First, based on the season snap counts Chase published after the Sugar Bowl, we are losing a ton, probably more than any season I can remember. Our biggest losses are on the offensive side where our returning players only accounted for 44.7% of the offensive snaps in 2021. By contrast, our returning defensive players accounted for 52.22% of all defensive snaps. Still, we suffered massive losses on both sides of scrimmage.
Starting with the offense, we are losing 6 of our top 10 and 10 of our top 16 players in terms of offensive snaps. Of those top 16 players departing, four completed their eligibility, Orlando Umana (2nd with 957 snaps) Dontario Drummond (5th with 802 snaps) Braylon Sanders (7th with 682 snaps) and Jahcour Pearson (9th with 563 snaps), while four more declared for the NFL draft, Matt Corral (4th with 933 snaps), Ben Brown (10th with 444 snaps), Jerrion Ealy (13th with 354 snaps) and Snoop Conner (15th with 325 snaps). The last two entered the portal, with Henry Parrish (12th with 374 snaps) going to Miami and JR Plumlee (16th with 297 snaps) headed to UCF. In addition, two others who saw action left via the portal: Bryce Ramsey (19th with 236 snaps) for USM, and Demarcus Thomas (28th with 20 snaps) for USA. Jason Jackson (21st with 207 snaps) is in the portal, but has not transferred anywhere yet.
Breaking it down by position, we return 69% of the offensive line snaps from 2021-thank goodness Broeker stayed who was #1 with 1017 snaps, 10.95% of the QB snaps, 3.49% of the RB snaps, 71.36% of the TE snaps-I‘m assuming Chase Rogers (18th with 244 snaps) left since he is no longer on the roster, despite having one more year of eligibility because of COVID, and 19.1% of the WR snaps.
Switching over to defense, we lose 6 of our top 11 and 8 of our top 16 in terms of defensive snaps. Of those losses, six completed their eligibility, Sam Williams (4th with 778 snaps), Deane Leonard (7th with 622 snaps), Jake Springer (10th with 536 snaps), Mark Robinson (11th with 531 snaps), Jaylon Jones (13th with 483 snaps), and Lakia Henry (16th with 314 snaps). In addition, Chase Cambell (3rd with 901 snaps), declared for the NFL draft and Keidron Smith (8th with 575 snaps) is in the portal, but has not gone anywhere yet-is there any chance he comes back? We also lost three players who saw significant action via the portal: Tylan Knight (18th with 255 snaps) to USM, Quintin Bivens (20th with 185 snaps) to USM, and MoMo Sonogo (25th with 144 snaps) to Louisville, while Tariqious Tisdale (26th with 118 snaps) completed his eligibility.
Breaking it down by position, we return 65.76% of our defensive line snaps, 10.63% of our LB snaps, and 59.5% of our DB snaps,
Doing this exercise made it clear to me why the MS State and Arkansas people are already penciling us in as a win in 2022, as we did lose a Hell of a lot. I am not saying they are right to be so confident, but you can see where they are coming from. The questions are how much have we replaced via the portal and where do we still need help?
Obviously, we had to have a QB and we did as well there as we possibly could adding Jaxson Dart. Adding Abraham in June would be a nice plum, especially as insurance in case Altmyer bolts. I am assuming Jack would be a PWO, but if Altmyer were to leave, I could see using a scholly for another QB.
At running back, we signed the second best available who will have to carry a much heavier load than any of the three who left did this year. With only one RB with any experience returning-and his experience so limited, that room still looks very thin. Just for insurance in case of injury, another RB would be nice, but maybe not the top priority depending upon numbers.
At OL, I would have probably said we were good prior to the Sugar Bowl, but they were exposed big time by Baylor. To be fair, the loss of Ben Brown showed the second half of the year before the Baylor game. But Umana is also a significant loss, as he played almost every snap this year. Brooks was a nice pick-up, but is he enough? Here, a huge question is whether any of the guys who did not play this year, like Cedrick Nicely, Jayden Williams, Tobias Braum, Micah Pettus or Erick Cade can be counted on? All are very big bodies and have presumably now had a year or two in the weight room. If none are projecting yet, you have to begin to question our HS recruiting in that area-or our old strength staff, which is now gone. As far as possible portal adds, the best one out there right now is the OT from Vandy, but I know UVA is offering his brother, who is a senior in HS, in a package deal, as is Vandy to stay, so I am not sure the chances there are great. (I do have some hopes that this center we grabbed as a PWO may actually contribute immediately, he has some of biggest arms I have ever seen.)
At Tight End, that position was not what you would have liked in 2021. Obviously, the transfer of Trigg is huge there, but another body would be nice, especially if Wolfe is still limited-I am beginning to become afraid that Wolfe may be a situation like the highly ranked OL we signed from Arkansas a few years back. However, as with RB, it could be a luxury we can’t afford numbers-wise.
Moving to WR, no position with multiple starters was as decimated as we are there with just 19.1% of our snaps returning. Moreover, even with the 5 players we are losing who received significant snaps at WR, we were hurting for numbers most of the year. The additions of Jalen Knox and Jordan Watkins, two proven commodities, certainly help, but I would think we need to add at least two more here, depending upon the development and readiness to play of some guys like Braylon Brown, Qua Davis (I was certainly expecting more there), Brandon Burkhalter and JJ Henry who have not seen the field. I don’t think Deion Smith will be one, as I cannot imagine LSU passing him so he can play elsewhere. I’m good with Malik Heath and Bru McCoy if Lane is.
On the Defensive side, after looking at the returning snaps and the additions of Pegues and Ivey, I am not sure I would use another slot here, unless the guy in question would make an instant impact.
Linebacker is an entirely different matter. I don’t think we can count on just adding Troy Brown to replace Cambell, Robinson and Henry. Hopefully, Reginald Hughes can fill some of that void, but I feel like we definitely need one more experienced LB.
The defensive back situation is honestly not bad. We lose a lot, especially Springer, Leonard and Smith, but we seem to have a deep room and I expect the portal additions of Isheem Young and Ladarius Tennison to start or at least play a lot in 2022.
As far as numbers, it seems to depend on the two HS OL commits that we did not sign in December. I would guess Hurst will be here if he has the grades. But at this stage, I think they may pass on Gagophien, which would leave us with 17 signees and 11 portal additions. So we are presumably working with just four scholarships. And if you count Heath, as Neal has predicted, then we are down to three.
In sum, while we hopefully would not pass on any instant impact guy, based on an analysis of the losses from our 2021 team, I would think an OL, another WR (two if we don’t sign Heath) and a LB should be the top priorities. If we end up with any additional spots, just grab the best available, especially if he’s a RB.
Starting with the offense, we are losing 6 of our top 10 and 10 of our top 16 players in terms of offensive snaps. Of those top 16 players departing, four completed their eligibility, Orlando Umana (2nd with 957 snaps) Dontario Drummond (5th with 802 snaps) Braylon Sanders (7th with 682 snaps) and Jahcour Pearson (9th with 563 snaps), while four more declared for the NFL draft, Matt Corral (4th with 933 snaps), Ben Brown (10th with 444 snaps), Jerrion Ealy (13th with 354 snaps) and Snoop Conner (15th with 325 snaps). The last two entered the portal, with Henry Parrish (12th with 374 snaps) going to Miami and JR Plumlee (16th with 297 snaps) headed to UCF. In addition, two others who saw action left via the portal: Bryce Ramsey (19th with 236 snaps) for USM, and Demarcus Thomas (28th with 20 snaps) for USA. Jason Jackson (21st with 207 snaps) is in the portal, but has not transferred anywhere yet.
Breaking it down by position, we return 69% of the offensive line snaps from 2021-thank goodness Broeker stayed who was #1 with 1017 snaps, 10.95% of the QB snaps, 3.49% of the RB snaps, 71.36% of the TE snaps-I‘m assuming Chase Rogers (18th with 244 snaps) left since he is no longer on the roster, despite having one more year of eligibility because of COVID, and 19.1% of the WR snaps.
Switching over to defense, we lose 6 of our top 11 and 8 of our top 16 in terms of defensive snaps. Of those losses, six completed their eligibility, Sam Williams (4th with 778 snaps), Deane Leonard (7th with 622 snaps), Jake Springer (10th with 536 snaps), Mark Robinson (11th with 531 snaps), Jaylon Jones (13th with 483 snaps), and Lakia Henry (16th with 314 snaps). In addition, Chase Cambell (3rd with 901 snaps), declared for the NFL draft and Keidron Smith (8th with 575 snaps) is in the portal, but has not gone anywhere yet-is there any chance he comes back? We also lost three players who saw significant action via the portal: Tylan Knight (18th with 255 snaps) to USM, Quintin Bivens (20th with 185 snaps) to USM, and MoMo Sonogo (25th with 144 snaps) to Louisville, while Tariqious Tisdale (26th with 118 snaps) completed his eligibility.
Breaking it down by position, we return 65.76% of our defensive line snaps, 10.63% of our LB snaps, and 59.5% of our DB snaps,
Doing this exercise made it clear to me why the MS State and Arkansas people are already penciling us in as a win in 2022, as we did lose a Hell of a lot. I am not saying they are right to be so confident, but you can see where they are coming from. The questions are how much have we replaced via the portal and where do we still need help?
Obviously, we had to have a QB and we did as well there as we possibly could adding Jaxson Dart. Adding Abraham in June would be a nice plum, especially as insurance in case Altmyer bolts. I am assuming Jack would be a PWO, but if Altmyer were to leave, I could see using a scholly for another QB.
At running back, we signed the second best available who will have to carry a much heavier load than any of the three who left did this year. With only one RB with any experience returning-and his experience so limited, that room still looks very thin. Just for insurance in case of injury, another RB would be nice, but maybe not the top priority depending upon numbers.
At OL, I would have probably said we were good prior to the Sugar Bowl, but they were exposed big time by Baylor. To be fair, the loss of Ben Brown showed the second half of the year before the Baylor game. But Umana is also a significant loss, as he played almost every snap this year. Brooks was a nice pick-up, but is he enough? Here, a huge question is whether any of the guys who did not play this year, like Cedrick Nicely, Jayden Williams, Tobias Braum, Micah Pettus or Erick Cade can be counted on? All are very big bodies and have presumably now had a year or two in the weight room. If none are projecting yet, you have to begin to question our HS recruiting in that area-or our old strength staff, which is now gone. As far as possible portal adds, the best one out there right now is the OT from Vandy, but I know UVA is offering his brother, who is a senior in HS, in a package deal, as is Vandy to stay, so I am not sure the chances there are great. (I do have some hopes that this center we grabbed as a PWO may actually contribute immediately, he has some of biggest arms I have ever seen.)
At Tight End, that position was not what you would have liked in 2021. Obviously, the transfer of Trigg is huge there, but another body would be nice, especially if Wolfe is still limited-I am beginning to become afraid that Wolfe may be a situation like the highly ranked OL we signed from Arkansas a few years back. However, as with RB, it could be a luxury we can’t afford numbers-wise.
Moving to WR, no position with multiple starters was as decimated as we are there with just 19.1% of our snaps returning. Moreover, even with the 5 players we are losing who received significant snaps at WR, we were hurting for numbers most of the year. The additions of Jalen Knox and Jordan Watkins, two proven commodities, certainly help, but I would think we need to add at least two more here, depending upon the development and readiness to play of some guys like Braylon Brown, Qua Davis (I was certainly expecting more there), Brandon Burkhalter and JJ Henry who have not seen the field. I don’t think Deion Smith will be one, as I cannot imagine LSU passing him so he can play elsewhere. I’m good with Malik Heath and Bru McCoy if Lane is.
On the Defensive side, after looking at the returning snaps and the additions of Pegues and Ivey, I am not sure I would use another slot here, unless the guy in question would make an instant impact.
Linebacker is an entirely different matter. I don’t think we can count on just adding Troy Brown to replace Cambell, Robinson and Henry. Hopefully, Reginald Hughes can fill some of that void, but I feel like we definitely need one more experienced LB.
The defensive back situation is honestly not bad. We lose a lot, especially Springer, Leonard and Smith, but we seem to have a deep room and I expect the portal additions of Isheem Young and Ladarius Tennison to start or at least play a lot in 2022.
As far as numbers, it seems to depend on the two HS OL commits that we did not sign in December. I would guess Hurst will be here if he has the grades. But at this stage, I think they may pass on Gagophien, which would leave us with 17 signees and 11 portal additions. So we are presumably working with just four scholarships. And if you count Heath, as Neal has predicted, then we are down to three.
In sum, while we hopefully would not pass on any instant impact guy, based on an analysis of the losses from our 2021 team, I would think an OL, another WR (two if we don’t sign Heath) and a LB should be the top priorities. If we end up with any additional spots, just grab the best available, especially if he’s a RB.
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