Depth Chart Notes through the first quarter of the season...

[Bring Back Wackadoos]

-Ricky Barber did not play in the Villanova game. WIll be interesting to hear why - hopefully he's just a little banged up and was held out as a precaution (but could have gone if it was a conference game, etc.). UCF has to have him starting Big 12 play next week.
-DeJordan Mask also did not participate (and was not dressed) against Villanova. I don't believe it's anything serious with him either. I remember earlier in the week Gus saying that he didn't think Mask would miss any time at all (again, may have been held out as a precaution).
-I'm a little concerned about our depth in the secondary. Jarvis Ware wasn't dressed again yesterday, and hasn't participated in a game this season. He's a guy that started six games last year. And Demari Henderson was not dressed yesterday against Villanova either. I don't believe he has dressed for a game this season yet - does anyone know about an injury that occurred in camp with him?
-Because of his experience from playing at Incarnate Word, I'm a little surprised that I. Paul hasn't received any time at linebacker this season to date. After a rotation of Johnson/Yates/Davis, it looks like the remaining linebacker reps have been going to younger guys.
-I thought yesterday would have been a perfect time to mix in C. Gammage for his first action of the season, but he was nowhere to be found. I know he was behind when it came to the playbook and his conditioning level, but you would think he could have gotten in against Villanova.
-There are only so many carries to go around, but I'm a little surprised Demarckus Bowman hasn't been more of a factor in the offense. It's too bad, he probably would have gotten a handful of carries yesterday, but he came off the field with an apparent injury.
-And finally, after starting the first two games at left guard - Bula Schmidt did not play yesterday. I wonder if there's an injury there he's dealing with (or if he was just held out)?

 

[Guinness_Knight]

Bowman came in the 4th and got hurt his first carry.

 

[Bring Back Wackadoos]

Bowman came in the 4th and got hurt his first carry.

Yeah, I mentioned that above. Too bad for him. But he was actually on the field well before the fourth quarter. He’s been utilized in the Wildcat formation as the second RB (the motion-man) all season. McDonald needs to give it to him now and then to keep the defense honest. Doesn’t seem like he’s reading anything, just putting his head down and getting tough yards.

 

[KnightVision82]

Bowman crashed his temple on the ground after being tackled. He looked like he might have gotten a slight concussion.

I really feel for the players because it's hard to get them all in there and they have worked hard to get out on the field but we probably got about 1.5 high level grouping of talent on both units. When we start to put in all the other players the defensive play noticeably suffers (ie. tackling). The offense seems to do better with the substitutions. After this game I'm happier with our QB depth than last year. I know many love Mikey and TC but they had a ceiling to their potential that was observable. We will see if Timmy continues to progress next week.

The game against Kansas State (and Oklahoma later) will definitely measure where this team is at in the 2-deep for Big 12 football. We need to forget our favorites and just root for the team, its evolving.

 

[Bring Back Wackadoos]

Bowman crashed his temple on the ground after being tackled. He looked like he might have gotten a slight concussion.

I really feel for the players because it's hard to get them all in there and they have worked hard to get out on the field but we probably got about 1.5 high level grouping of talent on both units. When we start to put in all the other players the defensive play noticeably suffers (ie. tackling). The offense seems to do better with the substitutions. After this game I'm happier with our QB depth than last year. I know many love Mikey and TC but they had a ceiling to their potential that was observable. We will see if Timmy continues to progress next week.

The game against Kansas State (and Oklahoma later) will definitely measure where this team is at in the 2-deep for Big 12 football. We need to forget our favorites and just root for the team, its evolving.

Yeah, it’s not really about favorites or anything. For me, my frustration is that it’s so hard to get injury/availability updates from the coaches/program. Has been that way for years.

Part of it is to try and keep some kind of competitive advantage. Part of it is student/privacy related. But I think a lot of it is simply beat writers not being persistent enough to ask pertinent (and sometimes difficult) questions. Way too many fluff/nothing questions to Gus…

 

[KnightVision82]

Yeah, it’s not really about favorites or anything. For me, my frustration is that it’s so hard to get injury/availability updates from the coaches/program. Has been that way for years.

Part of it is to try and keep some kind of competitive advantage. Part of it is student/privacy related. But I think a lot of it is simply beat writers not being persistent enough to ask pertinent (and sometimes difficult) questions. Way too many fluff/nothing questions to Gus…

New age of reporting for a while now...Nobody knows the real injury(ies) of JRP. Just saw an article a few days ago that said he was out next week too. I thought he might dress for the game the way he was moving around on the sidelines yesterday. Also, I know that when a QB is injured the coaches like the other team to prepare for two QBs playing so they don't give injury status sometimes.

 

[LoboCane]

Yeah, it’s not really about favorites or anything. For me, my frustration is that it’s so hard to get injury/availability updates from the coaches/program. Has been that way for years.

Part of it is to try and keep some kind of competitive advantage. Part of it is student/privacy related. But I think a lot of it is simply beat writers not being persistent enough to ask pertinent (and sometimes difficult) questions. Way too many fluff/nothing questions to Gus…

It has nothing to do with student/privacy or anything like that. It doesn’t apply to student athletes on scholarship.

 

[Bring Back Wackadoos]

Still no idea what is going on with Demari Henderson. Second week in a row he is listed as a backup on the depth chart, yet he hasn’t even dressed (let alone taken the field) for a game this year.

Is there any injury here I missed?

 

[AuburnLegacy_1]

Still no idea what is going on with Demari Henderson. Second week in a row he is listed as a backup on the depth chart, yet he hasn’t even dressed (let alone taken the field) for a game this year.

Is there any injury here I missed?

Before the season, Stephen Leonard said Demari had a torn ligament. The staff is probably holding him out until it completely heals.

Coach Chris Klieman said UCF had "a guy or two" out. I know JRP is out, but who is the other mystery player out?