Now, I want to talk about or summarize the
DL situation heading into 2017. We have 5 commits coming in as freshman as of right now for next season. Those 5 commits are:
DT Eric Crosby,
DT Kivon Bennett,
DE Deandre Johnson,
DE Matthew Butler, &
DE Ryan Thaxton. Plus, we have another player/recruit in ATH DE/LB
Marquez Bembry.
We have
returning at DL for the 2017 season as follows:
DE/DT Jonathan Kongbo, DT Shy Tuttle, DT Kahlil McKenzie, DT Kendall Vickers, DE Kyle Phillips, DE Darrell Taylor, DE/LB Austin Smith, DE Andrew Butcher, DT Quay Pico, DT Paul Bain, DE MykelleMcDaniel(suspended), DT Alexis Johnson, DT Joe Cave, DT Brandon Benedict, & DT/DE Charles Folger.
This makes a total of
23 DL we should have for 2017. That's if nothing changes come NSD or in the commitment or release category of current commits. Keep in mind, a number of the above players are walk-ons so probably won't factor into the depth chart or rotation.
Here's the way I see it on the DL for 2017:
DE1 Jonathan Kongbo
DE2 Kyle Phillips
DT1 Shy Tuttle
DT2 Kahlil McKenzie
DE3 Darrell Taylor
DE4 Austin Smith
DT3 Kendall Vickers
DT4 Alexis Johnson
DE5 Matthew Butler (freshman)
DE6 DeAndre Johnson (freshman)
DT5 Eric Crosby (freshman)
DT6 Kivon Mennett (freshman
DT7 Quay Picou
DT8 Paul Bain
DE7 ATH/DE/LB Marquez Bembry (freshman) or Mykelle McDaniel
DE8 Ryan Thaxton (freshman)
DT9 Brandon Benedict
DT10 Joey Cave
It's a guessing game as to where most of these players would stand in the depth chart for 2017. We certainly have a lot of DL but like I said quite a few are walk-ons & not on scholarship.
Having said that, there are a few also that will see the field & some playing time in 2017. Players like Paul Bain & Quay Picou who seen the field this past season as walk-ons. We have a lot of depth but not necessarily a case where we can plug anyone of the above players into a game & not lose anything.
I guess we have numbers on the DL more than we have depth you could say. CBJ might go after another DL or two on NSD or before in recruits like
LaBryan Ray, Aaron Sterling, Romello Martin, Elijah Conliffe, Phidarian Mathis, Ryan Thaxton(Vol commit), Brandon Jones, Emmanuel McNeil, Jaylen Twyman, & Brad Johnson. Or, someone else they may have on their radar that they want to get.
Those are just a few that we could possibly land but probably no more than 2 additional DL commits. Anyhow, that's my view on the DL situation but the depth chart for 2017 could be all over the place that's for sure & that goes even for the starters because of injuries.
Thanks again for viewing this post & thread. Any comments are welcome but let's keep this a civil discussion please. Thanks!
Elijah Conliffe ‏@ElijahPrime 3h3 hours ago 
Master W. Teague III ‏@33_blackman 
Recruit Georgia ‏@RecruitGeorgia 
ASSIST ‏@ASAALLSTAR2014 Jan 8 
