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FOOTBALL New offensive coordinator.....

Does anybody know what offense he is going to bring in?

Sounds like a run-heavy RPO system from the few interviews he has done. He wants the offense to be simple and play fast. I'm assuming he will assess the strengths of our offensive personnel and flesh it out from there.
 
Anthony Fiorella has the story of coach Dearmon and his roots. It also explains his Blue coll
 

so it does sound like he prefers an 11 personnel so a little more muscle on the field. We have so much receiver talent here it’s going to be hard picking the best 3. Makes me a little sad we won’t have all that WR talent on the field but maybe we will have some 4 wide sets.

he sounds like a real southern boy which I know many will appreciate. Seems to have a good head on his shoulders for such a young age. Very excited to see what he can do here. CUSA is so competitive and has a lot solid coaches and players so he certainly has a challenge ahead of him.
I like that he thinks we are loaded at RB. Seems like a good sign if he’s confident in what we have coming back

if we can get the QB and OL positions right there’s a real chance we can compete next year. Can’t say we will win the east because I don’t know what other teams have coming back, but if Bailey turns out to be a player anything can happen. I think the defense will be there if the offense doesn’t leave them out to hang. We also still have to find a FG kicker.
 
Should see packages with TE's and H-backs instead of the 4 wide stuff we saw under Franklin.
Hell to the YES!!!! A receiving TE is dangerous which is why everybody but us used one. Helps with the run game too. The D lines up to shut down the run and you throw a quick hitch to a TE. The LB's and safeties have to drop back now which allows the line to open up a lane for a RB.

If Dearmon doesn't argue with Stock in front of the team every 5 minutes, we will win a lot more games. It was amazing we won 3 with that BS going on last season. So glad crazy (w)TF is gone.

Gotta admit, this Dearmon dude is starting to win me over. He's making some real good moves so far.
 
Is the TE position coming back?

You will see a TE or FB/ H-back hybrid at least 50% of the time of this offense is fully implemented.

There are 4 primary plays Malzahn’s offense seem to center around: Inside zone, Buck sweep, power/counter & bubble screen. He added a RPO to each of these, which usually attacked the back side with combo slants or seam routes.

The goal, at least for most of Malzahn’s offense (Dearmon took a lot from Gus) is to use a pre-snap read to get in the best if/then RPO read for the QB during the play. If our QB is a real threat to run the ball, can count (you would be surprised how many can’t pre-snap) & can make a run / pass decision as fast as an option QB can make a give/Keep decision in the old school veer, then this offense is fun to watch.
 
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It’s remarkably simple is what always gets me. There’s obviously wrinkles, but the nuts and bolts are as straight forward as can be. I remember running buck,
Belly, bubble, jet sweep, and counter plays in high school 20 years ago. We won one game my last two seasons. We were awful but ran a lot of these same plays out of a wing T, admittedly without the RPO element. It was fun, simple, and fast. It’s down hill, power running. And if you dominate the LOS you can control and dictate the game. A good play caller can time the counter perfectly and even try some twist plays once you have them on tilt up front

the post corner and flat routes are usually wide open off play action with these types of offenses which are my favorite routes in football. I hope we have some plays that utilize them because the second that safety starts cheating up the post corner is 6 points every day and twice on saturdays, assuming our QB doesn’t have a noodle arm.

there’s a lot to be excited about but unless our OL can win up front it won’t matter. Really need our OL coaches and OL to step up now. We have all the pieces at the skill positions and our defense will be ready assuming our offense can sustain drives. We also need to find a FG kicker but really the season will be determined in the trenches. We need some war daddy interior linemen and some tackles that can hold their own. Losing Robert jones hurts but we do have some talent coming in. Time for Mike Polly to put up or shut up (and leave). He absolutely has to be replaced if we can’t put together a good OL with all this talent on the roster.
 
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It’s remarkably simple is what always gets me. There’s obviously wrinkles, but the nuts and bolts are as straight forward as can be. I remember running buck,
Belly, bubble, jet sweep, and counter plays in high school 20 years ago. We won one game my last two seasons. We were awful but ran a lot of these same plays out of a wing T, admittedly without the RPO element. It was fun, simple, and fast. It’s down hill, power running. And if you dominate the LOS you can control and dictate the game. A good play caller can time the counter perfectly and even try some twist plays once you have them on tilt up front

the post corner and flat routes are usually wide open off play action with these types of offenses which are my favorite routes in football. I hope we have some plays that utilize them because the second that safety starts cheating up the post corner is 6 points every day and twice on saturdays, assuming our QB doesn’t have a noodle arm.

there’s a lot to be excited about but unless our OL can win up front it won’t matter. Really need our OL coaches and OL to step up now. We have all the pieces at the skill positions and our defense will be ready assuming our offense can sustain drives. We also need to find a FG kicker but really the season will be determined in the trenches. We need some war daddy interior linemen and some tackles that can hold their own. Losing Robert jones hurts but we do have some talent coming in. Time for Mike Polly to put up or shut up (and leave). He absolutely has to be replaced if we can’t put together a good OL with all this talent on the roster.

You’re right. We ran the Wing T as well. Gus took that HS offense so many in college had abandoned, added zone blocking and RPO.

I agree with you as well. With a decent OL and a good QB, offense should not be our issue.
 
You’re right. We ran the Wing T as well. Gus took that HS offense so many in college had abandoned, added zone blocking and RPO.

I agree with you as well. With a decent OL and a good QB, offense should not be our issue.

I'm really excited about the WR talent on this roster. I know that Dearmon wants to be a run-first and have a dominating rushing attack, but I hope he understands that our deepest unit on this team is WR and it's not even close. It's going to be hard picking the best 3 of the bunch because there's several that are too good to leave on the bench. Hopefully we see a deep rotation because it's just crazy to me how talented our WR corps is.

Just really quick....(Assuming seniors are returning)

Ma'Jon Wright - Transfer from Arizona, was second on the team in catches, yards, and touchdowns. Kid is oozing with talent and ability and SHOULD be a day 1 starter for us assuming he can block.

Jimmy Marshall - Not sure if he's coming back, but at 6-5 he was always somebody the defense had to pay attention to. I don't see him starting but certainly in the rotation.

DJ England-Chisolm - Fast gadget player who can take the top off. Won't likely start but another quality player who is battle hardened with experience.

Jarrin Pierce - I believe he's coming back. Don't really have to say much here. Catches everything thrown his way and starter material.

Ja'Shawn Sheffield - Auburn transfer who sat out last year. Big question mark here but the kids film from high school was amazing. Consensus 4 star prospect that should light up a league like CUSA. One would think he has to start, right?

CJ Windham - Returning for his senior year I believe, great ability and can make the difficult catch. Great size and a great blocker. Team-leader type of guy, has to start, right??

Jaylin Lane - Looked a little stiff as a true freshman but should be much more polished with a year under his belt. Some of the best high school WR film I've seen on a player that we've signed in a while. One would think he will be a star here. Probably not starter material yet, but he should be in the rotation for some touches.

Elijah Metcalf - Hopefully we can just redshirt him, but excellent film and might be hard to keep off the field. Deceptively fast and a low center of gravity allows him to be very shifty. This guy will be eating in the slot one day.

Jamichael Thompson - The most underrated WR on our roster. Crisp route runner and some of the smoothest hands you'll see. Excellent ball skills and vertical ability. Will be very difficult to keep him off the field. Do not sleep on this guy. He is starter material IMO.

Yusuf Ali - Don't really need to say a whole lot here.....A stud for us that can make the difficult catch and plays much bigger than his stature. Has to be a starter, right?

Marquel Tinsley - Huge target at 6-2, 210lbs. Led the State of Kentucky in receiving every year he played. Saw plenty of action last year as a freshmen and did not disappoint outside of a fumble or two. Will be difficult to keep him off the field and he has to be in the rotation, probably backing up Windham at the least.

Javonte Sherman - Tall frame, highly recruited, fast, and will probably want to see the field. Hopefully we can redshirt here but who knows???

So of all these receivers you can only pick 3 to start.....who do you pick?!??!

We got a real problem here guys, and it's a good one to have assuming a bunch of them don't bail on us. Going from a 10 personnel to an 11 is a big deal. Instead of having 4 WR's out there now we only get 3. We are for sure over-recruited at the WR position now but it's still a good problem to have. Can't help but wonder if coaches will move some guys around but I'm really not sure who you move. Marshall could potentially eat himself into a TE position but beyond that I really don't know.

For me, I'm starting Ma'jon Wright, Jarrin Pierce, and Yusuf Ali. But what about Sheffield, Pierce, Lane, Thompson, Marshall, etc.?

I said it before and I'll say it again. We might have more WR talent on this roster than we've ever had at any one time. They might not put up the numbers like Newsome, Calico, Wright, Richie, etc. but that's because we won't be throwing it nearly as much as we used to.

I really hope this Bailey Hockman kid can throw the rock (and our OL affords him the time) because we really do have the WR's to see some exciting football these next few years.
 
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I'm really excited about the WR talent on this roster. I know that Dearmon wants to be a run-first and have a dominating rushing attack, but I hope he understands that our deepest unit on this team is WR and it's not even close. It's going to be hard picking the best 3 of the bunch because there's several that are too good to leave on the bench. Hopefully we see a deep rotation because it's just crazy to me how talented our WR corps is.

Just really quick....(Assuming seniors are returning)

Ma'Jon Wright - Transfer from Arizona, was second on the team in catches, yards, and touchdowns. Kid is oozing with talent and ability and SHOULD be a day 1 starter for us assuming he can block.

Jimmy Marshall - Not sure if he's coming back, but at 6-5 he was always somebody the defense had to pay attention to. I don't see him starting but certainly in the rotation.

DJ England-Chisolm - Fast gadget player who can take the top off. Won't likely start but another quality player who is battle hardened with experience.

Jarrin Pierce - I believe he's coming back. Don't really have to say much here. Catches everything thrown his way and starter material.

Ja'Shawn Sheffield - Auburn transfer who sat out last year. Big question mark here but the kids film from high school was amazing. Consensus 4 star prospect that should light up a league like CUSA. One would think he has to start, right?

CJ Windham - Returning for his senior year I believe, great ability and can make the difficult catch. Great size and a great blocker. Team-leader type of guy, has to start, right??

Jaylin Lane - Looked a little stiff as a true freshman but should be much more polished with a year under his belt. Some of the best high school WR film I've seen on a player that we've signed in a while. One would think he will be a star here. Probably not starter material yet, but he should be in the rotation for some touches.

Elijah Metcalf - Hopefully we can just redshirt him, but excellent film and might be hard to keep off the field. Deceptively fast and a low center of gravity allows him to be very shifty. This guy will be eating in the slot one day.

Jamichael Thompson - The most underrated WR on our roster. Crisp route runner and some of the smoothest hands you'll see. Excellent ball skills and vertical ability. Will be very difficult to keep him off the field. Do not sleep on this guy. He is starter material IMO.

Yusuf Ali - Don't really need to say a whole lot here.....A stud for us that can make the difficult catch and plays much bigger than his stature. Has to be a starter, right?

Marquel Tinsley - Huge target at 6-2, 210lbs. Led the State of Kentucky in receiving every year he played. Saw plenty of action last year as a freshmen and did not disappoint outside of a fumble or two. Will be difficult to keep him off the field and he has to be in the rotation, probably backing up Windham at the least.

Javonte Sherman - Tall frame, highly recruited, fast, and will probably want to see the field. Hopefully we can redshirt here but who knows???

So of all these receivers you can only pick 3 to start.....who do you pick?!??!

We got a real problem here guys, and it's a good one to have assuming a bunch of them don't bail on us. Going from a 10 personnel to an 11 is a big deal. Instead of having 4 WR's out there now we only get 3. We are for sure over-recruited at the WR position now but it's still a good problem to have. Can't help but wonder if coaches will move some guys around but I'm really not sure who you move. Marshall could potentially eat himself into a TE position but beyond that I really don't know.

For me, I'm starting Ma'jon Wright, Jarrin Pierce, and Yusuf Ali. But what about Sheffield, Pierce, Lane, Thompson, Marshall, etc.?

I said it before and I'll say it again. We might have more WR talent on this roster than we've ever had at any one time. They might not put up the numbers like Newsome, Calico, Wright, Richie, etc. but that's because we won't be throwing it nearly as much as we used to.

I really hope this Bailey Hockman kid can throw the rock (and our OL affords him the time) because we really do have the WR's to see some exciting football these next few years.
Jimmy Marshall is 6-5 234 lbs. which is decent size to play some TE if he can block at least a little. Not saying we should do that, but he is probably one of the better options currently on the roster to play some TE.
 
Brent Stockstill will get great results from that group. I really like the personell and these young coaches now. We also have a lot of decent RB's. too. OL talent has come in and RB's. I'm liking it.
 
Jimmy Marshall is 6-5 234 lbs. which is decent size to play some TE if he can block at least a little. Not saying we should do that, but he is probably one of the better options currently on the roster to play some TE.
For (W)TF not to use a guy like Jimmy Marshall for the last 3 years more than he did is absolutely criminal. That dude scored on Michigan. That dude has scored and has produced first downs when he's been thrown to. If Dearmon can get him integrated that dude can be the ultimate weapon. (W)TF was a joke not to use him more.
 
Maybe some of the WR's grow into TE's since that will be a need position, as well as RB and even DB's. I would hate to break up the group of talented WR's, but we finally have them and then we look to be going to more of a running first team.

In one article someone linked to, Dearmon said his offense is 50-60% (don't remember exactly) like Malzahn. So I would hope with all the talent at WR, the other 40% is more pass heavy if it proves effective. This might be a true evaluation of the OC to see if he plays to his strengths or is set on running his "system".
 
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The last TE that I can recall us using effectively was Stephen Chicola. He came up with with some clutch catches at times. Enjoyed watching him play here. Any others come to mind ? I‘ve always said that the TE is underutilized in the college game. Hope someone can step in that position and be a difference maker.
 
The last TE that I can recall us using effectively was Stephen Chicola. He came up with with some clutch catches at times. Enjoyed watching him play here. Any others come to mind ? I‘ve always said that the TE is underutilized in the college game. Hope someone can step in that position and be a difference maker.

I used to yell CHIIIIIIIIIIIICOOOOOOOOOOOOLAAAAAA (like the Riccola commercial) in the stands. People would laugh. Those days were fun.
 
The last TE that I can recall us using effectively was Stephen Chicola. He came up with with some clutch catches at times. Enjoyed watching him play here. Any others come to mind ? I‘ve always said that the TE is underutilized in the college game. Hope someone can step in that position and be a difference maker.
Gene Delle Donne was a fine TE. Transferred here from Duke.
 
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Did y’all listen to Delle Donnes podcast. I have not heard a peep since covid. It’s a good cast!

Thanks for the heads up on this. I’m kinda a Podcast guy and did not know about this one. Spent the past two days blowing it up and really enjoy the content. Very informative and GDD gives it some MT flair when he has the opportunity. Good stuff.
 
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Thanks for the heads up on this. I’m kinda a Podcast guy and did not know about this one. Spent the past two days blowing it up and really enjoy the content. Very informative and GDD gives it some MT flair when he has the opportunity. Good stuff.
I messaged back and forth with Dell- he has been thinking about continuing his podcast. I told him to talk to Dearmon.
 
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Good podcast. I listened to the entire interview with Dearmon. Some things did stand out. He is a big time culture guy. Lives it and breaths it. Culture and having everybody on the same page seems to be his #1 focus. He wants the offensive players (and coaches) operating as a cohesive multi-cellular organism. He is well spoken and passionate about his line of work which is refreshing. He's been at MT Tennis events and if you look at his twitter he keeps up with MT athletics as a whole across the board. He seems to be thrilled to be here in Murfreesboro and to be our OC.

However; It's all still very early in the process so it remains to be seen how genuine all this is. Does he really want to build something here or will he bolt for a new job the second it's offered even if it's a marginal upgrade such as an AAC OC position? or.....How's he going to respond if we get our $hit pushed in next year and go 3-9 ?

Regardless, it's obvious he will be a great recruiter wherever he's at and hopefully he knows how to install a good game plan and make good calls on game-day.
 
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If I'm in his shoes and he wants to keep moving up, I would plan on at least 2 years here to prove myself and possibly position for a bigger program. Kansas didn't work out and just 1 good year here wouldn't be enough for a Power 5 program to pull the trigger on him I don't think.

Two years gives you a few recruiting classes and a chance to prove yourself. One year is just a marginal step up in my mind.
 
He's pretty sharp. I'm sure that wTF wasn't doing this stuff. They all looked like they were doing their own thing out there.
 
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