Another great guest post by Chris- you can stalk him on twitter like the rest of us do @wvabuckeye
Coach Meyer won the Coach of the Year award at Utah after an amazing run in just his second year as their head coach. That success prompted Florida to get rid of Ron Zook and go hard after the coach and was in a battle for his services. Notre Dame was trying hard to get a coach that would bring their program back to glory, although Florida won out and the rest as they say is history. It wouldn’t be fair to try and compare any ONE season while he was at Florida to our current offensive set, so what I have done is taken an average of those yards gained and applied them to our returning roster. Granted there was a Heisman trophy season in the mix for Tebow, but I can see them keeping the ball in Braxton Miller’s hands close to he goaline too. I may have missed carrying the 1 somewhere as I did the stats myself. Here we go.
Let’s start out where the offense will be centered and that’s with Braxton Miller. There’s NO denying Brax is a playmaker and has some magic all his own when it comes to never giving up. Just listen to his teammates and it’s very clear that he grew as the season went. When all was said and done this past season Brax led the team in Rushing AND of course passing. He had 144 carries and 895 gross yardage minus the 200 he lost in sacks giving him 695 net as he out gained Boom(in only 6 games) by 56 yards. On an average at Florida the QB’s (mostly Tebow during this time) averaged 132 carries for 455 yards on a season, so there’s a pretty good chance those numbers will be close to the same or more with less sacks next season. Brax finished the season with a paltry 67-134 at 50% for 997 yards, 11 TD’s and took care of the ball with only 4 INT’s. Clearly THIS will be the area for BIG improvement next season and the sky’s the limit for him as the QB’s in Florida averaged 217-333 at 65% for 2,725 yards with 22 TD’s and 6 INT’s. Coach Meyer won’t waste time getting Brax up to speed with these types of numbers and he’ll be thrown into the Heisman race just Like Tebow was.
The running backs will appear to be a question mark next year after graduating Boom Herron and possibly losing Berry to transfer. What won’t be a question mark are the two returning for sure that will lead this team in rushing and give Brionte’ Dunn Time to mature. Jordan Hall will return for his senior season after a shortened junior season that saw him rush for 394 yards on 95 carries and only two TD’s. Jordan also had 9 receptions for 102 yards and two more TD’s. Coach Meyer is trying to recruit a couple athletes to fill a “Percy Harvin” type role and he has time because Jordan is the guy to hold down the fort until help arrives. Under Coach Meyer his numbers could be 44 carries for 418 yards and 5 TD’s with 56 receptions for 809 yards and 7 TD’s. This was the way a lot of people had expected him to be used upon his return this past season and as the season went on he was the third down back on most occasions. Jordan was also a very capable return guy last year and was the ONLY player on the buckeyes roster that made a national ranking at 12th in kickoff return avg at 28.14 and was key in the Buckeyes comeback against Wisconsin.
Carlos Hyde is the Wild card in next year’s offense. He finished this season with 101 carries and 560 yards and 6 TD’s and was the leading rusher for several weeks even after Boom returned. Carlos is a beats who has a sprinters body. It’s been rumored that he’s the fastest on the team with gear on and someday I’d like to see if that’s official. As the second back behind Jordan Hall he’ll still be pretty productive with 63 carries and 385 yards and 3 TD’s. Coach Meyer love’s throwing to the running backs so Mr. Hyde should get 17 receptions for 128 yards. The third back in next years offense could be Berry if he returns or we should see action from Brionte’ Dunn as he gets a good year under his belt in Urban Meyers offense. Either way, both players could share modest numbers with about 25 carries and close to 300 yards.
Before getting to the receivers I want to touch on Jake Stoneburner and where he’ll fit in next year’s offense. The TE’s at Florida as an average hauled in 35 receptions for 448 yards and 4 TD’s. That being said, Jake is the best TE in the country and will have Hernandez like numbers. Jake is a great blocker and this presents cover problems for teams in that he is quick to sell it and then has the speed to hit the seam. He WILL be our biggest scoring threat in the receiving department next year and should have been the HOT route in all opportunities this past season. At one time this past season he led the nation in TD’s for TE’s and finished the season with 7 along with 14 receptions for 193 yards. Say goodbye to the unused TE of the past and hello to Mr. Stoneburner.
As a group this past season, our receiving corps TOTALLED 107 receptions for 1489 yards and 16 TD’s, this of course includes yardage from Joe Bausermans time on the field. Without naming teams that were better, our opponents had 202 receptions for 2234 and 17 TD’s against us this season. Those are the numbers our returning corps should enjoy. The leader after Jake should be a healthy Verlon Reed who had 9 receptions for 132 yards and no TD’s before his injury, and will return next season happy and healthy and should have a great year with about 45 receptions to go with his last years average per catch of 18.9 gives him close to 850 yards for the season. Also in the slots next year will be Brax favorite target this past season in fellow frosh Devin Smith who had a decent season with 12 receptions and 247 yards and a 20.6 avg to go with his 4 TD’s. It’s a toss up between him and the oft injured Corey Brown next season that was productive while healthy at 14 receptions for 205 yards and 1 TD. Devin showed flashes of greatness and could be the number 3 yards gainer in receptions and yardage next season behind Hall and Stoneburner. This battle, along with TY Williams and incoming frosh Michael Thomas could make for a great year of spreading the wealth, after Jake and Jordan of course.
There’s plenty of room for improvement in next years offense and the installing of Coach Meyers offense will escalate it. He will be returning a great group of skill players that have already contributed and have proven they have the talent. The ONE thing that is for certain is that it will be centered on Braxton Miller and his natural ability to make things happen. He is a winner and NEVER gives up, as well as playing with his hair on fire for four to six seconds just like Coach asks. There won’t be any uncertainty in play calling and the player’s roles will be very well defined. The statistics are what they are and look great on paper. We shall see how it ALL plays out on the field.
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