Looking ahead to the 2015 Bison
It’s been an incredible run, but I can’t help looking ahead to next year. Much like last year, everybody will talk about what we lose (Crockett and a huge amount of talent on defense), so I thought it might help to focus on what we have returning. If Vraa comes back we lose 14 seniors off the 2 deep depth chart yet the cupboard is certainly far from bare.
Offense
QB: Wentz is a dual threat stud that should only get better. No clue what McGinnis/Davis bring to the table. Stick is probably the future, but no clue what we have with him yet either.
RB: Frazier/Morlock battling for carries will be fun to watch (could be more of a split like we had with Sam and Crock in 2013), but a RS freshmen could push for time as well (Dunn, Ware)
FB/TE: Bonnet, Cyr/Albers, Illies, should be more than fine here. Bonnett is a freak. Albers and Illies are more than capable of taking over for Vaadeland; Connor Wentz got some time this year, and Marcus Collins was our highest rated recruit last year.
WR: Vraa coming back would be more than huge. RJ will benefit immensely from an entire offseason in the program; hopefully Carey Woods can continue his improvement; Perkins showed some promise as a return man; Anderson has been ok on the jet sweep. Hopefully we can find a young guy or two (Hawkins, Frandsen, or one of the true freshmen – Bridges maybe) to contribute.
OL: Good. Lord. Return 4 of 5 starters (All American Haeg, Kuhnert, Kelly, Lechler), get Johnson back (all conference in 2013, I believe), and Plankers saw a ton of time as a backup. Add in one or two of the youngsters (Ziemer, Connor, Bacon, Volson, Triplett) as they develop and we should have all kinds of depth.
I realize nothing is certain, but with that group of returners it’s easy to get excited about the potential for a big year. In my mind the 2 biggest keys are keeping the power running game productive (no reason that Frazier/Morlock shouldn’t be at least serviceable behind that line) and WR production, especially if Vraa doesn’t come back. Hopefully Polasek doesn’t mess with what works, and improves as a play caller as well.
Defense
DE: Ambrosius, Menard, Hahn all got a ton of experience this year. Should not be expected to replace the best defensive player in the country, but it’s not like we are replacing Emanuel and Hardie with guys who have never played a down. Also need a young guy like Stanley Jones to step up and contribute.
DT: Schaetz, Tanguay, and Morgan all return, and what was a huge question mark before this season turned out of be fairly well taken care of. Blake Williams had offers from tons of schools last year, and could emerge in the rotation. It's be nice if Farnlof could earn some PT too.
LB: DeLuca got some good experience this year in the playoffs, and has loads of potential. Gee-Tucker has shown some promise, just needs to stay on the field. Beyond that it’s down to a few of the group of Stumpf, Plank, Liekhus, Jordheim, Marlette, and others to step up. Never going to replace Littlejohn/Beck/Thornton, but a lot of those guys have contributed on special teams and have been in the program for a year or two. Big question mark, but again we have some guys who have some snaps under their belts.
CB: Smith and Champion is a very good combo, to say the least. Dempsey provides very good nickel coverage, but could also be moved to FS. RS freshmen Reid and Allison should provide depth as long as they develop.
S: Biggest question mark, by far. Chris Board has been good on special teams but has played only a handful of snaps on defense. He should be the starter at SS, but Wimbush and Bachmeier will also have spring ball to step up. FS will come down to Dempsey, Smith, Scott, and Cenescar, or possibly one of the true freshmen. They have brought in a ton of DB’s in the last 2 classes, and safety could be where a stud freshman earns playing time right away (Brown/Grimsley?).
Emanuel, Hardie, Beck, Littlejohn, Thornton, Dudzik, Heagle. Losing that much experience alone is huge, not to mention the amount of talent those guys brought to the table. They weren’t just good players that played early in their careers; minimum 5 of those 7 are in the Bison HOF someday. Offense may need to carry us, but it will be fun to watch the development of the young guys. Also, aside from Schaetz, CJ Smith, and Champion we have all those defensive players for at least 2 more years.
While we do lose some incredible players, we also have to look at the rest of the conference and who we no longer have to worry about. (Number of seniors on 2 deep depth chart in parentheses, along with notable losses; no clue who may be eligible for medical redshirts)
UNI (14): David Johnson, 3 starting OL, starting QB, 3 WR’s, both starting DT’s, 2 starting LB’s and FS
SDSU (7): Sumner, Zenner, WR, DE, FS
ISUr (15): 3 starting OL + 2 backups, TE, 3 WR, 2 DT, ¾ of the secondary
ISUb (8): Perish, starting RB, 3 WR, 1 OL, 1 DB
SIU (17): Pruitt, 2 WR, 2 OL, 3 DE, 5 LB, 2 starting CB's
WIU (11): RB, WR, 3 DE, 3 starting LB, ¾ of secondary
YSU (10): 1 OL, TE, 2 WR, DT, 3 LB’s, ½ of secondary
MSU (13): 5 OL, QB, 2 LB, 3 S
USD (8): 2 OL
Montana (13): QB and backup, RB and backup, 2 OL, TE, WR, DE Wagenman, 2 DT’s, ½ of secondary
No more Johnson, no more Zenner. UNI and SDSU lose a ton of offensive production. We don’t play ISUr, but even with Roberson and Coprich returning they need to replace 3 /5 of the O-line and lose 8 other starters. SIU loses a ton everywhere, WIU loses a bunch on defense, MSU needs a new OL, USD has most of its terrible team returning. If ISUb can find some talented skill players they could be really tough (return nearly the entire defense). The fighting Pelini’s have a lot returning as well, whatever that is worth. I think the main competition will be ISUr, SDSU (if they find a RB), and ISUb. Montana will be a good test to start the season, but even they lose a bunch of offense and have a new coach. Weber State and UND will hopefully be good tune ups to get things straightened out on defense.
After last year, we weren’t supposed to be able to replace Jensen, Ojuri, Turner (+ 3 other OL), Drevlow, Perry, Luecke, Grant Olson, Williams and Sheperd. The defensive losses this year are huge, but there should be plenty of competition for playing time as incentive for these young guys. If the offense progresses and finds a playmaker or two, we won’t need to have the best defense in the country right off the bat. The future looks bright; it’s good to be a Bison.
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