The Parks Fall-out

So now that Parks is gone, who is going to replace him?

The best bet would be Justin Akers.

Akers is 6-5, 240lbs and is running in the 4.6-4.7 range. He was a Waco Tribune-Herald Top 100 recruit out of high school and caught 26 passes for 462 yards, an average of 17.8 yards per catch, with five touchdowns.

Contrary to a lot of the tight-ends we recruited, there was never a thought of moving Akers in to the offensive line. He was a TE to stay, with the thought that he could stretch the field.

He's not as big as Parks (who aside from the linemen on the team were?), but he's got very good hands, and is athletic for his size. And he's actually a little taller than Parks was.

There is another option and that's moving away from the big inside receiver and putting more speed on the field. This would probably include more sets with Fenty, Sims, Payne and others in that mold on the field.

I think against Texas, I would go with an extra smaller/faster receiver on the field. That would put even more pressure on their linebackers, who are the weakest part of the their defense (which is definitely a statement of relativity).

Fenty has been a huge surprise since buring his redshirt, and Payne has been very productive around the endzone. Sims has been injured, but we know that he's athletic enough to be productive in this offense.

Whatever the move, it will lead to a temporary weakness as we lose a valuable player. But this situation was not something to quibble over and the right move was made. It's just a shame.