Tag: midseason review

This Gators offensive lineman a midseason All-American, per The Athletic

There’s one Gator performing at a level high enough to be considered a midseason All-American by The Athletic.

The folks at The Athletic have put together a midseason All-American team, and it’s not too surprising to see the Gators with very little representation after a 4-3 start to the season. The one Gator that is playing at a high enough level to warrant All-American consideration is the team’s starting right guard, [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag].

Torrence was a first-team All-Sun Belt selection at Louisiana a year ago, and he hasn’t missed a beat since moving with Billy Napier over to the SEC. The Athletic gave him first-team honors and Torrence has the highest grade (89.6) of any guard in college football on Pro Football Focus, and second place isn’t particularly close (85.3).

An injury kept him out of last week’s contest, but he’s still on track to be a first-round pick come April.

The 6-foot-5, 347-pounder has been a key cog in a Gators offense that ranks second in the SEC in yards per rush (6.38) and first in tackles for loss allowed per game (3.0), and his absence was felt in the Gators’ Week 7 loss to LSU.

Torrence has been everything the Gators have needed, and it seems as if only an extended period off the field would rob him of the nation’s top guard title.

Expect him to finish the season as an All-American and to be Florida’s highest-drafted player this year.

[mm-video type=video id=01gdg3yhc6d6jb3c59xg playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gdg3yhc6d6jb3c59xg/01gdg3yhc6d6jb3c59xg-c640babe687004c896ec7a3af514c1b9.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=94243,94264,94259,94251,94248]

[listicle id=94222]

[listicle id=94206]

[listicle id=94200]

[listicle id=94190]

[listicle id=94159]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

How have Chiefs rookies looked through first half of 2021 season?

A quick review of the #Chiefs’ rookie class and their performance through the first half of the season.

We’re just past the halfway point of the 2021 NFL season.

The Kansas City Chiefs are above .500 for the first time since their Week 1 win over the Cleveland Browns. Their rookie class has provided some major contributions to the success they’ve seen this season. Chiefs rookies have played in 2,078 total snaps between offense, defense and special teams. They’re one of the few teams with more than 2,000 total snaps by rookies. Kansas City currently has four rookie draft picks on the 53-man roster, one on the practice squad and one on injured reserve. Three of the four rookies on the 53-man roster are considered starters.

Below you’ll find a quick breakdown of each rookie through the first half of the season:

Mid-season evaluation: Can Penn State survive without Sean Clifford?

Mid-season evaluation: Can Penn State survive without Sean Clifford?

Penn State has reached the midway point of the season with a perfectly placed bye week in Week 7. What better way to spend time during the bye week than by beginning to assess everything that has happened thus far and determine where things go from here for the Nittany Lions?

And it feels appropriate that the mid-season evaluations begins with the biggest issue facing Penn State coming out of a tough loss at Iowa, and that is the quarterback situation. After a perfectly fine start to the season by a clearly much more confident Sean Clifford, his injury during the Iowa game and uncertainty for the immediate future has cast a much darker cloud over the passing game in Happy Valley. And with the results put on display against Iowa with Ta’Quan Roberson stepping in for the injured Clifford, there is rising doubt about just how effective the Penn State offense, and specifically the passing game, can be with a tough slate ahead of them in the second half.

Year-to-Date Summary

Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

The 2021 season was destined to be a Sean Clifford or bust type of season following the transfer of Will Levis to Kentucky (where he is enjoying life as the starter for the Wildcats, by the way). After coming up dry on the search for a transfer option in the offseason, Penn State decided to roll the dice with hopes riding on Clifford staying on the field. And for a while, that seemed to work just fine.

Under the coaching of new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Yurcich, Clifford significantly cut down on his bad judgments and unforced errors and began showing more patience and awareness. As such, Penn State’s offense became much more efficient and effective. Clifford managed to begin spreading the ball around without having to feel like every play had to be going through Jahan Dotson. Clifford’s ability to spread the ball to Parker Washignton and his tight ends Brenton Strange and Theo Johnson proved to be effective. Through the first five games of the season, Clifford was intercepted just three times, and only one was arguably considered an actual mistake by Clifford.

In his most recent game, Clifford overcame an early mistake against Iowa — an interception at the Penn State 8-yard line on the first offensive snap of the game for the Nittany Lions — to lead Penn State to two efficient touchdown drives in the first quarter against an Iowa defense that was allowing just over 12 points per game this season. Clifford’s first, and only, series in the second quarter resulted in a field goal to put Penn State up 17-3 at the time.

But that was the last we saw of Clifford. Clifford went to the Penn State locker room after that possession and did not return to the playing field.

Attempts Completions Pct. Yards TD INT Rating
Sean Clifford 178 118 66.3 1,482 11 5 151.00
Ta’Quan Roberson 28 11 39.3 85 1 2 62.28

Stats via CFBStats.com as of Oct. 11, 2021.

NEXT: Is the backup better than the starter? No.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3