What are we looking like with D-line???

#1
maxxx

maxxx

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Aug 13, 2009
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#1
We seem to have a few solid O-line guys to work with in the future, but our D-line is thin as tissue paper. IMO, D-line should be our number one priority in recruiting this year and next. If we have dominant linemen it gives us the ability to showcase the skill players. I'm from big ten country and I i'm partial to those teams philosophies. Get great linemen and you dont need to land the 5 star skills to be successful. Iowa is a great example. They are an NFL factory with there linemen, and their skills are ok at best. Dominating the trenches means success, period.

What linemen out there are our top priorities for this year. I also think we need to start pounding the areas that produce traditionally strong linemen. I read somewhere that Illinois' 2011 and 12 classes are loaded with high caliber linemen.
 
#2
#2
I like what we have coming back next year.We will have Martin and Walls back.Plus what we have coming in.And we only lose Chris Walker and Minor Bowens i think.We should be better up front on defense.
 
#3
#3
Do you guys think Dooley look at some JUCO linemen to help immediately again next year? I think we need to recruit both O-line and D-line so we will not have depth issues 3 or 4 years from now..
 
#4
#4
We have a huge NT committed right now in Alan Carson. Also there's Saulsberry but he may end up a DE.
 
#5
#5
maxxx said:
We seem to have a few solid O-line guys to work with in the future, but our D-line is thin as tissue paper. IMO, D-line should be our number one priority in recruiting this year and next. If we have dominant linemen it gives us the ability to showcase the skill players. I'm from big ten country and I i'm partial to those teams philosophies. Get great linemen and you dont need to land the 5 star skills to be successful. Iowa is a great example. They are an NFL factory with there linemen, and their skills are ok at best. Dominating the trenches means success, period.

What linemen out there are our top priorities for this year. I also think we need to start pounding the areas that produce traditionally strong linemen. I read somewhere that Illinois' 2011 and 12 classes are loaded with high caliber linemen.
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Yeah they keep racking up those Big Ten titles and all those BCS National Titles. There is a reason why the Big Ten, hell the whole country has been dominated the last decade by the S.E.C. and it's not great line play. SPEED KILLS .
 
#6
#6
I think we are solid at DE for the a while, but we are lacking in the middle. Hughes is a beast but beyond that i dont see anything. The same can be said the O-line. We look solid at tackle for a while, but we need help up the middle. I think Fulton will develop as a nice guard, but we need a solid center and either another stud right tackle or guard. Schofield is at guard now i think, but he has the size to move out to right tackle if we can get a really good guard in here. I agree with the thought of getting some juco help in here for the short term. I dont think freshman are physically strong enough to really make a difference in the trenches. We need strength and veterans.
 
#7
#7
93AllvolSc said:
Yeah they keep racking up those Big Ten titles and all those BCS National Titles. There is a reason why the Big Ten, hell the whole country has been dominated the last decade by the S.E.C. and it's not great line play. SPEED KILLS .
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You dont get it bonehead. Our skills are better than nearly all big ten schools, but our linemen cant compare right now. With dominant linemen we are a NC contender every year. Look at Alabama. They have great skills, but they are winning titles because of the monsters up front on both sides. Not the speed that they have. Hell, Ark, Miss st., ole miss, GA, all have speed but they can take that speed to the next level with crap linemen. Iowa and Wisconsin are the two best examples of this in the country. They both beat up on so called speed teams in bowl games last year by beating them up in the trenches. My point is that if you combine that dominance up front with UT's speed you have a champion. If we had Wisconsin's O-line right now we would be ranked and scoring 40 pts per game.
 
#8
#8
93AllvolSc said:
Yeah they keep racking up those Big Ten titles and all those BCS National Titles. There is a reason why the Big Ten, hell the whole country has been dominated the last decade by the S.E.C. and it's not great line play. SPEED KILLS .
Click to expand...

:crazy:
 
#10
#10
I think there's a decent chance that Miller ends up a full time DT. He appears to have the frame and while his speed is good for DE it is outstanding for a DT.

He's at 250 as a Fr and already getting DT reps. Give him 35 lbs of muscle and he and Hughes will make up one of the better DT pairs in the SEC.
 
#12
#12
sjt18 said:
I think there's a decent chance that Miller ends up a full time DT. He appears to have the frame and while his speed is good for DE it is outstanding for a DT.

He's at 250 as a Fr and already getting DT reps. Give him 35 lbs of muscle and he and Hughes will make up one of the better DT pairs in the SEC.
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35 lbs of muscle is a lot
 
#14
#14
93AllvolSc said:
Yeah they keep racking up those Big Ten titles and all those BCS National Titles. There is a reason why the Big Ten, hell the whole country has been dominated the last decade by the S.E.C. and it's not great line play. SPEED KILLS .
Click to expand...

It's all the above!:thumbsup:
GO VOS!
 
#15
#15
kingsportvolsfan said:
Do you guys think Dooley look at some JUCO linemen to help immediately again next year? I think we need to recruit both O-line and D-line so we will not have depth issues 3 or 4 years from now..
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I think we need at least 2 on each side of the ball from Juco teams.Depending on how many scholarships we have.
 
#16
#16
sjt18 said:
I think there's a decent chance that Miller ends up a full time DT. He appears to have the frame and while his speed is good for DE it is outstanding for a DT.

He's at 250 as a Fr and already getting DT reps. Give him 35 lbs of muscle and he and Hughes will make up one of the better DT pairs in the SEC.
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I hate the thought of that. Basically you are taking a potential All-American at End and moving him to DT out of need where he could become a solid/adequate player but likely not the All-American he could have become at his natural position.

The same thing happened with Walter Fisher a few years back. He was moved from his natural position out of need and while he became a solid/adequate player he didn't reach anywhere near the potential he probably would have had at DE.

That is why it is critical to start recruiting well at DT or they are going to continue to move natural DE's to DT out of need.
 
#17
#17
But who are they?? Not very many Juco guys are really on us right now...:question:
 
#18
#18
I'd almost rather a back-up oline guy be taught some gap discipline and plug him into the interior d line than move a DE.
 
#20
#20
93AllvolSc said:
Yeah they keep racking up those Big Ten titles and all those BCS National Titles. There is a reason why the Big Ten, hell the whole country has been dominated the last decade by the S.E.C. and it's not great line play. SPEED KILLS .
Click to expand...

Actually, it is.

Florida and LSU dominated Ohio State on the line of scrimmage.

Marcel Dareus kicked the Texas OL's collective ass single handedly.
 
#22
#22
Montrell Hardy said:
I hate the thought of that. Basically you are taking a potential All-American at End and moving him to DT out of need where he could become a solid/adequate player but likely not the All-American he could have become at his natural position.
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If that were remotely what I thought would happen then I wouldn't want it either. But the fact is many if not most great DT's start out light and grow into their bodies with a college S&C program and training table. You really think a kid with that kind of power and quickness would just be "adequate" at DT?

I'm sorry but you are way off here IMO.

The same thing happened with Walter Fisher a few years back. He was moved from his natural position out of need and while he became a solid/adequate player he didn't reach anywhere near the potential he probably would have had at DE.
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Walter Fisher was as good as a DT as he was ever going to be as a DE. They had sufficient opportunity to move him back if he had warranted it.

That is why it is critical to start recruiting well at DT or they are going to continue to move natural DE's to DT out of need.
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Or you do both and move guys to the position that best maximizes their potential.

He's gained about 25 lbs since arriving in January. Another 25 makes him a tweener. Another 10-15 makes him a DT. If he maintains most of his quickness and burst... UT will have just signed his first NFL bonus check for him.
 
#23
#23
sjt18 said:
If that were remotely what I thought would happen then I wouldn't want it either. But the fact is many if not most great DT's start out light and grow into their bodies with a college S&C program and training table. You really think a kid with that kind of power and quickness would just be "adequate" at DT?

I'm sorry but you are way off here IMO.

Walter Fisher was as good as a DT as he was ever going to be as a DE. They had sufficient opportunity to move him back if he had warranted it.



Or you do both and move guys to the position that best maximizes their potential.

He's gained about 25 lbs since arriving in January. Another 25 makes him a tweener. Another 10-15 makes him a DT. If he maintains most of his quickness and burst... UT will have just signed his first NFL bonus check for him.
Click to expand...

We'll have to agree to disagree on this. I think you are totally oversimplifying the move.

Just because he is getting bigger shouldn't necessarily mean he's a DT.
I dont think by any means the kid is out-growing the DE position. Shaun Ellis was a 295 lb DE at Tennessee and still IMO the best DE they've had since 1999. And while he played DT in a few spot situations, he was clearly a better DE than DT. The same is likely the case for Miller.

The difference between then and now is if he gets moved to DT it is probably because of need, not because it is his best position. Tennessee is desperate at DT now, when Ellis was around they weren't so he played at his natural position.

There aren't many guys of Miller's size, with his explosiveness and pass rushing ability. The pass rushing ability is what everyone loved when he was in high school last year. That would be totally negated if he were to move inside full-time where he'll be clogged up in the middle and probably often double-teamed.

I just hope it doesn't happen. I'd hate to move a potential All-American to a position simply because they cant recruit anyone else good enough to play there.
 
#24
#24
He's not gonna move to DT full-time. He's just so talented that he's better than any DT we have (besides Hughes) while weighing 30-35lbs less than them.
 
#25
#25
Our defensive line needs talent in the worst way, but I have to agree with MH. We need about 5 DT recruits IMO...
 
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