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Linebacker depth and progression

delt4cy

delt4cy

Well-Known Member
May 11, 2006
1,182
252
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Atlanta, GA
Here's the latest spring depth chart, feel free to update if there is something new out:

SLB Justin Rumple 6-3 212 JR
Josh Raven 5-11 230 SR
Kevin Hamlin 6-3 210 FR#

MLB Jesse Smith 6-0 231 SR
Derec Schmidgall 6-2 230 SR
Patrick Neal 6-1 229 SO#

WLB Fred Garrin 6-2 230 SR
AJ Matthews 6-3 197 SO#

We do have experience in these spots with Smith, Schmidgall, Garrin, and Raven but my concern is lack of speed. I'm upbeat about these guys hitting abilities and nose for the ball though. Jesse seemed to be in on just about every play last year.

How will this lineup differ in the fall? Is there any news from spring camp? Any expectations out of this group?

How will Tafou(sp?) fit into the fold? He seems to have great speed and a knack for big plays. I'm excited to see how he can contribute. I would love for him to step in like Tim Dobbins did a few years back. Does he come in right away and play big minutes?

Thoughts anyone?
 
I think that Tafou will be a stud. If he was a bit taller, the big boys would have been all over him.
 
Too bad Mike Marry and Larvez Mars didn't come here.

In all honesty, we might be better off playing a 5th DB most of the time. I believe OSU or KSU is making the 4-2-5 their base defense.
 
Nothing against the guys because I'm sure they are great guys, but our MLB corp wouldn't be in the 2 deep at any other school in the conference.
 
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Look out here comes DJK to thread steal over to a Hawk/Cyclone debate.....

all kiddin aside, the LB position needs a talent upgrade big time. Everyone talks about Jesse and he's worked hard to be where he's at, but, watching him play and yes he's in on a lot of tackles but many of them come downfield chasing the play.....i would rather our MLB is stuffing someone at the line!!!!!

Especially in the Big 12 and the pass happy offenses, having quick LB is a must.....gotta have speed to cover the field.
 
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I got sick of how bad Jesse Smith was in pass coverage last year. He needs to get deeper in his zone to cover those 5 and 7 yard slants that we got burnt on repeatedly
 
CycoCyclone said:
I got sick of how bad Jesse Smith was in pass coverage last year. He needs to get deeper in his zone to cover those 5 and 7 yard slants that we got burnt on repeatedly
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never more apparent then the Nebraska game....swift must have run 20 crossing routes right in the LB's drops....but no lb was there - they had charged the play action and then drop.....too late!!!!!
 
That is why I am at a loss for ISU whiffing on Linebackers the past year. Granted Ferguson and Bell had their own situations that caused them to leave but they both would have started or seen ALOT of playing time. I agree that our best bet would be a 4-2-5 defense since we have alot of playmakers in the secondary. I wouldn't mind seeing Banks, Bell, Benton, Smith, and LJ on the field at one time.
 
That would be an interesting line-up. The speed and coverage issue in the backfield would definitely be addressed and would also be a great counter for the Big 12 spread offenses.

But, I'd be worried about teams slicing and dicing us for 4,6,8 yards a pop on the run with our smaller d-line and slower LB's. I don't think any of the above mentioned DB's could handle the wear and tear of the constant hitting they would have to incur with that philosophy. If we had two hybrid SS's in the 200lb range it wouldn't be an issue. But these 5 are smaller, quicker CB types.

In order to stop the offensive flood that we saw last year, I think the only way is to use the best 4-3 combo we can muster and rely on the talent of LJ, Banks, Benton, and Bell in the backfield. Unless Bell or Benton can bulk up and take over a SS role.

Like I said above, if we address one gaping hole w/ 5 DB's, we just expose another. IMO, in this case the other hole we would expose is a much bigger problem.
 
So nobody else noticed that the first team D during the spring game was a 4-2-5 defense with Devin McDowell lining up in the 3rd backer spot?
 
Does anybody think any of the incoming freshmen have a chance to make an impact right away? We have AJ Klein, Princeton Jackson, Jake Knott and Willie Scott that are all listed as LBers coming in.
 
CylentButDeadly said:
Too bad Mike Marry and Larvez Mars didn't come here.

In all honesty, we might be better off playing a 5th DB most of the time. I believe OSU or KSU is making the 4-2-5 their base defense.
Click to expand...

That will not surprise me. The one WSLB linebacker is only 197 pounds.
 
Wesley said:
That will not surprise me. The one WSLB linebacker is only 197 pounds.
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The one thing that caught my attention when looking at the height and weight of these guys was how small they are. I hope they have blazing speed, otherwise they're going to get trampled.
 
Cy Hard said:
So nobody else noticed that the first team D during the spring game was a 4-2-5 defense with Devin McDowell lining up in the 3rd backer spot?
Click to expand...

Didn't have a chance to see the game since I'm a few hundred miles away. So I may have glossed over this, which would be a pretty huge miss, but are we for sure going with the 4-2-5 philosphy? If that's what Burnham is going for than I trust him 110%. The man's been around the game a long time.

As I mentioned above though, my major concern will then be other teams exposing the weakness of our LB's and DL. Hopefully the 5th DB can put on some lb's and be able to step up and help with the run. I do like the philosphy of slowing down opposing high-octane offenses.
 
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