Biggest Disappointments on Offense and What to Change Now
1. The Offensive Line: We talked about the O-Line in pre-season as if we wouldn't miss a beat from having to replace 4 out of 5 starters from a Top 5 O-Line in the country. That was extremely naive in retrospect. This O-line could end up being very good in 2026 or 2027, but this 2025 iteration is simply not good enough.
Change Needed: 1) Start Nick Brooks at LG going forward so we can at least prepare him for 2026. Stroh and Neto are already in year 4 and have had multiple chances, and they clearly do not meet the bar. 2) Start Conner Robertson or Daniel Cruz at Center. Cole Hutson is already in year 4 and he is who he is - a liability at Center and a serviceable backup at Guard.
2. The Offensive Skill Positions: We need more playmakers on the field, and should roll the dice with more talented young players rather than older more "reliable" players.
Change Needed: 1) Stop playing Ryan Niblett (at WR, RB, or punt returner). He goes down too easily on first contact, has no wiggle/bounce, and has track speed but not football speed...enough already with his high snap counts. Replace him with Jonah Williams on PR, and give Daylon McCutcheon his snaps at WR. 2) James Simon and Jerrick Gibson need to play ahead of Christian Clark (and even take some load off of Tre Wisner). We need RBs who run violently, make one cut, and go upfield and lean on people for 3-4 yards. This is even more important because our OL doesn't maul people - so we need RBs who can do more of the mauling and give us an identity on the ground. Let's let the young bucks get more run.