Draft Two Deep on Defense Pre Spring Practice

[PhatOrange]

Hoping Folk’s physically ready like Carter was. Need a sizable FS. We’ve seen in the past how badly smaller safeties get toyed with by sizable Clemson/NCSU/FSU receivers.

He's folking huge that's for sure. His neck and head look like Tehoka Nanticoke

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I would see what Ben Labrosse could do there. 6'2, 200. Saw action last year. Comes in with some speed and showed he isn't afraid to hit.

Labrosse had a play last season at the goal line where the QB ran some kind of RPO or option to the outside, and he read it perfectly and knifed into the backfield for the tackle.

It was a really impressive play. I feel like we maybe sometimes see the right read, but not the clean and immediate wrap up too.

It was just one play, but it showed what he could be capable of and how he can impact a game. Not sure did he's ready to do that consistently next season, but it's likely more a question of when than if.

 

[Finwad32]

If the young secondary develops, our defense is going to be sick. Studs everywhere for 2021.

 

[orangepassion]

He also plays with a little nastiness. Needs to reign it in a little but it’s something I like to see in a MLB

He definitely has a lot to say to opposing players. Surprised he hasn't gotten more penalties.

 

[AngryOtto]

Could also see s. Johnson or another wr switch to D.

 

[shu 49]

I do not feel lb is inexperienced. This appears the most experienced lb group we have had in several years. We are actually returning all our starters for the first time in years. It may say fr but they are actually so and jr.

Yeah true. Also my favorite group is Thompson wax and kpogba. Them 3 come downhill and attack the olinemen at los and not wait 3 yards deep like the others do. I know jones gets a lot of raves here but he either makes a great play then gets washed by linemen 2 straight times. He is too small to lock up with them. Should be dipping and ripping.

 

[shu 49]

Mikel is probably the best box player we have. I don't want him dropping in coverage. That takes away his strengths.

Money I kinda disagree with ya and that don’t happen often. He gets washed to many times by line. Yeah he makes some great plays but he is to small to fight off line. I think our best is Thompson then wax then Kpogba and then jones but that’s my opinion.

 

[money3189]

Money I kinda disagree with ya and that don’t happen often. He gets washed to many times by line. Yeah he makes some great plays but he is to small to fight off line. I think our best is Thompson then wax then Kpogba and then jones but that’s my opinion.

Yeah they all get washed more than I like lol. Don't let the size fool you. I like Jones a little more because of his natural instincts plus he's a dawg/ Doesnt back down to anyone and I think the whole unit reacts off his energy. He can make plays from his reads and not just from called blitzes. They all do some things better than the others but Jones has made plays attacking on blitzes, scrapping underneath blockers and dropping in coverage despite his size. I like Thompson a lot but he also gets swallowed on the edge and loses outside leverage. He did get better with that as the season went on. His tackling got better too. Jones definitely get swallowed at times when the run comes directly at him ( a lot of that has to do with the D line not occupying O lineman). I just think overall he makes up for it more than the others do.

 

[SUskibum]

Yeah true. Also my favorite group is Thompson wax and kpogba. Them 3 come downhill and attack the olinemen at los and not wait 3 yards deep like the others do. I know jones gets a lot of raves here but he either makes a great play then gets washed by linemen 2 straight times. He is too small to lock up with them. Should be dipping and ripping.

I thought I was the only one who saw this!

Yeah, love MJ but felt most of his impact was during pass plays where he was great in coverage but registered 20th on the team for TFL (only had 1 in 2020 and 2 in 2019)

Thompson, GCA, Wax all had >5 TFL in 2020 alone

Either way it’s great to have a deep talented position group with complementary strengths

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Yeah they all get washed more than I like lol. Don't let the size fool you. I like Jones a little more because of his natural instincts plus he's a dawg/ Doesnt back down to anyone and I think the whole unit reacts off his energy. He can make plays from his reads and not just from called blitzes. They all do some things better than the others but Jones has made plays attacking on blitzes, scrapping underneath blockers and dropping in coverage despite his size. I like Thompson a lot but he also gets swallowed on the edge and loses outside leverage. He did get better with that as the season went on. His tackling got better too. Jones definitely get swallowed at times when the run comes directly at him ( a lot of that has to do with the D line not occupying O lineman). I just think overall he makes up for it more than the others do.

Plus, I mean, Jones is our turnover machine. The dude makes stuff happen. We need that.

 

[money3189]

Yeah true. Also my favorite group is Thompson wax and kpogba. Them 3 come downhill and attack the olinemen at los and not wait 3 yards deep like the others do. I know jones gets a lot of raves here but he either makes a great play then gets washed by linemen 2 straight times. He is too small to lock up with them. Should be dipping and ripping.

I agree he has to do a better job with his disengage techniques. That's when he gets in trouble.

 

[upperdeck]

hopefully some of this gets cleaned up once they can actually do practices again.. Having enough oline to have the D really get real reps is huge. There is only so much tech to be learned in zoom sessions.

 

[money3189]

I thought I was the only one who saw this!

Yeah, love MJ but felt most of his impact was during pass plays where he was great in coverage but registered 20th on the team for TFL (only had 1)

Thompson, GCA, Wax all had >5 TFL

Either way it’s great to have a deep talented position group with complementary strengths

He led the team in tackles. There's a reason for the lack of TFL's. The way they play Jones is different than the others. He's the clean up guy. After the stunts and blitzes occur, he finds the runner if he breaks through the 1st level. Its designed that way. The LB's you mention are used to play on the line of scrimmage more. They have the ability to come off the edge and make plays in the back field. They also came off the edge a lot more on pass downs while Jones dropped in coverage mainly.

 

[money3189]

Plus, I mean, Jones is our turnover machine. The dude makes stuff happen. We need that.

When he makes plays its normally a big play but he definitely has his weaknesses. He just makes up for it. This will be his second full year as a starter so I want to see him get better vs direct run. He struggled vs teams that ran power on us.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

When he makes plays its normally a big play but he definitely has his weaknesses. He just makes up for it. This will be his second full year as a starter so I want to see him get better vs direct run. He struggled vs teams that ran power on us.

For sure, room to improve.

I think what you said about making up for it is the big thing. We collectively had trouble against power run last season, so I don't get on him too bad for that, especially since he shined at other times in other ways like nobody else on our defense.

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

He led the team in tackles. There's a reason for the lack of TFL's. The way they play Jones is different than the others. He's the clean up guy. After the stunts and blitzes occur, he finds the runner if he breaks through the 1st level. Its designed that way. The LB's you mention are used to play on the line of scrimmage more. They have the ability to come of the edge and make plays in the back field. They also came off the edge a lot more on pass downs while Jones dropped in coverage mainly.

The nuances of football are far more complicated than I ever care to learn. Thanks for making this easy for a layperson to read.

 

[AngryOtto]

Richards will also be back. Great size and hustle.

 

[007]

Yeah they all get washed more than I like lol. Don't let the size fool you. I like Jones a little more because of his natural instincts plus he's a dawg/ Doesnt back down to anyone and I think the whole unit reacts off his energy. He can make plays from his reads and not just from called blitzes. They all do some things better than the others but Jones has made plays attacking on blitzes, scrapping underneath blockers and dropping in coverage despite his size. I like Thompson a lot but he also gets swallowed on the edge and loses outside leverage. He did get better with that as the season went on. His tackling got better too. Jones definitely get swallowed at times when the run comes directly at him ( a lot of that has to do with the D line not occupying O lineman). I just think overall he makes up for it more than the others do.

Good points, as usual money.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I have lots of issues with DL play going forward, despite the improvements near the end of the season. I understand the scheme calls for quickness and penetration over gap control, but we were consistently washed out at the 1 tech by power inside run plays, and the Mike was almost always engulfed by backside pulling guards or frontside combos. The entire D line struggled with stretch zone concepts; DEs were easily handled by RB lead blockers or lost the edge. We have young talent at LB, especially Thompson and Wax, Jones played well. I am not a fan of Cantin-Arku at Mike, would much rather see Kpogna (who I suspect must struggle with reads and run fits because he is physically a much better player, from my "couch eye view" anyway).

All this to say I am very surprised we have not added at d-tackle/1tech via the portal...

 

[money3189]

Good points, as usual money.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I have lots of issues with DL play going forward, despite the improvements near the end of the season. I understand the scheme calls for quickness and penetration over gap control, but we were consistently washed out at the 1 tech by power inside run plays, and the Mike was almost always engulfed by backside pulling guards or frontside combos. The entire D line struggled with stretch zone concepts; DEs were easily handled by RB lead blockers or lost the edge. We have young talent at LB, especially Thompson and Wax, Jones played well. I am not a fan of Cantin-Arku at Mike, would much rather see Kpogna (who I suspect must struggle with reads and run fits because he is physically a much better player, from my "couch eye view" anyway).

All this to say I am very surprised we have not added at d-tackle/1tech via the portal...

All great observations and I agree. I share the same worries with the 1 techs. Cantin gets ran at and he's one of our biggest LB's. He has to do a better job finishing tackles too. I'm hoping that's one of the things he tries to improve the most. I definitely want to see Kpogba play more. Overall, I really like this young group of LB's.

 

[orangepassion]

All great observations and I agree. I share the same worries with the 1 techs. Cantin gets ran at and he's one of our biggest LB's. He has to do a better job finishing tackles too. I'm hoping that's one of the things he tries to improve the most. I definitely want to see Kpogba play more. Overall, I really like this young group of LB's.

Cantin-Arku missed a lot of tackles-Think it got a little better later in the year. He has a ton of physical tools.

 

[money3189]

Cantin-Arku missed a lot of tackles-Think it got a little better later in the year. He has a ton of physical tools.

Agree

 

[GoSU96]

Happy that guys are coming back, but worry about b to b gap still. Tulsa had great success running this defense in year two, but their nt and 3 tech were bigger than the guys we have. Williams and Black with a true nose would be an excellent first unit.

as far as the back 8 get the best players on the field at lb and the three “safety” spots. Why can’t Jones play the rover? Max is more of a true downhill inside lb, get them on the field together

 

[RF2044]

Happy that guys are coming back, but worry about b to b gap still. Tulsa had great success running this defense in year two, but their nt and 3 tech were bigger than the guys we have. Williams and Black with a true nose would be an excellent first unit.

Agree 100%. Still hoping for a transfer / JUCO to plug that gap. It would really make the rest of the defense pop, IMO.

And we were pretty darn good in most other respects defensively, we just couldn't stop teams from gashing us inside. Having a guy who could occupy double teams and not yield ground at the point of attack and let the more athletic guys do their thing would work wonders.

 

[AngryOtto]

DB knows we need a least one more OL. I feel he will wait until after spring ball to see where the other holes need to be filed and go into the transfer portal. I could see 3-5 more players join the team depending on the scholarship situation. Still think we loose at least 2 more players after spring ball.

 

[money3189]

Happy that guys are coming back, but worry about b to b gap still. Tulsa had great success running this defense in year two, but their nt and 3 tech were bigger than the guys we have. Williams and Black with a true nose would be an excellent first unit.

as far as the back 8 get the best players on the field at lb and the three “safety” spots. Why can’t Jones play the rover? Max is more of a true downhill inside lb, get them on the field together

Rover is a safety that can play in the box. Not a LB with limited cover skills. You still need true DB skills. In certain plays/schemes, the rover needs to fill in for coverage in areas where a DB may vacate. For example, you might want to sneak both safeties in the box for the run game, The rover will need to drop and be the deep middle safety in cover 3. Jones should never be in that area of the field lol. He will get exposed.