THE LOWE DOWN

Talking Drones; College players with big shoes to fill

Matt Lowe

July 10, 2014 at 12:29 am.

Trae Waynes slides into Jim Thorpe winner Darqueze Dennard's boundary cornerback position in 2014. (Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

Rise of the Machines?

When I saw Terminator 2 at the theatre in 1991, never in a million years did I think robots could actually take over the world. But with the increased significance of civilian drone use and all of the evolving digital technology in our society, I’m beginning to think differently.

Earlier this year (winter time), I took my kids to Veterans Park — a spacious park that features ballfields, lakes, beach volleyball courts, playgrounds and a ton of open grassy area to do whatever it is you want — up the street from where I live in Birmingham, Ala. After I parked my truck and got out to get my not even 1-year-old daughter out of the backseat, I hear a buzzing sound from a distance. I then looked up into the sky and saw a drone about 40 feet up in the air.

Below the hovering craft was the drone’s operator. In addition to the black, hand-held controls he had in his hand, he also had a stand-up monitor set up to see what the identified flying object (IFO) was seeing from the craft’s built-in camera.

Needless to say it was a little strange. But also intriguing. Here I was taking my kids to the park on a nice afternoon (to break free of the cold), and the whole time I was there I have a buzzing object flying (and rolling video) over my head.

Strange? Yes. But this kind of activity is the present world we all live in now.  Regardless if it’s weird or not.

Recently, I learned that UCLA, North Carolina and Tennessee are a few college football programs that have experimented with drones at practices. Bruins head coach Jim Mora Jr. is a big fan of the buzzing intelligence gatherer because it helps he and his coaching staff gather information that they never could’ve due to the aerial reconnaissance it can provide along the lines of scrimmage.

“Hand placement; foot placement; spacing,” Mora told ESPN.com back in May. “When it hovers above the line of scrimmage, you can get a real clear perspective of spacing between your offensive linemen, or differences in depth of the rush lanes of your defensive linemen.”

A lot has changed in football over the years. But hopefully this drone/robot infusion won’t get too out of hand. If so, John Connor may need to be found pronto.

Biggest shoes to fill

Week One of the college football season is vastly approaching and it’s never too late to start talking about which teams are going to win and why. But I’ll get into that at a later date. This week I want to break down which players have the biggest shoes to fill in college football as it pertains to potential championship contending teams.

I’ll begin with Alabama, who checks in at No. 2 in Lindy’s preseason Top 25.

The Crimson Tide lost its best player on offense (quarterback AJ McCarron) and defense (linebacker C.J Mosley) after the 2013 season and neither player can just be “replaced” that easily.

FSU transfer Jacob Coker, Blake Sims and Cooper Bateman will all battle it out for the No. 1 QB job, but replacing McCarron’s leadership and tenacity, along with his playmaking ability (3,063 passing yards; 28 TDs), will be tough to do.

Coker is the favorite to grab hold of the Alabama’s starting quarterback vacancy in fall camp, but Bateman, who performed well in the spring game, could be the sleeper out of the group. Regardless, whoever wins the job will have enormous shoes to fill.

Regarding Mosley, he’s was too good a player just to plug someone in his place and expect instant All-America-type production.  Having Mosley on the field was equated to having another coach on the field. He was also a tremendous leader.

Trey DePriest will take over the critical play-calling duties on Alabama’s D, but he’ll need to make more impact plays and become more of a vocal leader on a fairly young defensive unit in 2014 if the Crimson Tide wants to maintain its standard of excellence over the last few seasons, especially with an inexperienced secondary in play.

Lindy’s top-ranked team, Florida State, didn’t even come close to defeat last season until it met Auburn in the final BCS national title game. But anyone who watched that game knows that the Seminoles would’ve likely been on the losing end of that matchup if it wasn’t for a superb nine tackle, half-sack effort by nose tackle Timmy Jernigan (and a number of special teams plays of course).

Yeah, linebacker Telvin Smith, cornerback Lamarcus Joyner and safety Terrence Brooks played major roles in the Seminoles owning the nation’s top-ranked scoring defense, but Jernigan was simply dominant a year ago.  Eddie Goldman, Nile Lawrence-Stample, Desmond Hollin and explosive edge rusher Mario Edwards Jr. will all be counted on to pick up the slack in Jernigan’s absence.

Oklahoma, Lindy’s preseason No. 3 team, is a sexy preseason College Football Playoff pick by a number of media outlets and rightfully so. The Sooners return 17 starters from an 11-win team and every game on their schedule is winnable.

Tailback Brennan Clay and fullback Trey Millard are two key performers that the Sooners have to find replacements for, but no player on the Sooners roster will have bigger shoes to fill than junior center Ty Darlington. Darlington has the task of replacing All-American center Gabe Ikard.

In addition to being an intelligent lineman (three-time Academic All-American), Ikard was a rugged player who was a three-time first-team All-Big 12 selection. Like Ikard, Darlington is smart (he was at Valedictorian at Apopka High School in Florida) and talented and should play a major role in the effectiveness of Oklahoma’s offense in 2014.

With all the key departures at Stanford, Oregon is the early favorite to win the Pac-12. The Ducks, Lindy’s preseason No. 4 team, return their entire offensive line, Heisman candidate Marcus Mariota at quarterback and a backfield that includes dynamic tailbacks Bryon Marshall and Thomas Tyner. UO also returns All-American cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, pass rushing end Tony Washington and leading tackler Derrick Malone at linebacker to a defensive unit that ranked 13th nationally in scoring in 2013.

But while finding someone to fill Josh Huff’s production at wideout (62 catches for 1,140 and 12 TDs) will be crucial, the most important person in Oregon’s quest to capture an elusive national title might be defensive coordinator Don Pellum, who replaces longtime DC Nick Aliotti, who was one of the best at his craft in college football. All eyes will be on Pellum in Eugene this season as he makes the transition from linebackers coach to the play-caller on defense.

After completing two undefeated regular seasons in a row, Ohio State enters 2014 as Lindy’s preseason No. 5 team and the favorite to win the Big Ten championship. But a run to a conference title won’t be easy for the Buckeyes, especially with the losses of four starting offensive linemen and stars Carlos Hyde (running back), Ryan Shazier (linebacker) and Bradley Roby (cornerback).

Out of all the aforementioned players however Shazier will be the most difficult to replace due to his blazing speed, instincts and playmaking ability. Sophomore Darron Lee, also a speedster, will get first dibs to replace the eye-popping 143 tackles and 22.5 tackles for loss that Shazier recorded last season in Luke Fickell’s defense. But watch out for sophomore Trey Johnson, a Georgia product who has loads of potential.

Auburn checks in at No. 6 in Lindy’s preseason Top 25 primarily due to its brutal road schedule, but the Tigers should be a legit College Football Playoff contender barring any major injuries.

Heisman finalist Tre Mason and No. 2 overall NFL Draft pick Greg Robinson were two major factors in the Tigers’ offensive success a year ago, but bruising fullback/halfback Jay Prosch’s role in Auburn becoming the first SEC team in history to lead the nation in rushing cannot be underscored. Usually where Prosch went pre-snap, so did the ball post-snap.

Senior tight/H-backs C.J. Uzomah and Brandon Fulse, both big, talented pass-catchers and solid blockers, will attempt to fill Prosch’s role in Auburn’s power running game, but they may have to sacrifice some catches to benefit the team. Either way, Uzomah and Fulse’s role in Gus Malzahn/Rhett Lashlee’s offense will be crucial to the Tigers’ success in the running and passing game in 2014.

Last but not least there’s Michigan State, who checks in at No. 7 in Lindy’s Top 25. The Spartans make their living the way championship-caliber teams normally do: with a balanced offense and terrific defense. But MSU lost talented playmakers Max Bullough (middle linebacker), Denicos Allen (linebacker), Darqueze Dennard (cornerback) and Isaiah Lewis (safety) from a rugged defensive unit that finished third nationally in scoring (13.2 ppg.) and second in total D (252.2 ypg.).

If the loss of emotional leader Bullough was a body blow, then the loss of Jim Thorpe Award winner Dennard was an uppercut to the jaw. Dennard had the ability to shut down one side of the field for the Spartans— which allowed defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi the freedom to attack with numerous defenders.

Talented junior Trae Waynes, who recorded three picks last year, slides into Dennard’s crucial boundary corner spot. How well he plays could be a major factor in the success, or failure, of Michigan State’s defense in 2014.

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