'14 JUCO DT Jihad Ward

#132
#132
The 6-foot-7, 286-pound Ward already has been in contact with coaches from Tennessee, South Florida, Temple, Washington, Mississippi State and Texas Tech, and he said his coach has indicated to him that Nebraska “might call me” soon.

“I haven’t gone to (visit) any schools, but they’ve been talking about me having an official visit to the University of South Florida, because they want me to visit them,” Ward said.

“And Tennessee wanted me to visit them, too, but I don’t have an official visit (scheduled) yet. They didn’t set up a possible date yet.”

“The rest of the schools, they keep in contact with me, but Tennessee, they call me every time,” Ward said. “They make sure I’m OK and all that. I’m still choosing, but I think Tennessee is one of my top five right now.

“I (have been) talking to the defensive coordinator. He’s visited my school already, and we’ve just been talking about how everything’s going and how he can’t wait for me to visit. And, also, he says he’s just fired up about me. Basically, he’s explaining how I could fit at Tennessee.”
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- 247

Other teams that are actively pursuing him are, Texas Tech and USF. He expects to hear from Nebraska and Mississippi State. Miss. St., he said, has already called about extending an offer.

He plays both DE and DT in his JUCO, and he doesn't really care where he plays in college. His mother actually wants him to move away from the NE for college in order to be more focused. So, he basically explained that distance from home will not be an issue.
 
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#134
#134
Tennessee is still talking with him. I think he's a little further down the board just because he's seen as a project. If he had all four years to play I think someone would take a chance ok him because of his size and athleticism but just having two years to play it may not be enough time to develop him.
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-Fortenberry
 
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#139
#139
VolinArizona said:
Whoa - 247 rated him a 96 4*
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Always liked the kids upside. 4.6 speed weighing 275lbs puts him in the Clowney type athlete talk. Get him to 285-290 and line him up at DT on 3rd and 8. Turn him loose on a stunt to the outside and watch the chaos. Seems the coaches like other kids right now so I doubt this kid is a serious option. I think he will prove to be a good one before he's done in college.
 
#140
#140
LebanonVolunteer said:
Always liked the kids upside. 4.6 speed weighing 275lbs puts him in the Clowney type athlete talk. Get him to 285-290 and line him up at DT on 3rd and 8. Turn him loose on a stunt to the outside and watch the chaos. Seems the coaches like other kids right now so I doubt this kid is a serious option. I think he will prove to be a good one before he's done in college.
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I was going to say, about a week or so ago, that I wished we would take him, regardless of his ranking. You can't coach that kind of height/speed for a DL, and he'd be a great DE on running downs.

The Titans picked up a free agent DE, Pitoutua (Sp?), in the offseason. He's tall (like 6'7), lanky, and BIG...at about 315lbs. He wasn't a Pro Bowler type, but he has made all the difference in the world for our defense. He makes it really hard for defenses to run off-tackle to his side, and he's athletic enough to keep mobile QB's contained in the pocket or run them down if they try to get around him.

Thus, he reminds me of what we might have NEXT year if we sign Jihad Ward. Might be a risk, but we don't have any BIG DE's that can stuff runs to his side.
 
#145
#145
LebanonVolunteer said:
DE Vereen
DT Ward
DT Lambert
DE Williams

On passing downs, I'd like it.
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Ward might be hefty enough to play at DT, but I think he'd do the most damage at DE. He doesn't have the typical DT frame/build, but with his height/wingspan/speed at DE, he could be a virtual wrecking ball for us. Not sure how we could pull it off, but I would hope that we take Mosley and Reed/Lamin as our remaining DT's.

Something tells me that Barnett will likely redshirt and grow into a DT. But we need guys who can play next year.

This is how I think CBJ could use Ward...much like the Titans have Pitoitua:
Timeout with Ropati Pitoitua

Tennessee Titans: Ropati Pitoitua

Big enough to play DT, if needed, but he is a load for offenses to handle at DE. They bring him in on running downs, but he's been extremely effective as a pass rusher as well.
 
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#147
#147
VolinArizona said:
Whoa - 247 rated him a 96 4*
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Just saw the same thing. He's now the #7 overall JUCO player in the nation. He moved one spot ahead of Von Pearson.

Ward and Fahn Cooper, an OT from IL, were the only big movers in the JUCO rankings (Fahn Cooper) To no surprise, A&M is recruiting Cooper pretty hard, as they have not locked-up Gennessy (sp?) and missed on Blair.
 
#148
#148
LynxVol said:
Just saw the same thing. He's now the #7 overall JUCO player in the nation. He moved one spot ahead of Von Pearson.

Ward and Fahn Cooper, an OT from IL, were the only big movers in the JUCO rankings (Fahn Cooper) To no surprise, A&M is recruiting Cooper pretty hard, as they have not locked-up Gennessy (sp?) and missed on Blair.
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Personally, with the numbers crunch we are looking at, I think we are set at OL for now.

Tiny's play of late tells me that the chances of him returning are going from "not happening" to a logical possibility. I think his stock has taken a big hit in the past few games. Who knows, but CBJ now has a little more reason to sell Tiny on staying.
 
#149
#149
VOLorNuttin said:
Lambert will be a starting DT next year.
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Lambert is a 270lb grown man already. He is not going to be asked to put on more weight, he carries his weight well, and has a freakish first step for a man of this size. There is a reason he is considered a top 15 player by evaluators like JC Shurbutt. He is not a true DT. He may slide inside on obvious passing downs and play some 3 tech, but there is no way he is playing that on early downs. This guy can get to the QB and he can set an edge. He is probably the most important recruit on defense this cycle. He is going to be an impact player the day he steps on campus. Not sure if you noticed but most of our problems have come from a lack of a consistent pass rush, and not setting the edge. This guy solves both of the those problems. Think Robert Mathis type player.

If he plays inside on the early downs ala Malik Jackson, Turk Mcbride, Marlon Walls his fr year, then that will say a lot about our DT rotation next year. Lambert is the type of DE that LSU, UF and USC (4-3 teams) always have several of. Go look at LSU's DE's the past 10 years and see the weights and size of them. They line up 260-295 SDE's every year (all of them can move very well too and all of them seem to get drafted pretty high year after year)
 
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#150
#150
chandler bing said:
Lambert is a 270lb grown man already. He is not going to be asked to put on more weight, he carries his weight well, and has a freakish first step for a man of this size. There is a reason he is considered a top 15 player by Evaluators like JC Shurbutt. He is not a DT. He may slide inside on obvious passing downs and play some 3 tech, but there is no way he is playing that on early downs. This guy can get to the QB and he can set an edge. He is probably the most important recruit on defense this cycle. He is going to be an impact player the day he steps on campus. Not sure if you noticed but most of our problems have come from a lack of a consistent pass rush, and not setting the edge. This guy solves both of the those problems. Think Robert Mathis type player.
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I'm down with Robert Mathis, Mr.Bing
 
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