Where are we at as Appalachian football?

[Stonewall]

We should be the preseason favorites . Time to get it done.

[BambooRdApp]

I like your optimism. I want to wait until after spring practice to see what we got. I think we have some talent at skill positions. I am not sold where we are in the trenches. Hopefully the young guys coming up are good and nasty that are earth movers. I believe we need it to win the SBC.

[Pikapp79]

I like your optimism. I want to wait until after spring practice to see what we got. I think we have some talent at skill positions. I am not sold where we are in the trenches. Hopefully the young guys coming up are good and nasty that are earth movers. I believe we need it to win the SBC.

Some may transfer after spring practice if unhappy with depth chart. I’d say a few weeks to a month after should give a better look.

[BambooRdApp]

After "spring practice" is a general referral. Thanks

[Bootsy]

Having some attrition following spring practice is a certainty. Some of these kids will see the writing on the wall and leave. Others will have it shown to them.

[Stonewall]

I like your optimism. I want to wait until after spring practice to see what we got. I think we have some talent at skill positions. I am not sold where we are in the trenches. Hopefully the young guys coming up are good and nasty that are earth movers. I believe we need it to win the SBC.

To be clear , I think the media types will have us picked at the top based on where the league is today and the flash of Joey Heisman. I’ve been voicing concerns about line play for a couple of years, we haven’t been at a championship quality there for awhile. Thats where it will be won , or lost and at present I don’t see that we have what it will take. Nine months to get there.

[BambooRdApp]

I like your optimism. I want to wait until after spring practice to see what we got. I think we have some talent at skill positions. I am not sold where we are in the trenches. Hopefully the young guys coming up are good and nasty that are earth movers. I believe we need it to win the SBC.

To be clear , I think the media types will have us picked at the top based on where the league is today and the flash of Joey Heisman. I’ve been voicing concerns about line play for a couple of years, we haven’t been at a championship quality there for awhile. Thats where it will be won , or lost and at present I don’t see that we have what it will take. Nine months to get there.

Agree 100%. Hopefully another off-season with S&C helps, however I do not see that solving all our trench issues on both sides of ball ..but it will help.

[AppStFan1]

We should be the preseason favorites . Time to get it done.

If we can add a couple pieces on the OL and don't lose any key names after spring practice then we will most definitely be the preseason favorite. Unlike the other top programs from the SBC we retain our coach, QB, won our bowl game, and have a lot of talent coming back. I think many preseason magazines will pick us to go 10-2 or 9-3 in the regular season.

[Bigdaddyg1]

We should be the preseason favorites . Time to get it done.

If we can add a couple pieces on the OL and don't lose any key names after spring practice then we will most definitely be the preseason favorite. Unlike the other top programs from the SBC we retain our coach, QB, won our bowl game, and have a lot of talent coming back. I think many preseason magazines will pick us to go 10-2 or 9-3 in the regular season.

You either rebuild, retool or reload. If we stay in the retool group we should be ok. The reload teams are usually reserved for the semi pro segment. I think this year was closer to a rebuild despite what some thought. We had to replace a bunch of key pieces especially at quarterback. It took time but worked out. Now just hope that the younger defensive guys choose to run it back.

[AppStFan1]

We should be the preseason favorites . Time to get it done.

If we can add a couple pieces on the OL and don't lose any key names after spring practice then we will most definitely be the preseason favorite. Unlike the other top programs from the SBC we retain our coach, QB, won our bowl game, and have a lot of talent coming back. I think many preseason magazines will pick us to go 10-2 or 9-3 in the regular season.

You either rebuild, retool or reload. If we stay in the retool group we should be ok. The reload teams are usually reserved for the semi pro segment. I think this year was closer to a rebuild despite what some thought. We had to replace a bunch of key pieces especially at quarterback. It took time but worked out. Now just hope that the younger defensive guys choose to run it back.

This is why I was hoping Shawn would somehow win enough to see what he could do with more normal because we did have a bit of a rebuild. I really thought he was done after the CCU and ODU games. November was looking brutal based on how those teams played early but we got better and a couple of those teams really tailed off. If we had just won 8+ last year I don't think Everts would have thought she could have Gillin make the change she wanted if 2022 had gone better but she smelled blood and was ready to move on. We were able to win enough to put him safe for now.

This should be a retool in 2024 since we just need to see some development from some current pieces and add just a couple who can help right away. Expectations are going to be high. I fully expect 10-2 or better regular season. The schedule will be very hard but we got the talent. I am excited to see if Joey can take that next step from being really good to an elite FBS QB. He progressed a lot in 2023 so it will be interesting to see how he does with a second year under Ponce.

[appdaze]

I mentioned before that I hope we start churning out more pros. It's one of the few ways we can compete with NIL if we become the go to G5 to develop for the NFL. This is a list I hope we rise a lot on.

[WASU 93]

I mentioned before that I hope we start churning out more pros. It's one of the few ways we can compete with NIL if we become the go to G5 to develop for the NFL. This is a list I hope we rise a lot on.

How do you track this going forward? Is it the school they finish at? If Sam Hartman makes the NFL, Wake should get to claim him vs. ND....

[WVAPPeer]

I'm sorry guys but I still just don't understand the continual jabs at the OL - didn't we have 3 + a TE on the top two all-conference teams voted by the coaches? - And the 2 OT from last season were both All-Conf and both were in NFL camps. No, we didn't line up and blow people off the line (could be that 5 have a hard time blocking 7) and Joey was one of the least sacked QBs in the nation.

[CoachRob]

I'm sorry guys but I still just don't understand the continual jabs at the OL - didn't we have 3 + a TE on the top two all-conference teams voted by the coaches? - And the 2 OT from last season were both All-Conf and both were in NFL camps. No, we didn't line up and blow people off the line (could be that 5 have a hard time blocking 7) and Joey was one of the least sacked QBs in the nation.

I think the overall consensus is that the OL isn't as stout as it's been since the late teens. That's not saying the OL wasn't good this year, but the dominance in the run game is lacking compared to the Sun Belt Championship teams of several years ago. We haven't had a Noah Hannon/Ryan Nuezil/Cooper Hodges type recruit that came in and dominated early, and anchored the OL for the next 3-4 years. We have had to rely on FCS Transfer guys to anchor the OL, and granted they have done great job, just aren't up to the highest standard we're use to of winning this new Sun Belt with a run 1st offense.
Now, they have been excellent with pass protection and a big reason why for Joey's success. But OL will need to take the next step if we want to run the ball when needed, especially if we want to again win multiple SB Championships.

I'm a firm believer that the best teams are the ones, when you need 1 yard, has the OL to go get you that 1 yard. We haven't been able to do that consistently in a couple years now.

[Stonewall]

Troy dominated the trenches.

[BambooRdApp]

I'm sorry guys but I still just don't understand the continual jabs at the OL - didn't we have 3 + a TE on the top two all-conference teams voted by the coaches? - And the 2 OT from last season were both All-Conf and both were in NFL camps. No, we didn't line up and blow people off the line (could be that 5 have a hard time blocking 7) and Joey was one of the least sacked QBs in the nation.

I think the overall consensus is that the OL isn't as stout as it's been since the late teens. That's not saying the OL wasn't good this year, but the dominance in the run game is lacking compared to the Sun Belt Championship teams of several years ago. We haven't had a Noah Hannon/Ryan Nuezil/Cooper Hodges type recruit that came in and dominated early, and anchored the OL for the next 3-4 years. We have had to rely on FCS Transfer guys to anchor the OL, and granted they have done great job, just aren't up to the highest standard we're use to of winning this new Sun Belt with a run 1st offense.
Now, they have been excellent with pass protection and a big reason why for Joey's success. But OL will need to take the next step if we want to run the ball when needed, especially if we want to again win multiple SB Championships.

I'm a firm believer that the best teams are the ones, when you need 1 yard, has the OL to go get you that 1 yard. We haven't been able to do that consistently in a couple years now.

I agree with these comments. Great pass protection...but when we need to sandpaper that a$$ on 3rd/4th and 1 or 2.we have either been out of sandpaper...or two obvious in our formation that we are going to run and where we were going to run. Yes, the other teams have good players too...but we seemed to be stopped way too often IMHO...Scheme wise, It was obvious in the Troy game. When we set up the TE a yard behind guard/tackle, Troy had someone from secondary heading to line of scrimmage pre-snap. They knew what was coming.
My personal opinion is similar on DL. We have some young guys that will mature. However, Troy moved us when needed...and Miami Ohio did as well if they had not fumbled a ga-zillion times.
I believe we will get better on DL as those guys were really young and another off-season with S&C

[Saint3333]

We have a solid 8-4 caliber OL and DL.

[Stonewall]

We have a solid 8-4 caliber OL and DL.

We did , and you make the point perfectly .The upcoming season remains a concern.I don't know what we have there.

[PhillyApp1]

Troy dominated the trenches.

and ULL 2x

its our championship Kriptonite

[Stonewall]

Troy dominated the trenches.

and ULL 2x

its our championship Kriptonite

Very true.