Post by MDDad on Oct 19, 2019 13:00:39 GMT -8
The one-word answer to the question in the title of this thread is “No”. Bruce Rollinson said at the end of the 2017 season that that team was the best he’d ever had, and eight games into this year’s campaign there’s no reason to think that’s no longer true. A closer look by position might indicate why.
Quarterback
2017 – J.T. Daniels
2019 – Bryce Young
Their skillsets are so different that it’s almost impossible to compare the two. Daniels was the most cerebral high school QB I’ve ever seen. His mental focus and discipline were like no other. And he threw the deep fall (both fade and post) with uncanny accuracy. Young may be the most elusive QB I’ve ever seen. He also has the quickest release (with accuracy) I can remember in any high school QB.
Advantage: Even
Running Backs
2017 – Shakobe Harper & Chris Street
2019 – Quincy Craig & Marceese Yetts
Yetts and Craig are a junior and a sophomore who display their high potential every once in a while. Harper and Street were a junior and a sophomore who displayed their high potential on almost every touch. And Harper was a superior blocker and pass receiver.
Advantage – 2017
Receivers
2017 – Amon-ra St. Brown, Bru McCoy, Nikko Remigio, C.J. Parks & Michael Martinez
2019 – Kody Epps, Cristian Dixon, C.J. Williams, Josiah Zamora & Kyron Ware-Hudson
The 2019 group run very good routs, come back to the ball well, have excellent hands, and are always a threat to gain extra yards after the reception. The same is true of the 2017 group. The difference is that the 2019 group has nobody like St. Brown and McCoy…yet.
Advantage – 2017
Offensive Line
2017 – Tommy Brown, Chris Murray, Kekani Gonzalez, Myles Murao (& a combination of Rob Gibson, Vince Jara, Nick Greco and Mason Kolinchak)
2019 – Myles Murao, Tai Marks, Kamuta Levasa, George Miki-han, B.J. Tolo
From the 2017 group, Brown, Murray and Gonzalez got full rides to Alabama, UCLA and Boise St., and Kolinchak is playing for Army. The only widely recruited player on the 2019 team so far is Murao. The 2017 group was also slightly better at both run blocking and pass protection.
Advantage – 2017
Defensive Line
2017 – Nathan Logoleo, Samuela Tuihalamaka & Andrew Faoliu
2019 – Tyler Narayan, Martin Salazar, Andrew Faatoalia, David Bailey & Sefita Tupe
Faoliu and Tuihalamaka got full rides to Oregon and Oklahoma St., while Logoleo broke the school sack record. The 2019 group has more depth and can constantly rotate in fresh bodies.
Advantage – 2017, but only slightly
Linebackers
2017 – Solomon Tuliaupupu, Mase Funa, Jack Genova & Steele Dubar
2019 – Jacobah Fuamatu, Raesjon Davis, Dean Neeley & Raymond Leutele
Solo and Mase are at USC and Oregon. Dubar was the county defensive player of the year in 2018. The 2019 group is solid, fast and physical, but they have nobody like Solo and Mase.
Advantage – 2017
Defensive Backs
2017 – Elias Ricks, Stephone Robins, William Nimmo & Zion Alefosio
2019 – Jaylin Davies, Domani Jackson, Josh Hunter & Nate White
In 2017, Ricks was already a shut-down guy as a sophomore, Robins was solid, and Nimmo was a legitimate strong safety who is now at UCLA. This year, Davies has been solid, but Jackson still has a habit of grabbing jerseys, Hunter is a little undersized at strong safety, and White is a linebacker playing centerfield.
Advantage – 2017
Kicker
2017 – Nick Lopez & Hunter Elsenpeter
2019 – Race Mahlum
Lopez and Mahlum are almost identical in kickoff distance, touchback percentage and extra point accuracy. Mahlum and Elsenpeter are similar as punters, but the team has only punted 37 times in the 23 games of those two season, so it’s hard to evaluate.
Advantage – Even
If anyone can make a compelling case for the 2019 team being better, I’d love to read it.
Quarterback
2017 – J.T. Daniels
2019 – Bryce Young
Their skillsets are so different that it’s almost impossible to compare the two. Daniels was the most cerebral high school QB I’ve ever seen. His mental focus and discipline were like no other. And he threw the deep fall (both fade and post) with uncanny accuracy. Young may be the most elusive QB I’ve ever seen. He also has the quickest release (with accuracy) I can remember in any high school QB.
Advantage: Even
Running Backs
2017 – Shakobe Harper & Chris Street
2019 – Quincy Craig & Marceese Yetts
Yetts and Craig are a junior and a sophomore who display their high potential every once in a while. Harper and Street were a junior and a sophomore who displayed their high potential on almost every touch. And Harper was a superior blocker and pass receiver.
Advantage – 2017
Receivers
2017 – Amon-ra St. Brown, Bru McCoy, Nikko Remigio, C.J. Parks & Michael Martinez
2019 – Kody Epps, Cristian Dixon, C.J. Williams, Josiah Zamora & Kyron Ware-Hudson
The 2019 group run very good routs, come back to the ball well, have excellent hands, and are always a threat to gain extra yards after the reception. The same is true of the 2017 group. The difference is that the 2019 group has nobody like St. Brown and McCoy…yet.
Advantage – 2017
Offensive Line
2017 – Tommy Brown, Chris Murray, Kekani Gonzalez, Myles Murao (& a combination of Rob Gibson, Vince Jara, Nick Greco and Mason Kolinchak)
2019 – Myles Murao, Tai Marks, Kamuta Levasa, George Miki-han, B.J. Tolo
From the 2017 group, Brown, Murray and Gonzalez got full rides to Alabama, UCLA and Boise St., and Kolinchak is playing for Army. The only widely recruited player on the 2019 team so far is Murao. The 2017 group was also slightly better at both run blocking and pass protection.
Advantage – 2017
Defensive Line
2017 – Nathan Logoleo, Samuela Tuihalamaka & Andrew Faoliu
2019 – Tyler Narayan, Martin Salazar, Andrew Faatoalia, David Bailey & Sefita Tupe
Faoliu and Tuihalamaka got full rides to Oregon and Oklahoma St., while Logoleo broke the school sack record. The 2019 group has more depth and can constantly rotate in fresh bodies.
Advantage – 2017, but only slightly
Linebackers
2017 – Solomon Tuliaupupu, Mase Funa, Jack Genova & Steele Dubar
2019 – Jacobah Fuamatu, Raesjon Davis, Dean Neeley & Raymond Leutele
Solo and Mase are at USC and Oregon. Dubar was the county defensive player of the year in 2018. The 2019 group is solid, fast and physical, but they have nobody like Solo and Mase.
Advantage – 2017
Defensive Backs
2017 – Elias Ricks, Stephone Robins, William Nimmo & Zion Alefosio
2019 – Jaylin Davies, Domani Jackson, Josh Hunter & Nate White
In 2017, Ricks was already a shut-down guy as a sophomore, Robins was solid, and Nimmo was a legitimate strong safety who is now at UCLA. This year, Davies has been solid, but Jackson still has a habit of grabbing jerseys, Hunter is a little undersized at strong safety, and White is a linebacker playing centerfield.
Advantage – 2017
Kicker
2017 – Nick Lopez & Hunter Elsenpeter
2019 – Race Mahlum
Lopez and Mahlum are almost identical in kickoff distance, touchback percentage and extra point accuracy. Mahlum and Elsenpeter are similar as punters, but the team has only punted 37 times in the 23 games of those two season, so it’s hard to evaluate.
Advantage – Even
If anyone can make a compelling case for the 2019 team being better, I’d love to read it.
