By: Heath Moorman (@heat1017)
We’ve all been watching teams make daring efforts to recruit the best squad for the upcoming season, but every team still has scholarships left to fill. This means they’re all preparing their draft boards and stalking league-chat for their diamond in the rough, and they need to fill a key spot.
I’ve looked at every team and determined which position each is in the most need. I based this on my estimation of how many of each position teams need to fill their roster.
I used these numbers to evaluate each team’s current roster after recruiting had closed. We will be visiting each team’s biggest need in order of what I see as the team in the most need to the team in the least.
NEBRASKA & NOTRE DAME – CB
Not a lot went well for Nebraska in recruiting, but there may still be hope for them to construct a roster to compete in the Big 10 this season. There are plenty of available new recruits in the draft and they’ll have one of the top picks. Looking at the state of the league I’ve decided that cornerbacks are likely the most important position group behind QBs in the CFSL. Of which Nebraska currently has zero.
Similarly to Nebraska, Notre Dame finds itself in a similar situation. They were able to bring in some talent but are lacking scholarship players to fill the CB position. If Nebraska and Notre Dame want to keep teams under 600 passing yards this season, they need to invest heavily into CBs in the upcoming draft.
IOWA, MIAMI, & TEXAS – DE
These three teams find themselves in pretty different situations but with the same highest priority for the upcoming draft. Defensive Ends. None of these three teams currently host a DE on their roster. Texas and Miami saw all of their DEs graduate and head Pro, they will be missing huge talents on the outside of their defensive line.
While Iowa is in a different position, filling a roster from scrap but doing so effectively. DE is the only position any of these three teams have more than one open starting spot.
CLEMSON & PENN STATE – WR
These two teams find themselves facing one of the easier challenges of the draft, where both of their biggest needs are at wide receiver. There are currently more WRs available to be drafted than any other position. They’ll likely come out alright as long as someone doesn’t fumble the bag.
LSU & TENNESSEE – CB
The SEC teams are faced with needing two cornerbacks each. Behind both Nebraska and Notre Dame, this will be a competitive position to grab with their not being enough to fill every roster. But remember how important CBs are in this league. I expect CBs to go hot and heavy, with all players likely taken by the mid-3rd round at the latest.
AUBURN, MICHIGAN, & OREGON – LB
The linebacker position, while it is a highly necessary position as a part of every defense, is not highly sought after in this season’s draft. Auburn, Michigan, and Oregon find themselves with likely the easiest challenge of the Season 23 Three-Star Draft finding two linebackers. This is, by my count, the second deepest position in terms of what is needed vs. how many players there are available.
ALABAMA, GEORGIA, NORTH CAROLINA & USC – DT
These four teams, among others (Texas, LSU, and Nebraska) face the most daunting challenge of the draft. They all need two defensive tackles. Now there are ways around needing multiple DTs such as running a 3 man front or relying on your incredible walk-ons to come through big.
But assuming every team in the league wants two scholarship DTs on their roster, there are 24 open spots for DTs right now. Currently, there are not enough DTs to fill every roster in the league, and not a single team in the league has the luxury of having depth in this position. It is the most empty position across the league, by my count. It will be a battle for who gets these guys first.
These next handful of teams find themselves as the teams who’ve filled their roster to the point they need no more than one to fill their starting spots at any given position.
FLORIDA, OHIO STATE & WEST VIRGINIA – HB
This triad of teams from different conferences sees their biggest need being a second HB. They already have their starting role filled, but we all know that backs in the CFSL run out of juice in a hurry. Sometimes seeing the third and occasionally even fourth-string guy get the call. I think we’ll see these teams searching for an HB in the early rounds.
COLORADO, FLORIDA STATE, OKLAHOMA & VIRGINIA TECH – DT
I mentioned it before, and I’m saying it here again. This league doesn’t have enough big men up front on defense. I told you 24 open spots for starting DTs left in the league, and the last group of four teams I mentioned had two open spots each. This group of four doesn’t find themselves in that big of trouble, only needing one each, but if they expect to get their guy they should plan on using a first-round pick or accept that they will be seeing a walk-on at DT2.
TEXAS A&M – WR
Standing alone at the end of this article is a team that has visited two straight CFSL National Championships but came up empty each time. So we should expect nothing less from Kade Padgett than to assemble a complete roster by the end of open recruiting in Season 23.
The only complete roster in the league by my measure. Texas A&M finds themselves with backups already at several key positions, meaning they also have few scholarships left to spare for players. I believe Texas A&M’s biggest must-get in this season’s draft will be wide receiver. They graduated some top-of-the-league talent at the end of last season at this position. Replacing this talent may not be possible, but they need to try their best for a third trip to the ‘Ship.
