one of the main things i'm looking for from next year's team, vis a vis "is Tom Herman 'The Guy'" is this: great programs lose B Jones, Duvernay, C Johnson, Roach, etc and they replace them with guys who are as good as/even better than those guys. You'll remember that our 2005 team had to replace Ced Benson and DJ, two All Americans and national award winners. but we had so much talent coming back (Jamaal and Ramonce in the offensive backfield, and the best defensive backfield in the country) that we were an even better team in '05 despite losing to absolute stars.
that's what truly great programs do- one goes out, one comes in. whether it be a 5* freshman, a grad transfer, or some unknown go-hard who becomes a legit starter, that's what truly great programs do. here's to hoping that we're "reloading" at key positions where we've lost production from last year. nothing quite like seeing a previously unknown guy put his stamp all over the first couple of games of the season on his way to becoming your favorite player. if we see that this year then i'm a believer.