[Pitt Gorilla]

Lawgeek(PowerMizzou)'s take on the redshirt freshmen:

The short answer is they are looking very good. For the long answer, I will run through the entire class.

Offense

Eddie Printz is the real deal. He can make every throw and he throws a beautiful, very catchable ball. Great mechanics. Good release. There's a reason his name was bandied about when James got hurt. He's been very impressive. I think his completion rate is in the seventies.

Trent Hosick has improved significantly as a passer. He's dangerous when he's running because of his combination of speed, strength and size (think Belldozer), but he's developing as a passer. Kudos to Coach Hill. I watched Trent a lot in high school and it's remarkable how much he's improved as a passer in the year he's been in the program. I don't know if he will ever have Eddie's passing skills, but Eddie isn't ever going to have Trent's running skills. It will be interesting to see how the QB position plays out in the next few years.

J'Mon Moore would be starting on most teams. He's a ridiculously talented kid who is going to surprise a lot of folks next year. What a luxury to be able to redshirt him and let him spend a season in the S&C program. He's already big, fast and really athletic. He is going to be an impact player next fall. Count on it.

Jason Reese is also going to be an impact player. Jason comes from a high school program that used him a lot as an attached blocking TE, so he's very comfortable in the trenches. However, he has the ball skills of a WR. If he had been at a high school program that threw the ball more, he would have been higher rated. He's a complete package. I'm excited to see him thrown in the mix next year.

Jason and J'Mon are on the scout team and they cause a lot of heartburn for the ones and twos.

Alec Abeln is the heir apparent at center whenever Evan leaves for the NFL. He may be one of the smartest players on the team. Alec is a technically sound true center. I was really impressed with Alec at the scrimmages. Outstanding technique. He's pretty much fully recovered from his shoulder surgery and is doing well at replacing bad weight with good weight and gaining strength. Performing well on the scout team.

Clay Rhodes is running at tackle on the scout team and dealing with Michael, Kony, Shane, Markus and Brayden every day, which is helping him improve in leaps and bounds. He graded out at 100% in the final scrimmage. He's been in a couple of scrums with the DE's recently, so he's obviously feeling his oats. He's getting bigger and stronger.

Chase Abbington is doing well at Hutch JuCo. Averaging over four yards per carry. He's staying in close contact with the guys in his recruiting class and is on campus as much as he can be. I have no doubt he will ultimately make it to CoMo. Once he gets there, he will have three to play three.

Defense

On the defensive line, Marcus Loud is a handful for pretty much anyone. He's a big, strong kid who is blossoming under Coach Kul. He's already at 260 pounds and could easily be up to 270 pounds next fall, making him as big as Kony. Harris is catching on fast and has the athleticism to be similar in style to Sam and Ray. I'm not saying he's going to be like those guys, but he has that kind of athleticism.

The three big boys, Crawford, Logan and Osborne, have all impressed. I've heard several people in the know say some good things about all of them. The depth at DT is really good for the future, particularly if they can keep Antar Thompson in the mix when he is eligible. I haven't heard much about Antar and how he's doing at JuCo.

Zeus is, well, Zeus. He's gotten in trouble on the scout team for filling holes a bit too enthusiastically. That's just his personality. He wants to crack some skulls. You want LBs with that mentality. Eric is killing it in the weight room and, IMO, he will be hard to keep off the field next year.

Joe Burkett is getting healthy and is really impressing folks. That foot injury he had in his senior season was pretty serious, but he's recovered well. Tremendous speed and athleticism. Needs some more weight, but he's eating and lifting with Clay, Eric and Jason, so it will come.

Anthony really got his bell rung in that car wreck. That put him behind a bit, but he's so damn athletic that he's catching up quickly. I don't think he was as polished coming into the program as was Aarion Penton, but Anthony is every bit as athletic and fast as Aarion.

Shaun Rupert has also been very impressive and, had Singleton not qualified, Shaun may have been getting playing time this fall as a true freshman. He has great instincts and ball awareness.

Kicker/Punter

There are two freshmen who are walkons, K Luke Jackson and P/K Preston Soper. I haven't heard much about Jackson. I have heard very good things about Soper.

Overall, there are several of the 2013 kids who have the potential to compete for the two deep and perhaps even starting positions next season. Whether they ultimately realize that potential depends on how well they take care of business between now and then. I know that several of them are doing a lot of extra work, above and beyond Gun Club, to get bigger, faster and stronger. Hopefully, that attitude continues.