RE: Biggest concerns / question marks?
Troy
1. Chip Lindsey is a head coach for the first time, QB coach, and the defacto leader of the offense. That's a lot to manage if you've never been a head coach. For context, the OC Chip hired (Ryan Pugh) has never been an OC, and did not run this style of offense at his last job, BYU, where he was OL coach. This likely means Chip will be pulling triple duty for a while. Ryan Pugh is also the OL coach here at Troy while he learns how to be an OC. This is my main concern, and it's a big one.
2. Our new DC (Brandon Hall) has no experience at the FBS level being a DC, and replaces Vic Koenning who has 15+ years of experience at this level, including lots of P5 experience where he did really well. Brandon is running a very similar defense, but play-calling and in-game adjustments may not be as "seasoned" as Vic's. The silver lining is that Hall was a terrific DC at Jacksonville State, and spent last season on staff with Vic.
3. Keleb Barker is recovering from his second ACL tear. He is known for being extremely mobile. He is a dual QB threat to a "T". Sometimes, though, ACL tears don't heal 100%, and either mentally or physically, the player isn't the same. It's also a concern whether or not Chip lets Kaleb run wild in his offense after his injury, and now that our clear #2 QB has transferred to Kentucky. The offense largely depends on his running ability. He can throw, as he was one of the SBC's top passing QB's last season, but running hog wild adds a lot more opportunities for the offense to score. Receiver talent is possibly as a high as it's ever been, but cohesiveness and experience are low.
TLDR: Experience, both on staff, and on the field are a lot lower than what Neal and Co. were. During Blakeney's last seasons, I always thought "If we ever get a great DC and a great OC here at the same time, watch out." We had that with Vic Koenning and Neal Brown. That staff was the Dream Team in my opinion and we were lucky to have them. Wins over LSU, Nebraska, and many, many top dogs from our G5 neighbors proved that. Chip and Co. have some really big shoes to fill.
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