FWIW DT Transfer Zaylin Wood committed to Vanderbilt like 4 hours after he announced we offered him.
Plundering the Portal
- Thread starter Aclone
- Start date
Any word on if we’re targeting a kicker in the portal? In this day and age there’s no reason not to go after a proven guy in the portal (and it’s worked for us twice now).
Honestly I hope we can find an edge guy. I think Singleton and Orange - presuming both stay - and even TO can play there. I just didn't see a lot of quick twitch in many or any of our edge guys.
Effort, size, length.
Yes. Quick twitchiness? Not as much
Effort, size, length.
Yes. Quick twitchiness? Not as much
I'm not . He's got size, speed and length. I'll rewatch but I don't see a lot of "explosive twitch".
What made Will great wasn't entirely related to his length and speed, that helps, of course, obvious statement is obvious.
But the dude was a coiled cobra - he could just explode suddenly while being blocked or setting the edge. And that's hard to coach and or develop athletically.
That's why the elite or even the above average edge rushers get paid like they do in the NFL. Or drafted as high as they do. Because you either have that, or mostly, you don't.
I think Ike can be an effective player, don't get me wrong. And maybe there is more twitch there than I see and he might be our "twitchiest" guy. That's probably true and fair.
But I see him more as Jaquan or MJ - a guy who can sack the QB and be good against the run - but IDK if he's the kind of guy whose going to cause you to slide the line to his side and chip with the TE or leave the back in to help.
I could very well be wrong. He's young.
But I just don't see that close spaced explosion at this current time.
Now, also, to be fair, if there was a high twitch guy in the portal, then everyone from Alabama to Georgia would be after him and he'd be really, really hard to get , maybe even more than an offensive linemen so there's that I need to keep in mind as well
First one I’ve seen. 6’9” OT from Princeton and Minneapolis. Looks like grad transfer.
Jalen Travis - Football - Princeton University Athletics
Jalen Travis (71) OL - Accolades: Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup (2024) Second-Team All-Ivy (2022, 2023) Phil Steele First-Team All-Ivy (20223) Phil Steele Sec...goprincetontigers.com
Are any of our current oline 6’9”?
I heard Heft say 6’9” reading the starting lineups a few weeks back but I didn’t catch which name and it shocked me. That’s a tall guy.
Thank you for the clarification! I for some reason assumed Miller was a Senior
No problem.
While OL could certainly be improved honestly if I were ranking needs just for myself I'd go
1) Edge rusher
2) Safety depth because yikes when there were injuries
3) Kicker because well, yeah
4) OL
I honestly think there are some edge guys currently on the roster that will be monsters. Ezeogu, and Same come to mind, and Petersen and Onyedim should both be back
Correct. I don't really consider TO an edge guy. I mean, he plays edge in the 3 man front and he can rush the passer but in a 4 down front he's the 3 technique and Doms the 0 / 1. So while I certainly like him and hes a heckuva player and a professional - I don't know if he's an edge.
Ike can be a solid player, Same maybe is that twitch guy.
But for me, that was part of why we struggled at times getting off the field on 3rd and long. We just don't have any - or many - natural pass rushers. We've had those guys recently - Bailey, MJ and obviously will.
The dime stack is a heckuva defense.
But if you can't get pressure with 3-4 - it loses a little luster. That's where last year, despite the record, MJ and Will helped the defense such a ton.
Same maybe gets there - this is very true. Ike, Maybe? There's potential there but again, I just don't know about that twitch. Same I think there is something there, so there is that.
I go back to Ike's HS tape. Yes, there are vast differences between college and HS and theres very little correlation between how it translates, so please dont crucify me there. What i did notice was he has a massive level of explosiveness and quickness, I just dont believe that we have seen it at ISU as of yet. I do believe however if he stays at ISU, we will quickly add him to the conversation when we talk about great pass rushers.
McDonald was a SPECIAL talent though, it may not be fair to compare guys to him. He'd get triple teamed and either get a sack, or a holding penalty. Absolute gamewrecker
One year to play and you go to vandy? I don’t know why you’d sign up to go 3-9 with a bunch of beat downs in your senior year.
Oh, I agree, he's got speed and explosion off of the edge. I guess what I refer to quick twitch -
is that guy who can do a swim, a club and swat, or a jerk pull, etc - and do it in a tight window and just explode by the block.
Ike's got a great get off, great - elite length, and has the speed to set the edge.
All of those are huge pluses...
When I say quick twitch is just that last bit that is super hard to coach and develop. Its that ability to transition from being blocked - to not being blocked. Or when you are even with the blocker , the ability to plant, switch directions / twist and get by. Bend and dip.
Like they tell DB's with receivers - if he's even, he's leaving. That's what I call quick twitch in a D linemen. If he gets his hips even with an offensive tackles, it's good night sweetheart. And those guys are elite. Even average ones transform a defense from being average to good and a good defense to elite.
That's what I just don't know if that's there. He's got everything else - speed, get off, size + length.
He's a very very solid looking player.
The little bit of film on Same, I'd say he might have that small space explosiveness.
And again, its probably unrealistic for me to think we're going to get one because IF there is a guy like that in the portal, he's getting maybe 7 figures because they are rare and elite. 6 figures for sure.
I agree with this completely. Im also in the camp that if they both have the explosiveness now, CER is a good enough coach to develop them the rest of the way.
IIRC, McDonald wasnt this good from Day 1. In fact, i think he was recruited to play LB, but because they wanted him on the field, they moved him to DE. That and his next level explosiveness
He'll get exposure in the SEC, especially if he can make plays against top o-line talent. Plus, a Vanderbilt degree is kinda nice.
Petition to have this thread title changed to "The Portal Giveth" and the other thread "The Portal Taketh Away."
Oh, I freaking love CER. And no doubt there. And I agree on Will, he blossomed. Zero doubt there. But I think with Will, the one thing you could always see, even when he was very raw,
was that extreme twtichness - close space explosion. Even when you could see the areas he needed to improve - that always jumped off the tv screen or film.
Twitch is just something that's hard to coach though. That's the only thing. But I have 100% in CER to maximize what is there
Not only that - Nashville is kinda nice IMO
Vandy gets beat down on a weekly basis. That wouldn’t be nice at all. Was not all impressed with Nashville when I went there a few years ago. Overpriced and overcrowded. I didn’t really like country music to start with, but you get sick of it real quick there.