Some questions on offense heading into the 2024 season:
1. Who Is 2024's MVP? The largest open question of the 2023 season was answered emphatically by senior Tyler Knoop, who was the most valuable player of Georgetown's 5-6 season. Knoop, who had seen only a handful of plays behind Pierce Holley before starting 10 games last season en route to 2,310 passing yards, will follow in Holley's footsteps via the transfer portal, challenging for the starting job at Stony Brook this fall.
What follows is the most important story entering the season. The nominative favorite, junior Danny Lauter, enters the season with one of the most improbably stat lines of a Georgetown quarterback. Lauter's 428 yard effort in GU's near-upset of PL champion Lafayette not only set a single game school record, but it was his only gamed all season. It was also his only game of his entire career. For as impressive as Lauter's effort was, he didn't see the field thereafter.
As an assistant coach Rob Sgarlata saw the effects of a quarterback by committee that was poorly executed in the Kevin Kelly years, so as head coach he tends to pick one starter and ride them all year. If Lauter is the choice, we'll see what he is capable of doing; if not, there are some major questions ahead. None of the other three quarterbacks on the roster have experience at Georgetown--QB Dez Thomas played a season at Division III Trinity (TX) but has not seen the two-deep in two seasons in Washington. Sophomore Jacob Holtschlag and freshman Jack Johnson have never seen college competition, and former QB Jordan Holmes was moved to receiver.
Knoop was the man that got Georgetown to five wins last season, but without some real leadership at quarterback this season it is unlikely Georgetown can return to this.
2. Running Backs: More of the Same? If \you want to track one statistic to follow why a winning season is so fitful for Georgetown, start in the backfield, where the Hoyas haven't had a truly impact runner in nearly two decades, of that. Last season opened with Georgetown rushing for a combined 590 yards in its first two games and ending the season with 288 over its final four. Some of it is competition, some of it is the scholarship issue, and some of it is simply that the Hoyas are never deep enough to maintain a running game and the coaches simply fall back on passing to carry the day, which is almost never does in November.
The Hoyas lose two of its top three rushers from 2023, with senior Naieem Kearney to carry the load. Kearney can be productive but at only 179 pounds, a battered offensive line can't protect him as the season progresses. Kearney had 218 yards over this first two games of the 2023 season and 47 in his final two, where better defensive lines were no match.
The remainder of the backfield is either freshman or those that only saw spot duty. Georgetown got productivity from WR Nicholas Dunneman on sweeps, but he won't be as much a surprise in 2024. With no RB weighing more than 200, the field tilts upward for the backs.
3. How Good Will The Passing Game Be? Returning its top five receivers from 2023 places Georgetown in a position of depth at receiver it has rarely enjoyed, if ever.
The top three options offer the Hoyas a lot of opportunity. Sophomore Jimmy Kibble led the Hoyas with 753 yards in receiving in 2023, with big games down the stretch against Lafayette and Bucknell, and his season total was matched only by Joshua Tomas in Georgetown's PL era. Kibble isn't the fastest or the tallest player in the PL receiving ranks but he is adept at getting open and getting yards off the catch, as is the case with junior Nicholas Dunneman. The 205 yards versus Colgate by Dunneman was the most of any receiver in a game for Georgetown since 1999. Junior Brock Biestek is a solid option on third downs, where he averages 10 yards a reception and averaged 18 yards per catch versus Lehigh.
Two players to watch come from a position largely forgotten by some fans: tight end. Sophomore Isaiah Grimes caught just 30 passes this past season but at 6-3 and 215, he has the bulk to fight for more receptions in short yardage situations where GU was less productive. Another sophomore, Burke Carroll, had some good games in limited experience last year but could be a contender in short passing offensive sets.
If the offensive line gives its quarterback time to find receivers, the Hoyas were well positioned.
4. Are There Newcomers To Watch? In an era without redshirting (a subject that will get more attention over the next year in Patriot League circles), many freshmen at Georgetown tend to see little if any time, particularly on offense. Two freshmen I'd like to see more of are the following:
Savion Hart (RB) : A legitimate three star candidate out of St. Paul Minnesota, Hart selected Georgetown over local options at St. Thomas and walk-on opportunities at North Dakota in Minnesota.
"Hart delivered an immaculate senior season in which he ran for 2,642 yards and 39 touchdowns while leading the Cadets to the Class 5A state title game, where they lost to Chanhassen in overtime," wrote Yahoo Sports. "In that [game], Hart ran for 226 yards and two scores."
" I knew it was globally known, and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s crazy.’ I looked into it, and the academics were wild. Yeah, it could benefit me after school, too,” he said. “But I just knew it’s Division I and I could go there and try to help their program to be the best it could. Yeah, I fell in love with the school, the coaches, everything. The vibe and energy was there. I loved all the energy that they gave me.”
The last major recruit to come to Georgetown from Minnesota was Kim Sarin (2002-04), whose 1,051 yards as a junior was, and is, the only 1,000+ yard season in school history.
Jack Johnson (QB): An early signee, Johnson could be down the depth chart for 2024 but his incoming numbers are impressive: 7,915 yards in two seasons, with 84 touchdowns and 32 interceptions at Brighton (UT), and he once threw for 536 yards in a single game. While high school numbers aren't everything needed to crack the lineup (Martin Butcher and Barney O'Donnell come to mind in past seasons), Johnson has a body of work at a major Utah high school (13th statewide in 2023) that can serve him well in making the step into college play.
5. What's the One Stat Georgetown Must Improve Upon On Offense? Fourth down conversion. The Hoyas were last in the PL in fourth down efficiency turning the ball back over nine of 15 times.
