Knights of the OBNUG Roundtable: Post-Spring Depth Chart

We're a little late to the party here, or perhaps early…but we finally got around to around to arguing about the look of the post-Spring depth chart. It's sure to change come August, but hey…what else is there to talk about…Idaho's post-season ban? Actually, that probably would've been a good one.

Kevan

QB: Grant Hedrick, Thomas Stuart
RB: Jay Ajayi, Derrick Thomas
WR: Matt Miller, Troy Ware
WR: Thomas Sperbeck, Dallas Burroughs
Slot: Shane Williams-Rhodes, D.J. Dean
TE: Holden Huff, Jake Roh
OT: Rees Odhiambo, Steven Baggett
OG: Mario Yakoo, Kellen Buhr
C: Marcus Henry, Travis Averill
OG: Travis Averill, Avery Westendorf
OT: Archie Lewis, Jerhen Ertel

DE: Beau Martin, Sam McCaskill
DT: Tyler Horn, Elliot Hoyte
DT: Justin Taimatuia, Armand Nance
STUD: Gabe Perez, Jabril Frazier
MLB: Ben Weaver, Blake Renaud
LB: Chris Santini, Tanner Vallejo
N: Corey Bell, Dionza Blue
CB: Donte Deayon, Cleshawn Page
CB: Bryan Douglas, Jonathan  Moxey
S: Darian Thompson, Dylan Sumner-Gardner
S: Jeremy Ioane, Dillon Lukehart

P: Sean Wale
K: Dan Goodale
KR: Bryan Douglas, Derrick Thomas
PR: Shane Williams-Rhodes

Is this a to-be-expected depth chart or what? It is the President Obama NCAA bracket of depth charts. The only surprises here might be Armand Nance on the second team and Jabril Frazier playing as a true freshman, but really, defensive tackles rotate so often that the line between first- and second-teams is a constant blur and Frazier is one of the best recruits we got at a position where we don't have a lot of depth. 

Drew

I'm under no illusions that the depth chart won't change—perhaps drastically—once Fall Camp opens, but I don't know, Kev…I think I'll stick to guys who are actually, y'know…ON campus to fill out my depth chart. That said, mine isn't drastically different, just drastically more accurate. Alterations in red.

QB: Grant Hedrick, Ryan Finley
RB: Jay Ajayi, Derrick Thomas
WR: Matt Miller, Troy Ware
WR: Thomas Sperbeck, Tanner Shipley
Slot: Shane Williams Rhodes, Devan Demas
TE: Jake Roh, Jake Hardee
OT: Rees Odhiambo, Steven Baggett
OG: Mario Yakoo, Kellen Buhr
C: Marcus Henry, Andrew Tercek
OG: Travis Averill, Avery Westendorf
OT: Archie Lewis, Eli McCullough

DE: Beau Martin, Sam McCaskill OR Kamalei Correa
DT: Tyler Horn, Nick Terry
DT: Armand Nance, Justin Taimatuia
STUD: Gabe Perez, Mat Boesen
MLB: Ben Weaver, Blake Renaud
LB: Tanner Vallejo, Chris Santini
N: Corey Bell, Mercy Maston
CB: Donte Deayon, Cleshawn Page
CB: Jonathan Moxey, Bryan Douglas
S: Darian Thompson, Dylan Sumner-Gardner
S: Jeremy Ioane, Dillon Lukehart

P: Sean Wale
K: Dan Goodale
KR: Bryan Douglas, Dallas Burroughs
PR: Shane Williams-Rhodes

Allow me to explain some of my deviations. Firstly, this is a post-Spring depth chart and Finley was clearly the #2 guy at the close of camp, so I just can't give Stuart the backup nod based on potential alone (I do applaud you , however, for resisting the urge to put Brett Rypien, a high school junior, in as backup). At WR things are fairly wide open behind Miller and SWR, so your guess is every bit as good as mine. We'll see a lot of guys this Fall get into the rotation…and one that I'd LIKE to see would be Devan Demas. If he isn't the #2 running back—and I have no reason to suspect he will be—the Slot may be a great spot for him to land. He's got a Williams-Rhodes-esque (lotta hyphens there) skill set…go for it, Coach Sanford. At TE, you have to believe that four-star in-state hoss Chase Blakley is going to come in and play right away, but since we're looking at Spring ball as our only real compass, I think Roh seemed to have taken the biggest leap and Jake Hardee only got the backup role because of Holden Huff's propensity for breaking (bones, not dancing).

I'm writing a pretty big check for newb Andrew Tercek as the backup center, but I feel it was his absence in Spring Camp that largely led to Marcus Henry's move…but Henry's versatility could keep him in the #1 slot even after Tercek's return. At tackle, I've heard good things about Eli McCullough, so I'll take that on faith and place him right behind the long-armed Archie Lewis. Offense. Done.

On D, I take great umbrage with the omission of Nick Terry…I'm rooting as hard for Sir Elliot Hoyte as anyone, but think Terry has a distinct edge here…one that could be erased with the arrivals of Rondell McNair and Antoine Turner. I've also altered the depth chart at STUD to include Mat Boesen. I agree with your assessment of Frazier, and let's be honest…the kid's playing come Fall, but Boesen's smart move from nickel will pay immediate dividends at STUD. I also added in Kamalei Correa as an "OR" at the other DE spot—a spot, I should mention, where the "starter" tag is applied loosely. Lots of dudes are going to play.

At LB the only change I had was moving Santini behind Vallejo. I don't think Vallejo's grip on the spot is held with a kung fu grip, however…Santini played well in the Spring game. Maybe the most counterintuitive thing on BOTH of our lists is the complete omission of Tyler Gray at the OLB spot. Could he join the STUD rotation? How many guys does it take to replace Demarcus Lawrence? In the secondary, I'd put Maston as the backup nickel—ahead of Dionza Blue simply based on his size and Moxey ahead of Douglas based on the Spring scrimmage.

Wrapping things up with one minor alteration to the kick return game…but these spots have seemed awfully fluid the last few years, so it's written in chalk.