The professional people who actually know what they are talking about have posted their guide to next years Defensive Tackles and now its my turn to disagree, except I don't really disagree.
Surefire starter:
Damike ScafeR-Senior
my expectations for Scafe last year were relatively high. He was a guy that played alongside both Raji and Brace when the other got tuckered out (when you weigh 350 lbs it happens) and not only that he held his own. Excitement gathered after a strong spring showing only to be hampered by a nagging neck injury that really kept him at less than 100%. I see Scafe as the DT equivalent of Albright, he was set for a big year and was held back by injury. This year, barring injury, should hopefully see Scafe bounce back and really elevate his play.
Likely to play:
Kaleb Ramsey R-Junior
apparently Ramsey was dominating before he got hurt towards the end of Summer practice last year. After he got hurt he was less than a stellar force but still saw some good playing time last year. He's a pretty good pass rusher with his athleticism but even at 280 he seems a little small for a big guy.
Conor O'Neal Soph
I expect O'Neal to be the next Scafe. While Ramsey and Scafe may not be Raji and Brace O'Neal will be the third man in the rotation. The philosophy on Redshirting under Spaz was that if you could help the team you would play. Thats why Finch and Kuechly saw playing time last year. What a lot of people didn't realize is that Wetzel and O'Neal were also true freshman in the two deep (or 3ish deep). This year with Giles gone O'Neal should step in to take a spot. He had some pretty good plays last year and it seems that the coaching staff likes this guy.
Battle for the last spot on the two deep:
Bryan Murray R-Soph
he saw some playing time last year and made some really nice moves when he was on the field but there is little else in way of information on him. He was hampered by turf toe for a lot of the spring and has the potential to really explode this year.
Dillon Quinn R-Fresh
He was redshirted last year so he was either something of a disappointment or O'Neal was a surprise. Either way it still doesn't sound like the coaching staff is as high on this guy as the recruiting gurus were. On the plus size his arms are about the size of my head and each of his legs is about the same size as my body so he has the physical tools to dominate. My expectation is that he will steadily improve leading up to the season and will at least be in the two deep and could be a run-stopping specialist.
Rivals things Brad Newman might move inside as well but I think theres a 10% chance of this happening. While Newman might not be a stunning DE the only way I see him moving inside is if one of the young guys really step up at DE and we have injuries at DT. Speaking of DE though we're getting one more addition in CJ Parsons, a Northeastern Husky who was disappointed when the program was cut. I know if FBS guys move to FCS they don't have to sit for a year so I presume it works the same way in reverse and who knows how good this guy might be. We're also getting another QB in the form of walk-on Shane Cranmore. Shane was getting some looks after his junior year before he snapped his ACL and saw his recruiting go down the drain. While I don't expect him to compete for a starting spot but it never hurts to have depth.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
The Spring previews begin: DE
Rivals has started their Spring position preview and I guess that mean's its about time I start mind and I might as well start where they did, defensive end. Definitely not our strongest position last year my personal football philosophy is that pressure comes number for any great defense. If you go back to our ridiculous defenses (namely 06, 07, 08) you'll notice something. Of the three 06 was only "pretty good" but we had Albright, Raji, Brace, Larkin. 07 had Albright beasting as a pass rusher and then 08 saw the rise of Raji. This does not take away from Silva, Dunbar, Tribble, Toal Herzlich or any of the other guys, its just my opinion that especially with our Big Ten style of recruitment we better be getting power out of our lines because its not likely we'll burn anyone with speed. So on to this year.
Your sure-fire starter: Alex Albright
I always thought he played strong side but apparently he always lines up wherever there appears to be the least protection (read, where the TE isn't). Rivals suggested that teams focused on blocking him but I feel like injuries played more of a role in his less than stellar season(1 sack?). He had been producing a lot of pressure early in the season even though he was still somewhat hobbled and we had Christian Ponder confused and afraid of Albright during the first half of the FSU game (the same FSU which is supposed to have the most ridiculous OL imaginable this year, something which I take offense to we all know BC always has the best line). Then Albright gets hurt, we lose pressure and we almost lose the game.
Your likely starters: Max Holloway and Brad Newman
Unless one of the younger guys has a great spring (always likely) I think these are the names you'll be seeing more of. The depth chart will read Newman first but the reality is that these two will be in and out of the game constantly. From scrimmages Holloway seems to be something of a phenom but there seems to be concern that his size might make him a liability in run coverage. Newman meanwhile is not exactly a flashy guy but the coaches love him because he knows his job and he does his job. Period.
The Best of the Rest:
Ifeanyi Momah
I've known about Momah's workout at the DE position for awhile now but the people I heard it from told me to keep it quiet so I didn't say much but now Rivals seems to be reporting it as well. I don't particularly like the idea of Momah as a DE, he had a TE body but ended up at receiver even though he really had TE speed as well. With Jarvis gone I really wanted to see the long-armed 6-6 Momah come back but this is meant more for WR not DE. The fact is that since Momah came back from the knee injury he's worked out @ DE and he is big and athletic, I just question his power. Maybe I'm being too negative though, so for a more exciting spin try this: Momah might be a receiver now but he was recruited by most teams as a TE so he must have some hidden power and Jagz/Logan must have felt he had some speed so maybe his blend of power and athleticism is just what we need @ DE.
Dan Williams
Rivals is reporting he moved to DE, I have it on good authority that hes been there for a while. To be honest I think this is more a move to develop depth since we haven't been all that successful at recruiting DE (come to think of it the Momah stunt might be along the same lines considering the wealth developing at receiver).
Kasim Edebali
A true dark horse, really nothing known about his playing ability but he's the only other guy who was actually recruited to play DE. Even though he was supposedly something of an athletic freak coming in he apparently spent the whole Redshirt year in the gym and is only familiarizing himself with the playbook now so there might be some work-ethic issues. He is however my choice as a dark horse candidate, especially since no one else seems to be giving him any love.
Your sure-fire starter: Alex Albright
I always thought he played strong side but apparently he always lines up wherever there appears to be the least protection (read, where the TE isn't). Rivals suggested that teams focused on blocking him but I feel like injuries played more of a role in his less than stellar season(1 sack?). He had been producing a lot of pressure early in the season even though he was still somewhat hobbled and we had Christian Ponder confused and afraid of Albright during the first half of the FSU game (the same FSU which is supposed to have the most ridiculous OL imaginable this year, something which I take offense to we all know BC always has the best line). Then Albright gets hurt, we lose pressure and we almost lose the game.
Your likely starters: Max Holloway and Brad Newman
Unless one of the younger guys has a great spring (always likely) I think these are the names you'll be seeing more of. The depth chart will read Newman first but the reality is that these two will be in and out of the game constantly. From scrimmages Holloway seems to be something of a phenom but there seems to be concern that his size might make him a liability in run coverage. Newman meanwhile is not exactly a flashy guy but the coaches love him because he knows his job and he does his job. Period.
The Best of the Rest:
Ifeanyi Momah
I've known about Momah's workout at the DE position for awhile now but the people I heard it from told me to keep it quiet so I didn't say much but now Rivals seems to be reporting it as well. I don't particularly like the idea of Momah as a DE, he had a TE body but ended up at receiver even though he really had TE speed as well. With Jarvis gone I really wanted to see the long-armed 6-6 Momah come back but this is meant more for WR not DE. The fact is that since Momah came back from the knee injury he's worked out @ DE and he is big and athletic, I just question his power. Maybe I'm being too negative though, so for a more exciting spin try this: Momah might be a receiver now but he was recruited by most teams as a TE so he must have some hidden power and Jagz/Logan must have felt he had some speed so maybe his blend of power and athleticism is just what we need @ DE.
Dan Williams
Rivals is reporting he moved to DE, I have it on good authority that hes been there for a while. To be honest I think this is more a move to develop depth since we haven't been all that successful at recruiting DE (come to think of it the Momah stunt might be along the same lines considering the wealth developing at receiver).
Kasim Edebali
A true dark horse, really nothing known about his playing ability but he's the only other guy who was actually recruited to play DE. Even though he was supposedly something of an athletic freak coming in he apparently spent the whole Redshirt year in the gym and is only familiarizing himself with the playbook now so there might be some work-ethic issues. He is however my choice as a dark horse candidate, especially since no one else seems to be giving him any love.
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