Stealing yet another great idea from Burnt Orange Nation (hey, it's not like I'm the first), presenting the Five Biggest Disappointments of 2007. We'll try to get these out of the way and get on to something more positive -- the Five Biggest Surprises of 2007 -- quickly. These are off the top of my head, by the way, so chime in with yours in the comments.
Me (and you), last season and this summer: Woo, Jonathan Hefney! Woo, I say, woo:
And again, I say woo:
So we were looking for good things from Mr. Hefney in 2007. He would surely be the sole bright spot of a secondary so dim even Smeagol's discerning eyes couldn't make out its shape.
But . . .
| Int. Ret. | Punt Ret. | Kickoff Ret. |
Tackles | Passes Defended |
|||||||||||
| No | Yds | TD | No | Yds | TD | No | Yds | TD | Ast | Solo | Asst Loss |
Solo Loss |
Loss Yds |
||
| 2007 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 89 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 36 | 60 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 |
| 2006 | 5 | 75 | 0 | 17 | 206 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 0 | 28 | 68 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
Hefney had almost as many opportunities to return punts in 2007 as he did in 2006, but he didn't do nearly as much with them, and he lost the job to true freshman Dennis Rogan after the South Carolina game. Still, Hef was third-best on the team in total tackles this season with 96, coincidentally the same number he had the season before. Looking at his stats as a whole, he didn't have a bad year, he just didn't live up to the expectations he had created for himself.