Knott and Klein will be solid for the next 3 years. Derek Earls would be a huge boost to the LB corp, but we've got some tough competition for him now. Hopefully Lattimer and Taufoo start picking their game up a little bit.
Jake Knott
- Thread starter Clones85'
- Start date
At 6'-2" and 234 lbs i cannot understand how we look at him as undersized??? Maybe in strength but he is a true freshman....
Looking at this years first and second round picks at LB:
Aaron Curry - 6'-3" 246 lbs
Brian Cushing - 6'-3" 244 lbs
Clay Matthews - 6'-3" 240 lbs
James Laurinaitis - 6'-2" 244 lbs
Rey Maualuga - 6'-2" 249 lbs
Now to me, as a true freshman, 6'-2" 234 lbs is a great spot for him to be, as he gets a year or two under his belt and in the weight room, he will be right in this window.....And he's a great athlete, i don't expect his speed to drop that much.
I still see this guy like Chad Greenway which is a huge compliment.....oh by the way, chad greenway is 6'-2" and 242 lbs!!!!!!!
Klein and Knott will be great building blocks for years to come for our defense....if we had got Jackson to show up, our lb corp recruiting class would have been awesome!!!!
I was talking more about the size of his arms and body. I know he is 6'2 but IMO he still has a lot of strength and size to grow. Which is fine and normal because he is a freshmen.
And to whoever said it is a good plan to play freshmen like Knott and Klein and burn a redshirt....I strongly disagree. They can still get PT as a freshmen but after they redshirt. That way they are a year adjusted and stronger and when they are juniors and seniors, they are that much better
I disagree with that. There's a big difference going into next season with LBs that have actually seen the field. I'd be a lot more worried about next year if Knott and Klein were redshirting. As it is, they are going to see more and more time throughout the year, which will only help them next season. That being said, if ISU had a little more depth at LB right now, sure I'd rather have them redshirting. It's just obvious that the staff is expecting them to start next season.
I expect Knott and Klein to put on 5-10 lbs of muscle over this offseason, which would put them right at where they need to be.
Last edited:
I'd rather have a redshirt junior playing at LB than just a junior. I understand we needed to play them as our depth is very thin at LB and will be even thinner next year. But it is not what we want to do as a program and as soon as we can get away from playing freshmen is the sooner we are going to be a more consistent program
I agree, but we're nowhere near the point where we can get away with not playing true freshmen. The unfortunate fact is that these guys have to see the field this year. Our depth on defense is awful and we lose 8-10 seniors that either start or see a lot of time. I think everyone, coaches, players & fans included will feel better going into next season, knowing that these guys saw the field this year.
Yeah I really feel comfortable having a redshirt freshman (with very little experience, if any) playing texas, oklahoma, iowa, texas tech.
I think everybody would rather have redshirted these guys. However the program isn't at a point where that is possible. It's not like we're running them out there at 215 pounds though - they have the weight to be physically ready and they need the experience for the next 3 years.
I am thankful those guys will be getting ready. We'll probably have one of the most inexperienced defenses in the entire conference next season and we need replacements ready to go.
I am thankful those guys will be getting ready. We'll probably have one of the most inexperienced defenses in the entire conference next season and we need replacements ready to go.
Nobody said they were comfortable with it, but it's an unfornate necessity that these guys will be put in that position. I'm just saying everyone will at least know that these guys have seen a meangingful play when next year rolls around. Physically, Klein & Knott aren't too far off from being ready. They've got 11 months before they're going to have to do it full time. I'd rather have these guys get game reps this year as opposed to waiting until next year and tossing them to the wolves
Last edited:
I was really hoping that Iowa would have offered Knott. ISU has a really good one in Knott. He's going to develop into a premier player for you guys. The future at LB should be pretty decent for yall ... but you still need to bolster the depth.
Anyhow, the bigger issue for the D will be the DL. You'll lose 3 starters due to graduation. A few of the young guys are promising ... however, they need to develop and make up the ground.
The future of the secondary has some pretty nice promise though.
Anyhow, the bigger issue for the D will be the DL. You'll lose 3 starters due to graduation. A few of the young guys are promising ... however, they need to develop and make up the ground.
The future of the secondary has some pretty nice promise though.
big IF, but if we can pick up Earls, then i will be alright with the LB's next year. I'd think Knott, Klein, and Earls would start, with Lattimer and Taufoo providing decent backups. We'll still have a lot of 2 LB sets with a guy like Benton coming in as essentially a LB as well... then i'd be nice if we could snag a few of the LB's we are in on. I really like the looks of guys like Nealy, Kisseberth, George, Zelon, Hubert... all of whom we have a shot at, we just need wrap them up.
because we without a doubt will play some teams that will run the ball a lot, and its really hard to stop the run with a 4-2-5 unless you have an outstanding DL... and we dont.
no need to be jerk about it..... and by the way. your previous post wasnt a question, so no. it wasnt a rhetorical question smart ***
I'm not being a jerk, ok i probably am, but i did start the sentence with "how" i just forgot the ? at the end.
Maybe, but we are starting 3 senior LB's right now. We gotta have replacements for next year who won't be stepping into a Big XII game for the first time. Knott, Klein and the juco with the samoan name (toufalou or something like that)?