On 1/14/2025 at 1:11 AM, NkyGuy22 said:

Offensively expect John to step up and play a big role, Chase Jacob’s as well. Gabe Williams will be a game changer at running back due to his ability to break the long run. Cale Harris I expect to be the ultimate utility knife, and of course Tayden Lorenzen to stake his claim as one of the best players in the state. With this brutal schedule, don’t be surprised to see a few more L’s in the regular season than we are use to seeing BUT I don’t see to many teams in the state being as battle tested as this squad heading into playoff time. 

Highlands OL this upcoming season is dang near a college size OL. If developed properly and put in the right places, highlands not only can make a deep run in state, but can also give Elder a run for their money.

2 hours ago, JuanHenry1997 said:

Highlands OL this upcoming season is dang near a college size OL. If developed properly and put in the right places, highlands not only can make a deep run in state, but can also give Elder a run for their money.

That prospective starting O line got a lot smaller and less talented with these players no longer in the program.  There are some big young guys that will be stepping into the voids, but losing experienced linemen is always tough.  Time will tell if is is just a reloading, next man up situation or if it will be a rebuild of the O line.   

8 minutes ago, En Fuego Hombre said:

That prospective starting O line got a lot smaller and less talented with these players no longer in the program.  There are some big young guys that will be stepping into the voids, but losing experienced linemen is always tough.  Time will tell if is is just a reloading, next man up situation or if it will be a rebuild of the O line.   

Whats up with the pessimistic approach here? Seems like there's something personal going on here. 

5 hours ago, NKY-guy said:

False 

What part? That they are both a big loss to the program, or that the reasons are the same?  If your referring to the latter, the genesis of the reasons is the same, even if those reasons manifested differently because one of the players is a starter and the other an up and comer.

2 minutes ago, BLUEHOUND said:

Whats up with the pessimistic approach here? Seems like there's something personal going on here. 

It's not pessimistic to point out that losing two very big pieces of the O line will likely result in some problems on that front. 

1 hour ago, En Fuego Hombre said:

It's not pessimistic to point out that losing two very big pieces of the O line will likely result in some problems on that front. 

It hurts to lose OL. But they got 3 OL coming back that are at least 6’3 300+ who are also seniors so the drop off will be minimal at most. 

Have the guys filling in for these lineman gotten real playing time? If they have experience I’d think it wouldn’t be that  big of a deal to plug them in. Good luck with that schedule this year it is brutal, but I’m glad at least someone is trying to see how they measure up.

15 hours ago, En Fuego Hombre said:

What part? That they are both a big loss to the program, or that the reasons are the same?  If your referring to the latter, the genesis of the reasons is the same, even if those reasons manifested differently because one of the players is a starter and the other an up and comer.

Yea I agree that both are a loss, but out of all of the returning lineman the two who quit were in serious jeopardy of losing their starting position. The kid who transferred his dad believes his son will get more D1 opportunities in Ohio (whether that’s true or not , idk) but he was playing right next to a Louisville commit (Not many 6ft tackles in D1 football). The kid who quit had absolutely nothing to do with that. 

15 hours ago, En Fuego Hombre said:

It's not pessimistic to point out that losing two very big pieces of the O line will likely result in some problems on that front. 

The two weakest parts of the front!! The two new starters will be better and bigger between the two, just wait and see. Russell Ali and Andrew Swope had monster off-seasons and developed a lot last year. 

1 hour ago, NKY-guy said:

The two weakest parts of the front!! The two new starters will be better and bigger between the two, just wait and see. Russell Ali and Andrew Swope had monster off-seasons and developed a lot last year. 

With the schedule they have, better have some depth.    

 

Question for those in the know or at least think they know.  Is Scott Turner going to coach this year?

1 minute ago, Jack of all Trades said:

Question for those in the know or at least think they know.  Is Scott Turner going to coach this year?

Yes 

There was a lot of talk about Highlands OL's size last year, but it never translated against a small front from Cooper that got massacred the very next week.

The great Highlands OLs I remember usually featured one true standout O-Lineman that would be headed somewhere big, and then maybe one other guy with decent size. The other three would look like kids that would start ILB at any other HS other than Highlands, who moved like skill guys and were vicious and strong.  

Once Mueller took over they had some of the fastest, strongest but smaller lineman in the state. Key was they got the job done. I watched the Ryle game last year and in OT on the first play they rolled out the QB who tossed a pick. Their running back was averaging over 6 yards a carry in that game. Why not give him the ball behind an oline that was being bragged about before the season started for their size? Brag about size but if you don’t use it appropriately then what’s the point. 

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