Looking at roster depth

[blueandgoldblitz]

I found an article that was pertaining to questions that need to be answered for whether or not an NFL team had the required depth in order to make some noise in the playoffs and potentially win the Super Bowl. It's a little early to be sure on some of these answers but I thought it'd be a fun offseason exercise. Plus, when the season rolls around, we can revisit the topic and attempt to re-answer the questions with things we learned throughout fall camp and the first few games. I'm also very interested to see how some of our more football minded users answer. Without further ado, here are the questions, and my attempts at answers. Be gentle with me please!!!

Note: Granted, these questions kind of take for granted that your starting roster is pretty accomplished, but we'll just ignore that for right now, so we can have some fun.
Note2: I decided to answer questions in a format of Yes, Maybe, and No. If someone comes up with a better system, I'd be more than willing to listen to it.

1. Does your team have a backup QB that can go at least 2-2 in a 4 game stretch?
Maybe
Right now, I'm going to have to go with a maybe. We have some kids that appear to have some real talent, but we have no idea how they would do in a game situation. This is based on the assumption that Bruggman ends up as our #1. Folsom and Murray could end up being great QB's but we just don't know at this point. If it were last year, with Bleskin as our backup, I'd go with yes, but it's a new year and we'll have to see what fall camp decides.

2. Does your team have a real swing offensive tackle, a guy that can play left or right tackle and has experience?
No
This one is kind of difficult since it's hard to tell who our starting tackles are going to be. But then it hits me that none of our tackles really have game experience (except for Mahoney and Gillis, but I really expect that they'll be starting LT and RG/RT respectively) so this one has to be a no right now since none of our prospective swing tackles have game experience. I'm hearing nothing but good things about Brott though, so that's probably a plus in the future.

3. Does your team have a solid inside offensive lineman that can play guard or center?
Maybe
Remember, this is talking about depth, not starters. So JP Flynn and Alex Neale don't count in the context of this question. I think that Doug Hansen could be a solid replacement if any of the 3 go down. I also think that Monte Folsom could be a fine replacement guard. I just don't know how he would do if forced into replacing someone at center. Has he had reps there? This one is a solid maybe, with at least 2 replacements, if not more (Oline is my weak point, knowledge wise)

4. Is there a quality second running back that can deliver a 100-yard rushing day if he had to start?
Yes
This one is pretty much a no brainer to me. Regardless of whether you consider Newell or Brekke as the starting tailback (Newell may be more of a fullback now in this scheme) I think we have 3 running backs (the other being LaSane) right now that could get a 100 yard rushing day if he had to start and you could even say it's possible that we have 4 with Anthony Pegues joining the team soon. And that's before we get to Jones and James. We're set for RB's.

5. Is there a good second tight end on the roster?
Yes
Austin Barth will be a solid to good #1 TE for us based on past performances (imo). I think that between Connor Sullivan and Curtis Amos, at least one of them will end up being able to fill the TE2 role quite well. I favor Sullivan here, because he had quite a reputation as a blocking WR last year in practice and games, so that should translate to his TE blocking fairly well. He also came up with some pretty decent catches as a WR last year (according to msubobcats.com, he had 4 catches for 50 yards for an average of 12.5 yards per catch in 2 games played. Not bad for a freshman WR coming to college from an 8 man HS team). I don't know nearly as much about Curtis Amos, but he was pretty highly touted coming out of high school and I expect he could be a competent TE2 if given the opportunity. And that's before we even get to Woody Brandom (3 star out of HS) and Wilson Brott.

6. Can the third wide receiver step up and start in the two-WR packages if a starter went down?
Yes
I personally believe that this one is a no brainer. With the way we rotated receivers last year, it almost feels like we have 4-5 starting WR's on the team. Assuming that we consider Mitch Herbert and Justin Paige to be our starters, before we even get to redshirt freshman (Cam Sutton and Keon Stephens) who have apparently shown flashes of ability in camp and practices, we still have Jayshawn Gates, who is a very good slot receiver and could probably fill in for Paige. The WR group also includes D'Agostino, Krolick, and Brown, who all have received good reviews throughout spring camp and practices. Brown and D'Agostino even got playing time and we got some production out of both of them.

7. Does your team have a designated pass-rush specialist who could play the early downs if need be?
Maybe
This one could easily go either way and we'll need to see some things in fall camp/games to know what we have. If we assume Fa'anono and Clark to be our starting DE's then I think we COULD have that specialist that could play the whole game in Grant Collins. He got good reviews after his position change during spring ball and I think he has the size and the pedigree to be a great DE. However, at this point, we just don't know. I'll call this a maybe with a lean towards no just because we have nothing to base Collins ability as a DE on. We could also have something in LaBoy. I just don't know much about him since I rarely saw him on the field last year.

8. Is there a third defensive tackle that not only plays in a rotation but could play the whole game if need be?
No
I'm going to go with no on this one. We don't know what we have at defensive tackle at all, really, outside of Tucker Yates and I would say that Yates is a solid nose tackle at this time. After Yates, I just don't know what we have. Hayashi, Polataivao, Wilcox, and the DT we got from the JC last year that came in and had injury problems all last year. I'm sorry, I forgot his name and I don't see him listed on the Bobcats roster right now. Just a lot of question marks at DT right now. Hopefully, we'll get some of them answered in fall camp.

9. Is there a quality nickel corner on the roster, since most teams are at least 50 percent sub defenses?
Maybe
Before we got Hale and Walker, I would have listed this as a no. But now, we can probably pencil those two in as starters (maybe not, time will tell). I feel like Strong could do a decent job as a nickel CB if given the opportunity. Bryce Alley and Khari Garcia have also filled that role before with mixed results. I'm going to list this one as a maybe, but with a lean towards yes.

10. Is there a fourth corner for dime packages?
Maybe
You can basically see #9 for this one. I would also have this one listed as a maybe with a lean towards yes. We just need one of Bryce Alley or Strong to step up, and that's before we even consider what some of the freshman might be able to do. (as well as Braelan Evans, if he can get back to pre-injury form)

11. Is there a third safety for big nickel defenses?
Maybe
For those of you unfamiliar with big nickel, it's when you bring a third safety on the field to act as a linebacker with better coverage skills. The theory being that you still have all the coverage abilities of a traditional nickel defense, but you get a little better at run stopping with a safety/linebacker hybrid over bringing on a third CB. Assuming that you consider our starting safeties to be Khari Garcia and Bryson McCabe (remember, we're not evaluating starters, just their depth) I think that Zach Stern could fill this role quite well. He was considered to be a fast linebacker with coverage skills coming in and subsequently got transitioned to safety. His coverage abilities as a safety and his run stopping ability as a former linebacker make him a very good candidate to fill this role if the bobcats end up using it. With that being said, Stern has never been utilized in this role, so I'll put this as a maybe with a lean towards yes.

12. Is there a return specialist that can either handle both punt and kick returns or contribute as a real position player?
Yes
This question is easy to answer. We have Brekke, who can do both if necessary. If his absence, I believe Gates would take over, who also fits the criteria.

13. Does your team have a special-teams linebacker that leads the specials and can play inside linebacker in a pinch?
Maybe
I honestly don't know how to answer this question. I don't have enough knowledge of special teams to answer this correctly. Any number of current LB's could fit this criteria. Does Fletcher Collins play special teams? Josh Hill and Walker Cozzie could be considered for this. The McCarthy twins could make this a yes. It just depends. I'll leave this question to be answered by more knowledgeable posters.

Results:
Yes: 4
Maybe: 7
No: 2

Results if you don't want me to use "Maybe" as an answer:
Yes: 8
No: 5

Again, this is more of a questionnaire to be answered for an NFL roster with a limited roster number. I feel like it's similar based on the FCS limit for scholarships allowed. And if nothing else, I feel like it can foster some good conversations and debate about our depth with real analysis. When I started this, I felt like I could answer the questions and then write a sentence or two about why, but I found that I could really get into details and really look into these questions.

So what do you guys think? Is my analysis fair? Too harsh? Too homerish? Let me know your own answers in return!

Edit: In case you want to read the article I got this idea from, here it is. It's an older article: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/roste ... le-has-it/

[GoldstoneCat]

Interesting topic for sure. I agree with most all of your analysis, given what we know as of now. Good to great depth at the skill positions, with a fair number of question marks elsewhere (or maybes, if you prefer! ) I think there's a difference in this conversation as it relates to FCS football versus the NFL, even though your point about limited roster size is a valid one. The difference I see is that a team can go out and acquire proven, veteran depth pieces, often even at the end of camp, based on need in the NFL. Here, I suppose, you could do something similar with transfers, but I feel like usually transfers are expected to play, rather than provide depth. Instead, I imagine that a lot of conversations about roster depth in FCS go just like this, as the depth of a roster is expected to be provided by young kids, who those outside the team can't know much about (the maybes). I feel like, given the roster constraints you mentioned, it's rare for an FCS team to have much veteran, proven roster depth. I'd argue that that's a fun element of football at this level, getting to see how these names from signing days past have developed, if/when they are called on.

[blueandgoldblitz]

You have a valid point that the NFL has trades that they can use as a recourse whereas in college football, you're pretty much stuck with what you have. You have to hope that a few freshman/sophomore will shine in depth roles.

I just wanted to point out that I'm very impressed with our RB and WR depth. We also have some very impressive depth at corner now, with the additions of Hale and Walker. Unproven sure, but incredibly high potential.

[GoldstoneCat]

You have a valid point that the NFL has trades that they can use as a recourse whereas in college football, you're pretty much stuck with what you have. You have to hope that a few freshman/sophomore will shine in depth roles.

I just wanted to point out that I'm very impressed with our RB and WR depth. We also have some very impressive depth at corner now, with the additions of Hale and Walker. Unproven sure, but incredibly high potential.

Oh I completely agree with you, our depth at the skill positions is something to be very excited about. With only having read reports and not seen either in person, I think it's possible that Stephens and Sutton could be explosive, breakout type players in the passing game for us this year. Sutton and Mitch Herbert in the red zone, together, is a problem for opposing defenses to plan for, for sure. I think you also could be proven correct at CB, assuming the 2 Pac-12 transfers can start, as Garcia/Strong/Alley all have gained enough experience to provide valuable depth. It's also a great point you made, that to truly be a very good to great football team over the course of a season, you must have depth at important positions (namely in the trenches, both sides). I think that's what makes me the most nervous about this team, and I guess what led me to my response, was that we truly have no clue what our depth looks like at those most important spots. Hopefully our recruiting under the prior regime, and what has been done in the transfer realm under the new staff, will have yielded some plug-and-play depth guys, who can get you a good productive game or 2 if needed. I didn't mean to sound as if I was arguing your point, I basically agree with all of it, I guess my point was that we just often don't know at this level, because guys that get forced into action simply haven't seen much time up until that point.

[iaafan]

I consider Hale and Walker to be proven players. Not all drop downs are proven, but I think anyone that has starts and significant playing time from the PAC 12 or any P5 conference, and isn't coming off a serious injury, is a proven player. If they come from the non-P5 or don't have significant PT at a P5, then I think you can say they're unproven.

Just my .02 cents.

[GoldstoneCat]

I consider Hale and Walker to be proven players. Not all drop downs are proven, but I think anyone that has starts and significant playing time from the PAC 12 or any P5 conference, and isn't coming off a serious injury, is a proven player. If they come from the non-P5 or don't have significant PT at a P5, then I think you can say they're unproven.

Just my .02 cents.

Yes, especially since they've actually been on the field. We should definitely have proven, quality depth at corner. Safety, I'm not so sure, we'll see how that develops this fall. Those 2 Pac-12 corners, together especially, were huge adds.

[desmond1957]

Hey, blueandgold, great topic/thread and a great initial review, will be interested in seeing how many posts/updates comes out of this. Nice to have a positive topic on the board!!!!

[blueandgoldblitz]

Hey, blueandgold, great topic/thread and a great initial review, will be interested in seeing how many posts/updates comes out of this. Nice to have a positive topic on the board!!!!

Thanks! I'm hoping to answer all the questions once again once we're a good bit into fall camp and we have some news coming out of the beat writers. Unfortunately, I live way out of town, so I can't watch the practices myself. I think I'll wait until we have a solid two deep. That way we don't have to make too many assumptions on starters and their immediate backups. I also wouldn't mind if others took a shot at answering some of the questions to get another fans perspective.

I thought this was a good topic to get some positive conversation flowing in a dead period without football (my least favorite time of year ) But we'll soon be through it and NFL training camps and college fall camps will be starting up soon!

I consider Hale and Walker to be proven players. Not all drop downs are proven, but I think anyone that has starts and significant playing time from the PAC 12 or any P5 conference, and isn't coming off a serious injury, is a proven player. If they come from the non-P5 or don't have significant PT at a P5, then I think you can say they're unproven.

Just my .02 cents.

Yes, especially since they've actually been on the field. We should definitely have proven, quality depth at corner. Safety, I'm not so sure, we'll see how that develops this fall. Those 2 Pac-12 corners, together especially, were huge adds.

Before the McCarthy twins committed, I was most excited to see how the new CB's improved the defense. Now, it's a tie between seeing if the McCarthy twins can improve some LB positions and the CB positions. I think the defense will be quite a bit faster this year and I can't wait to see how Ty uses it to wreak havoc.

[95bcfb]

I consider Hale and Walker to be proven players. Not all drop downs are proven, but I think anyone that has starts and significant playing time from the PAC 12 or any P5 conference, and isn't coming off a serious injury, is a proven player. If they come from the non-P5 or don't have significant PT at a P5, then I think you can say they're unproven.

Just my .02 cents.

I don't think that there is much doubt that both Hale and Walker have the skill to play at MSU but that's not the only thing that it takes to be a starter. They also have to be able to pick up the D and gell with the rest of the team. I think that Hale is more of a question mark because of his behavior rather than because of his talent. I hope he is ready to come in and participate and be a model student athlete. I am not trying to make any assumptions on his character because I don't know him or the circumstances that surrounded his previous issues but anytime someone is released from his former team for behavior issues it causes me to take pause. I will take a wait and see approach with him. I am glad we got both of these guys and think they have the potential to really make a difference.

[iaafan]

Good point 95. Hopefully he's squared away and ready to roll.

We'll get an answer to that item and many others starting in about 25 days!!

Hale, the McCarthy's, the safeties, the OL, the DTs. They all look promising, but we won't know for sure until camp starts.

[VimSince03]

If I'm too harsh, I'm sorry. If I'm too homerish, go to hell.

1. Does your team have a backup QB that can go at least 2-2 in a 4 game stretch?
You could say "maybe" here but the answer, for all intensive purposes, should be "No." Right now are backups are all redshirt freshman (Folsom & McChesney) or freshman (Murray and Brown) and the #2 coming out of spring ball was Ben Folsom who last played QB in a live game during his senior season in high school in 2012. Is Ben a good enough athlete to throw a win together? Yes. But right now this is a no for me.

2. Does your team have a real swing offensive tackle, a guy that can play left or right tackle and has experience?
Last year we absolutely had one in Dylan Mahoney. This year, the answer to this question will depend on who wins the starting jobs at RG and RT. Monte Folsom and Caleb Gillis will likely battle it out at RG. If Monte wins that one, Caleb could also challenge for the RT spot with incoming transfer Patrick Carroll and redshirt freshman Mitch Brott. If Carroll wins the RT spot, Caleb can be our swing tackle. I'm going to say "Yes" here even though he doesn't have a ton of experience on the left side. Patrick Carroll could also be our swing tackle.

3. Does your team have a solid inside offensive lineman that can play guard or center?
Yes. Alex Neale will be our starting center but Caleb Gillis has taken reps at center and guard. Caleb Gillis will be very valuable next year! Monte Folsom could probably play center as well.

4. Is there a quality second running back that can deliver a 100-yard rushing day if he had to start?
Yes. We have a second, third, and fourth running back who could deliver a 100-yard rushing day if he had to start. We may even have a 5th. I'm saying this with the thought that Chad Newell will be the "starting" running back even though him and Gunnar will line up together in the backfield a bunch this year with Chad as an H-back type. Brekke, LaSane, Jones, and maybe even Anthony Pegues could deliver a 100 yard game. I might be over-hyping our running backs but they have been some of the most consistent workers on our team the last few years and we will really get to see what they are made of this year as we don't really have a "run first" QB this year. Also, I left off Noah James because I think he is the future H-back, short yardage guy.

5. Is there a good second tight end on the roster?
Yes. After Austin Barth, there will be a good fight for the #2 tight end between Curtis Amos, Connor Sullivan, and Woody Brandom. We are very deep at tight end.

6. Can the third wide receiver step up and start in the two-WR packages if a starter went down?
Well we have been prominently a three wide receiver set team the last few years. But next year we will likely see more two receiver sets. Mitch Herbert is the only sure starter of the group and he plays the X and Keon Stephens will likely back him up. At the Z, Cam Sutton got starting honors during spring ball with Justin Paige behind him. At the H, Will Krolick got some starting nods in the spring with Jayshawn Gates, John D'Agistino, and Brandon Brown behind him, though D'Agistino and Brown were hurt. We are deep at receiver in terms of prospective talent but we don't have a ton of "sure-fire" starters. The three with the most game experience are Herbert, Gates, and Paige. The coaching staff will expect way more out of Paige this year now that he is a junior. Other than Herbert, everyone else needs to step up and show they can be a complete receiver so until that happens, this is a "No" for me.

7. Does your team have a designated pass-rush specialist who could play the early downs if need be?
Yes. Grant Collins and Jessie Clark. Both can play on early downs.

8. Is there a third defensive tackle that not only plays in a rotation but could play the whole game if need be?
The likely starters will be any combination of Tucker Yates, Brandon Hayashi, Robert Wilcox, or Joe Naotala (though I now see he isn't list on the roster). Zach Wright made a big impression this spring and might even be a starter by the end of fall camp. If you look at past Gregorak defenses, he isn't afraid to but it undersized guys in at nose (Huntley Projects Bryan Waldhauser play the nose at an all-conference level for the Griz five years ago and he was only about 260 lbs.). I think Zach Wright or Robert Wilcox (if they don't start) could be play the whole game if need be. However, this is a "No" for me but we will better up front than most people think.

9. Is there a quality nickel corner on the roster, since most teams are at least 50 percent sub defenses?
John Walker started at nickel for seven games during his sophomore season at Colorado. I would say he is a quality nickel corner. This is a "Yes."

10. Is there a fourth corner for dime packages?
With the addition of Hale and Walker, we just got much deeper at corner. Assuming those two start, that means Tre'von Strong and Bryce Alley will likely battle it out for another spot. I think both of those guys can be quality corners so I will say we have a quality fourth corner for dime packages. This is a "Yes."

11. Is there a third safety for big nickel defenses?
Zach Stern of Sidney Holmes? Braydon Konkol is now a linebacker but he has coverage ability. No experience here so this is a "No."

12. Is there a return specialist that can either handle both punt and kick returns or contribute as a real position player?
Yes. Gunnar Brekke, Jayshawn Gates, Khari Garcia, or Logan Jones are all worthy candidates.

13. Does your team have a special-teams linebacker that leads the specials and can play inside linebacker in a pinch?
Yes. Depending on who starts, Fletcher Collins or either of the McCarthy brothers can play inside linebacker and start inside in a pinch.

Results:
Yes: 8
No: 5

Basically, we have players on the roster who can be quality depth at certain positions.

[RobertCats]

Hey, blueandgold, great topic/thread and a great initial review, will be interested in seeing how many posts/updates comes out of this. Nice to have a positive topic on the board!!!!

Thanks! I'm hoping to answer all the questions once again once we're a good bit into fall camp and we have some news coming out of the beat writers. Unfortunately, I live way out of town, so I can't watch the practices myself. I think I'll wait until we have a solid two deep. That way we don't have to make too many assumptions on starters and their immediate backups. I also wouldn't mind if others took a shot at answering some of the questions to get another fans perspective.

I thought this was a good topic to get some positive conversation flowing in a dead period without football (my least favorite time of year ) But we'll soon be through it and NFL training camps and college fall camps will be starting up soon!

I consider Hale and Walker to be proven players. Not all drop downs are proven, but I think anyone that has starts and significant playing time from the PAC 12 or any P5 conference, and isn't coming off a serious injury, is a proven player. If they come from the non-P5 or don't have significant PT at a P5, then I think you can say they're unproven.

Just my .02 cents.

Yes, especially since they've actually been on the field. We should definitely have proven, quality depth at corner. Safety, I'm not so sure, we'll see how that develops this fall. Those 2 Pac-12 corners, together especially, were huge adds.

Before the McCarthy twins committed, I was most excited to see how the new CB's improved the defense. Now, it's a tie between seeing if the McCarthy twins can improve some LB positions and the CB positions. I think the defense will be quite a bit faster this year and I can't wait to see how Ty uses it to wreak havoc.

So have we heard how the summer classes are going, or went, with the one McCarthy bro and Hale? I thought Hale was supposed to be on campus already and it doesn't look like that is the case according to his Twitter. Not trying to be negative Nancy but I hate holding my breath worrying about something academic holding kids back before they can enroll.

[DaCats21]

Hey, blueandgold, great topic/thread and a great initial review, will be interested in seeing how many posts/updates comes out of this. Nice to have a positive topic on the board!!!!

Thanks! I'm hoping to answer all the questions once again once we're a good bit into fall camp and we have some news coming out of the beat writers. Unfortunately, I live way out of town, so I can't watch the practices myself. I think I'll wait until we have a solid two deep. That way we don't have to make too many assumptions on starters and their immediate backups. I also wouldn't mind if others took a shot at answering some of the questions to get another fans perspective.

I thought this was a good topic to get some positive conversation flowing in a dead period without football (my least favorite time of year ) But we'll soon be through it and NFL training camps and college fall camps will be starting up soon!

I consider Hale and Walker to be proven players. Not all drop downs are proven, but I think anyone that has starts and significant playing time from the PAC 12 or any P5 conference, and isn't coming off a serious injury, is a proven player. If they come from the non-P5 or don't have significant PT at a P5, then I think you can say they're unproven.

Just my .02 cents.

Yes, especially since they've actually been on the field. We should definitely have proven, quality depth at corner. Safety, I'm not so sure, we'll see how that develops this fall. Those 2 Pac-12 corners, together especially, were huge adds.

Before the McCarthy twins committed, I was most excited to see how the new CB's improved the defense. Now, it's a tie between seeing if the McCarthy twins can improve some LB positions and the CB positions. I think the defense will be quite a bit faster this year and I can't wait to see how Ty uses it to wreak havoc.

So have we heard how the summer classes are going, or went, with the one McCarthy bro and Hale? I thought Hale was supposed to be on campus already and it doesn't look like that is the case according to his Twitter. Not trying to be negative Nancy but I hate holding my breath worrying about something academic holding kids back before they can enroll.

I thought all along Hale wouldn't be on campus until fall camp

[iaafan]

If he's taking summer classes at Santa Monica, then he won't be done until July 29 at the earliest. August 12 at the latest. If he's projected to be here for camp, then it would be July 29.

[blueandgoldblitz]

Good write up Vim! I can definitely follow along and agree with most of your main points. I waffled back and forth about a maybe or a no on the QB question for about 15 minutes before i went with a Maybe. Must be the homer in me I'm a little more optimistic on the receivers than you are, but I get what you're saying. They've all played in games and been productive, but it's very limited playing time and very limited production as well so we don't really know what we have behind the first 2-3 guys (Herbert and Gates especially for me) I'm not sure what to think about Paige. Maybe I'm spoiled after seeing what he did his freshman year for us but last year seemed to be kind of a slump for him, especially after all the offseason hype that was thrown around about him. Don't get me wrong, I'm still excited to see what he can do! Just hoping to see a little more variety from him this year!

[VimSince03]

https://twitter.com/SkylineSportsMT/status/755554863224795136

[PHAT CAT]

Hales fine. Just trying to find a crib for the year. All's good fellas.

[Colter_Nuanez]

Montana State releases first depth chart of 2016
http://skylinesportsmt.com/msu-1st-2016-depth-chart/

A few notes

- Senior DT Joe Naotala is no longer on the roster

- RS Freshman DT Riley Griffiths suffered an arm injury during spring drills. He had surgery and since has had complications. He will spend the fall semester in Washington recovering after having another operation. He is expected to rejoin the team in January.

- Offensive lineman Garrett Gregg has switched to defensive tackle.

- Monte Folsom is listed as the backup center and senior center Doug Hanson is not listed on the depth chart. Hanson had off-season shoulder surgery that cost him spring drills. Have not been able to confirm yet if he has retired. Folsom will battle Caleb Gillis for the starting right guard spot as well.

[Hawks86]

Looks like the NT is missing.

[VimSince03]

Looks like the NT is missing.

Just gonna say that. Tucker Yates and Brandon Hayashi?