Regarding Osirus Mitchell

[Seinfeld]

I was just thinking the other day how different his story would be today if one single play had turned out differently.

If he makes the catch against Florida, we’d likely be talking about how he was the most improved offensive player on the team last year by going from 5 catches/50 yds in ‘17 to right around 27 catches/500 yds in ‘18. Not to mention that we’d all be remembering “the catch” that(most likely) helped us beat Mullen’s ***. We’d likely be asking ourselves if he can get to 1000 yds this year.

Well, we all know what actually happened in the UF game, and it’s just interesting to me that because of one play, I don’t feel like there are many people out there that are high on him at all.

I get it, but he’s a guy that I’d absolutely love to have a banner year

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

he was surprise player last year that nobody really expected to be probably our most productive receiver.

however, i really don't like focusing on one singular play of a game. lot's people keep focusing on two drop passes. but there were a lot of plays made that could have easily changed the games that we did win if those plays weren't made. There were also a lot of plays that weren't made in the games we lost other than those catches that could have affected the outcome of the game. I think there is way too much focus on two drop passes.

if guidry doesn't make a long 3rd down catch and run against TAMU we might have lost that one. Then again if he catches one against Iowa we might win. If Auburn doesn't fumble on the 1 that might have been a different ballgame. Lot's of ifs.

I really do hope Mitchell has a good year though.

 

[dogmatic]

nm

 

[Goat Holding Inc]

Bo Bounds said it best. It was all our lack of opportunities to make plays, not a few plays here or there that were not made.

That said, we lost small and won big. That should tell people were were a lot closer to 9-3 or 10-2 than we were to 7-5 or 6-6.

 

[57stratdawg]

He made some nice plays down the stretch of the season. Didn’t he have a couple nice 50/50 balls against Iowa?

The strength of our WR corp should be depth next year. If Zuber is our top guy, it should help Mitchell draw an easier DB.

Mitchell is better than Guidry, at least last year.

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

Bo Bounds said it best. It was all our lack of opportunities to make plays, not a few plays here or there that were not made.

That said, we lost small and won big. That should tell people were were a lot closer to 9-3 or 10-2 than we were to 7-5 or 6-6.

yeah, and i think that's what frustrated people the most. we were talented enough to be better than our record. we just didn't execute good enough nor coach good enough to get there. hopefully that will be better this year. hopefully everyone learned from last year and they can improve. i'll wait and see how we look in September. Biggest things i want to see is execution from our receivers and qb(whoever that is), more carries for the running backs, clean discipline (no stupid penalties), in game coaching adjustments on offense (don't let one guy beat you ala Kentucky), and execution in play calling speed (don't waste all the play clock).

As far as Mitchell goes, we need him to have a big year if this offense is going to take off. We need Guidry, Payton, Mitchell, and Whop all to be much better. We need Williams to not disappear against SEC opponents. and we need a TE to emerge for this scheme to really work.

 

[missouridawg]

A lot of folks are down on the WR group and I totally understand the skepticism....

But....

Year 3 of Mitchell
Year 2 of Guidry/Whop
Experienced leader in Thomas
Experienced transfer stud in Zuber
Dear is rumored to be healthy.
Payton is impressing everyone.

It has the potential to be quite the bright spot.

 

[MSUDC11]

A lot of folks are down on the WR group and I totally understand the skepticism....

But....

Year 3 of Mitchell
Year 2 of Guidry/Whop
Experienced leader in Thomas
Experienced transfer stud in Zuber
Dear is rumored to be healthy.
Payton is impressing everyone.

It has the potential to be quite the bright spot.

It's not saying much, but I do believe our receivers in 2018 were improved from what we had in 2017. Our leading receiver in '17 had 276 yards for the season, last year we had two guys over 400 yards. Baby steps, but still small steps in the right direction. We seriously could barely complete a forward pass two years ago. Our WR's weren't good last year, but they had their moments, and may have been the difference in the game in our win against A&M. Two huge catches by Guidry and one jump ball caught by Mitchell or else we probably lose that game. If they make similar improvements this year then they'll probably be about where we need them to be. I don't expect this to be a great WR crop, but I do think they have the talent to be a respectable SEC caliber group.

 

[T-TownDawgg]

After some key drops I began to doubt he had the mental toughness to play big time college football.

However, the Devil's advocate in me also realizes Fitz was so inconsistent, it must have been hard for the receivers to establish much of a rhythm. This year will tell the whole story.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

He really improved at the end of the season. I think he has a chance to be our possession receiver.

 

[maroonmania]

A lot of folks are down on the WR group and I totally understand the skepticism....

But....

Year 3 of Mitchell
Year 2 of Guidry/Whop
Experienced leader in Thomas
Experienced transfer stud in Zuber
Dear is rumored to be healthy.
Payton is impressing everyone.

It has the potential to be quite the bright spot.

Unless status has changed it sounds like Year 2 of Whop is kind of shaky right now. I certainly hope we get Year 2 of Whop.

 

[johnson86-1]

It's not saying much, but I do believe our receivers in 2018 were improved from what we had in 2017. Our leading receiver in '17 had 276 yards for the season, last year we had two guys over 400 yards. Baby steps, but still small steps in the right direction. We seriously could barely complete a forward pass two years ago. Our WR's weren't good last year, but they had their moments, and may have been the difference in the game in our win against A&M. Two huge catches by Guidry and one jump ball caught by Mitchell or else we probably lose that game. If they make similar improvements this year then they'll probably be about where we need them to be. I don't expect this to be a great WR crop, but I do think they have the talent to be a respectable SEC caliber group.

The idea of having a respectable SEC caliber WR corps made it move. I'm not ready to predict that will happen, but I do think it's possible. Zuber I assume is an immediate upgrade over anything we had last year. Mitchell should/could still see improvement. Guidry I can't predict big things out of, but at the very least, he's a homerun threat and if he's our third best option, that puts some additional pressure on defenses. Thomas should at least have sure hands out of the slot. Then throw in the (hopefully) improved accuracy and timing from the QB, and that's all the sudden a respectable group. We may not blow the doors off of solid SEC defenses, and still probably wouldn't crack the top half of the SEC as far as that position group, but it's wouldn't be significantly below average either.

 

[coach66]

Mitchell can get seperation just needs to fix the drops and be consistent.

nm

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

i was hoping Thomas might take that role or Green as a possession receiver/tight end. i was surprised when I think it was Steve who said Thomas didn't drop any last year. not sure if that's accurate or not.

 

[HumpDawgy]

Osirus was our only receiver catching during our bowl game. I feel better about him than Guidry regressing at the end of last season. We just need more talent at that position in a bad way. I was hoping Zuber would come in and be the guy, but all the depth charts I see have him as a backup. I realize pre season depth charts are usually meaningless, but I was expecting him to be a starter at one of the 3 spots.

Just a guess on my part, but whoever doesn't win the QB job, watch for them to get reps at one of the WR positions.

 

[RiverCityDawg]

Just a guess on my part, but whoever doesn't win the QB job, watch for them to get reps at one of the WR positions.

That would be very surprising to me. I think Stevens will win the job and I don't think KT has any receiver skills. We've only seen him run one route (in the bowl game), but he looked completely out of his comfort zone and dropped the pass. If KT manages to win the job I could see Stevens doing a little bit of what he did at Penn State, but not truly as a Z or X, just as a gadget.

 

[patdog]

I don't think there's much doubt Stevens wins the QB job. But I'd much rather see Thompson redshirt than play limited snaps at receiver, and I think he will redshirt.

 

[DoggieDaddy13]

Our offense looked inept last year, because Fitz was not capable of running it. JoMo didn't dumb it down enough for him. Fitz couldn't make our passing game go and he nullified our running backs with his inability to consistently read defenses.

No question JoMo should have altered the game plan to suit Fitz or at least told him when to give the ball to Williams or Hill.

Our offense will be much more dynamic this year and more productive with either KT or TS running the show.

 

[Carbaryl]

One of the surprises of the year was watching Mitchell be open all night against Bama last season.Of course you have to add in the special sauce if he would had caught the ball had Fitz's been able to get the ball to him.

 

[Puppychow]

Mitchell and Guidry dropped big passes that affected outcomes. Receivers can be stifled by the fear of dropping passes so much that it actually hinders their performance. The best WR’s don’t fear the consequences of dropping passes. This lack of fear makes them better players. Fast forward to this year. Guidry and Mitchell probably realize it’s not the end of the world to drop a pass. Hopefully this will loosen them up so they can reach their full potential. I’m predicting big things from both. Especially Guidry.

 

[HumpDawgy]

That would be very surprising to me. I think Stevens will win the job and I don't think KT has any receiver skills. We've only seen him run one route (in the bowl game), but he looked completely out of his comfort zone and dropped the pass. If KT manages to win the job I could see Stevens doing a little bit of what he did at Penn State, but not truly as a Z or X, just as a gadget.

I'm not saying either takes over one of the WR spots, but I bet we see them run some routes as well as a few gadget plays. They both are very athletic QBs, so JoMo would be wise to utilize them in many schemes. We have seen Stevens being used that way in Penn State film and KT was used in that one play and if he is the backup, will probably see more of it. Of course there is not enough practice time for both of them to be prepared to QB the team either as starter or backup and work on running a full WR spot out of every formation. I just think they will be used in some spots.

I think there is not much chance KT redshirts, especially with an unproven starter. You need both him and Stevens to be ready in case of injury, bad play, suspension, etc. No one has talked up the other QBs so far, so that tells me they are not ready yet.

 

[RiverCityDawg]

I don't think there's much doubt Stevens wins the QB job. But I'd much rather see Thompson redshirt than play limited snaps at receiver, and I think he will redshirt.

I fat fingered a downvote for you, but I agree 100%. I'm encouraged that he's apparently upped his level of play this preseason, so would love for him to be able to redshirt and then have 2 to play 2 for us.

 

[kired]

There's certainly potential there with those two. I'm hoping year two in the system will make them both a lot more comfortable and confident.

 

[bully12]

My wife is a Gator fan. She didn't give me grief about the outcome of the game last year, but losing that one hurt the most of any loss all season. Dropping the pass that would have won that game is unforgivable. That's why I referred to him as O'VIRUS Mitchell the rest of the season. I hope he changes my mind about that name this year.

 

[bruiser.sixpack]

Mitchell could very well be our Top Receiver catching passes this year.

But let me help you with your supposition about Kaeyton Thompson. If he isn’t the starting QB this year for Mississippi State, he will not be the starting QB next year for Mississippi State.

Thompson was a 4 star QB from Gretna, La. who chose MSU and was behind a relatively unpolished 2 star(some had him as a 3 star) former high school tight end turned QB. We now have a high 3 star(Mayden) and a Moorhead recruit 4 star on the roster with a kid from Brandon, Ms. who will at least be a high 3 star coming in next year, while we are recruiting another 4 star very hard.

There just aren’t enough roster spots to carry 6 or 7 QBs into next year.