There has been alot of player movement in the past month. I'm going to go from the least important to the most important. We start off with a couple of walk-ons joining the team.
-First, West Almond will be walking on as a freshman next year. He is a 215 pound fullback. Honestly I don't know why I am mentioning it, there really isn't anything special about this. It is very unlikely he will ever see the field. Since he'll be a fullback though, and walk-on Eric Hoskins ended up being the starting fullback this past year, I figured I would mention him.
-The second walk on is a JUCO transfer, QB Tyson Lee. There might be a slight chance he could actually make an impact, especially at the rate the QBs have gotten injured the past two years. Plus the fact that he actually has some very impressive numbers. He is a 4 star according to scout but only had scholarship offers from Div. II schools. Why? Well he is short even by Mississippi State standards (Henig, Carroll, and Riddell are all around 6'0, in case you were wondering). Scout lists him at 5'11, which means he is probably more like 5'10. He is a dual threat QB so if the staff does decide to start running more option, he might be a good fit as #2 behind Carroll. Again, you'll likely never here of him again, but this addition is at least a little interesting.
Alright, that is that. Nothing all that important. Probably could have not mentioned either of those guys and you'd never know. Now we get to the meat of the matter.
TE Thomas Webb is transferring in from Southern Miss. 2 star our of high school, had offers from USM, Mississippi State, and UAB. Hasn't played all that much as of yet. He'll be a redshirt junior by the time he is eligible to start playing. Unless he is able to play immediately because of hardship, his school dropping his major, or something like that. That would be great if that is the case because it is looking like TE might be a weakness next year. That's what happens when you lose 3 SR tight ends all at once.
That takes care of the additions, now we come to the subtractions. First of all, 4 players who would be 5th year seniors next year will not be returning to the team. They are: Demario Bobo, Keon Humphries, Anthony Littlejohn, and Michael Henig. I don't know the circumstances of the first three, but essentially they had their scholarships pulled. Its common practice for 5th year players to be taken off scholarship when they wouldn't be contributors, but even so I've always despised that practice. You made a commit to them, stick with it. Thats just me though. Henig has chosen to give up football due to a hip injury. He could either have surgery which would require 8 months of rehab, or he could stop playing football and it would heal on its own. That guy has to be the most fragile human being I've ever heard of.
Secondly, two players will be transferring, both are wide receivers. Anthony Summers will be transferring to Central Arkansas and Alex Carpenter to Northeast Community College. I assume Summers was dissatisfied with playing time, which was none, and Carpenter has grade issues.
So what is the impact?
Keon Humphries: I can't remember Humphries ever seeing the field last year. He may have gotten a handful of plays. Next year would have been more of the same. Humphries was not going to see playing time without injuries to 4 cornerbacks. If that happens the team will be in trouble with or without him. No impact.
Anthony Littlejohn: 2nd string this past season. Even with Gabe O'Neal graduating it was very likely he would have been 2nd string next year too. Had a handful of tackles (16) and was decent when he was put in to give a starter a breather. His departure won't affect the quality of the starting lineup, but it does take a bite out of the depth of the LB unit. Will be sorely missed if 2 or more LBs get injured, starter or backup. Otherwise, probably not a big deal. Minimal to Moderate impact.
Demario Bobo: This one is surprising. He was a second string safety but was part of a regular rotation that saw the field. Almost a co-starter really. Bobo could come on the field and you wouldn't see a drop off in talent. That isn't a cheap commodity, especially here at MSU. Had over 30 tackles and two interceptions on the year. Wouldn't have been a starter but would have been in that rotation again next year. Redshirt freshman Wade Bonner will have to pick up the slack. Moderate to high impact, depending on how good Bonner is. Also, Bobo has put his name in the draft. I'll be shocked if he is drafted, but maybe he can catch on as a free agent. Kinda doubt that too to be honest.
Michael Henig: If you have ever read this blog, you should know my feelings on Michael Henig. I don't know where he would have ended up on the depth chart but at best he should have been 2nd string next year if that. Started out the year the starter but promptly got injured yet again. Did not regain his position when he got healthy. Biggest contribution was jump starting Carroll against Ole Miss and UCF when he came in for a series before reinserting Carroll. Strong arm and has experience, but has zero leadership skills, doesn't set his feet, is wildly inaccurate, and can't read coverages. His loss hurts QB depth mostly by the fact it is one less warm body Croom can throw in if necessary. Henig would have had the most experience next year, but frankly it isn't the kind of experience you want. Positive impact. Sorry, I'm sure he worked hard, but he hurt the team far more than he helped. I'm glad I finally won't have to worry about him being put into the game.
Anthony Summers: Would have been a redshirt sophomore next year. Hasn't seen the field as of yet. Won't hurt next year as he probably wouldn't have been on the two deep. However WR becomes paper thin in 2009. No impact next year. Possibility of a devastating impact the year after. Its too early to tell though, so we will just wait and hope for the best.
Alex Carpenter: See Anthony Summers. It all applies verbatim to Carpenter. This just sucks, these two will be needed in '09. Hope I'm wrong.
This does free up a few scholarships for the incoming recruiting class, which I'll get around too eventually.
