis-matched LB has to do is breathe. Powell will go down on the most minimal contact. Just put him out wide and let him fly, do a stop-and-go, etc. He is ineffective "inside".

That might be false there Bob-Bo. I was a little curious as to why Powell wasn't used more last year. It turns out us couch coaches don't know the same info the for really real coaches do.

Here's what KirFer had to say regarding Powell.

"COACH FERENTZ: We’re here to see what it looks like. He’s very intriguing in that basically he showed up here turn of August. He got here a couple of days before we got started. He literally was brand new and all regards. He’s got real energy to him. He’s a very vivacious guy and high energy player. He really ‑‑ it’s been fun just to watch him in the out of season program. He looks like a college player now, instead of a skinny kid. I’m sure it’s the first time he trained with any regularity. My guess is he’s just like Bob Sanders, he’s probably just played ball all the time. And now he’s actually doing it in a structured way. We’re here to see what he does out on the field in the spring."

That sounds very intriguing, does it not? It'll be interesting to see his weight when they update the depth chart stats. I'm also excited to see how he gets integrated into the offense.

 

[allup86]

Agreed. The non-stop calls for Powell are somewhat amusing. The guy is simply an ok football player. He is basically about as good as Herb Grigsby. But for whatever reason, the fan base despised Grigsby and thinks Powell is awesome.

He is a solid 4th WR, will contribute a little, but will never be a large part of the offense. Hopefully he has a good year. The staff thinks he is improved from last year.

That's a little harsh isn't it?

 

[DJL]

That's a little harsh isn't it?

Yes, he has already had a few exciting moments in his career. I hope he is good enough to see the field more this year and make a difference.

 

[HawkinGoferLand]

That makes sense. The times I did see Faith last year he looked huge. I'll be curious to see how much weight Ott and Meier put on, especially Meier. He was undersized last year but showed glimpses of being able to pass rush in that 3rd down raider package last year.

I believe I saw Meier was at 285 now (or maybe 275 )

Last year Powell played closer to 160lbs than the 180 listed, and I thought I saw where he was getting to a legit 180 now.

 

[Xerxes]

Agreed. The non-stop calls for Powell are somewhat amusing. The guy is simply an ok football player. He is basically about as good as Herb Grigsby. But for whatever reason, the fan base despised Grigsby and thinks Powell is awesome.

He is a solid 4th WR, will contribute a little, but will never be a large part of the offense. Hopefully he has a good year. The staff thinks he is improved from last year.

Powell has legit football speed. He runs fast when his pads are on. He has shown the ability to make other teams pay for not paying attention to him. Herb Grigsby was about hope and a couple long catches against an average Michigan team. We all hoped he would be good and he wasn't.

 

[ICHawk24]

Herb Grigsby's sophomore year was 25 catches, 335 yds, 3 TD. Decent year for a sophomore. But left the team before we could see any further improvement.

Powell has shown some great straight line speed. But he hasn't shown the ability to get open and make the catch. He had plenty of reps in about a 3 game span in the middle of the B1G season last year, but didn't produce much and saw his reps go down over the rest of the season. Hopefully he makes a jump this year.

 

[GoHawks24]

Agreed. The non-stop calls for Powell are somewhat amusing. The guy is simply an ok football player. He is basically about as good as Herb Grigsby. But for whatever reason, the fan base despised Grigsby and thinks Powell is awesome.

He is a solid 4th WR, will contribute a little, but will never be a large part of the offense. Hopefully he has a good year. The staff thinks he is improved from last year.

Please enlighten all of us and explain how in the hell you would know this. Do you attend practices? Or are you basing this off of the maybe 20 plays that you saw him involved in last season? Real good representative body of work if so to make such a judgement off of.

 

[GoHawks24]

I believe I saw Meier was at 285 now (or maybe 275 )

Last year Powell played closer to 160lbs than the 180 listed, and I thought I saw where he was getting to a legit 180 now.

No way! Not saying it's not true (Doyle can do some pretty impressive things I know), but that's a VERY impressive, and huge, weight gain. I think he was weighing in at like 245 last season?

 

[DJL]

No way! Not saying it's not true (Doyle can do some pretty impressive things I know), but that's a VERY impressive, and huge, weight gain. I think he was weighing in at like 245 last season?

Yeah he was officially at 244 last year. If he is 275 I would be very impressed.

 

[HawkinGoferLand]

I'll see if I can find the info on Meier I read on Wed...brb

 

[HawkinGoferLand]

Morehouse says Myers (Boone) is at 285, not Meier (Nate). My bad...

 

[Eda]

Morehouse says Myers (Boone) is at 285, not Meier (Nate). My bad...

 

[MoseSchrute]

All these weights are exactly from last year's roster. Faith was listed at 287 last year. I'm sure he's bigger now after 12 months in the program. I also sure Ward, Welsh, and Walsh and Simmons have added some good weight too. We most likely won't see adjustments to this until Fall camp opens.

It actually seems rare to see many adjustments to listed weights on the two-deeps. Doyle gets them up to their ideal playing weight, maintains the good weight, and continues to build strength. I believe Scherff has been listed at the same weight his entire time here, and he himself said he weighs the same, but just lost fat and gained muscle. Carl Davis has cut weight since coming here. There was an interview with Rafael Eubanks a while back where he said he actually lost weight the last couple of years, but continued to get stronger. There is a fine line between adding weight and maintaining speed and conditioning.

 

[AZHAWKFAN1]

Height? Weight? Time of 40 yard trial? Whar Herby?

 

[Eda]

Height? Weight? Time of 40 yard trial? Whar Herby?

Whhhhaaaaaarrrrrrrr teh lieky button!?!

 

[WinOneThisCentury]

a friend sent this to me...

Steve Ferentz - from 230 to 267 (+37)
Boone Myers - from 250 to 285 (+35)
Daniel Gaffey - from 225 to 260 (+35)
Ike Boettger - from 235 to 267 (+32)
Corbin Blythe - from 230 to 258 (+28)
Josey Jewell - from 200 to 225 (+25)
Cole Croston - from 250 to 270 (+20)
Jake Hulett - from 235 to 255 (+20)
Nic Shimonek - from 196 to 212 (+16)
LeShun Daniels - from 215 to 230 (+15)
John Kenny - from 210 to 225 (+15)
Derrick Mitchell - from 190 to 205 (+15)
Jon Wisnieski - from 220 to 235 (+15)
Reid Sealby - from 275 to 290 (+15)
Drake Kulick - from 205 to 220 (+15)
Peter Pekar - from 210 to 225 (+15)
Adam Cox - from 215 to 230 (+15)
Wil Rathjen - from 265 to 280 (+15)
Andrew Wellik - from 195 to 210 (+15)
Kevin Ward - from 190 to 205 (+15)
Maurice Fleming - from 188 to 200 (+12)
Sean Draper - from 180 to 190 (+10)
Trev Hadachek - from 170 to 180 (+10)
Andre Harris - from 170 to 180 (+10)
A.J. Jones - from 190 to 200 (+10)
Will Kincart - from 245 to 255 (+10)
Andrew Stone - from 165 to 175 (+10)
Akrum Wadley - from 170 to 180 (+10)
Nate Meier - from 235 to 244 (+9)
Bo Bower - from 211 to 220 (+9)
C.J. Beathard - from 195 to 203 (+8)
Justin Joyce - from 170 to 175 (+8)
Brandon Scherff - from 315 to 320 (+5)
Derrick Willies - from 205 to 210 (+5)
Paul Brown - from 195 to 200 (+5)
Desmond King - from 185 to 190 (+5)
Jordan Lomax - from 195 to 200 (+5)
Jonathan Parker - from 175 to 180 (+5)
Greg Mabin - from 190 to 195 (+5)
Drew Ott - from 265 to 270 (+5)
George Kittle - from 225 to 230 (+5)
Henry Krieger-Coble - from 245 to 250 (+5)
Riley McMinn - from 260 to 265 (+5)
Chad Gilson - from 230 to 235 (+5)
Matt VandeBerg - from 170 to 175 (+5)
Dean Tsopanides - from 265 to 270 (+5)
Damon Bullock - from 200 to 205 (+5)
Malik Rucker - from 170 to 175 (+5)
Daumantas Venckus-Cucchiara - from 235 to 240 (+5)
Solomon Warfield - from 180 to 185 (+5)
Nico Law - from 200 to 205 (+5)
Cole Fisher - from 228 to 233 (+5)
Mike Hardy - from 275 to 280 (+5)
Drew Zaun - from 180 to 185 (+5)
Connor Keane - from 185 to 190 (+5)
Reggie Spearman - from 225 to 230 (+5)
Mark Weisman - from 236 to 240 (+4)
Jake Rudock - from 205 to 208 (+3)
John Lowdermilk - from 207 to 210 (+3)
Melvin Spears - from 265 to 268 (+3)
Tommy Gaul - from 277 to 280 (+3)
Jacob Hillyer - from 205 to 208 (+3)
Mitch Keppy - from 295 to 298 (+3)
Riley McCarron - from 182 to 185 (+3)
Jalen Chambers - from 288 to 290 (+2)
Macon Plewa - from 234 to 236 (+2)
Darian Cooper - from 280 to 282 (+2)
Blake Haluska - from 210 to 212 (+2)

 

[WinOneThisCentury]

Agreed. The non-stop calls for Powell are somewhat amusing. The guy is simply an ok football player. He is basically about as good as Herb Grigsby. But for whatever reason, the fan base despised Grigsby and thinks Powell is awesome.

He is a solid 4th WR, will contribute a little, but will never be a large part of the offense. Hopefully he has a good year. The staff thinks he is improved from last year.

So the guy steps on Campus in August and contributes in the first game with some deep balls and he will never be a large part of the offense. If our QB's were better at throwing the long ball, he would have had 3-4 more touchdowns last year. How often do you see a guy show up in August and play? Pretty damn rarely. I think the your assessment is a little harsh.

He needed to work on his body and get used to playing a much different brand of football against a level of competition he had never seen before. I'd say his first year was a rousing success. Also, he's not a possession guy, but he is a big play guy...with exceptional speed (see getting behind LSU's defense), so he's impacting the game whether you see it or not every time he steps on the field...regardless of whether he is targeted. I think he plays a larger role this year than last, but I wouldn't slight him because he may only have 25-35 catches...he's impacting the game.

 

[deanvogs]

Thanks Win! Great info.

 

[ICHawk24]

How is my assessment a little harsh? I said he is an ok football player, and that is in comparison with other Division I BCS wideouts . I said he is a solid 4th WR. Do you think he'll be better than KMM, Tevaun Smith, Hillyer? Maybe Hillyer, doubtful the other two. And that assumes he'll remain ahead of everyone behind him.

He played Juco ball, then had Iowa as his only BCS offer. The Iowa coaching staff wanted to get him involved the in offense, and couldn't make it happen. He was seeing (guesstimate) 15 to 20 reps per game in the middle of the B1G schedule, struggled to consistently get open, and lost reps. He caught 12 passes. Rarely threw a block, he doesn't really have the size for that.

I agree that it is a little impressive that the guy arrived on campus two days before August camp and contributed. I agreed that Beathard's arm would have helped Powell get another bomb or two. But he still only had 12 catches.

I hope he has a big year. But I'd be really surprised if he had 35 catches.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

That might be false there Bob-Bo. I was a little curious as to why Powell wasn't used more last year. It turns out us couch coaches don't know the same info the for really real coaches do.

Here's what KirFer had to say regarding Powell.

"COACH FERENTZ: We’re here to see what it looks like. He’s very intriguing in that basically he showed up here turn of August. He got here a couple of days before we got started. He literally was brand new and all regards. He’s got real energy to him. He’s a very vivacious guy and high energy player. He really ‑‑ it’s been fun just to watch him in the out of season program. He looks like a college player now, instead of a skinny kid. I’m sure it’s the first time he trained with any regularity. My guess is he’s just like Bob Sanders, he’s probably just played ball all the time. And now he’s actually doing it in a structured way. We’re here to see what he does out on the field in the spring."

That sounds very intriguing, does it not? It'll be interesting to see his weight when they update the depth chart stats. I'm also excited to see how he gets integrated into the offense.

So you missed last season? Every time they tried him on jet-sweep/reverse, he went down on minimal contact. He simply doesn't have much size.

Play him where he is most effective, i.e., outside, from the slot to the outside, etc.

He has great speed on his cut-backs, etc., but he needs open space. Traffic renders him ineffective thus far.

He can still contribute a great deal, and last year's numbers bear that out, but let's not have him trying to do things that aren't playing to his strengths.