Finley leaving early...

Though I'm still not convinced Josh Marshall is a tight end.

I still can't help but think we missed out on the best tight end in the country.

...for my hunch that he might stay.

Good luck to Jermichael.

I think part of the reason we didnt see the production this year is because of the young offensive line. GD kept Finley back to block alot more often then sending him out. I wish the best to him and i cant wait to see him on sundays

He's a redshirt freshman.  I think he is our next star at TE.  He's big and just as fast as JMike.  

Wish all the best to Jermichael at the next level.

RS-Fr TE

Lost amidst the shuffle is that A&M's Martellus Bennett will also be declaring for the draft. With Chase Coffman also a strong bet to declare and Joe Jon Finley and Martin Rucker graduating, what was once a strength of the Big XII is quickly becoming a deficiency.

Also of note is that Mack and UT are quickly losing that coveted tag of "no one ever leaves early." Most of us justified Vince's decision to leave pretty readily, but the bottom line is the future ramifications of this will be felt for years to come. Would Charles and Finley have left early if Vince hadn't? Hard to say, but it's worth remembering that Duke once "always kept its players" until their senior year. Then, the Elton Brand/Corey Maggette/Will Avery year happened, and Duke lost a lot of its prestine, 4-year school brand.

I, too, am very surprised that Finley is declaring with so little to gain presently. But here's to all the best for him.

considering the major upgrade we made defensively with Muschamp.

Lets face it, Finley did not play a huge role on offense last year, so it's not like you can say we're going to miss him.

We're going to miss JC, but we're going to realize that him leaving for the NFL was the best for both parties, because now Scott will be showcasing his abilities in burnt orange.

From the statesman bevo beat:

Finley approached the school single-season record for receptions for a tight end. He started all 13 games and caught 45 passes, which is second-best all-time for a UT tight end. The catches totaled 575 yards, which was third overall among Texas tight ends.

The 45 catches ranked third best on the team behind receivers Nate Jones (70) and Quan Cosby (60).

Seems like they threw to him a lot considering how weak our O line was, forcing him to stay in for protection more than last year (he had 31 receptions last year).

If the third leading receiver was not "included in the game plan" then did the game plan only include throwing to Jones and Quan?

After only seeing Finley for two years, I'm left wondering why teams bother redshirting players at all. In cases similar to Finley's, you're only getting two years of production from the guy. You're telling me a true freshman Finley couldn't have helped us in our championship run backing up Dave Thomas?

The only benefits I see to redshirting are for quarterbacks (since you're pretty much picking between 1 or 2 a year), or for players that aren't physically ready (offensive linemen come to mind). Why waste a year on a special talent who could potentially jump to the NFL after only two years of playing?

This post makes little sense on text, but it sounded good in my head. Thoughts?