2013 Miami Hurricanes 12 part Opponent series - Part 6 (@UNC - Oct 17th {Thursday Night})

Oct 17^th - @North Carolina (Thursday Night)

Well, we are halfway home in this opponent series. In Part 6, I’ll preview the 2013 North Carolina Tar Heels, whom we visit up in Chapel Hill on Oct 17^th, a Thursday Night game at 7:30 on ESPN.

Here’s what you need to know about the Tar Heels:

They are coached by Larry Fedora (Austin College '85), who enters his 2^nd season with the Tar Heels. He led them to an 8-4 season and won the Coastal, but they were ineligible for the ACC Championship game due to probation. He was hired in January of last year after four years at Southern Missi, where he went 34-19 in his tenure there. That includes a 12-2 finish and Conference USA championship in his final season in Hattiesburg. In Fedora's last two seasons with the Golden Eagles, they made unbelievable strides on Offense, Defense and, the most important of all, in the win column. Think about this, his first team in Carolina, seemed more poised and were more comfortable in his offense than he had in his final two years in Hattiesburg. Simply put, the Tar Heels are already ahead of schedule.

To put Fedora’s success in perspective, in 2010, his Golden Eagles team won eight games for the first time since 2006. His first two years there were nothing to write home about. However, in 2008, after a 2-6 start, they won their final 5 games to finish 7-6. That year, the offense came alive, and they broke a then school record for points with 398. The next year, they would score 428 points. IN 2010, they scored 479 points, and in Fedora’s final year, they scored 512 points.

That’s the main reason North Carolina brought Fedora in. When you look at the resume of this man, He was Mike Gundy’s OC at Oklahoma State from 2005-07, and they got better offensively each year he was there. The offense in Stillwater, struggled in 2005, finishing 96th nationally in scoring, the Cowboys finished in the top 10 in rushing yards and the top 20 in total offense in each of the following two seasons. The following year, they were one of two teams (Boise being the other) to average 200 yards per game both Rushing and Passing. Before his stint in Stillwater, he spent time in Gainesville on Ron Zook’s staff, with the final year (2004) being the OC and at Middle Tennessee State from 1999-2001 as offensive coordinator. His other FBS assistant experience were at Air Force (1997-98) and Baylor (1990-1996). Carolina was sending a message, they were going to compete for ACC titles and be a national power in Football again.

Let’s break down the North Carolina Tar Heels:

Offensively:  They lost their biggest weapon Giovani Bernard, who decided to forgo his final 2 years of eligibility and enter the NFL (Drafted in 2^nd Round by the Cincinnati Bengals). They do have nice pieces coming back, but having to fill Bernard’s shoes isn’t going to be easy. Its up to both Senior A.J. Blue (433 yards, 5.28 yards per carry) and Sophomore Romar Morris (386 yards, 5.59 yards per carry). They did ok in 2012 when given the chance to produce. If they want to have a solid starter, most likely it’ll be Blue that they lean on here. He did have a 100-yard game, when Bernard was out vs. Wake Forest. However, don’t be surprised if Fedora decides to go with a back by committee approach here between Blue, Morris, sophomore Travis Riley and true freshman T.J. Logan. Two big issues they need to get addressed:

·         UNC loses a star, in Gio Bernard and you don’t replace with just anyone.

·         They have to replace three starters on the O-Line (which I’ll talk about next)

How far their running game drops off, and there will be a drop off this year, will hinge on how quickly everyone steps up and produces in their new roles?

I want to get more in depth about the O-Line: In 2012, they had three Seniors there and they allowed the 9^th fewest sacks in the country with 11. However, in 2013, they must replace three starters there:

·         Jonathan Cooper at left guard (1^st Round pick by the Arizona Cardinals) – who was one of the best O-Lineman in the country

·         Travis Bond (7^th Round pick by the Minnesota Vikings) and Brennan Williams (3^rd Round pick by the Houston Texans) from the right side.

They do get back Senior left tackle James Hurst, who’s easily an all First Team ACC player, and Junior center Russell Bodine, who’s become more of the vocal leader on that line. To fill those huge shoes of the three Seniors they lost to Graduation/NFL Draft, they’ll look to Landon Turner, a sophomore, at RG, like they did in the final four games of last season because Williams got hurt, and RS Freshman Caleb Peterson, who will have to huge task of filling Cooper’s huge shoes at LG, barring any developments during fall camp. At RT, it’ll be up to Junior Nick Appel to step up. When you have an All-ACC First team player like Hurst next to you on the line, Peterson should be able to make the quick transition to a starting job and shine. When you add a leader like Bodine, that should make the interior of the O-Line very good.  If there’s a down side, and there is a down side here, it’s the fact that Peterson is raw. You have to realize that the right side of their line goes from extremely inexperienced to, at best, a minor concern. However, the other side of the coin there, is that the right side could be a major problem for an Offense looking to continue the momentum that last season had success on the ground. Also, while Carolina add four recruits in time for fall camp, which includes a JUCO transfer, they are lacking depth here and anyone goes down, it could be big trouble in Chapel Hill.

As for the passing game, that’s unchanged for the most part. They did lose only a nice possession receiver in Erik Highsmith (Signed as UFA by Minnesota Vikings), Overall, you can see they’re liking  in Fedora's system and they believe in it. They have experience back running his offense in Senior Bryn Renner, who’s entering his third season as the Heels' starter. He comes in as one of the best QB’s in the country. In 2012, Renner was outstanding, sans the midseason doldrums of ACC play,  and comes into his senior year, with a chance to break every major passing record in school history, which says a lot. He already has the top two single-season touchdown records, and had a career-high 28 in 2012, and also, set a new school record for total offense with 3,394 yards. He also is the most efficient QB in ACC history (154.59). This was evident in the Louisville game when he went head to head with Teddy Bridgewater in September, and he only got better as the season went on. In November, he was a monster. In 2013, this guy could be maybe a Top 5 QB in the country.

Look at the weapons Renner has back. They have Sophomore Quinshad Davis (61 receptions for 770 yards) and Junior tight end Eric Ebron (40 for 625) as their main weapons, with the latter (Ebron) being a borderline All-American candidate after a strong first season as their full-time starter at TE. As for Davis, he’s their leader of their WR core. After him, you have Junior Sean Tapley (26 for 351), Sophomore Kendrick Singleton, Sophomore T.J. Thorpe and Juniors Nic Platt and Roy Smith. What the other WRs lack in proven production after Davis and Tapley, they make up for it in being comfortable in Fedora’s Offense, and there’s only one Senior there. This is going to be a very dangerous core to deal with in 2013. They don’t have the possession WR, so it’ll be up to incoming freshmen, Jordan Fieulleteau and Johnathan Howard, to step up and fill the role Highsmith had in 2012, and be that guy to be that true downfield threat to make opposing DC’s have to respect the slot guy more and not focus on just Davis and Ebron.

Defensively: As great as UNC's offense, the same cannot be said for their defense. In 2012, especially toward the end of the season, they were just horrendous. This area needs plenty of work to build the confidence back up in them. Their strongest area is the secondary, which has all four primary starters back. Their front seven, has to replace:

·         A starting tackle

·         A  stub at MLB

·         Two hybrids

o   An end-linebacker

o   Linebacker-safety.

On one side of the coin, they have to replace some major talent and production off here. On the other side of the coin, these same starters couldn't do anything to halt the 2^nd half skid. However, you don’t replace guys like Sylvester Williams (1^st Round pick {28^th Overall} by the Denver Broncos) and Kevin Reddick (Signed as UFA by the New Orleans Saints) with just anyone. At the same time, they are more familiar with DC Dan Disch's unorthodox system.

They do have coming back on the D-Line, Senior DE Kareem Martin (40 tackles, 15.5 for loss) and senior DT Tim Jackson, with the latter moving over to fill Williams' huge shoes on the inside. With Jackson moving over, this opens a spot at the nose for Junior Shawn Underwood, who was Jackson’s understudy. The question that has to be asked here:

Can Jackson, Underwood and juniors Ethan Farmer and Devonte Brown even come close to duplicating the sort of disruptive presence Williams brought to their defense in 2012? A bigger issue is the lack of size inside: Think about this, they only have one returning lineman over 300 pounds  and that’s Underwood, however, incoming freshman Greg Webb, will be the other. Even if this defense is built on speed, they have to really stand tall at the point of attack and not get pushed around by bigger and more athletic O-Lines. If there’s any good news, its that Martin is good enough to have the Front 4 get on his back, but he’s going to need the others on that line to step up and produce.

As for the LB core, its up to Sophomore Shakeel Rashad (18 tackles, 3.5 for loss) to fill the shoes left by Dion Guy (Graduation) as UNC's hybrid end-linebacker. This is a role that he’ll do very well at because if his speed, agility and overall athleticism. Usually, you would have a converted LB in this role, but they see something in him that makes them believe he can be a full-time starter because he has enough speed to harass skill players off the edge, though he is a bit on the light side  Add to the fact that Junior Tommy Heffernan (73 tackles, 8.5 for loss) is back as the Weak side LB, and they can devote this fall camp to locating a replacement for Reddick in the middle. Something they’ll look at here is to move either Heffernan or Travis Hughes there. That way, that would allow them to have their two most experienced LBs on the field; another option their staff is considering, though less likely this scenario happens, is to give the job to one of two RS Freshmen, (Nathan Staub and Dan Mastromatteo). As it is now, they seem inclined to start either Hughes or Heffernan on the weak side, with the reserve still playing a big role, and have inexperience replace one of the best linebackers in the ACC in Reddick. There will be a dropoff there without question.

Their secondary, as stated earlier, has everyone back, and this could be one of the better units in the ACC. Injuries were an issue back in the Spring. However, their starting four should remain the same:

·         Senior Jabari Price (76 tackles) and junior Tim Price (48 tackles, 4 interceptions) at CB.

·         Senior Tre Boston (86 tackles, 4 interceptions) at FS

·         Either sophomores Sam Smiley or Darien Rankin (48 tackles, 3 interceptions) at strong safety.

When you look at their safeties, this group is loaded with talent. The hybrid spot, one shared by Gene Robinson and Pete Mangum last year, will be held by Junior Brandon Ellerbe, who’s a former safety that moved to the position following last season's scheme change. Ellerbe's coverage experience is key because their hybrid acts more like a fifth defensive back than a third linebacker.

Special teams: Losing Casey Barth (Graduation) is huge and filling his shoes is going to be a very tough act. The one they will turn to here to fill the huge shoes left behind by Barth is Junior Thomas Moore, who made two of his three attempts in limited duty a year ago.

However, they do get Junior Tommy Hibbard back at Punter. Some would say he’s the best punter in the ACC, though Duke's Will Monday will have something to say about that. They do get Tapley back on Kick returns, which gives them very nice field-position asset, however, when you lose a Home Run threat like Bernard, there’s going to be big drop there.  

In closing, looking at Carolina’s schedule, right off the bat, they have to go to Columbia for a meeting with Mr. Clowney and Co. on a Thursday Night. After that, they have MTSU in their home opener, and after a BYE week, go to Atlanta to play GT, before going back home for East Carolina the following week. They’re back on the road the following week to Blacksburg to play VT. After the second BYE week, we come to town for a Thursday Night game and nine days later, they host BC. After the Eagles game, they go back on the road to Raleigh to play NC State, before coming back home the following week to host UVa. After the Cavaliers leave Chapel Hill, they make the trip North to ACC newcomer Pittsburgh, to close the road portion of their schedule. They close with Old Dominion and Duke at home.

I have to tell you this team has the chance to win 10 games this year. Will they do it? Probably not. I’m going with 9-3 for North Carolina in 2013.

In Part 7 of the series, I will talk about the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. 

2013 Miami Hurricanes 12 part Opponent series - Part 5 (GT - Oct 5th ACC Opener)

Oct 5^th – GT (ACC Opener)

In Part 5 of the 12 part 2013 Miami Hurricanes opponent series, I’m going to talk about our opponent in the ACC opener, and that’s the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, who come to Sun Life Stadium on October 5^th.

Here’s what you need to know about the Yellow Jackets: They are coached by Paul Johnson, who is entering his 6^th season in Atlanta. This was the hot team when he came in from Navy, but my, have things changed. In 2009, they won the ACC title beating Clemson in Tampa to do so. With a Johnson coached team, you know what you’re going to see, which is the Triple Option. His teams have led the nation or have been near the top in total yards (especially rushing, not so much passing) and total points.

Here’s what Johnson said after winning the 2009 ACC title: "When we took the job, this is the reason we took it — to have a chance to compete and go to BCS bowl games.” He was on a roll at that point and when you look at the resume of this man, you see why he had the confidence he had at that time. He won two Division I-AA (now FCS) national championships at Georgia Southern. Then he led the Naval Academy to five straight bowl games. And once he arrived in Atlanta, he had early success to everyone’s amazement.

Now, though, fast forward to 2013, they are not as consistent as they were early on. They come into this season off a 7-7 season, and the third straight year with at least five losses. Yes, there has been bowl games in that stretch, but when you go to the Sun and the Independence Bowls, instead of the BCS bowls like the Orange and the Sugar, the disgruntling gets a little louder.

GT by the numbers in 2012:
Rushing Offense: 311.21 (4th in nation, 1st in conference)
Passing Offense: 129.86 (115, 12)
Total Offense: 441.07 (35, 4)
Scoring Offense: 33.57 (34, 4)
Rushing Defense: 144.21 (41, 5)
Pass Defense: 229.79 (58, 5)
Total Defense: 374.00 (43, 5)
Scoring Defense: 28.29 (65, 7)
Turnover Margin: 0.29 (45, 4)
Sacks: 2.00 (59, 8)
Sacks Allowed: 1.00 (13, 2)

That right there tells you that this is purely a running team. Defensively, this is a middle of the road team.

What does 2013 hold for the Yellow Jackets? Lets break them down:

Defensively – They have eight starters back here, which includes Jeremiah Attaochu, who makes the move over to the D-Line from LB, more specifically DE. This is off a 2012 season where he had 10 sacks while at LB. You have to realize the move is coming from a change in philosophy. 2012 Defensive coordinator, and former Virginia head coach, Al Groh was canned in mid-season after their  D allowed 40-plus points for the third straight game. When he was at GT, Groh used the 3-4. On Jan. 9^th, Johnson hired former Duke HC Ted Roof to be the new DC in Atlanta. Roof, is an alumnus of GT, playing LB there. For five years, he was Duke’s head coach and he’s been an assistant in many places, including a stop in Happy Valley in 2012. What we’ll see from Roof is a 4-3 defense. The LBs he’ll have at his disposal returning as starters all made more than 40 tackles last season, including 84 (4.5 for loss) from sophomore Jabari Hunt-Days, a reigning Freshman All-American.  They did lose to Graduation: DE Izaan Cross (Signed as UFA by Buffalo), DT T.J. Barnes, CB Rod Sweeting (Signed as UFA by New Orleans).

Offensively – They will have to fill the shoes of Tevin Washington (Graduation), who was a two-year starter and the ACC’s all-time leader in career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. The man that will likely be the guy to run Johnson’s offense is Vad Lee, a redshirt sophomore who appeared in all 12 games in 2012. Lee was a four-star recruit from Durham (NC) Hillside H.S. He had 96 carries for 544 yards, including 59 yards and two scores in the 56-20 rout of the Virginia Cavaliers on Sept. 15. In the shootout win vs Carolina (68-50) on Nov. 10, he threw for 169 yards and ran for another 112 yards. Backing up Lee, is Justin Thomas, a redshirt freshman from Prattville, AL  and another four-star prospect. To help Lee in Johnson’s offense, the RBs that are back for them are David Sims, a RS Senior (135 carries for 612 yards, and 4 TDs and 2 receptions for 8 yards receiving in 2012), and junior B.J. Bostic.(34 carries for 212 yards rushing and 7 receptions for 139 yards receiving in 2012). They also have Four offensive line starters coming back for them. The Yellow Jackets averaged over 311 rushing yards a game last season. Look for that again in 2013. Gone to Graduation or other circumstances besides Washington: RB Orwin Smith (Signed as UFA by Tampa Bay), OG Omoregie Uzzi, WR Jeff Greene (Transferred to Ohio State and sitting out this season).

Special Teams – They do return Junior Jamal Golden as both the Punt/Kick Returner. The PK will be Senior David Scully, and the P will be Senior Sean Poole.

In closing, when I look at GT’s schedule, there are winnable games there. Elon in the opener is a no-brainer right there. After that, they go to Duke after the BYE week on Sept 14^th, and then have Carolina and VT at home in a five day stretch. They could either be 2-2 or 1-3 after the first month of the season. Then comes a trip down to Sun Life nine days later, which will be a loss for them, so we’re looking potentially at 1-4 or 2-3 for Tech before heading out West the following week to play BYU in Provo, before going back to Atlanta to host Syracuse the next week. Then they have a trip to Charlottesville before coming back home to host Pitt. After the second BYE week, comes a trip to Clemson to close the ACC portion of the schedule. They close with Alabama A & M and their bitter rival UGa at home.

I’m going to honest here, I’m looking realistically at best case, 7-5 for GT in 2013.

In Part 6 of the series, I will preview the North Carolina Tar Heels. 

2013 Miami Hurricanes 12 part Opponent series - Part 4 (@USF - Sept 28th)

Sept 28 - @USF

In Part 4 of the 12 part 2013 CANE opponent series, we’re going to talk a team that that made a big splash in recruiting this offseason and that’s the South Florida Bulls, whom we play up in Tampa at Raymond James Stadium on Sept 28^th for our first road game of the season.

Here’s what you need to know about the Bulls: Like with the previous opponent, they have a new Head Coach. Unlike Earnest Wilson III, Willie Taggart, comes in with big expectations in the Bay area. Taggart became the 3^rd Head Coach in their history. He comes over from Western Kentucky (his alma mater), to come back home to the Tampa Bay area and build the Bulls into a national power and have them take that next step, He didn't keep any of Skip Holtz's assistants. When Taggart came in, he cleaned house from top to bottom. He brought many of his staff from WKU down to Tampa with him,  Here’s a list of coaches brought with him down to Tampa from WKU:

·         OC and OL coach Walt Wells

·         Special teams coordinator Stu Holt

·         DL coach Eric Mathies

·         QB coach Nick Sheridan

·         LB coach Raymond Woodie.

Those names won’t jump out at you right away, but the one thing Taggart values is loyalty and with the Woodie hire, who knows every coach in South Florida, Taggart wants USF to be a bigger presence in the Tri-County area (Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach), and in the ’13 class, since he took over, has 4 commits from the Tri-County area (3 from Miami-Dade and 1 from Broward). When you add to the fact that he hired former NFL assistant Chuck Bresnahan as his DC and had a coup when took Ron Cooper away from LSU, and is very familiar with the Bay area, having being a former Bucs assistant, as the Secondary coach, and you have a staff that’s committed to taking that next step into a national power and a force to be reckoned with. The Bulls have never had a 10 win season in their history. You give him 2-3 years, and they’ll be winning 10+ games on a consistent basis.

Last year, they were 3-9 and just 1-6 in the former Big East (now American Athletic).

Let’s break down the 2013 Bulls.

Offensively: There will be a change in philosophy in Temple Terrace. You won’t see the QB get a majority of the rushes. While we’ll still see some running from the QB, you’re going to see more a power running game from them. On the surface, you’d think senior Marcus Shaw (248 yards in 2012) would have a big lead on the competition due to the fact no one else has done anything of note in the offense.  However, the thing you have to consider is that Shaw is not the back that can go 25-30 carries a game. That opens the door for returnees like Sophomore Willie Davis and Junior Michael Pierre, and also newcomers like Darius Tice and Sta'fon McCray. Taggart will give Shaw every opportunity to be that go to back. However, the main competition will be for the reserve position(s). The QB competition will be fierce, and it was the case back in the spring when Senior Bobby Eveld and Sophomore Matt Floyd were battling for the job. No one stood out there and this fall practice will be one to watch to see who ends up winning the job in Tampa.

Neither one seems to be the one for the long haul. Floyd is a nice dual-threat quarterback, however, with him more of a running QB than a passing one, you have to ask yourself would he give them the balance Taggart wants from his QBs, which is some mobility, but not sacrificing the passing game too much. On the other hand, Eveld has much more experience at the position, but did not produce at a high level the last two years when he was B.J. Daniels' backup. After the Spring, it seemed that his pro-style tendencies would have him be the guy to run the offense Taggart and Wells wants. Now, Floyd could be the change-of-pace option in certain packages, but its likely Eveld is going to ultimately win the job. A wild-card to consider is Penn State transfer Steven Bench (transferred from Penn State to USF in late May.

If Eveld struggles early, keep an eye on Bench because of what he brings to the table which is his own skill set, and its huge to boot, and the experience learned under Bill O'Brien in Happy Valley. It’ll be his job to lose. Another name to watch in the coming years, incoming freshman Mike White, who was hand-picked by Taggart in his first recruiting class. Having that endorsement is huge, however he’s going to need a full season to properly know the offense, and put on some much-needed weight before ascending the depth chart.

On to the receivers: This group was nothing to write home about here. They did lose Victor Marc to graduation, and Terrance Mitchell to a violation of their team rules. The latter wasn’t a big deal for the offense, since he was going to be moved to the other side of the ball anyway. The receivers that do come back in 2013 are led by Junior Andre Davis (46 receptions for 534 yards in 2012), who just might become the first USF receiver to crack the 750-yard mark and that would be saying something. The likely starter alongside Davis is junior Deonte Welch (18 receptions for 183 yards in 2012). After that, you have Senior Derrick Hopkins (19 receptions for 278 yards in 2012) and sophomore D'Vario Montgomery. They would get a huge shot in the arm when former Florida transfer Chris Dunkley comes aboard. He should be reinstated to the program by the start of the season. They have a pretty good TE in Sophomore Sean Price (21 receptions for 209 yards in 2012), and in Taggart’s offense, it wouldn’t be a shock if he were near the top on the team in receptions. Lets talk about the offensive line: Not much in terms of surprises here or even any competition here. There aren’t really any surprises up front, or even much of a competition, At OG they have are sophomores Brynjar Gudmundsson and Thor Jozwiak. A fun fact here: Jozwiak's real name is Thornton, but as Vanderbilt coach Herb Hand, a friend of the Jozwiak family, told USA Today’s Paul Myerburg, and I found this pretty interesting too, "If he wants to play piano, it's Thornton, Football, its Thor." From a football end, he moves over from RG to LG, which opens up a starting role for Gudmundsson. Junior Austin Reiter is back at the Center position and Junior Quinterrius Eatmon is back at RT. The two new starters on their line are Gudmunsson and Junior LT Darrell Williams. Williams has some big shoes to fill, considering that all-conference pick in Mark Popek is gone to Graduation. Their staff believes that Williams, who started several games on that side in 2012, is very ready to assume a full-time starting role. That line was terrible last year, but you have to factor in, there were losses and attrition played a major role here. If they stay healthy, this could be a unit that will be one to deal with.  

Defensively: Their front 4 is going to be the best in the American Athletic Conference. Look what they have coming back at the Ends: You have Senior Ryne Giddins (25 tackles, 3.5 sacks) and Sophomore Aaron Lynch, but especially Lynch, who is going to be an All-American. While at Notre Dame, in his freshman year, he was already becoming a force on the D-Line. This guy has tremendous talent and with the right coaching, this guy could be a great Bulls fans talk years after he leaves the program. With Lynch on one side and Giddins on the other side, harassing linemen and quarterbacks, anything is possible.

Their entire front is already pretty darn good. After Giddins and Lynch, you have in the rotation, Seniors Julius Forte and Tevin Mims, and they are going to get a lot of work in the rotation for them. They did lose Cory Grissom (signed as UFA by New England) inside, they get back Seniors Luke Sager and Anthony Hill, as well as Juniors Elkino Watson and Todd Chandler, as well as Sophomore James Hamilton. The staff and the fanbase in the Bay area are really waiting to see If Chandler becomes the beast people thought he would be when he came out of Northwestern High in Miami. They are deep here so they can absorb the loss of Grissom. Lynch is the impact player on their D-Line.

While the D-Line is very strong, the same cannot be said for their back seven. In 2012, they lacked  production and reliability and the results proved that pretty painfully. Their staff believes that Cooper has to step up and be an immediate impact player in their secondary, which like many groups on this team, doesn’t lack talent, but do lack consistency. With the LB core, they get back a leader in Senior DeDe Lattimore (76 tackles, 7.5 for loss), but the other two outside LBs need to step up and produce. One of those players that need to step up is returning starter  Reshard Cliett, a Junior, who come backs on the strong side. Others that need to step their games up are sophomores Zack Bullock and Tashon Whitehurst. To have to try and duplicate the impact former starter Sam Barrington (drafted 7^th round by Green Bay) made on the weak side is going to be pretty tough. If there’s a weak link on the D, this area is it right here.

Cooper is the man to lead the secondary back. How bad was it in Tampa in 2012? They only had two picks all year. He’s going to have much work to do, with the departure of Kayvon Webster (3^rd round pick by Denver), who was their leading tackler in 2012. There is some good news here: They went younger in the secondary as the season went on, whether due to injuries or otherwise, and this experience will help in 2013, especially with Cooper coaching the secondary.

Even better for them, they start three seniors: Mark Joyce (74 tackles) and JaQuez Jenkins (53 tackles) at safety and Brandon Salinas at CB. Joining Salinas on the outside is sophomore Kenneth Durden, who moved into the starting lineup late in the season. This is going to an area to watch as the season goes on.

Special Teams: They have three guys that can return Kicks/Punts to the house in Shaw, Hopkins and Andre Davis, though its likely it’ll be more of the latter two than Shaw, due to the fact that he will be in their offense more and with not enough energy to return kicks/punts. The attention here turns to breaking in both a Kicker and Punter.  At the former, Maikon Bonani is gone (Graduation, signed as UFA by Tennessee Titans), so it’ll be up to either junior Marvin Kloss or incoming freshman Emilio Nadelman to fill those big shoes that Bonani leaves behind. At punter, sophomore Mattias Ciabatti steps up to replace Justin Brockhaus-Kann (Graduation).

In closing, looking at USF’s schedule, you have to believe, this is 8-9 win team, possibly 10 if things break their way. We’re going to start to get a good idea on them on 9/7 when they go up to East Lansing to play Michigan State. As I said in the beginning, we come to RJS on 9/28 after USF has their BYE week on 9/21. Their biggest conference game is going to be Louisville on 10/26, when the Cardinals come to RJS. If they win that game, then running the table in the conference becomes a real possibility. Realistically, I think 8-4 season is accurate here for USF.

In Part 5 of the series, I will talk about our opponent in the ACC opener and that the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.