It has now been 10 days since the Transfer Portal opened up.
A few observations. Sawvel said that he was going to take a blow torch to the offensive side of the team and there has been 9 or so offensive players that have entered the Transfer Portal but only 5 of the new 15 signees are on the offensive side.
So 10 of the new signees are on the defensive side of the program, which surprises me a little. Some of that probably is due to the fact that the defensive side had some important graduates and a few guys that left from the defensive side like Samsula.
For the most part I am impressed with earlier signees in the Transfer Portal period. I know that guys can sign after the transfer portal period closes as long as they declare during the two-week period, so I am hoping that we might have some important signees yet to come.
This group of later signees I can say that I am not as impressed with, it looks like they are just finding bodies now. In particular I am talking about the Redfern, Donaway and Gianaris signees. They all appear to be small for their positions for a FBS level program.
I am impressed with the Karson Butts and Anthony Beavers, Jr. signees, as far as LB are concerned, the Butts kid spent only one season at GCCC but did very well and he has the size to handle FBS level players. Anthony Beavers, Jr. is an interesting signee for sure. Here is a young man that came out of HS very highly recruited and played 4 years with USC and was by all accounts a great teammate and a great young man. Coming to UW is going to be a huge change for him. We have seen other young men over the years who were highly recruited and then ended up at UW and frankly speaking most of them just kind of floated away. But Beavers is a young man that has gotten two degrees and is working on a third and I am hoping that his maturity is such is that he makes the most of this year at UW. He certainly has the speed to play the LB position at UW but it will be an adjustment in going mostly from a Safety position to a LB position. I am hoping that Beavers can be a good role model for the younger players and a good leader in the locker-room and out on the field.
Most of the guys that were signed earlier like Siddons, Vincent, Maciejczak, and Dunkley on paper all seem to be good recruits. The one area that is still woefully lacking imo is the WR position. Despite the signing of two HS WR's that appear to have the physical make-up to contribute earlier rather than later, the Pokes lost a lot at the WR position to graduation and with the Transfer Portal. So, imo we need to bring in an experienced WR with good stats like the Holman (RB) young man.
My point is that I would expect that even though things have quieted down some from the hurried signees at the first part of the Transfer Portal, I would hope and expect to see some important signees yet to come, and I hope that we are staying away from the, "we are filling slots at certain positions" situation. The WR position that we need to fill is the outside deep threat that Durr filled. DeBlanc fills a special need as a threat from the Slot position, but we HAVE TO HAVE some WR;s that have speed and are deep threats to help keep defenses honest. I like Jackson Holman and Charlie Coenen a lot but they are both possession type receivers.
What other positions would you guys like to see filled with the later portal signees?
A few observations. Sawvel said that he was going to take a blow torch to the offensive side of the team and there has been 9 or so offensive players that have entered the Transfer Portal but only 5 of the new 15 signees are on the offensive side.
So 10 of the new signees are on the defensive side of the program, which surprises me a little. Some of that probably is due to the fact that the defensive side had some important graduates and a few guys that left from the defensive side like Samsula.
For the most part I am impressed with earlier signees in the Transfer Portal period. I know that guys can sign after the transfer portal period closes as long as they declare during the two-week period, so I am hoping that we might have some important signees yet to come.
This group of later signees I can say that I am not as impressed with, it looks like they are just finding bodies now. In particular I am talking about the Redfern, Donaway and Gianaris signees. They all appear to be small for their positions for a FBS level program.
I am impressed with the Karson Butts and Anthony Beavers, Jr. signees, as far as LB are concerned, the Butts kid spent only one season at GCCC but did very well and he has the size to handle FBS level players. Anthony Beavers, Jr. is an interesting signee for sure. Here is a young man that came out of HS very highly recruited and played 4 years with USC and was by all accounts a great teammate and a great young man. Coming to UW is going to be a huge change for him. We have seen other young men over the years who were highly recruited and then ended up at UW and frankly speaking most of them just kind of floated away. But Beavers is a young man that has gotten two degrees and is working on a third and I am hoping that his maturity is such is that he makes the most of this year at UW. He certainly has the speed to play the LB position at UW but it will be an adjustment in going mostly from a Safety position to a LB position. I am hoping that Beavers can be a good role model for the younger players and a good leader in the locker-room and out on the field.
Most of the guys that were signed earlier like Siddons, Vincent, Maciejczak, and Dunkley on paper all seem to be good recruits. The one area that is still woefully lacking imo is the WR position. Despite the signing of two HS WR's that appear to have the physical make-up to contribute earlier rather than later, the Pokes lost a lot at the WR position to graduation and with the Transfer Portal. So, imo we need to bring in an experienced WR with good stats like the Holman (RB) young man.
My point is that I would expect that even though things have quieted down some from the hurried signees at the first part of the Transfer Portal, I would hope and expect to see some important signees yet to come, and I hope that we are staying away from the, "we are filling slots at certain positions" situation. The WR position that we need to fill is the outside deep threat that Durr filled. DeBlanc fills a special need as a threat from the Slot position, but we HAVE TO HAVE some WR;s that have speed and are deep threats to help keep defenses honest. I like Jackson Holman and Charlie Coenen a lot but they are both possession type receivers.
What other positions would you guys like to see filled with the later portal signees?
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