Depth Chart (Fall, 2012)

[Groundhogday]

Rough draft of depth chart to promote discussion. Big question marks are on the right side of the OL and WR after the top three. I underlined guys who appear to be secure starters.

QB: Scheelhaase, O'Toole OR Osei
RB: Young OR Ferguson, Ayoola
FB: Davis, Becker

LT: Thornton, McDowell
LG: Pocic, Sands
_C: Feldmeyer, Pocic, Durkin
RG: Hill, Karras
RT: Heitz, Cvijanovic, Nowicki

TE: Davis, Viliunas OR LaCosse OR Wilson

WR: Millines, Knight
WR: Harris,
WR: Lankford, Church

------------------------------------------
LEO: Buchanan, Caldwell
_DT: Foster, Teitsma
_NG: Spence, Howe
_DE: Kynard, Staples

SAM: Bates, Cooper,
MLB: Brown, Dickenson, Grimes
STR: Williams, Fuller

_CB: Green, Bentley, Spence
_FS: Sanni, Davis, PNY
_SS: Thomas, Hull
_CB: Hawthorne, Ramsey

------------------------------------------
_PR: Davis OR Hawthorne
_KR: Davis, Hawthorne, ???
__K: Immekus, Frain
__P: DuVernois, Frain

[BigStan97]

Nice rough draft

Im thinking Fritz Rock will be backup to Harris or Whitlow

the Oline has been

LT-Thornton LG-Pocic OC-Feldmeyer RG- Heitz RT- Simon

Alex Hill has also been in at RG with Heitz at RT

Karras will be in the mix for completing for PT as well

I really dont feel like the best about Hull just for the fact that his shoulder has been hurt last year he had surgery on it and now he reinjuried it (dn how bad it is tho)
But Thomas has been moved back to Safety from the Star LB spot and has played very well....he made a handful of plays in the spring game and ive heard hes getting more and more comfortable during Camp as well

I think Spence is our 4th CB and Bentley is our 5th right now....ive heard both have done well but i feel like right now the order should be- Hawthorne, Green, Ramsey, Spence, Bentley

also Church could also be put in the depth as a KR or PR once he gets settled in and learns the offense and gets the Freshman gitters out of him he could line up as a ST return man

[Kramer116]

Good overall, a few things I would tweak after my early impressions:

- Staples would be the backup to Buchanan at LEO currently, with Kynard sliding in at DE. Heck, Kynard might play more than Staples this year especially on run downs. I am sure Caldwell will get some playing time too.

- At CB, I would agree with BigStan that Bentley is probably closer to 5th now. Spence has been playing well so far apparently. I have not heard a word on Ramsey, so not sure if I can pencil him as anything more than a 4th/5th corner.

- At KR, apparently Hawthorne or Osei are not getting reps as the deep men like they were last year. They are in on the return formation, but not in the back. I could see Davis getting a lot of work as the KR/PR. It will be interesting who else gets the most reps there.

[256ILLINI]

Kynard has to be #1 since Staples is suspended his first game for that DUI, plus like you said, he's probably going to end up playing more since he's big enough to hold the edge on running plays

[Illinir1]

Whoever replaces Dimke has some big shoes to fill.

I see you've got Immekus list ahead of Frain for kicking duties. How solid is that projection? What's the read on both of these kickers....reliable or shaky?

I don't know much about either kicker but did look up the following YouTube film on Nick Immekus: Nick Immekus Game Film Looks like he's got a good leg. A good number of 70 yard kicks on kickoffs as a high schooler.

[Ander1345]

I wouldn't mind seeing DY5 and Ferguson on the field at the same time, maybe put Ferguson in the slot and use him on motion for sweeps and stuff, while DY5 can be the inside run threat.

[Groundhogday]

Originally Posted by Kramer116

- Staples would be the backup to Buchanan at LEO currently, with Kynard sliding in at DE. Heck, Kynard might play more than Staples this year especially on run downs. I am sure Caldwell will get some playing time too.

From what I've read, Staples has been getting most of his reps at DE though I agree that he is a bit small to hold the edge against the run. I think they are essentially giving him a chance to earn a starting role, though it looks like Kynard might win that spot irrespective of Staples' suspension.

[Groundhogday]

Originally Posted by Ander1345

I wouldn't mind seeing DY5 and Ferguson on the field at the same time, maybe put Ferguson in the slot and use him on motion for sweeps and stuff, while DY5 can be the inside run threat.

I think we will see a lot of this sort of thing given our lack of playmakers at WR (after Millines). Osei, Ferguson and Davis are all very versatile players who will play multiple (and hybrid) positions.

[Kramer116]

Originally Posted by Groundhogday

From what I've read, Staples has been getting most of his reps at DE though I agree that he is a bit small to hold the edge against the run. I think they are essentially giving him a chance to earn a starting role, though it looks like Kynard might win that spot irrespective of Staples' suspension.

Staples is our second best pass rushing DL, so they want to get him on the field somehow. I just think that if something were to happen to Buchanan causing him to miss time, that Staples would slide over to LEO and Kynard would be the full time DE.

Again, Caldwell could totally surprise us all and be a contributor, and I would not mind that one bit.

[Groundhogday]

Originally Posted by Kramer116

Staples is our second best pass rushing DL, so they want to get him on the field somehow. I just think that if something were to happen to Buchanan causing him to miss time, that Staples would slide over to LEO and Kynard would be the full time DE.

Again, Caldwell could totally surprise us all and be a contributor, and I would not mind that one bit.

That is the tough thing about making up a depth chart. It is hard to represent positional flexibility. Buchanan might play some DE in passing situations. I listed Sands as backup LG, but I would guess that Hill would shift to the left side should Pocic sit out or move to center. I'm guessing that Pocic is really the backup center...

But that said, I expect Caldwell to play this year, though I don't expect him to really come into his own for another year.

[Kramer116]

I definitely agree GHD, there are a handful of positions we have penciled in already, but the others like WR, OL are so wide open.

I am guessing the depth chart will be a continuing work in progress all season long at those positions, but hopefully we can get the OL solidified early. WR, who knows!

[Groundhogday]

Originally Posted by Kramer116

I definitely agree GHD, there are a handful of positions we have penciled in already, but the others like WR, OL are so wide open.

I am guessing the depth chart will be a continuing work in progress all season long at those positions, but hopefully we can get the OL solidified early. WR, who knows!

Beckman's approach at Toledo was to find a way to get playmakers the ball in space and let them beat a single, isolated defender. So who do we have on this offense capable of being a "play maker"?

The guys who come to mind are Scheelhaase, Osei, Millines, Davis, Ferguson and Young. Maybe Lankford. That doesn't mean that other guys can't carry the ball, throw a pass or make a catch, but these are the guys with the special sort of size/athleticism needed to stress a defense. Compared to the Turner era, we have a fair number of playmakers on offense. So even though there are huge question marks at WR, I'm more concerned about the OL. If the WR can't produce, we can always get creative with Ferguson, Davis and Osei as surrogate receivers. If the OL can't block, then nothing else will work.

[quhawks12]

Great start GHD. Right side of the OL is gonna be a guessing game until we get closer to game day. And I'm wondering if Ayoola or Church belong in that playmakers group? We won't know for sure till they actually get some clock in a game I guess.

[BigStan97]

Ive heard Ayoola has really made some big stripes and is getting comfortable in our system....so im guessing Dami will be our 3rd RB...Church has moved to the Slot WR like we all know and is just trying to learn the WR position

[Groundhogday]

For those who have followed this more closely, is Tyler Sands even in the two-deep? The guy is a RS-senior with real playing experience, but I haven't heard his name mentioned once this summer.

[mkantor]

The way camp is going for # 88, I will not be surprise to see a change in this fall depth chart

[Dan]

2012 roster breakdown

Asmussen

[Kramer116]

Originally Posted by mkantor

The way camp is going for # 88, I will not be surprise to see a change in this fall depth chart

Has Lattimore been stepping it up so far in camp?

[Groundhogday]

Originally Posted by mkantor

The way camp is going for # 88, I will not be surprise to see a change in this fall depth chart

Originally Posted by Kramer116

Has Lattimore been stepping it up so far in camp?

I haven't heard a word about Lattimore from anyone observing camp. It would certainly be a surprise if he earned major playing time this fall.

[rtbritt]

With all this talk about Miles Osei being impressive at quarterback, taking reps at RB and WR, and maybe being the holder, KR, and PR - were people really all that impressed with him last year? I'll admit that I don't know really anything about him other than what I read on here, but when he was returning kicks last year, he didn't seem all that fast or shifty.

If he were an actual RB or WR, would we be impressed with him, or is it just because he is a QB that can also do all these things???

[mkantor]

Originally Posted by Groundhogday

I haven't heard a word about Lattimore from anyone observing camp. It would certainly be a surprise if he earned major playing time this fall.

Scout.com

[BlueDeath]

"With all this talk about Miles Osei being impressive at quarterback, taking reps at RB and WR, and maybe being the holder, KR, and PR - were people really all that impressed with him last year? I'll admit that I don't know really anything about him other than what I read on here, but when he was returning kicks last year, he didn't seem all that fast or shifty.

If he were an actual RB or WR, would we be impressed with him, or is it just because he is a QB that can also do all these things??"

He is impressive because he is the best QB on the roster period. He has not gotten a fair shake here and the QB coach and the media people are actually paying attention to him now.

[mkantor]

I agree 100% zook and that bad crew had their favourites.

[rtbritt]

The new coaches have no allegiances to Scheelhause, O'Toole, or Osei, so I would guess they will start the QB who gives them the best chance to succeed.

[256ILLINI]

Originally Posted by rtbritt

The new coaches have no allegiances to Scheelhause, O'Toole, or Osei, so I would guess they will start the QB who gives them the best chance to succeed.

They kind of do have an allegiance to Scheelhaase, just because the rest of the team recognizes him as starter and they are entering the year expecting him to be QB.

Leadership is a big deal, so they're going to give Nate, the leader, a long look at QB before changing starters