BTB Mailbag: 5/5/2017

How’s the health of our baseball team heading into the close of the season? Any chance for any other arms to contribute some meaningful innings? We lost out in Starkville last year when we ran out of pitching? ---CoolHandClyde

All things considered the Tech baseball team is pretty healthy after 44 games. With 10 games to go, Jordan Washam is dinged up some but looks like he should be ok. Washam is really the ignitor of the offense so if he is down for any amount of time it is a huge loss. On the mound Casey Sullivan has dealt with a back issue for much of the year that has kept him out of action. Coach Burroughs has mentioned that he is close to returning, but when you look at the intensity of conference play it will have to be the right situation to throw him into the fire. Other than those two, there are some other bumps and bruises but nothing to keep guys out of action. Heading down the stretch the Diamond Dogs are in a good spot injury wise.

Please discuss the potential for future NFL picks from the next four LA Tech classes. ---KDozer

Great question and one I love thinking about. The NFL Draft is one of my favorite times of the year and a time in which I spend a lot of time thinking about Tech’s future picks. When I look at draft potential, I look at NFL traits guys possess that would translate into the NFL. Are these guys certain to get picked or even have the opportunity? Absolutely not.

Let’s start with the rising senior class and move down the line:

Seniors-DE Deldrick Canty-he has the size, needs to show more production, arm length could stray teams away. RB Jared Craft-really burst on the scene as a junior, good all around RB that catches the ball well out of the backfield, lacks breakaway speed but a big senior season would do him well. OT Gewhite Stallworth-an obvious road grader in the run game, Stallworth has the size to be a RT at the next level. He’ll need to improve in pass protection.

Juniors-this class is loaded in my opinon. DE Jaylon Ferguson-he has everything one could want in a prospect. 6’6” 270, long arms, great production. He could be a first rounder. WR Teddy Veal-a smaller WR who could fit well in the slot at the next level. He’ll be the go-to-guy in the Tech offense in 2017, runs good routes and catches the ball with his hands very well. WR Kam McKnight-a guy I think that is poised to break out in 2017. He’s 6’2” 230ish and is an absolute matchup nightmare. NFL teams love these types of players in today’s game. G O’Shea Dugas-a starter since he stepped on Tech’s campus, Dugas is putting together a nice career. He’s nasty in the run game. He’ll need to continue his growth in controlling his emotions and improving his pass blocking.

Sophomores-QB J’Mar Smith-while he hasn’t seen a ton of playing time yet, he has the arm strength, accuracy, and athletic ability to be special. DT Ka’Derrion Mason-a nice get for Tech in the 2016 signing class, Mason saw a minimal playing time in his freshmen year. At 6’3” 300 pounds he could really develop into the next great DT from Tech. He is extremely athletic for his size. CB Aaron Roberson-a bold prediction right here with a guy that had one of the better springs on the team. After redshirting in 2016, Roberson appears ready to play a big role in 2017. He’s not the tallest corner in the world, but he’s good in bump and run and plays the ball extremely well.

Freshmen-WR Adrian Hardy-originally an Oklahoma signee, Hardy is special with the ball in his hands. Carlos Henderson special. S Jaiden Cole-one of the prized recruits in the 2017 class, I expect Cole to contribute immediately and be an Xavier Woods type difference maker in his career. DE Willie Baker-Baker redshirted in 2016, but at 6’4” 250+ pounds he has a chance to be a special pass rusher by the time his career concludes. CB Amik Robertson-a corner that would have been a 5-star recruit if he had better size can absolutely do it all. If Roberstson stays healthy, he’ll be a fan favorite for many years.

What are your thoughts on the ESPN FPI projections that predict a 9-3 record after a projected 1-3 start? That would suggest a great chance at a 10 win season after conference championships and bowl game. ---Dave K.

Personally I think Tech gets to 10 wins before the conference championship. Starting 1-3 is not going to happen. When you look at a home game against Mississippi State, I think Tech wins that one. As far as the road games at Western Kentucky and South Carolina I think both of those are a coin flip. With Mike White returning at QB for Western Kentucky, they will again be a tough team to beat. While Will Muschamp can certainly compete with Les Miles as the worst offensive coach in the country, South Carolina will play tough defense and possess a tough environment to win in. I think Tech wins 10 in the regular season and caps it off with a conference championship to make it 11. As far as a bowl game, we’ll see what happens, but Coach Holtz has proven that he can get his teams ready to go and win bowl games.

Tech and LSU on a neutral field, what is a realistic prediction? ---Jake S.

I am assuming you are referring to football, so let me start off by saying this would never happen. The Tigers don’t have the guts to play the Dogs on a neutral field. Are you looking for a realistic prediction? Well here is one that all could agree on, Danny Etling wouldn’t throw for more than 125 yards. LSU is just plain pathetic when it comes to putting the ball in the air. It’s laughable. Now to the game, I think Coach Holtz and his seemingly unstoppable offense would move the ball. The key would be scoring touchdowns instead of field goals. The Tech defense would have to slow down the always dangerous Derius Guice. At the end of the day, J’Mar Smith would pile up 323 yards and three touchdowns, and Guice would get 165 yards and two touchdowns. A late Etling interception would be the difference in a Tech victory 31-27. After everyone praised Coach O and his excellent coaching skills, Tiger town would be calling for his firing.

There has been a few rumors of the G5 wanting to have its own version of the college football playoff? What are the benefits of this? ---Nick P.

I have seen this floated around on various sites and it is a downright ridiculous idea. The Power Five conferences are already trying to separate themselves as much as possible from the G5. Why give them even more separation? It is absurd. When looking at the top 20-25 G5 programs it is pretty obvious that many of these could easily be a P5 program when it comes to talent on the field. These G5’s are taking recruits away and putting those guys into the NFL. Heck we can look in our own backyard. Tech has had more draft picks in the last two years than every Big 12 program except Oklahoma. There is an obvious reason the P5 wants to separate themselves. The G5 will never have their own playoff, nor should they. The G5 will continue collecting checks while continuing to knock off the so called “big boys.”