Post
by TMH » Sat Mar 13, 2021 3:51 pm
OK, I may be in the minority of 1 but I came away with more optimism than pessimism.
First, my expectations were low coming in. These are not normal times and I said over and over that these games are like exhibitions to prepare for fall. Football, probably more than any other sport, requires chemistry maybe even more so than pure talent. We were going to be a really young tem this year but to compound everything, there were no summer workouts and after only a few weeks of fall drills, practice was halted for 5 weeks due to Covid. Classes ended in November and everyone was sent home. Most teams have their own horror stories but when you are young and the QB is new to the program, a team is starting from scratch only weeks before the 1st game and to a large part it showed. Remember, HC returned 15 starters this year.
So why the optimism? I thought the defense played quite well with brand new corners and that was an area of concern for me. Of course it is still early. So why the pessimism? If there is one lesson we learned a few years ago it's that you can have the most talented skill players in the world but unless the offensive line plays like a well oiled unit, it's meaningless. Our O-line was less than stellar last year but improving. 40% of that line is gone. There has been some position changes, a new O-Line coach meaning a new system and very little time to implement.
So when judging Wilkinson, I urge patience. Mayes and Bragalone for that matter were superstars during their junior year. and quite pedestrian during their senior year. They were veterans, well schooled in the system. They didn't change. Their offensive line did.
My views for this spring hasn't changed. What I look for now is continued improvement.