MSURacer

A run-heavy, smash mouth style of offense is anything but boring if you can run it successfully. Just ask Henry County, although we do have some variations of a spread attack thrown into our game plan as well. Either way, my point still stands. As for the playmakers comment, I'm not sure why a change in offensive philosophy would make them want to switch schools. If a player is good enough, he will still be on the field enough to have plenty of opportunities, especially if he has all state talent. It's ridiculous to think otherwise. We had a wide receiver who just signed a college scholarship who only caught 16 passes last season in our run-heavy system, because his talent was still very noticeable. And he wasn't even an all-state caliber player. Whoever the new coach is needs to tell them and their parents to not give up on the program so easily.

Shocking, but best of luck to him.

Well, 2 weeks until spring practice starts. Some things I'm hoping to see are: An improvement in the punting game. We didn't really need it much last year, and it's a good thing we didn't. But my guess is we will need a strong, consistent punting game at some point this season. I hope we work on it this spring. Also, with us losing a lot of senior beef up front, I hope we can develop more of a passing attack. Losing a 6'7 275 pound left tackle, a fullback who was big enough to play on the line himself, and big, hard nosed runner in Allen is going to make it harder to just line up and run over people as consistently as we did last year. I love the physical nature of the program, and I don't want to get away from that style of play. But with so many underclassmen having to step in to feel the void, it would be nice knowing we could pass the ball 15 or so times in a given game without too many problems. On another note, I can't wait to see all the speed that's moving up to the varsity level. One thing is for sure, this team will be fast.

True. There's still a lot of talent coming up through the program. We'll reload, just as we have for the past 6 years or so. There are still plenty of good linemen to choose from. And even after losing Allen, we'll still be stacked at tailback next season and for the next few years. There are athletes galore to go along with some good size, so WR, LB, and DB will work themselves out. Filling the hole left at QB will be interesting. One thing that will be difficult to replace is the speed that Najee had at the QB position. That sheer explosiveness under center is a valuable weapon to have, and I'm eager to see who rises up to fill that void. I hope to catch a glimpse of spring practice this year. Since the Racers are out of the tourny, I'm ready to watch my other alma mater try to defend their title. Football season can't come soon enough.