I note in the statistics that T Thomas played in six games, so no redshirt available there.
While on the running back subject, we could use a running back that can run outside. Gilliam is great but doesn’t have blazing speed. Combined with a QB who doesn’t run, and we didn’t threaten the edge much. We threw a lot of quick passes to receivers that often gained zero to two yards, I think that was partly to compensate for the limited outside running game.

I don’t think we can put much weight on offensive line injuries.There were some injuries that made players miss games but we had good depth there and always seemed to have five of our top seven linemen available. We always had an experienced player at every position and the newer guys, Ford and Amoah, warrant their playing time.
Some evidence that we weren’t lacking in offensive linemen is that a former starter, Riley Gallant who had played in thirty games in prior years only played in three, I believe that was just coaches decision.

I think on offense we obviously have some great athletes at wide receiver in Harrell, Vaughn and Babb, which raises the question of why the offense fell off so much after losing Doss, Kraft, and Crawford.
I know it’s not uncommon to have coaches who played QB coach wide receivers, but it seems to me that we might benefit from a receiver coach who can teach some receiver skills that were learned playing the position.

You wouldn’t put a player in just to fill a position, but that’s what they did.

Movie, Turay is just there as a fullback. Not every year used a fullback, but he’s the beat fullback we had as far as impact.
I’m with you as far as Manzanares is concerned. Pretty close call but Manzanares was always the guy other teams focused on and he still got the yardage.

We we’re desperate for running backs and he didn’t get the call so that says something. I think he has speed similar to Nemane Modise, last years #3 running back

we know they weren’t recruited by anyone, and we haven’t seen anything from them.

We need another running back. We haven’t recruited anyone playable after the Thomas & Gilliam class in 2017, and Thomas will be coming off an injury.

Biggs was his, Socher’s first QB, that’s the context under discussion. Biggs was the QB for the miracle win, took the team to the Boardwalk bowl in Atlantic City, and passed for 400 yards there.
Prior to Biggs QB we were not a conference power, his era started the string of championships.

On the basis of what he’s done to elevate the program he has to rank up there with Bob Biggs as a quarterback.
Biggs really started the winning tradition at the D2 level, hopefully that might be said of Maier at the D1 level.

How are we evaluating these guys, as college players or pro prospects?
If as college players Maier is right up there.
As a physically gifted player you have to go with O’Brien, which is why he was drafted in the first round.

In a sense we saw that already in 2012 when he was co-offensive coordinator under Biggs

Choate made the observation that we often utilize two tight ends to keep defenders in their base defense and then we execute “11 personnel” plays, in other words one tight end plays.

I think if we match them in physicality we win.

That was Hawkins first game at Colorado. That must have been a horrible Colorado team, Montana State followed that win off with a loss to Chadron State the next week.

Worth noting that the 2006 MSU team had beaten Dan Hawkins’ Colorado team 19 - 10.

I think we may now have our best offensive linemen starting. Amoah may have earned starting role over Lamson, who didn’t start but played. Richardson was back, as was Pettek.
We started the PSU game with two tight ends for the third straight game.

Jeff Choate is correct in saying that our big offensive games correlate with our getting the run game going.
This is a huge game for us even if we ignore the playoff picture. Our win percentage against the traditional big sky powers hasn’t been good, we need to beat one of them this season, and Montana State is our last opportunity.

When a program produced article on August 15th refers to a sophomore as
“Coach **** “ one suspects they knew.
I get not making a news release about it, but how about just leaving him out of the season preview article?
The school didn’t do the kid any favors by letting the information become public via the Cal football coverage on the week of our game.

Having a story about the linebackers and reporting what a great job the ineligible player was doing as a leader but not revealing he was ineligible was a little beyond not highlighting his ineligibility. It was deceptive.