5 Questions for 2022

5 Questions

Each season and each new BHP team brings with them a set of questions only that team can answer. Here are 5 of the most important questions I feel this team needs to answer this season

1) How will the underclassmen perform?

Every year the main question that any team has to answer is who will replace the talent that graduated. This season that question could be even more significant than in other seasons.

After speaking to some BHP coaches, this season’s team could be comprised of up to 70% underclassmen. Although BHP returns many offensive skill position players, line play and overall depth will be the main focus of the replacement effort.

Playing underclassmen and the number of underclassmen on the team can be both a blessing and a curse. Having to play underclassmen could mean you lack experience across those positions. Along with in-game experience, you could see the lack of time the player would have to develop football skills and overall strength as a hindrance to the overall effectiveness of the play.

However, by having the need to play underclassmen, one could project they are the absolute best option to play. Also, what they lack in experience they could make up for in enthusiasm and effort. Not to mention, once the playoffs come around the underclassmen will gain that experience and could start playing like upperclassmen.

With this question comes so much potential. It will be so exciting to get to know these younger players and see them make an impact on Friday night.

2) When will Coach Blackston’s 100th win come?

This has been a question that we have asked for the last couple of years. Between limited games and changes of schedules, Coach Blackston still sits at 98 career wins at BHP.

Although Coach Blackston has already attained the most wins in BHP history, this milestone could further cement his legacy. With 100 wins, Blackston will find himself 12 wins above the next winningest coach (Wayne Green).

Even with this milestone on the horizon, I am sure it takes a backseat to overall season goals for the Bears. And a deep playoff run (or even a championship) could add even more to Blackston’s already impressive BHP legacy.

3) What players will make it onto the all-time leaders' list?

This may seem like a presumptive question, however, both of the leading receivers from last season have already made the top 10 all-time receptions list. Let’s list out some of the possibilities.

Eli Strickland is currently tied for 9th in career receptions with 40. Last season he had 28. If he matches his total from last season, he vaults up to 5th all-time.

Nevada Billups currently has 35 career receptions, 5 away from being tied for 9th all-time. Last season he had 24 receptions. If he matches that total he will climb to 6th all-time in career receptions.

AJ Pendleton passed for 1,140 yards last season. If he matches that this season, he will become the 8th leading career passer at BHP. If he can raise his senior year output to 1,550 passing yards he would become the 6th leading career passer. Along with his passing, Pendleton sits at 1,825 all-purpose yards. With an outstanding year (as I may be boldly predicting in next week's post) he could be looking to jump all the way up to 6th all-time in career all-purpose yards.

Finally, Marquise Henderson rushed for 892 yards last season as a freshman. He did this while averaging 9.49 yards per carrying (94 total carries). Let’s say he somehow keeps that obscene average up but gets 150 total carries this season. This would mean that he would rush for 1,423 yards, which would put him with the 5th most rushing yards in a season at BHP. That would put him with 2,315 career rushing yards (with 2 years of eligibility). That would leave him needing 2,628 rushing yards to take over the top spot for career rushing yards (that would only be (1,314 rushing yards in his junior and senior seasons). Maybe a more linear progression would look like 892 yards as a freshman, 1,250 yards as a sophomore, 1,400 yards as a junior, and 1,600 yards as a senior for a total of 5,142 career rushing yards. This seems plausible, given what we saw last season.

Hopefully, all of these are underestimates and all of these players rewrite the record books this season.

4) What will the D look like?

This may be the most concerning question of all on this list.

With graduating seniors like Jamias Gleen, Rahzel Scott, Malik Pickens, and Trevian Devaux, BHP and especially the defense has huge shoes to fill this season. However, BHP will be returning 6 of the top 11 defensive points leaders from last season. These are Jordan Johnson, Anthony Brantley, Brock Turner, Omari Jackson, Jeremiah Brooks, and Eli Strickland.

The two positions BHP will have the hardest time replacing will be the defensive line and cornerbacks. Just between Jamias Glenn and Malik Pickens BHP graduated nearly 40% of their team tackles for loss and 43% of their sacks from the 2021 season. Along with that, Rahzel Scott individually had 4 of the team’s 11 interceptions and 10 of the team's 43 pass breakups. Also, coming into the season Marquise Henderson was listed as and played a major role as a cornerback. But with his performance on offense, I would assume that his defensive snaps would reduce.

But even with the losses, the linebacking core looks like it could be one of the deepest BHP has seen in years. With Jordan Johnson, Anthony Brantly, and Brock Turner all returning and all in the top 5 of defensive points last season, that position group should be the leader of the defense.

The defense will be the focal point for me early this season. One, to see how these linebackers will be used and if they all can play at the same time. And two, to see who will step up on the defensive line. As a big guy myself, the battles in the trenches always hold a place in my heart.

5) How prolific can the O be?

With the defense being the largest question mark this season, the offense could be the most interesting.

As I spoke about in question number three, the offense returns most of their most explosive skill positions. This encompasses four of the top five rushers, the only passer with five or more attempts, and the only two receivers with more than 50 receiving yards.

The players who are not returning are the ones who do not have the stats but cleared the way for these players to gain their yards, the offensive linemen. Three of the five starting offensive linemen graduated last season (Hatcher Adams, Jackson Hall, and Jace Rentz). BHP will look to Trey Bolton, Cameron Darby, and Oliver Marrett, all of who had major playing time last season, to anchor the line this season.

As much as I want to wax and wain about the skill positions, I know the Bears will only go as far as the offensive line. I also know BHP will not be a team that will drop back and pass 75% of the time, so no matter how talented and experienced the backs are, the line is what creates those lanes. The last thing I know, with Coach Blackston’s background, the offensive line will get plenty of focus from the coaching staff.

No matter what, I am very excited to see how explosive this offense can be, and who knows, we could see multiple 1,000-yard rushers.

As I say every year, a new season brings new questions, but those questions can only be answered once the games are real. And real games are just around the corner.

Do you still have questions? Do you think you have answers to some of these I laid out? Let us hear them on our social media accounts or in the comments below the post ( Facebook or Twitter).

If you are waiting for our season record prediction, or our other bold predictions, make sure to check in to next week’s post when I reveal all of those and a few more.

Go Bears!