Tim Salem the OC
With the news that Tim Salem will be the OC/QB coach moving forward into the Bowl Game and is also a candidate to be the OC for good, I started thinking about scenarios that would make it work and why Narduzzi would want that. He’s always said he wanted guys that will be in it with him for the long haul and I really feel, despite what he’s saying in the media, is that Chaney kind of lied to him throughout the initial hiring process and the fact that he was entertaining a new job after just 1 year made Narduzzi mad. All speculation on my part there.
I don’t know a whole lot about what Salem’s offenses looked like at UCF, but I did find a game in 2007, where they played #6 ranked Texas. From the looks of that, they were a lot of Gun Run, but they also mixed some things up and kept a top 10 team off balance at times. UCF had a really good running back that led the NCAA in rushing that year. Overall (and yes I watched all of the offensive series), I was not overly impressed with the offense, but it was also UCF against a top 10 opponent.
In 2008 he had to replace his starting QB and the NCAA leader in rushing, so the offense taking a step back is understandable, but the numbers say it was a huge drop off which is concerning when UCF returned 4 of 5 OL. I think the new QB (Greco) got hurt at some point during the season so they were even further down in their QB depth chart.
UCF v. Texas 2007 — If you want to get a look at it.
That’s a very small sample size because I don’t have any other games (yet) to look at and I’m sure he’s adjusted and changed some of his ideology since his stint as an OC.
Scholarship Board Talk
With the big recruiting week, Pitt will now have some movement in their roster either after the bowl game and before spring practice, or and what I feel will be the majority of moves, after spring camp.
Looking at the scholarship numbers, Pitt has a ways to go to get to their desired number of commitments. That doesn’t even include guys like Hamlin, Hudson, Washington etc. that they are still pursuing.
Scholarship Numbers indicate a couple things: Large numbers at WR, DL, LB and in the secondary. It also shows that Pitt will be at 74 next season before any deflections. The commitment board also shows a large number of commitments in the secondary with a few remaining targets that also project as secondary players.
Scholarship Number Breakdown (Sort of):
There are currently 14 secondary players on scholarship with 1 deciding to transfer (Amara) and 1 graduating. That leaves you with 12 players in the secondary with as many as 7 coming in and as few as 5. At the minimum you’re looking at 17 kids.
After spring ball, there will be 3 seniors at Safety with a Fr. All-American locked into one spot. I think one of those three will decide to move on. At corner, it’s a little less cut and dry with no real depth and a lot of unproven guys looking to replace Pitts during Spring. I could see 3 out of that group leave. That leaves you with 14 — at the number they ended the season with. Result: Push
At Linebacker they were at 9 scholarship players this season and they are losing 1 to graduation and 1 to transfer. They are replacing that with two LB prospects (Pugh and Pine), but they also have a couple other guys they are currently recruiting. Even if they bring in one other LB recruit, I don’t think that any of these LBers will move on. Result: +1 or Push
Pitt’s numbers at DL from this past year sat at 16 players. Pitt is going to lose 3 DT and possibly a DE (Price) to graduation. There’s a good chance that Price comes back for his 6th year, barring the NCAA making a mistake, which leaves Pitt with a nice group of players at DE: Edwards, Hendrix, Blair, Price is a nice group, but they also have some “unproven” guys that seem to be down the depth chart. Pitt is also bringing in 2 DE’s and maybe a 3rd.
I would guess that 1 or 2 decide to move on from this group and/or change a position. One of those position changes, could be Shakir Soto who moves inside to the 3T. DT loses 3 players and has very little in terms of depth behind it. Pitt plans on bringing in at least 2 DT’s, but there could be up to 4. My guess is that there will 2 transfer from the DL and a position change which would give Pitt 6 moves at DL. Result: -2 or Push
And finally, there is the WR position. Currently one of the biggest groups at Pitt and there’s not a lot of proven talent. Pitt had 11 scholarship guys this past year and none of which are seniors. That doesn’t mean though that Pitt is not recruiting them. Currently with 3 WR commits, Pitt is likely to lose all-everything Tyler Boyd to the NFL. I can see 2 or 3 scholarships opening up in that position grouping. Result: Push or +1
With those 4 groupings, I see Pitt at +1 or Push in the scholarship numbers for next season at the same positions. Other position thoughts:
RB/FB: -1 or -2 | QB: Push | TE: Push or +1 | OL: -1 |
Other:
Man it’s nice to get a recruit that everyone seemed to want outside of Ohio State apparently. This class is turning into a very good first “full” class for Narduzzi and I think it still has opportunities to get much better. One thing I’m a little concerned with is OL recruiting. Hopefully I’m wrong on that though.
If Narduzzi does indeed decide to promote Salem, and I’m not saying he will or he won’t, then Narduzzi needs to go out and get a QB coach that’s a dynamic recruiter: Mike Locksley. Locksley is one of the best recruiters out of the DMV area and would definitely pay dividends in recruiting.
Last 2 years at Maryland: 3 4 Star Players (2 OL, 1 DE), 1 5 Star (OL)
Have a good week!
With the news that Tim Salem will be the OC/QB coach moving forward into the Bowl Game and is also a candidate to be the OC for good, I started thinking about scenarios that would make it work and why Narduzzi would want that. He’s always said he wanted guys that will be in it with him for the long haul and I really feel, despite what he’s saying in the media, is that Chaney kind of lied to him throughout the initial hiring process and the fact that he was entertaining a new job after just 1 year made Narduzzi mad. All speculation on my part there.
I don’t know a whole lot about what Salem’s offenses looked like at UCF, but I did find a game in 2007, where they played #6 ranked Texas. From the looks of that, they were a lot of Gun Run, but they also mixed some things up and kept a top 10 team off balance at times. UCF had a really good running back that led the NCAA in rushing that year. Overall (and yes I watched all of the offensive series), I was not overly impressed with the offense, but it was also UCF against a top 10 opponent.
In 2008 he had to replace his starting QB and the NCAA leader in rushing, so the offense taking a step back is understandable, but the numbers say it was a huge drop off which is concerning when UCF returned 4 of 5 OL. I think the new QB (Greco) got hurt at some point during the season so they were even further down in their QB depth chart.
UCF v. Texas 2007 — If you want to get a look at it.
That’s a very small sample size because I don’t have any other games (yet) to look at and I’m sure he’s adjusted and changed some of his ideology since his stint as an OC.
Scholarship Board Talk
With the big recruiting week, Pitt will now have some movement in their roster either after the bowl game and before spring practice, or and what I feel will be the majority of moves, after spring camp.
Looking at the scholarship numbers, Pitt has a ways to go to get to their desired number of commitments. That doesn’t even include guys like Hamlin, Hudson, Washington etc. that they are still pursuing.
Scholarship Numbers indicate a couple things: Large numbers at WR, DL, LB and in the secondary. It also shows that Pitt will be at 74 next season before any deflections. The commitment board also shows a large number of commitments in the secondary with a few remaining targets that also project as secondary players.
Scholarship Number Breakdown (Sort of):
There are currently 14 secondary players on scholarship with 1 deciding to transfer (Amara) and 1 graduating. That leaves you with 12 players in the secondary with as many as 7 coming in and as few as 5. At the minimum you’re looking at 17 kids.
After spring ball, there will be 3 seniors at Safety with a Fr. All-American locked into one spot. I think one of those three will decide to move on. At corner, it’s a little less cut and dry with no real depth and a lot of unproven guys looking to replace Pitts during Spring. I could see 3 out of that group leave. That leaves you with 14 — at the number they ended the season with. Result: Push
At Linebacker they were at 9 scholarship players this season and they are losing 1 to graduation and 1 to transfer. They are replacing that with two LB prospects (Pugh and Pine), but they also have a couple other guys they are currently recruiting. Even if they bring in one other LB recruit, I don’t think that any of these LBers will move on. Result: +1 or Push
Pitt’s numbers at DL from this past year sat at 16 players. Pitt is going to lose 3 DT and possibly a DE (Price) to graduation. There’s a good chance that Price comes back for his 6th year, barring the NCAA making a mistake, which leaves Pitt with a nice group of players at DE: Edwards, Hendrix, Blair, Price is a nice group, but they also have some “unproven” guys that seem to be down the depth chart. Pitt is also bringing in 2 DE’s and maybe a 3rd.
I would guess that 1 or 2 decide to move on from this group and/or change a position. One of those position changes, could be Shakir Soto who moves inside to the 3T. DT loses 3 players and has very little in terms of depth behind it. Pitt plans on bringing in at least 2 DT’s, but there could be up to 4. My guess is that there will 2 transfer from the DL and a position change which would give Pitt 6 moves at DL. Result: -2 or Push
And finally, there is the WR position. Currently one of the biggest groups at Pitt and there’s not a lot of proven talent. Pitt had 11 scholarship guys this past year and none of which are seniors. That doesn’t mean though that Pitt is not recruiting them. Currently with 3 WR commits, Pitt is likely to lose all-everything Tyler Boyd to the NFL. I can see 2 or 3 scholarships opening up in that position grouping. Result: Push or +1
With those 4 groupings, I see Pitt at +1 or Push in the scholarship numbers for next season at the same positions. Other position thoughts:
RB/FB: -1 or -2 | QB: Push | TE: Push or +1 | OL: -1 |
Other:
Man it’s nice to get a recruit that everyone seemed to want outside of Ohio State apparently. This class is turning into a very good first “full” class for Narduzzi and I think it still has opportunities to get much better. One thing I’m a little concerned with is OL recruiting. Hopefully I’m wrong on that though.
If Narduzzi does indeed decide to promote Salem, and I’m not saying he will or he won’t, then Narduzzi needs to go out and get a QB coach that’s a dynamic recruiter: Mike Locksley. Locksley is one of the best recruiters out of the DMV area and would definitely pay dividends in recruiting.
Last 2 years at Maryland: 3 4 Star Players (2 OL, 1 DE), 1 5 Star (OL)
Have a good week!
