Russell's weakness this year will be the depth of the linebacking corp. how many can play at a high enough level?

 

IMO, replacing Bronson Korzep and Landon Arnold at LB is Russell's single biggest issue. Evan Ison is a junior that has a lot of potential and will benefit greatly from starting last year along side Korzep and Arnold.

 

At this point, I don't know what the depth chart at LB looks like. Linebacker was a strength for the Devils at the JV and Freshman levels, though. The future is bright at that position, but a lot of those kids are young with very little experience on Friday nights.

 

I'm not a program insider, so this is just speculation on my part.... But with the depth on the D-line, I think Conner Slone could fill Arnold's spot at MLB. Conner was a starter at DE last year. He's a very strong, tough kid with a similar build to Arnold. I think he'd fill that spot admirably with little to no dropoff in productivity. Whether or not TJ will make that move, idk. Perhaps DevilPride could enlighten us a little more.

I think in Ashland's case, it's more about quality over quantity. Two FBS signees, plus Kurtlen Brown, who may or may not have D1 potential.

 

I get that. But it would still be nice to see more kids to come out and play to gain experience for the future. Numbers next year will likely be back up, however some of those kids will be missing out on coaching/experience they could have gained this season, even if they don't get much pt this season.

I get that. But it would still be nice to see more kids to come out and play to gain experience for the future. Numbers next year will likely be back up, however some of those kids will be missing out on coaching/experience they could have gained this season, even if they don't get much pt this season.

 

Do you think there's something/someone keeping some kids away? How is the team and community responding after year one under Coach Love? The sky was falling early on and then they finished stronger than anyone could have predicted.

Do you think there's something/someone keeping some kids away? How is the team and community responding after year one under Coach Love? The sky was falling early on and then they finished stronger than anyone could have predicted.

 

I don't really think anything in particular is keeping kids from coming out. The kids seem to like coach Love and are buying into his system. He's always been big on strength and conditioning, but this current group of kids seem to be embracing it. The numbers being down likely has more to do with potential lack of playing time for some. That's the main reason I expect numbers to be back up next year with around 20 seniors graduating and a lot more playing time available.

 

The team seems to embrace coach Love and I believe the community will warm up to him too. Some of us (myself included) were hard on him early last year due to some questionable coaching/play calling. But in the grand scheme of things, it was his first year as hc and it takes some time to adjust. If he put in the work during the off season that his kids did to fix some of those issues, I expect the community will embrace him as well.

IMO, replacing Bronson Korzep and Landon Arnold at LB is Russell's single biggest issue. Evan Ison is a junior that has a lot of potential and will benefit greatly from starting last year along side Korzep and Arnold.

 

At this point, I don't know what the depth chart at LB looks like. Linebacker was a strength for the Devils at the JV and Freshman levels, though. The future is bright at that position, but a lot of those kids are young with very little experience on Friday nights.

 

I'm not a program insider, so this is just speculation on my part.... But with the depth on the D-line, I think Conner Slone could fill Arnold's spot at MLB. Conner was a starter at DE last year. He's a very strong, tough kid with a similar build to Arnold. I think he'd fill that spot admirably with little to no dropoff in productivity. Whether or not TJ will make that move, idk. Perhaps DevilPride could enlighten us a little more.

Conner has been moved to MLB and for his size and stature that probably is the best fit for him. He does resemble Arnold in the way they play but Landon owned that position. Would love to have someone like him again. Smittle is another that looks good at times. He has always had a knack for finding the ball...just never had much size to do anything when he got there but that's all changed. He's added some good pounds and looks solid there as well along with a few more players. I don't think the linebacker corp is really that weak at this point in the season. I just think we got spoiled having Korzep and Arnold. If there is any weakness I guarantee TJ will just rotate them around until someone mans up and solidifies that spot.