Kenny Dillingham is building a culture here, and it starts with guys wanting to play. Dillingham believes that 9 of the 17 2024 commits will be on campus in January to start competing. This is huge, as Dillingham made it clear that all the kids who show up in January have a chance to have a huge role as freshmen. He said there will be chances for Summer players, but it will take a lot more work and trust for them to have a chance.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“I expect mid-years to be impactful quite a bit. The D-Line and Linebacker core, I think, could come in and do it right now.” Dillingham said, “I think the corners will be asked to compete early. Then you get all those young bucks that will be here early. You can see which players is it not too big for as a true freshman. I think we are going to know that early. Which freshmen are prepared for this, and which ones will it take time to learn?”
On the offensive side of the ball, Dillingham said a similar thing:
“I expect the O-Line guys to come in and compete immediately.” Dillingham said, “We have to get bigger, and we signed bigger dudes. The tight ends and running backs will come in and play early. So, I truly think all those guys coming in January have a chance to make an early impact.”
He said there will be chances for Summer players, but it will take a lot more work and trust for them to have a chance.
“For the guys who come in the Summer, that’s a little harder.” Dillingham said, “Hopefully, they can find a secondary role. Third down pass rush is an option if they are ready.”
Dillingham also said he expects nine but is still awaiting final grades for some of them. In addition, he said that corner would be a position where most of the guys would be here in January. This could include, for example, Chris Johnson II, the son of NFL Legend Chris Johnson. Johnson is one of the players still waiting on grades, but he could be here in January, too.
