All this talk about LSU and their juniors. UF is losing more than LSU in 2013

[NoahBeanBizzel]

Originally Posted by gatorbogey

good discussion

I love turning negative threads into positive discussion. It's becoming a hobby of mine.

[Dreamliner]

But LSU is 'talented'!

[swampsupreme]

Originally Posted by swg8trgr8

LSU is only losing 6 starters on their defense.
UF is losing 8 starters on our defense.

We lose both of our DTs
We lose all 3 of our LBs
We lose all 3 of our Safeties

On offense we lose our best RB
Our only TE
Our best WR
2 o-linemen (not a huge loss though)

For those stating, "LSU will be an easy game next year", please get a clue.

That is all, thanks

We have proven all year we have young talent at dline and LB's our young guys got a lot of reps.

LSU's young guys didnt. They were stuck behind NFL draft picks.

And for offense losing gilly will hurt but matt jones and kelvin will be studs.

Our best WR was not frankie hammond
Dunbar was our best (thats not saying much)

We also have two of the best TE's in last years recruiting class.

[number1]

I think Matt Jones has shown that he is capable of replacing Gilly. Hopefully Taylor can come in full force too so we can have a solid two back system. I am not worried at all about losing Jordan Reed, I think we will be fine in the TE department. Our WRs couldn't get much worse than they already were so no big deal there. And the O-line should be better with the whole addition by subtraction method. lol

[apkgator]

While there are some valid points in the original post, IMO it is a bit sensationalized.

Yes, UF is losing 8 guys that have "started" on defense. You mention losing 3 starting safetys and 3 LB's....but not all of those were regular starters.
Let's look at things another way. Admittedly this is skewed in a positive fashion, but my point is to show that the original post was also over the top.
UF returns 5 guys that have started at CB (Riggs, Watkins,Purifoy,Roberson, Brown). 3 guys have starts at LB (Kitchens,Ball, Morrison...Taylor may have started too), 4 guys have DL starts (Easley, Powell, Fowler,Bullard. Voila, 12 returning starters on defense!

Can do the same on offense. Both Burtons have starts, Westbrook got a start,Andrades, Pittman, Humphries, Koehne. And it says something when you say UF lost it's best WR and I'm not sure who you are talking about. The answer is Dunbar IMO and he is back. Debose has started too.

Ultimately, LSU lost 10 underclassmen going to the NFL. That is a big deal. Haven't seen anybody say that rendered them horrible for next year, but it will impact their team

[Gator515151]

Originally Posted by LimeyGator

Anyone who thinks ANY away game in Baton Rouge is an easy game needs their medication re-prescribing...

Actually we have done quite well in Red Stick over the past 40 years. I think LSU has beaten us only 5 times at home since 1975. Something like that anyway I think we are 11-5 in Baton Rouge since 75. LSU plays us tougher in Gainesville.

[4everaGator]

Originally Posted by Gator515151

Actually we have done quite well in Red Stick over the past 40 years. I think LSU has beaten us only 5 times at home since 1975. Something like that anyway I think we are 11-5 in Baton Rouge since 75. LSU plays us tougher in Gainesville.

Tebow beat them 2 weeks after his concussion at Kentucky - night game in Death Valley.

[UGator]

We are losing a ton for sure, but in college ball, recruiting is one of the most important aspects for any college program. We may only have 3 yrs at the most to keep great players, so every recruiting year is paramount to keep the funnel filled and not miss needs as they occur.

A great strength program can also accelerate new player development which helps reduce depth issues like we've had before. Look at how Bama recruits and develops players and enough said.

Meyer's last year after Tebow demonstrated how depleted our roster had become. We were especially thin on our OL and WR's, and also missing on power backs which resulted in our having smaller speed backs only. His comments about our program being "broken" was for real. We had some talent, but not for a pro style offense that Muschamp prefers.

Our coaches know the drill and we are now at the level of reloading, and not just rebuilding each year. Our second year for our OC Pease's system and the third year for Quinn and Muschamp's defense should show how we are becoming an elite program again.

[Gatorrick22]

LSU will be very beatable next year, but they will never be an easy game.

[fox]

Originally Posted by UGator

We are losing a ton for sure, but in college ball, recruiting is one of the most important aspects for any college program. We may only have 3 yrs at the most to keep great players, so every recruiting year is paramount to keep the funnel filled and not miss needs as they occur.

A great strength program can also accelerate new player development which helps reduce depth issues like we've had before. Look at how Bama recruits and develops players and enough said.

Meyer's last year after Tebow demonstrated how depleted our roster had become. We were especially thin on our OL and WR's, and also missing on power backs which resulted in our having smaller speed backs only. His comments about our program being "broken" was for real. We had some talent, but not for a pro style offense that Muschamp prefers.

Our coaches know the drill and we are now at the level of reloading, and not just rebuilding each year. Our second year for our OC Pease's system and the third year for Quinn and Muschamp's defense should show how we are becoming an elite program again.

IMO we are not reloading quite yet. Maybe in another year or 2. Then we can set expectations back to Atlanta every year. If we make it to SECCG next year it will probably be a bit of overachieving again.

History of transitions says next year will be a bit of a down year on the field. We lose a lot of experience and leadership. Guys who went through the transition fire and came through hardened.

I'd be glad to be wrong. If we make it to Atlanta next year that will say a lot about our staff. I believe they are very good but remains to be seen if they are truly great.

[theghost]

Losing 4 juniors to the draft vs. losing 10 juniors = losing more?

[orangeblueorangeblue]

Originally Posted by theghost

Losing 4 juniors to the draft vs. losing 10 juniors = losing more?

Losing more starters in general. Read the first post.

[orangeblueorangeblue]

Originally Posted by 4everaGator

Tebow beat them 2 weeks after his concussion at Kentucky - night game in Death Valley.

Our defense beat them that night.

3 points total.

[IndianaStew]

Our D won't be as good. Agreed. We'll get burned a bit at safety and we will miss Elam and Evans. IMO, Pop was OK, but the guys we'll put back there are pretty close to equal to him. We have some talent, its just green. LB will take a small step back, but I doubt its major. None of those guys lit up the college FB world. DL will severely miss Sharrif, but don't forget about Orr, Powell, Easley, Bullard, and Fowler, who will all play in the NFL. D will definitely not be the best in college football, but they'll still be real good.

Our O will be better, though. Not tons of teams can say that. Gille was great, but we have 3-4 backs who will play next year that will more than compensate for his loss. The OL will be better with the addition of starter at MD Garcia, starter at Neb Moore, and experience and more depth added to the team this year. Really, one of the OL we lose was just AWful most of the year. Driskel will have another year of development and another year in the system. If he gets a tiny bit more time to throw, he should be better. Our WR's lost Hammond, but I'd hardly say he was a great WR. Think there's only one way to go at that position, and I'd be shocked if we weren't markedly better with Joker, the freshmen, Dunbar, and a hopefully motivated Debose (he can't get worse, and has the potential to be massively better).

[theologator]

Originally Posted by orangeblueorangeblue

Losing more starters in general. Read the first post.

LSU is losing 6 starters on defense, but the impact isn't just in the volume.

DE: UF loses Lerenree McCray, a solid starter. LSU loses Mingo and Montgomery, who are both waaay better than McCray

DT: UF loses Hunter (solid) and Floyd (star). LSU loses their best one in Logan.

LB: UF loses Bostic (very good) and Jenkins (very good). LSU loses Minter, who was the best LB I saw last year period. better than Te'o, IMHO.

CB: UF loses.... No one? LSU loses Simon (starter)

S: UF loses their best defensive player, Elam (star) and LSU loses their starter Reid.

On balance, both teams are losing the middle of their defenses. (NG, MLB & S), but LSU is losing much more at DE and CB. I think they have more to replace (though I don't follow their roster like UF.). But "reloading" isn't automatic even with star recruiting classes (LSU is always top 10.)

On offense it isn't close.

They lose 3 OL that are clearly better than the 2 UF loses. Lonergan was the heart of their OL.

They are losing 2 RB that may both go ahead of Gilly in the draft.

Reed was way more productive than Clement

But although Frankie had better numbers, I think he and Shepard are a wash.

Plus they lose their kicker and punter. UF just loses Sturgis.

It is always a tough game but they will be rebuilding in 2013.