The latest depth chart is up on Hokiesports.com
Some interesting notes:
Demetri Knowles is still listed as a starter at flanker over Willie Byrn. Carlis Parker is still the number 2 split end behind Josh Stanford.
Despite Marshawn Williams causing quite the stir among the fans with his powerful running, he is still listed as the 3rd string back behind JC Coleman and Joel Caleb. Jerome Wright is only listed at fullback.
On defense, Ken Ekanem and Corey Marshall are listed as the started defensive end and nose tackle. Nigel Williams is now listed as Luther Maddy's backup at the defensive tackle position (which is where he played last season.)
It appears that Donovan Riley has moved over the field corner and is now listed as co-first team with Der'Woun Greene. Chuck Clark is now the number 2 boundary corner behind Kendall Fuller.
Comments
How in the world is Corey Marshall gonna play nose at that weight?
EDIT: For some reason I had him and Dadi's weights confused. 257 still isn't enough for nose IMO.
Agree. I'm very concerned about the size of our front 7
Will Nigel Williams be at NT when he is healthy and Marshall at DT? Baron played well at 260 last year as well. Their ability to shoot the gap allows some of these guys to play a bit undersized with their quickness.
Interesting to see Jerome Wright back at full back behind Drago. With "Juice" playing the way he's been doing, the running game could finally take off this season with some good blocking. Good move by the coaches!
Is it strange that they still have Malleck, Cline, Wang, and Chung in the 2 deep on the depth chart while they're in blue, but Edmunds, Jarrett and several others are listed over on other while in blue.
Also Ronnie VanDyke isn't listed in blue anymore, but is 2nd team behind Trimble and DiNardo
VanDyke is probably still getting his sea legs underneath him...I'd expect him to take over whip when we play W&M #BEATBILLANDMARY
I tweeted Bitter about that and he said RVD was still in blue
French (or anyone else who wants to answer), any chance Caleb gets move back to WR? I'm looking at the RBs and I see the following:
Junior: JC Coleman
Sophomore: Trey Edmunds
Freshman: Marshawn Williams
Redshirt: Shai McKenzie
Probable 2015 Recruit: Deshawn McClease
The Justin Hamilton model says FS is in Caleb's future.
No, now let's not be silly.
He lines up at fullback then motions into the 4th TE spot.
He could be a beast at rover or whip. I hate to see his talent wasted on the bench at RB. If he moves back to WR he would just be buried on the depth chart there too.
With Caleb already being moved from WR b/c he wasn't progressing enough I'd imagine there's no way he'd be moved back there. Seems like this is his last shot on O and if it doesn't work out would love to see him at whip
Is it possible that Caleb is moved to another position? Yes.
But Caleb has just as much potential as anyone else at the running back position, a position that he's still relatively new too. Shane is hoping that at some point the light comes on for him, because if it does Caleb could be a very productive player at that position.
Seems to me like the only thing holding back Marshawn on the depth chart is his pass protection. That was the only reason RMFW redshirted, and I imagine it will take all of spring at least for Marshawn to pick up on it. Come summer ball, though, he could be listed as the starter if Trey is still out.
I can't speak for how well Caleb and Williams pass protect, or if Coleman has progressed any, but J.C. had issues with protection last season. Edmunds was by far the best pass blocker.
I agree wholeheartedly with you on that last point. Coleman was a liability on passing downs unless he was out in the pattern. His poor blitz pickup was a key highlight in the film review of the UVA game.
Meanwhile, Edmunds was outstanding at picking up blitzes and was just as dangerous as a pass receiver (maybe more so given his big plays in the passing game against Boston College and UVA.)
Still don't understand why Caleb doesn't get the opportunity to return kicks or punts if he's such a threat with the ball. I could totally see Edmunds and Williams being the feature backs while Coleman gets in in certain situations. Perhaps Caleb could fill that role. Mangus also seemed to always do well with the ball in his hands from what I remember but don't believe he has the size for a full-time back. Perhaps fills in in particular situations the same as Coleman.
All in all i'm tired of hearing how awesome Caleb is but then he never gets any meaningful reps at anything for whatever reason.
I suppose Santamaria is not yet on campus? I wonder where he might end up on the chart this year. His film looked pretty impressive.
Yeah, I'm hopeful he wins all those competitions Beamer stages in August. He looks very good. It always amazes me how these little guys (Santamaria looks 5'7" or so) kick so well. His film shows him knocking them in from 50 routinely.