I do think this is a talented team that can win this year. Maybe not win a championship, but I think 9 games is a good guess, and I think anything less than 8 would be a disappointment.
Looking at the roster - and doing this off the top of my head - I really do feel like we have depth, talent and experience at most positions. Here's my quick breakdown - ratings are on a scale of 1-5, 1 being worst, 5 best:
QB: Rudock, Morris, Speight, Malzone, Gentry
Talent: 3
Experience: 4 (due to Rudock)
Comment: expect this unit to be solid with Rudock, nothing spectacular. He really solidifies a potentially very weak position though.
RB: Isaac, Green, Smith, Johnson (if healthy), Higdon, Shallman
Talent: 3.5 (this is probably +/- 0.5 depending on how good Isaac actually is)
Experience: 3
Comment: A lot riding on Isaac; if the burden falls on Green/Smith than ceiling here may be "average"; Higdon and especially Johnson are wild cards
WR: Darboh, Chesson, Mo Ways, Canteen, Dukes, Norfleet, Cole
Talent: 2.5 (may be generous, depends on younger guys)
Experience: 2
Comment: weakest unit on the team at this point; need someone like Canteen or Cole to break out and be a threat; would be nice to add a couple grad transfers as has been discussed
TE: Butt, Williams, Bunting, Winovich, Khalid Hill (is he healthy?)
Talent: 4 (this is on Jake Butt alone)
Experience: 3
Comment: Butt could be our primary weapon in the passing game this year; very high expectations for him but outside that not a lot there; maybe Bunting can be good but seems a year away; K Hill showed flashes last year before injury, would be nice to get him back healthy
OL: [est 1st: Cole, Magnuson, Glasgow, Kalis, Braden]; depth: Dawson, Kugler, LTT, etc
Talent: 3 (this is +/- 1 depending on development; there really is not reason this unit shouldn't be good)
Experience: 3
Comment: The key of the offense; Drevno here is critical and a ludicrous improvement over prior coaching; the quality of UM's 2015 offense will start and end with the development of this group
Overall offense: Still a decent amount of talent, but much of it is unproven. I think we're hoping for offensive performance similar to 2013 MSU, where they started bad (hopefully we don't start quite that bad) but improved through the season. The goal on offense has to be to establish a run game and be able to grind out long drives, with some intermediary and short passes sprinkled in along with some playaction deep. The key is the OL, as mentioned.
Defense
DL: Wormley, Henry, Mone, Glasgow, Hurst, Marshall, Ojemudia, Taco, Reuben Jones
Talent: 4
Experience: 4
Comment: I expect this to be an outstanding unit. The one thing lacking is a natural pass rusher off the edge. Hopefully Marshall or Taco can provide that. I expect this unit to be very stout against the run as well.
LB: Bolden, Morgan, Ross, Gedeon, McCray (if healthy)
Talent: 3.5
Experience: 4.5
Comment: A lot of games played here, and nice to have Morgan back. Maybe not the most talented unit on the team, but I still expect it to be solid.
CB: Lewis, Countess, Lyons (?), Stribling, Richardson, Keith Washington
Talent: 4
Experience: 4
Comment: Peppers moving to safety hurts this unit somewhat, but Lewis should have high expectations, minimum All Big Ten. Lyons and Countess should be adequate at the other CB and Nickel (not sure which is which). Probably now or never time for Stribling. I have really high expectations for Washington but maybe not this year.
Safety: Peppers, Wilson, Hill, Thomas
Talent: 4 (maybe higher based on Jabrill)
Experience: 3.5
Comment: This unit should be the strength of the defense, something we haven't been able to say in a long time. Will be interesting to see how much Hill and Dymonte play, and how exactly they utilize Jabrill - which may not be as a traditional safety but more along the lines of a hybrid/athlete that moves all around and has a lot of different roles.
Overall I expect the defense to be very good- to great. There is a lot of talent on defense, and a lot of talent that has shown it in games as well. As much as it pains to say, the blueprint for success in 2015 is what MSU did in 2013 - have an offense that can do enough to let you defense win it for you, and hopefully improve significantly throughout the year.
One relatively sizable omission is Special Teams. Based on Baxter's history, he may be able to win a game or two for us there as well. So much can turn on a blocked punt/kick or a big return. It's good to see that the staff has placed an emphasis on that as well. Though not sure what to expect from the kicking game.
Looking at the roster - and doing this off the top of my head - I really do feel like we have depth, talent and experience at most positions. Here's my quick breakdown - ratings are on a scale of 1-5, 1 being worst, 5 best:
QB: Rudock, Morris, Speight, Malzone, Gentry
Talent: 3
Experience: 4 (due to Rudock)
Comment: expect this unit to be solid with Rudock, nothing spectacular. He really solidifies a potentially very weak position though.
RB: Isaac, Green, Smith, Johnson (if healthy), Higdon, Shallman
Talent: 3.5 (this is probably +/- 0.5 depending on how good Isaac actually is)
Experience: 3
Comment: A lot riding on Isaac; if the burden falls on Green/Smith than ceiling here may be "average"; Higdon and especially Johnson are wild cards
WR: Darboh, Chesson, Mo Ways, Canteen, Dukes, Norfleet, Cole
Talent: 2.5 (may be generous, depends on younger guys)
Experience: 2
Comment: weakest unit on the team at this point; need someone like Canteen or Cole to break out and be a threat; would be nice to add a couple grad transfers as has been discussed
TE: Butt, Williams, Bunting, Winovich, Khalid Hill (is he healthy?)
Talent: 4 (this is on Jake Butt alone)
Experience: 3
Comment: Butt could be our primary weapon in the passing game this year; very high expectations for him but outside that not a lot there; maybe Bunting can be good but seems a year away; K Hill showed flashes last year before injury, would be nice to get him back healthy
OL: [est 1st: Cole, Magnuson, Glasgow, Kalis, Braden]; depth: Dawson, Kugler, LTT, etc
Talent: 3 (this is +/- 1 depending on development; there really is not reason this unit shouldn't be good)
Experience: 3
Comment: The key of the offense; Drevno here is critical and a ludicrous improvement over prior coaching; the quality of UM's 2015 offense will start and end with the development of this group
Overall offense: Still a decent amount of talent, but much of it is unproven. I think we're hoping for offensive performance similar to 2013 MSU, where they started bad (hopefully we don't start quite that bad) but improved through the season. The goal on offense has to be to establish a run game and be able to grind out long drives, with some intermediary and short passes sprinkled in along with some playaction deep. The key is the OL, as mentioned.
Defense
DL: Wormley, Henry, Mone, Glasgow, Hurst, Marshall, Ojemudia, Taco, Reuben Jones
Talent: 4
Experience: 4
Comment: I expect this to be an outstanding unit. The one thing lacking is a natural pass rusher off the edge. Hopefully Marshall or Taco can provide that. I expect this unit to be very stout against the run as well.
LB: Bolden, Morgan, Ross, Gedeon, McCray (if healthy)
Talent: 3.5
Experience: 4.5
Comment: A lot of games played here, and nice to have Morgan back. Maybe not the most talented unit on the team, but I still expect it to be solid.
CB: Lewis, Countess, Lyons (?), Stribling, Richardson, Keith Washington
Talent: 4
Experience: 4
Comment: Peppers moving to safety hurts this unit somewhat, but Lewis should have high expectations, minimum All Big Ten. Lyons and Countess should be adequate at the other CB and Nickel (not sure which is which). Probably now or never time for Stribling. I have really high expectations for Washington but maybe not this year.
Safety: Peppers, Wilson, Hill, Thomas
Talent: 4 (maybe higher based on Jabrill)
Experience: 3.5
Comment: This unit should be the strength of the defense, something we haven't been able to say in a long time. Will be interesting to see how much Hill and Dymonte play, and how exactly they utilize Jabrill - which may not be as a traditional safety but more along the lines of a hybrid/athlete that moves all around and has a lot of different roles.
Overall I expect the defense to be very good- to great. There is a lot of talent on defense, and a lot of talent that has shown it in games as well. As much as it pains to say, the blueprint for success in 2015 is what MSU did in 2013 - have an offense that can do enough to let you defense win it for you, and hopefully improve significantly throughout the year.
One relatively sizable omission is Special Teams. Based on Baxter's history, he may be able to win a game or two for us there as well. So much can turn on a blocked punt/kick or a big return. It's good to see that the staff has placed an emphasis on that as well. Though not sure what to expect from the kicking game.
