'19 Grad Transfer OT Alex Locklear

#51
#51
JMO, but the real concern is DL. If we're going to use a scholly or two for grad transfers(not a practice I'm fond of), find some more big guys that can contribute on the DL. And I mean contribute, not space wasters.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BucksnortVol and highspeed
#52
#52
For the last couple practices I’ve tried to pick out all of our big guys from the practice videos that have been posted. The only guy I haven’t been able to find is Crosby. He may be there and I just can’t find him. There have been some whispers that maybe Marcus Tatum and Riley Locklear are among the candidates to transfer after spring. With Smith out for medical reasons, once the 3 new guys arrive this summer we’ll have 15 offensive linemen. If we lose 3 we’re down to 12. Pruitt has said his target is to have 18 offensive linemen on scholarship.

I’ve been thinking both Marcus and Riley would be in our 2-deep this year so if we were to lose them that would be a huge hit to our depth. The only way taking this grad transfer makes sense to me on the surface is it maybe encourages Riley to stay with us. It’s obviously costly from a scholarship perspective and it’s a tough call not knowing for a fact all the circumstances but I don’t think this guy would be a contributor at all other than maybe helping us to hang on to his brother. jmo.

Last year after the Kentucky game we were really banged up on our already depleted offensive line. We didn’t have the healthy bodies we needed to finish out the season. I was thinking this year was going to be our first chance in a while to have enough solid depth that the line could finish the whole season. That only works if we can figure out a way to hang on to the guys we have invested so much into from a teaching and development perspective to get us to this point. jmo.

These are who I think are expected to be our top 10 healthy offensive linemen, in class order.

Brandon Kennedy RS SR
Jahmir Johnson RS JR
Ryan Johnson RS JR
Marcus Tatum RS JR
Nathan Niehaus RS JR
Riley Locklear JR
K'Rojhn Calbert RS SO
Jerome Carvin SO
Wanya Morris FR
Darnell Wright FR

We need to try to hang on to all of these guys if we can. jmo
(Cue our bag men)
 
  • Like
Reactions: nesbuddha66, Big Sun, jakez4ut and 4 others
#53
#53
ChattaTNVol said:
For the last couple practices I’ve tried to pick out all of our big guys from the practice videos that have been posted. The only guy I haven’t been able to find is Crosby. He may be there and I just can’t find him. There have been some whispers that maybe Marcus Tatum and Riley Locklear are among the candidates to transfer after spring. With Smith out for medical reasons, once the 3 new guys arrive this summer we’ll have 15 offensive linemen. If we lose 3 we’re down to 12. Pruitt has said his target is to have 18 offensive linemen on scholarship.

I’ve been thinking both Marcus and Riley would be in our 2-deep this year so if we were to lose them that would be a huge hit to our depth. The only way taking this grad transfer makes sense to me on the surface is it maybe encourages Riley to stay with us. It’s obviously costly from a scholarship perspective and it’s a tough call not knowing for a fact all the circumstances but I don’t think this guy would be a contributor at all other than maybe helping us to hang on to his brother. jmo.

Last year after the Kentucky game we were really banged up on our already depleted offensive line. We didn’t have the healthy bodies we needed to finish out the season. I was thinking this year was going to be our first chance in a while to have enough solid depth that the line could finish the whole season. That only works if we can figure out a way to hang on to the guys we have invested so much into from a teaching and development perspective to get us to this point. jmo.

These are who I think are expected to be our top 10 healthy offensive linemen, in class order.

Brandon Kennedy RS SR
Jahmir Johnson RS JR
Ryan Johnson RS JR
Marcus Tatum RS JR
Nathan Niehaus RS JR
Riley Locklear JR
K'Rojhn Calbert RS SO
Jerome Carvin SO
Wanya Morris FR
Darnell Wright FR

We need to try to hang on to all of these guys if we can. jmo
(Cue our bag men)
Click to expand...

I am not a huge JG fan but I don't hate him either. He takes care of the ball and he is tough.
I think he we will be a different QB if he can get one or two more seconds per play. I think this group will do that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nesbuddha66, SweetasSoda and Wolfeman_Vol
#54
#54
Weezer said:
There are better OL in the portal. Why would we chase this guy and waste a scholly? Not to be harsh, but he'd be better off going to a lower division school where he might get playing time.
Click to expand...

If we could get those guys cool but there are so many division I schools that they could choose from. His chances of showing out for a NFL team is higher at a Div I school. But it might not always be about be about playing/starting but a number of reasons like school, family, location, etc.
 
#56
#56
HoleInTheRoof said:
Can a grad transfer be a walk on? I don’t like spending a ‘20 spot on a one year guy who wasn’t even a starter at a meh program.
Click to expand...
Meh program lol. Been to more bowl games lately than we have. Right now we are the new program like it or not
 
#57
#57
ChattaTNVol said:
For the last couple practices I’ve tried to pick out all of our big guys from the practice videos that have been posted. The only guy I haven’t been able to find is Crosby. He may be there and I just can’t find him. There have been some whispers that maybe Marcus Tatum and Riley Locklear are among the candidates to transfer after spring. With Smith out for medical reasons, once the 3 new guys arrive this summer we’ll have 15 offensive linemen. If we lose 3 we’re down to 12. Pruitt has said his target is to have 18 offensive linemen on scholarship.

I’ve been thinking both Marcus and Riley would be in our 2-deep this year so if we were to lose them that would be a huge hit to our depth. The only way taking this grad transfer makes sense to me on the surface is it maybe encourages Riley to stay with us. It’s obviously costly from a scholarship perspective and it’s a tough call not knowing for a fact all the circumstances but I don’t think this guy would be a contributor at all other than maybe helping us to hang on to his brother. jmo.

Last year after the Kentucky game we were really banged up on our already depleted offensive line. We didn’t have the healthy bodies we needed to finish out the season. I was thinking this year was going to be our first chance in a while to have enough solid depth that the line could finish the whole season. That only works if we can figure out a way to hang on to the guys we have invested so much into from a teaching and development perspective to get us to this point. jmo.

These are who I think are expected to be our top 10 healthy offensive linemen, in class order.

Brandon Kennedy RS SR
Jahmir Johnson RS JR
Ryan Johnson RS JR
Marcus Tatum RS JR
Nathan Niehaus RS JR
Riley Locklear JR
K'Rojhn Calbert RS SO
Jerome Carvin SO
Wanya Morris FR
Darnell Wright FR

We need to try to hang on to all of these guys if we can. jmo
(Cue our bag men)
Click to expand...

The other 3 freshman will most definitely see the field too. All are already SEC size and smart kids that’ll pickup the scheme quickly. Not saying they’ll start but at least 1 of them will be in the 2 deep. My guess would be Akporoghene of the group.
 
#58
#58
dcm3w said:
If we could get those guys cool but there are so many division I schools that they could choose from. His chances of showing out for a NFL team is higher at a Div I school. But it might not always be about be about playing/starting but a number of reasons like school, family, location, etc.
Click to expand...
NFL? The guy can’t break into the starting lineup at MARSHALL! That’s in West Virginia, where they’re from incidentally. It would be our luck that we take him and his brother leaves anyway. I sincerely think (hope) that they’re kicking tires on him because of the 340 lbs...but we have PWO’s who are larger. The concept of a one year bench heater tying up a scholarship that could be used on a potential two to four year contributor has made me an obnoxiously persistent presence in this thread. I’ll end that with this post. Hope we pass on this one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LouderVol and Orangeredblooded
#60
#60
butchna said:
NFL? The guy can’t break into the starting lineup at MARSHALL! That’s in West Virginia, where they’re from incidentally. It would be our luck that we take him and his brother leaves anyway. I sincerely think (hope) that they’re kicking tires on him because of the 340 lbs...but we have PWO’s who are larger. The concept of a one year bench heater tying up a scholarship that could be used on a potential two to four year contributor has made me an obnoxiously persistent presence in this thread. I’ll end that with this post. Hope we pass on this one.
Click to expand...

Oh, that's right there's never been a player in the NFL that has ever come from a smaller school. Also, I never claimed he had NFL talent. Tell me how better our bench is compared to him? Tell me how great our depth is this year? Tell me if we lose a guard or a tackle this year, who's gonna replace? A PWO that had probably has had less experience at a D1 program and/or scholarships out of highschool? So yeah, I'll take him for one year. If we had depth, I would agree with you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gainesvol82
#61
#61
dcm3w said:
Oh, that's right there's never been a player in the NFL that has ever come from a smaller school. Also, I never claimed he had NFL talent. Tell me how better our bench is compared to him? Tell me how great our depth is this year? Tell me if we lose a guard or a tackle this year, who's gonna replace? A PWO that had probably has had less experience at a D1 program and/or scholarships out of highschool? So yeah, I'll take him for one year. If we had depth, I would agree with you.
Click to expand...
I said I was done...and that’s still on. But to your point of NFL players “from a smaller school”? How many of those were BACKUPS at said smaller school? Resume done.
 
#62
#62
VOLUNTEERSZN said:
The other 3 freshman will most definitely see the field too. All are already SEC size and smart kids that’ll pickup the scheme quickly. Not saying they’ll start but at least 1 of them will be in the 2 deep. My guess would be Akporoghene of the group.
Click to expand...
I think he will be a quick learner and be one of the most physical players we will put on the field. He will play at the next level. If fact, 3-4 of our Freshmen Olinemen will play at the next level.
 
#63
#63
dcm3w said:
Oh, that's right there's never been a player in the NFL that has ever come from a smaller school. Also, I never claimed he had NFL talent. Tell me how better our bench is compared to him? Tell me how great our depth is this year? Tell me if we lose a guard or a tackle this year, who's gonna replace? A PWO that had probably has had less experience at a D1 program and/or scholarships out of highschool? So yeah, I'll take him for one year. If we had depth, I would agree with you.
Click to expand...
He’s a backup at Marshall and taking him costs us a spot which could be used for future depth.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BucksnortVol
#65
#65
I believe we are at the point that the scholarships need to go to 2 and 4 year players only. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is only setting us back in the long run. Put me down for a NO on any and all grad transfers. How valuable would the two scholarships have been last year in place of the transfers?Did they make any difference last year? IMO only slowing down the rebuild.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BucksnortVol and butchna
#66
#66
INDEFENSE said:
I believe we are at the point that the scholarships need to go to 2 and 4 year players only. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is only setting us back in the long run. Put me down for a NO on any and all grad transfers. How valuable would the two scholarships have been last year in place of the transfers?Did they make any difference last year? IMO only slowing down the rebuild.
Click to expand...
Think I trust Pruitt to do what is right and not what some random fan thinks is better 😎

Look we are at least two years out. If this guy can play backup and give our freshman a chance to redshirt or develop then I think it's a good idea and apparently so does the guy calling the shots
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: gainesvol82
#67
#67
Again, JMO but getting a player that may play 2-4 years versus a player that we all hope will only sit the bench for his one season then cost us a scholly the next year makes little sense to me. I am fully behind coach Pruitt and yes he knows better than me but this is my opinion.There will always be a small depth issue somewhere so this becomes an endless waste of a scholly TO MY MIND. With the new rule you also are able to play a guy for 4 games without affecting the redshirt year. Hard to get better turning away potential starters for a guy you hope will sit the bench, now this is the important part.....................................JMO
 
  • Like
Reactions: BucksnortVol, SmokeyDaBear and butchna
#68
#68
INDEFENSE said:
Again, JMO but getting a player that may play 2-4 years versus a player that we all hope will only sit the bench for his one season then cost us a scholly the next year makes little sense to me. I am fully behind coach Pruitt and yes he knows better than me but this is my opinion.There will always be a small depth issue somewhere so this becomes an endless waste of a scholly TO MY MIND. With the new rule you also are able to play a guy for 4 games without affecting the redshirt year. Hard to get better turning away potential starters for a guy you hope will sit the bench, now this is the important part.....................................JMO
Click to expand...
Guess we just disagree
 
#71
#71
This is a no brainer for me to take him. We will have injuries at OL this year. We still don't have great depth, most of that depth is young and several of our OL have a history of injuries and/or have had issues with having enough weight. They may have improved in that area but will still probably lose weight going through fall camp and the season. We also might have transfers or kids that quit.

This is an experienced kid with great size and if he helps us keep another depth piece(his brother) then great.
He can also play multiple positions on the line.

This kid could be the difference in having to burn a redshirt of a younger player who isn't ready. It sucks losing a 2 or 4 year recruit because of taking this guy.....BUT, if not having enough pieces on the OL causes additional losses then we probably won't land high level recruits.

The risk mitigation and possible positives far outweigh the loss of a scholarship on a future recruit who may or may not pan out....plus the lost scholarship would be for one of the guys at the bottom of our board. Winning this year is the biggest factor right now in building for the future.
 
#72
#72
Also, those touting having "bigger PWOs"....wtf are you talking about!?

Locklear is at the top end of size wanted for an OL. He also has actually been on scholarship for 4 years and has experience, even if it has been at a mid major.

Do you actually think a Freshman PWO could provide the value THIS YEAR that Locklear can? Are any of them also helping us keep another player at the same position of need? Both answers are no.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ionaVOL and CreiveHallVol
#73
#73
butchna said:
NFL? The guy can’t break into the starting lineup at MARSHALL! That’s in West Virginia, where they’re from incidentally. It would be our luck that we take him and his brother leaves anyway. I sincerely think (hope) that they’re kicking tires on him because of the 340 lbs...but we have PWO’s who are larger. The concept of a one year bench heater tying up a scholarship that could be used on a potential two to four year contributor has made me an obnoxiously persistent presence in this thread. I’ll end that with this post. Hope we pass on this one.
Click to expand...

Normally I agree with your takes but I think you are wrong here. Even if his brother leaves at least we have his replacement.

Sorry everybody for the back to back to back posts.
 
#74
#74
gainesvol82 said:
Normally I agree with your takes but I think you are wrong here. Even if his brother leaves at least we have his replacement.

Sorry everybody for the back to back to back posts.
Click to expand...
Riley’s not even in the 3 deep, so I see your point.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gainesvol82
#75
#75
butchna said:
Riley’s not even in the 3 deep, so I see your point.
Click to expand...

Normally this guy wouldn't be on our radar but we sure could have used him the last couple of years.

Think of him as a high deductible, moderate coverage hurricane insurance policy for a homeowner in Florida....not a great value but will probably provide relief at some point.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nesbuddha66
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top