Reply to thread

Message

[QUOTE="RF2044, post: 3102824, member: 40"]
I'm not sure where to even begin with this bizarre post.  So let's start with the use case.

Defensive linemen are at an absolute PREMIUM in college football.  Competition is extensive for guys with size who are athletic / can move their feet.  The recruits that the factories land are all tall, 300 pounds, and have wheels.  The guys other programs land tend to miss a measureable -- i.e., they are 300 pounds but short, or they have size but are slow.

I get that there are exceptions.  I'll take an Eric Crume every day of the week.  But most things being equal, our program is not going to land the type of elite DT prospects that Penn State, Clemson, and others are landing.  Which means that we either target:
[LIST]
[*]Big slow guys
[*]Shorter guys who aren't as big as those on other top 25 programs, let alone elite ones
[*]Prospects who can grow into the role
[/LIST]

But our program has had tremendous success targeting D-Line recruits who have the frames to move inside.  Chris Slayton is just one example of that [McKinley Williams , Jay Bromely are others]-- a guy who was a bigger DE, who had the body to fill out and not lose athleticism.  And while it took us a year or two to grow him into DT, he was then a guy who enabled us to compete at the LOS with big time programs, and give us a player similar to the ones that the factories recruit out of HS.  The difference being -- their guys are closer to finished products, whereas our guys are not.

And please let's dispense with the notion that this is the case for every DE we bring in.  Nobody is suggesting that Ishamael Goldburne at an incoming weight of 198 pounds projects to DT.  But Muonz / Daswon?  Those guys were brought in to be "grown" into athletic DTs.  Probably ditto for  Caleb Okechukwu.

So it seems to me that the OPPOSITE is getting established.
[/QUOTE]

Verification

What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?