In Reply to: Re: Loya was without question one of our top 3 WRs posted by Starbucks on January 09, 2025 at 10:41:32
So Loya, while only really playing for half of the season ends up with 4th most receptions at 29, averages 12 yards per reception, led the team in receiving TDs with 4, and underutilized JMS who averaged 14.3 yards a catch and tacked on another 2 TDs, are no loss because we are replacing them with a possession receiver who while playing the entire season averaged a whopping 8.5 yards on 32 receptions with 1 TD, and another, who is very much in the mold of JMS as a taller, downfield threat speedster, who didn't play at all this past season, but in the his 2 previous seasons combined, wracked up an impressive 18 catches and 2 TDs? It seems likely that our new OC is going to run something similar to what they were running at Indiana this year, which regular featured 4 and 5 WR sets. So even if Loya was only going to be the 4th option next year, he would still have been on the field a lot and has proven that he can be productive when he is.
And sorry, while yes, our OL definitely did suck, Hardin is the very best, a mediocre back. Besides the awkward gait, he has terrible vision, missed many holes, and doesn't have a single trait that makes him standout from any back on any team we faced all season or really anybody on just about every team in the country. If he were to be our best option next season it would not bode well for the chances of the run game making any major improvements. I predict that if he transfers to any major program he not be the feature back. And I suspect he is already hearing this.