On this episode, Nick and Drew talk with Texas Tech beat reporter Chris Level about the Red Raiders football program. Chris gives up the headsup with what has been going on in camp and who to look out for in 2015.
Following the interview, Nick and Drew finish their discussion on the ACC with the Coastal Division preview. The duo discussed their outlok on Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
ACC - Coastal
Team: Duke
Rankings:
Passing Offense– 79
Rushing Offense – 48
Overall Offense – 69
Passing Defense – 34
Rushing Defense – 94
Overall Defense – 69
Points Scored – 32.4
Points Allowed – 21.8
Offense:
QB – Anthony Boone has moved on from Duke, leaving what looks to be Thomas Sirk as the heir apparent. Sirk played well in limited time last year, and he is a dual threat QB who scored 8 TDs on the ground last year. This is huge because fantasy sites have his price depressed due to not having any real background on him, so grab him cheap while you can.
RB /OL– Though 8 of 10 OL are back, starts are down, so call it a wash. Shaquille Powell and Shaun Wilson return to the Blue Devil backfield, who really only loses Josh Snead. Wilson had a great TPC [7.7] but I imagine Powell will be given the opportunity to be the main guy in this offense. I think it will still be a two back system, with Powell being the first on the field.
WR/TE – Duke loses their top 2 receivers in Jamison Crowder and Isaac Blakeney, but have enough talent with Max McCaffrey and TE Braxton Deaver coming back to the school in 2015. Deaver should really have a good year with Sirk coming in, as QBs many times will use their TE as they get acclimated to the offense. Should be a fun year.
Defense: The DL brings 5 of 10 back, but luckily they were the top five, so they figure to be a little better this year. The LBs lose around what they keep, so I figure the front seven as a whole to be about the same. The DBs are definitely strong, so I figure this unit to break the top 30. Overall, I think this defense is slightly better.
Players to Watch: Thomas Sirk is the main guy to watch here, but I think Braxton Deaver has some merit to him.
Team: Georgia Tech
Rankings:
Passing Offense– 123 [6th worst]
Rushing Offense – 2
Overall Offense – 20
Passing Defense – 90
Rushing Defense – 64
Overall Defense – 84
Points Scored – 37.9
Points Allowed – 25.7
Offense:
QB – Justin Thomas returns for his junior year after a solid 2014 campaign. Thomas accounted for 26 total TDs for this team, a very high scoring team at that. Both of Thomas’ primary receiving weapons have departed, so it will be interesting to see who steps up. Could Georgia Tech run the ball even more in 2015? It sure looks that way.
RB /OL– The OL is ever so slightly improved, but there has been so much lost here. Other than leading rusher Justin Thomas, the top 4 backs in Synjyn Days, Zach Laskey, Charles Perkins and Tony Zenon are gone in 2014. That is about 75% of production out the window. Broderick Snoddy is the lead returning ball carrier, and the rest will basically be a new set of backs including Stanford transfer Patrick Skov.
WR/TE – As I said in the QB section, both DeAndre Smelter and Darren Waller have both moved on to try their luck in the NFL. This depleted the offense of around 70% of their receiving production from 2014. Someone will break out of this unit, and my guess Is Michael Summers.
Defense: The DL returns a lot and I think is one of the conferences best. The LBs stay about the same in terms of talent and experience. The DBs return 85 starts but I think there are some serious question marks with this unit. Overall I would say it’s about a wash on defense.
Players to Watch: Unquestionably, Justin Thomas is the go to here.
Team: Miami
Rankings:
Passing Offense– 48
Rushing Offense – 50
Overall Offense – 47
Passing Defense – 17
Rushing Defense – 30
Overall Defense – 14
Points Scored – 29.2
Points Allowed – 24.3
Offense:
QB – Brad Kaaya played well for a freshman in 2014. His 26:12 TD to INT ratio was solid, and 58.5% completion percentage was good too. Improvement in both of those categories could go a long way for this Cane’s team who is likely going to struggle in the early part of the year after losing their primary weapons in the offseason.
RB /OL– The OL loses 111 starts and I think it is a big issue coming into the year. Duke Johnson played a huge role on this offense, accounting for over 2000 yards that will not be returning. Both Joseph Yearby and Gus Edwards will return for 2015, and I think they will almost have to be a central focus of this team with the losses in the receiving department.
WR/TE – Top receivers Phillip Dorsett and Clive Walford are both NFL caliber talents that could be big forces in their first year. They will be missed without question. Adding Duke Johnson’s receiving production into the equation, over 50% of the production has gone. Herb Waters and Stacey Coley could play big roles in this portion of the offense.
Defense: The DL loses a lot but the recruits are just huge and talented. The LBs are about the same as last year, so I feel like the front 7 are just slightly lower. The DBs return 6 of their top 8 and I think it is a top ten unit in 2015. Overall, I think this unit will be slightly up overall.
Players to Watch: I’m really not sure where to go here. I think it could be whoever ends up starting at RB, but really not sold in general.
Team: North Carolina
Rankings:
Passing Offense– 28
Rushing Offense – 83
Overall Offense – 48
Passing Defense – 104
Rushing Defense – 120 [9th worst]
Overall Defense – 120 [9th worst]
Points Scored – 33.2
Points Allowed – 39 [10th most]
Offense:
QB – Marquise Williams had an up and down year, but really started showing why he rose up in the ranks dramatically by the end of the year. He is a dynamic athlete, with a great completion percentage. He could use to tone down the turnovers though. His work on the ground makes him appealing as well, though he didn’t perform as well in 2014 as 2013. I like him a lot this year though.
RB /OL– The OL has triple digit starts returning, boding well for the rushing attack. TJ Logan and Elijah Hood return for 2015 and should look to having an impact on this offense. If their defense can keep teams from scoring, more of a focus can go on the run game. If that is the case, I think especially Logan stands a shot at a decent year.
WR/TE – The receiving corp returns their top four players in Ryan Switzer, Mack Hollins, Quinshad Davis and Bug Howard. Hollins was a source of a lot of great deep plays in 2014, so it should be an exciting year for him. The production of the other 3 should be good, but no one really stands out in this offense.
Defense: This defense was bad in 2014. The DL returns only 2, but it was so bad from a fairly typically good DL. The defense is changing schemes, so it should be easier to understand. I’ll call the front 7 better. The DBs return 7 or 8, though the loss is their best guy. Overall, I think it gets better but I’m not sold on how much better.
Players to Watch: Marquise Williams will certain be a major focus of this offense, and a full season should yield great production.
Team: Pittsburgh
Rankings:
Passing Offense– 104
Rushing Offense – 16
Overall Offense – 43
Passing Defense – 25
Rushing Defense – 57
Overall Defense – 34
Points Scored – 31.8
Points Allowed – 26.3
Offense:
QB – Chad Voytik had a decent year in 2014, with a 61.3% completion percentage and a 16:7 TD to INT ratio. This offense only accumulated 2417 passing yards. I don’t see much of an increase there, as I think that the running game will continue to be the focus of this offense, so Voytik isn’t much of a fantasy play for me.
RB /OL– The OL is close to what it was last year.James Conner had a tremendous 2014, rushing for 1765 yards and 26 TDs which is astounding. This offense will run through him without question, and he very well could approach that 300 carry mark if Pitt really wants to be considered a threat in the ACC. It certainly is possible that he could flirt with 2000 yards and 20+ TDs.
WR/TE – The passing portion of the offense is dependent totally on Tyler Boyd, who will be suspended the first game of the year. I think his production in 2014 could be repeated in 2015, as this team just simply does not have another credible threat to pair with him.
Defense: The DL returns 7 of 10, with more experience. The LBs lose their top two so figure the front 7 overall to be about the same. The DBs bring back 7 of 8 talented guys, so I think this unit is better. Overall, I think they are in better shape on this side of the ball in 2015.
Players to Watch: James Connor is the man, and this team will ride him until the wheels fall off.
Team: Virginia
Rankings:
Passing Offense– 58
Rushing Offense – 100
Overall Offense – 90
Passing Defense – 74
Rushing Defense – 18
Overall Defense – 29
Points Scored – 25.8
Points Allowed – 24.1
Offense:
QB – Virginia started with Greyson Lambert in 2014, but when he wasn’t producing, made the decision to go with Matt Johns. In his time starting, the production was not much better, but I think there is some potential for improvement this year. I was say production is a slight plus.
RB /OL– The OL actually looks pretty good. The RB unit struggled, despite having a talented runner in Kevin Parks manning the backfield. No one who toted the ball in 2014 averaged more than 5 yards per carry. Parks is gone this year, leaving Taquan Mizzell as the top returning member of this backfield. Mizzell was a hyped talent at one point, so hopefully he lives up to it.
WR/TE – This unit was not overly impressive in 2014, and looks to be in about the same position in 2015. No one really stands out, though Taquan Mizzell got a ton of looks in 2014. Canaan Severin and UNC transfer TJ Thorpe could be the beneficiaries in the passing game in 2015.
Defense: The DL returns a lot so a slight uptick here. The LBs lose a lot, but are talented. Overall, the front 7 looks to be a wash. The DBs are really the highlight of this unit, and I really like them to be productive. I think this defense is solid all around and if the offense can score more, it bodes well for Virginia.
Players to Watch: Let’s hope Mizzell comes out and knocks it out of the park for this squad in 2015.
Team: Virginia Tech
Rankings:
Passing Offense– 77
Rushing Offense – 89
Overall Offense – 99
Passing Defense – 26
Rushing Defense – 39
Overall Defense – 21
Points Scored – 24.1
Points Allowed – 20.2
Offense:
QB – Michael Brewer returns for his senior year after a reasonable 2014 campaign which saw him pass for almost 2700 yards, a 59.4% completion percentage and a 18:15 TD to INT ratio. He is returning the vast majority of his weapons, which puts him in a good position to increase his production in 2015.
RB /OL– The OL loses starts but increases talent. Both JC Coleman and Marshawn Williams will be returning for this unit that just did not produce nor live up to their potential in 2014. There has a been a lot of buzz in the offseason with how this unit should improve, but Marshawn Williams is recovering from ACL surgery so its tough to say exactly what is going to happen here.
WR/TE – The top three receivers here Isaiah Ford, Bucky Hodges and Cam Phillips return and give Brewer just a ton of options and experience to work with. This is the unit I see benefitting the most in 2015. I believe we will see a lot of Bucky Hodges as he tries raising his draft stock, but don’t sleep on Ford or Phillips. They will produce this year.
Defense: The DL returns everything and the LBs are in a better position so overall I think the front 7 is much better. The DBs are always solid, and this year is no different. To me, it looks like this is a very strong defense and could make some noise in the ACC.
Players to Watch: The biggest player to watch here is Bucky Hodges. He is one of the games best TEs and will be a force this year.
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