With all the portal additions and the handful of field-ready HS signees, I thought it might be worth looking at how different the team looks vs 2022. Looking at offense first.
For starters (some pun intended), it looks like 7 or 8 of the 2023 starters will be players added by BHF. That number on offense could be as high as 10, and maybe even 11 if JH’s film career takes off.
Two caveats: 1) this is my opinion on projected starters and 2) I’m using PFF for grades, so TIFWIW.
Here’s how it looks on offense:
QB
2023 starter: Payton Thorne
2022 starter: Robby Ashford
Change: significant upgrade, +13.2 on PFF, and worst case RA is still there as a fallback.
RB
2023 starter: Jarquez Hunter
2022 starter: Tank Bigsby
Change: Slight upgrade all up, but basically a wash at RB1. JH is -2.7 on PFF vs TB, but ironically Battie is +5 over Tank per PFF. JH runs completely differently, and Battie runs completely differently from either, and is a big bench upgrade here and as a starter at KR/PR. And we certainly didnt' have a Cobb on the bench last year.
WR
2023 starters: Jyaire Shorter, Shane Hooks, Ja’Varrius Johnson
2022 starters: Shed Jackson, Koy Moore, Ja’Varrius Johnson
Change: Much improved. Var will be a little better, just based on experience. Hooks (PFF 72) and Shorter (PFF 71.4) are massive upgrades from Jackson (PFF 52.5) and Moore (PFF 54.4).
TE
2023 starter: Rivaldo Fairweather
2022 starter: John Samuel Shenker
Change: Mild upgrade overall. Fairweather is +3.1 over Shenker with more athleticism. And we still have 374 backup TEs that are all decent.
OT
2023 starters: Gunner Britton, Dillon Wade
2022 starters: Killian Zierer, Austin Troxell
Change: Good upgrade in both positions. Britton is +9.3 over Troxell, and Wade is +5.3 over Zierer. I was actually surprised it wasn’t higher, but it’s a clear upgrade at both spots, and Miller is better as a backup than anything we had as T2 last year.
OG
2023 starters: Jaden Muskrat/Connor Lew, Jeremiah Wright/Tate Johnson
2022 starters: Kam Stutts, Jeremiah Wright, (committee of meh)
Change: Mild improvement. Wright will be good or better than last year, and Muskrat is at least 5 points higher than anybody we started at guard last year.
C
2023 starter: Avery Jones
2022 starter: Brandon Council/Tate Johnson
Change: Solid upgrade. Jones is +8.6 over Council and +10 over Johnson, and it’s not that close on the field.
Every position (all 11) is an upgrade, and 6 of the positions are more than 5 points better.
Offense was not good last year, so the bar is low, but barring some massive chemistry issues or a ton of injuries, this offense will be significantly better than 2022; especially when you also factor in coaching. Curious what everyone else thinks going into the season.
If this is interesting, I can do it for defense as well.
For starters (some pun intended), it looks like 7 or 8 of the 2023 starters will be players added by BHF. That number on offense could be as high as 10, and maybe even 11 if JH’s film career takes off.
Two caveats: 1) this is my opinion on projected starters and 2) I’m using PFF for grades, so TIFWIW.
Here’s how it looks on offense:
QB
2023 starter: Payton Thorne
2022 starter: Robby Ashford
Change: significant upgrade, +13.2 on PFF, and worst case RA is still there as a fallback.
RB
2023 starter: Jarquez Hunter
2022 starter: Tank Bigsby
Change: Slight upgrade all up, but basically a wash at RB1. JH is -2.7 on PFF vs TB, but ironically Battie is +5 over Tank per PFF. JH runs completely differently, and Battie runs completely differently from either, and is a big bench upgrade here and as a starter at KR/PR. And we certainly didnt' have a Cobb on the bench last year.
WR
2023 starters: Jyaire Shorter, Shane Hooks, Ja’Varrius Johnson
2022 starters: Shed Jackson, Koy Moore, Ja’Varrius Johnson
Change: Much improved. Var will be a little better, just based on experience. Hooks (PFF 72) and Shorter (PFF 71.4) are massive upgrades from Jackson (PFF 52.5) and Moore (PFF 54.4).
TE
2023 starter: Rivaldo Fairweather
2022 starter: John Samuel Shenker
Change: Mild upgrade overall. Fairweather is +3.1 over Shenker with more athleticism. And we still have 374 backup TEs that are all decent.
OT
2023 starters: Gunner Britton, Dillon Wade
2022 starters: Killian Zierer, Austin Troxell
Change: Good upgrade in both positions. Britton is +9.3 over Troxell, and Wade is +5.3 over Zierer. I was actually surprised it wasn’t higher, but it’s a clear upgrade at both spots, and Miller is better as a backup than anything we had as T2 last year.
OG
2023 starters: Jaden Muskrat/Connor Lew, Jeremiah Wright/Tate Johnson
2022 starters: Kam Stutts, Jeremiah Wright, (committee of meh)
Change: Mild improvement. Wright will be good or better than last year, and Muskrat is at least 5 points higher than anybody we started at guard last year.
C
2023 starter: Avery Jones
2022 starter: Brandon Council/Tate Johnson
Change: Solid upgrade. Jones is +8.6 over Council and +10 over Johnson, and it’s not that close on the field.
Every position (all 11) is an upgrade, and 6 of the positions are more than 5 points better.
Offense was not good last year, so the bar is low, but barring some massive chemistry issues or a ton of injuries, this offense will be significantly better than 2022; especially when you also factor in coaching. Curious what everyone else thinks going into the season.
If this is interesting, I can do it for defense as well.
