So little time left in a once-promising Toledo football season, so many questions.
Let’s get to ‘em ...
■ What’s the matter with the Rockets?
A few things, including injuries to their top two quarterbacks, a fading defense, and, reportedly, too much class time at the J.R. Smith School of Situational Awareness (see: the clock management last week).
But if there is one reason Toledo has fallen with the autumn leaves, it’s the inconsistency of its youth.
The Rockets have a league-high 25 freshmen or sophomores on their offensive and defensive two-deep, which would be a lot for anyone, let alone a program defined by its continuity.
■ Why is Toledo so young?
That’s the real question, with the answer traced in good part to the Rockets’ 2016 recruiting class, the members of which should be — but aren’t — forming the bedrock of the current roster.
If you recall, that was the class Jason Candle and a skeleton crew of assistants scrambled to secure in the weeks after former coach Matt Campbell left for Iowa State in late November, 2015.
“We had the introductory press conference [Dec. 3], then we turned our attention to play football and try to play Temple in the bowl game [Dec. 22] with four assistant coaches here,” Candle said. “So going around flying all over the place, sitting in living rooms and trying to talk kids into signing, that wasn’t the priority at the time. We had time in January to kind of get moving and get going.”
In the transition, Toledo lost four commits to Iowa State, including Detroit-area wideout Jalen Martin, its highest-rated prospect.
The class that ensued did not turn out as hoped, for many reasons.
The highest-rated signee, defensive end Obi Anunike, was medically disqualified (concussions). Another top recruit, receiver Calvin Jackson, didn’t qualify, enrolled at a junior college, and has spent the last two seasons at Washington State. Still others have battled injuries, developed at different rates, or cycled out of the program.
Of the 20 high school players Toledo signed in the 2016 class, five of them — receiver Desmond Phillips, running back Shakif Seymour, center Luke Doerger, safety Dedarallo Blue, and defensive tackle David Hood — are currently on the two-deep.
Five guys.
That’s a massive hole in the middle of the roster.
While Toledo has a well-earned reputation for identifying and developing talent, the 2016 class is a clear example of the dice roll of recruiting, along with the ripple effect of a coaching transition, no matter how smooth it seems.
That’s not an excuse for the inconsistency this season, but it’s one explanation.
■ So, what really happened between the Western Michigan and Bowling Green game?
Look, I’ll admit, I wondered if some behind-the-scenes incident had rocked and/or divided the team — a team, remember, that looked like the class of the MAC after wins over BYU and Western.
That’s how out of nowhere its back-to-back unexcused absences at Bowling Green and Ball State felt.
But if there’s a smoking gun, those inside the program would love to hear it.
The likely explanation is less exciting: The high-riding Rockets thought they could sleepwalk to a big win at BG, and when they had no answer after the 27-point underdogs slugged them in the face, it shattered the confidence of a young team.
Credit Toledo for its response. Since the worst half in modern program history at Ball State — the Cardinals outgained UT 377-24 — the Rockets (6-4, 3-3 MAC) have shown life. They can clinch their 10th straight winning season with a split of their last two games at Buffalo and Central Michigan.
Still, the BG game will hang over the season.
■ What needs to change on defense?
Something.
Toledo can’t just bank on its young players improving. It needs new leadership and a fresh spark.
As understandable as it was for Candle to keep his defensive staff after a disappointing 2018 — putting his faith in a veteran group that had done the job before — this is a bottom-line business, and the results haven’t improved.
A bend-but-don’t break defense early in the season has long since snapped, with the Rockets ranking a league-worst 117th nationally in total D (465.3 yards per game). Candle needs to get the defense right.
■ Should Terrance Taylor be thrown off the team?:
No.
I understand the outrage, and let us be clear, Taylor should be suspended the rest of the season for his brutal helmet-to-helmet hit of a downed and defenseless Northern Illinois quarterback Ross Bowers. One game isn’t enough.
But as hard as this may be for the Twitter warriors to believe, there is a middle ground.
A couple points to consider: Taylor, a sophomore defensive end, did not pound his chest or celebrate the hit in any way. This was not a premeditated ambush. It was a horribly stupid — and dangerous — play made in the haze of competition.
We’re told Taylor is a well-regarded teammate who feels awful. He has apologized by phone to Northern Illinois coach Thomas Hammock and Bowers.
“Terrance is a kid, he’s not a pro football player,” Candle said. “We’re in the business of helping kids and helping people grow and learn from their mistakes. He made a terrible decision, a really bad play ... one that he's very, very conscientious about and very embarrassed by.
“We're in a day and age where a lot of people would turn their back on a kid like that. That's not who I am. That's not what I sat in his living room and told his parents, so that's not what's going to happen. Now, he's got some responsibility he knows comes along with this. He's got to own it. He knows he put his football team in a terrible position, he knows he put this football program in a bad position. He made a mistake he's really embarrassed about, but we've got to love him.”
First Published November 19, 2019, 7:53 p.m.
