We got a roster !!!

[0.2 YNdeeR]

I looked closely at Ellis at the open practice.

Yes, he has a small gut but it is a minor part of the weight he carries. He does not have the pear shape a lot of 350 pound players his age have (like say Qadir White).

Ellis has a massive frame. His shoulder and hips are astonishing broad. He is so wide and his torso is just massive. All the way from the top of the shoulders to his butt.

He looks fundamentally different from all the other oversized OL and DL on the team. He is like a different species of human.

The last time I felt like this about a new SU football player was the first time I saw Blake Bednarz. Blake was a massive OL from the Buffalo area who played at SU in the mid to late 1980s.

At the time, most of our OL were in the 6'3, 275 range. Blake, even as a true frosh, was more like 6'5 310. And like Ellis, he didn't have much of a gut. He was super broad, naturally strong, barely had a neck and heck, his head was square shaped.

He was just our first true jumbo next generation OL.

Ellis is the generation after.

I don't know if he is going to be a factor right away (I believe Blake ended up starting as a true frosh; he had a great career at Syracuse). But based on appearance only, OMG, he is going to be a force to be reckoned with.

Picked the wrong week for vacation ... missed FF. So your observations are helpful. Ellis was already a storyline ... coming from HI and making the 2-deep as a frosh. But to hear that he's that big and proportional ... is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Let's face it, it all starts with this group. If you can't get push (as upperdeck posted), it's tough to run the ball. And if you can't run it, it's harder to pass it and stay on the field (let alone score), which then puts pressure on the D, etc. So reading your post is inspiring.

The other new piece (Bleich) is also worth mentioning for a critical and beleaguered unit. With his (SEC) background, it would seem that we have talent, depth and size at LG. And if Davis is healthy, RG is looking pretty solid as well (Tisdale backing up).

Interested to hear your thoughts about Vet in the middle (grooming Illoa?). But with Bergeron (LT and NFL prospect) and Servais at RT - and Red and Bradford behind them, you don't have to be a line expert to see that we're stacked on paper. It might take a few games, but if this unit gels it could be really good and create domino effects that ripple through all 3 phases.

 

[SWC75]

Picked the wrong week for vacation ... missed FF. So your observations are much appreciated. Ellis was already a storyline ... coming from HI and making the 2-deep as a frosh. But to hear that he's that big and proportional ... I mean, that is exactly what the doctor ordered for this O-Line.

Let's face it, it all starts with this group. If you can't get push (as upperdeck posted), it's tough to run the ball. And if you can't run it, it's harder to pass it and score, which puts pressure on the D, etc. So reading your post is inspiring.

The other new piece (Bleich) is also worth mentioning for a critical and beleaguered unit. With his (SEC) background, it's hard not to conclude that we have talent, depth and size at LG. And if Davis is healthy, RG is looking pretty solid as well with him and Tisdale.

Not sure about Vet in the middle (grooming Illoa), but with Bergeron (LT and NFL prospect) and Servais at RT - with Red and Bradford behind them, I'm no line expert but we look stacked on paper. It take a few games, but if this unit gels it could be really good and create domino effects that ripple through all 3 phases.

The dominos: The O-line gets good...the plays look like they do on the backboard: running backs initiate first contact beyond the line of scrimmage, QB has time to let guys get open, look over the field and make his throw the way he was taught to throw the ball...we sustain and complete drives and occasionally get the big plays...we build up leads and when the other team gets the ball it's consistently well into their own territory so they have to go the length of the field to score...the defense plays with a lead and most of the field so they can be aggressive and make big plays...place kickers set records and punters are going for the coffin corner rather than praying to get it out of their own end zone...we got for big returns and blocked kicks.

Everything supports everything else but it starts with the elephants up front.

 

[Phillymoose]

My Blake Bednarz story (I've told it before but what the hell):

Michael Owens completed the 2 point conversion and SU took a 1 point lead on WVU. There were actually a few seconds left on the clock, so there was kickoff followed by a few mighty heaves by Major Harris before the game ended. Then...

Bedlam.. the student section climbed over the rails, I along with them. I assume others from all over the dome also came onto the field. There was a giant pig pile in the center of the field that included both fans and players. I was pinned at the bottom of the pile - with just a mass of humanity on me - not dangerously, but I was not going anywhere. Next to me - also pinned to the ground was Blake. He still had his helmet on - and we were sort of facing each other down there.

"Blake." I said with sort of a nod. "So, how's it going?"

"Good." He said with a grin.

I nodded not knowing what else to say, but we had a moment together at the bottom of the pile, in the center of the dome, after completing an undefeated season.

It was a long time ago.

 

[RICuse44]

The dominos: The O-line gets good...the plays look like they do on the backboard: running backs initiate first contact beyond the line of scrimmage, QB has time to let guys get open, look over the field and make his throw the way he was taught to throw the ball...we sustain and complete drives and occasionally get the big plays...we build up leads and when the other team gets the ball it's consistently well into their own territory so they have to go the length of the field to score...the defense plays with a lead and most of the field so they can be aggressive and make big plays...place kickers set records and punters are going for the coffin corner rather than praying to get it out of their own end zone...we got for big returns and blocked kicks.

Everything supports everything else but it starts with the elephants up front.

Would love to see what tucker could do without getting contact until the second level.

 

[GoSU96]

Would love to see what tucker could do without getting contact until the second level.

His td run vs nd. Elmore traps a lb, Tucker runs through an arm tackle, td

 

[Shenexon]

Any word on Hough’s injury?

 

[721Comstock]

Any word on Hough’s injury?

He has an owie.
Lower body injury.

 

[Orijinal]

Push between the guards would be the absolute remedy to our ills

 

[Frozen]

Also Anwar Sparrow now wears 21.

 

[DuxburyO]

My Blake Bednarz story (I've told it before but what the hell):

Michael Owens completed the 2 point conversion and SU took a 1 point lead on WVU. There were actually a few seconds left on the clock, so there was kickoff followed by a few mighty heaves by Major Harris before the game ended. Then...

Bedlam.. the student section climbed over the rails, I along with them. I assume others from all over the dome also came onto the field. There was a giant pig pile in the center of the field that included both fans and players. I was pinned at the bottom of the pile - with just a mass of humanity on me - not dangerously, but I was not going anywhere. Next to me - also pinned to the ground was Blake. He still had his helmet on - and we were sort of facing each other down there.

"Blake." I said with sort of a nod. "So, how's it going?"

"Good." He said with a grin.

I nodded not knowing what else to say, but we had a moment together at the bottom of the pile, in the center of the dome, after completing an undefeated season.

It was a long time ago.

Blake lived next door to me at Skytop. One late night (after the season) he and some friends came home and was confused on which apartment was his. His key didn't work on my door ( obviously). He literally almost knocked the door off its hinges to try and get in, as my roommate and I tried in vain to tell him he was at the wrong apartment.

That said he was a great guy. Damn, I miss college.

 

[SWC75]

Blake lived next door to me at Skytop. One late night (after the season) he and some friends came home and was confused on which apartment was his. His key didn't work on my door ( obviously). He literally almost knocked the door off its hinges to try and get in, as my roommate and I tried in vain to tell him he was at the wrong apartment.

That said he was a great guy. Damn, I miss college.

Dean Martin once opened his show by saying, "I didn't get a lick of sleep last night. Some idiot kept yelling "You''re in the wrong house! You're in the wrong house!"