Adding to my offensive rundown, I will go through my observations of the defense. Again, this is 1 guys observations.
DL:
Meier, Bazata, Johnson, Ott
In talking with a few coaches, what this group might lack in talent, they make up for in tenacity. I had 1 coach tell me, that this group won't back down to anyone and they will fight anybody anytime. Hope that doesn't mean flags, but it tells me they will overachieve. Also, with Reese Morgan, they will overachieve. Nate Meier gets after it and there are countless times where it looks like he is about to go off on someone. He's not bigger and as a senior, he is what he is. I wish he was a situational guy, but he has coaches trust. Bazata is the guy everyone is excited about. I remember Mitch King promoting him last year and has this year as well. He brings that type of toughness to the team. Jaleel is a big dude and reminds me a lot of Carl Davis. When he goes, man he disrupts. I think that the combo of Bazata/Jaleel will be similar to Carl/Louis from 2 years agao. Ott is arguably our best player. He is the 1 guy in the front 7 teams will have to take account of. I hope he has a great season.
Nelson, Terlouw, Ekakitie, Spears/Hesse
Nelson is 1 tall drink of water. He is a matchup problem with his length and looks like he has added strength, need him to be ready to play but i think he is still probably a year away. I hope he is athletic and not just tall. Terlouw has coaches attention because he is working hard, but man, i hope Darian Cooper is ready come the season. Ekakitie is a valuable backup but at this stage in the game it seems he will be depth. Spears played the most, but with the 2 deep I think it was a wake up call for him. It sure seems like coaches want to speed up the progress of Hesse. He too is a year away, virtually very limited DE depth.
Brinks, Hulett/Gaffey, Gressel, Harris/Reiff
Brinks has a big body to work with. Hulett is short and been asked to put weight on for DT. Disappointing Gressel passed by Terlouw. Harris is still at DE but I think will be moved to DT. Shorter stature and seems like he could put on some weight. Reiff looks the part and hope they speed up his progress to play. Similar build to Hesse but year younger. At this point, he's learning.
LBs
WILL: Bower/Jewell, Mends,Cerney
MIKE: Jewell/Perry, Outsey
LEO: Niemann, Fisher, Sobotka
Niemann and Jewell will start. Niemann is going to be real good. Got a great frame and is athletic. Jr/Sr year with good weight, he will be good, this year will be hit and miss (like most Ferentz 2nd year guys). Jewell really made me excited. I love him at WILL, but think that the coaches are so high on him and hard not to think of Angerer when you watch him. Again though, like Angerer, he will be great Jr/Sr year...this year is So and there will be bumps. But he will be starting and aside from Ott will probably be fan favorite on front 7. Bower added size and looks the part now, I feel good about him being our 1st man in and think that is his best role. He didn't practice Saturday and that pushed Jewell out to WILL and Perry started at MIKE. Perry seems to fit the size mold a little better right now. In limited time, he's seemed to do well so I'd prefer Perry, Jewell, Niemann right now. Fisher knows his time is now and he looked good at backup LEO. With a lot of young guys he stood out, as he should as a senior. He's ready to help or at least give good depth. Mends is probably next at WILL. He is only a WILL as he is very, very small in stature. His legs are ripped but look like DB legs. Not tall and gets ate up at the edge right now. But.......Reid loves him. Reid was all over him positively, praising him constantly. He is Reid's guy now. He makes hustle plays and if ever got on the field would be a fan favorite as things just happen when he is in. Big turnover guy...will be great on special teams. Outsey played a lot more Saturday with Bower out than Friday. Has good size and mixes it up a bit. We won't see him though with Jewell/Perry this year. Get feet wet on special teams. Sobotka is a backup LEO but i swore got a few looks at DE. Similar build as Hesse/Reiff and with our recruits coming in, he might be better suited to help at DL until we get that spot established. Cerney didn't show much, very small.
CB
King-Draper-Jackson/Truitt
Mabin-Fleming-Rucker
King is our #1 and our team star in my opinion. They call him Buddha and has the whole team's respect. Watching him converse and push others you really get the idea that he knows he has been given a great opportunity and is becoming a leader and an example. Mabin is our other starter and I really believe this may be one of our better tandems. He presents a good matchup with bigger WRs and is really all in as well. He had a good year and he is focused. Fleming and Draper still fighting for #3 and I like Fleming. He is the unit goofball and players like him, he brings good energy. Draper is still missing something. Don't get me wrong, having Draper as our #4 tells me that by far this is our best position group. His skill level is comparable to other starters, just lacking physicality in my opinion. Rucker is next and I get the vibe that it hasn't hit him yet...meaning he is ok with mediocrity right now. During drills he is missing the little things and seems to lack focus to me, settling right now for 3rd unit. Has the tools, missing the mind. Jackson looks good and is a matchup CB much like Mabin. Looks like a WR but trust the coaches on that one. Truitt doesn't have any urgency right now and until then he will stay behind he other guys. Love our top 3, really kind of disappointed in Ruck/Truitt
SS
Taylor, Snyder/Ward
Taylor is like 5'9...very short in stature and seems to be trying to play catch up right now. Never got a chance to see him bring it in the run game but seemed to be lacking a little in the pass game. At this point, I'd go with Snyder. He made mistakes too but you can just see him taking mental reps on the sidelines and does the little things that coaches like. He is going to study film and be prepared. He will make physical mistakes this season as a FR but he is just like the success stories we've had in the past. Big body too, much more imposing than Taylor. Don't count out Kevin Ward as he was given as much opporutnity and looks like a SS. At this point (very early) I think Taylor makes the most mistakes and lacks the body...maybe against others he brings the bobby sanders.
FS
Lomax, Gair, Gervase
Lomax and Gair look ready and both I would be comfortable with playing. I'd like to give Gair a look at SS. Gervase didn't show much.
I must of missed Warfield get in....he's obviously behind everyone.
K/P
Koehn drilled a bunch and looked good i thought, good leg, hope he can hold down the spot and have confidence as kicker is huuuuge. Recinos hit and miss and Ellis botched a bunch.
Punters still looked awful and quite frankly it pissed me off. They are both seniors and neither can punt 40 yards....get the job done! Koehn did get a few punts in as well.
Returners:
RBs: Mitchell, Wadley
WRs: Wadley, McCarron, Smith
CB King
I hope its KR: Parker/Wadley....speed to the spot, if Parker can't return well he literally brings nothing to the team. He at least has to be Paul Chaney. Wadley seems ready for a role.
PR: I loved King back there and hope they give him the shot. don't get embarassed and start McCarron (Sandeman) over King (Micah Hyde)...put the playmaker back there! We have depth at CB too.
Hope you enjoyed the read.....
DL:
Meier, Bazata, Johnson, Ott
In talking with a few coaches, what this group might lack in talent, they make up for in tenacity. I had 1 coach tell me, that this group won't back down to anyone and they will fight anybody anytime. Hope that doesn't mean flags, but it tells me they will overachieve. Also, with Reese Morgan, they will overachieve. Nate Meier gets after it and there are countless times where it looks like he is about to go off on someone. He's not bigger and as a senior, he is what he is. I wish he was a situational guy, but he has coaches trust. Bazata is the guy everyone is excited about. I remember Mitch King promoting him last year and has this year as well. He brings that type of toughness to the team. Jaleel is a big dude and reminds me a lot of Carl Davis. When he goes, man he disrupts. I think that the combo of Bazata/Jaleel will be similar to Carl/Louis from 2 years agao. Ott is arguably our best player. He is the 1 guy in the front 7 teams will have to take account of. I hope he has a great season.
Nelson, Terlouw, Ekakitie, Spears/Hesse
Nelson is 1 tall drink of water. He is a matchup problem with his length and looks like he has added strength, need him to be ready to play but i think he is still probably a year away. I hope he is athletic and not just tall. Terlouw has coaches attention because he is working hard, but man, i hope Darian Cooper is ready come the season. Ekakitie is a valuable backup but at this stage in the game it seems he will be depth. Spears played the most, but with the 2 deep I think it was a wake up call for him. It sure seems like coaches want to speed up the progress of Hesse. He too is a year away, virtually very limited DE depth.
Brinks, Hulett/Gaffey, Gressel, Harris/Reiff
Brinks has a big body to work with. Hulett is short and been asked to put weight on for DT. Disappointing Gressel passed by Terlouw. Harris is still at DE but I think will be moved to DT. Shorter stature and seems like he could put on some weight. Reiff looks the part and hope they speed up his progress to play. Similar build to Hesse but year younger. At this point, he's learning.
LBs
WILL: Bower/Jewell, Mends,Cerney
MIKE: Jewell/Perry, Outsey
LEO: Niemann, Fisher, Sobotka
Niemann and Jewell will start. Niemann is going to be real good. Got a great frame and is athletic. Jr/Sr year with good weight, he will be good, this year will be hit and miss (like most Ferentz 2nd year guys). Jewell really made me excited. I love him at WILL, but think that the coaches are so high on him and hard not to think of Angerer when you watch him. Again though, like Angerer, he will be great Jr/Sr year...this year is So and there will be bumps. But he will be starting and aside from Ott will probably be fan favorite on front 7. Bower added size and looks the part now, I feel good about him being our 1st man in and think that is his best role. He didn't practice Saturday and that pushed Jewell out to WILL and Perry started at MIKE. Perry seems to fit the size mold a little better right now. In limited time, he's seemed to do well so I'd prefer Perry, Jewell, Niemann right now. Fisher knows his time is now and he looked good at backup LEO. With a lot of young guys he stood out, as he should as a senior. He's ready to help or at least give good depth. Mends is probably next at WILL. He is only a WILL as he is very, very small in stature. His legs are ripped but look like DB legs. Not tall and gets ate up at the edge right now. But.......Reid loves him. Reid was all over him positively, praising him constantly. He is Reid's guy now. He makes hustle plays and if ever got on the field would be a fan favorite as things just happen when he is in. Big turnover guy...will be great on special teams. Outsey played a lot more Saturday with Bower out than Friday. Has good size and mixes it up a bit. We won't see him though with Jewell/Perry this year. Get feet wet on special teams. Sobotka is a backup LEO but i swore got a few looks at DE. Similar build as Hesse/Reiff and with our recruits coming in, he might be better suited to help at DL until we get that spot established. Cerney didn't show much, very small.
CB
King-Draper-Jackson/Truitt
Mabin-Fleming-Rucker
King is our #1 and our team star in my opinion. They call him Buddha and has the whole team's respect. Watching him converse and push others you really get the idea that he knows he has been given a great opportunity and is becoming a leader and an example. Mabin is our other starter and I really believe this may be one of our better tandems. He presents a good matchup with bigger WRs and is really all in as well. He had a good year and he is focused. Fleming and Draper still fighting for #3 and I like Fleming. He is the unit goofball and players like him, he brings good energy. Draper is still missing something. Don't get me wrong, having Draper as our #4 tells me that by far this is our best position group. His skill level is comparable to other starters, just lacking physicality in my opinion. Rucker is next and I get the vibe that it hasn't hit him yet...meaning he is ok with mediocrity right now. During drills he is missing the little things and seems to lack focus to me, settling right now for 3rd unit. Has the tools, missing the mind. Jackson looks good and is a matchup CB much like Mabin. Looks like a WR but trust the coaches on that one. Truitt doesn't have any urgency right now and until then he will stay behind he other guys. Love our top 3, really kind of disappointed in Ruck/Truitt
SS
Taylor, Snyder/Ward
Taylor is like 5'9...very short in stature and seems to be trying to play catch up right now. Never got a chance to see him bring it in the run game but seemed to be lacking a little in the pass game. At this point, I'd go with Snyder. He made mistakes too but you can just see him taking mental reps on the sidelines and does the little things that coaches like. He is going to study film and be prepared. He will make physical mistakes this season as a FR but he is just like the success stories we've had in the past. Big body too, much more imposing than Taylor. Don't count out Kevin Ward as he was given as much opporutnity and looks like a SS. At this point (very early) I think Taylor makes the most mistakes and lacks the body...maybe against others he brings the bobby sanders.
FS
Lomax, Gair, Gervase
Lomax and Gair look ready and both I would be comfortable with playing. I'd like to give Gair a look at SS. Gervase didn't show much.
I must of missed Warfield get in....he's obviously behind everyone.
K/P
Koehn drilled a bunch and looked good i thought, good leg, hope he can hold down the spot and have confidence as kicker is huuuuge. Recinos hit and miss and Ellis botched a bunch.
Punters still looked awful and quite frankly it pissed me off. They are both seniors and neither can punt 40 yards....get the job done! Koehn did get a few punts in as well.
Returners:
RBs: Mitchell, Wadley
WRs: Wadley, McCarron, Smith
CB King
I hope its KR: Parker/Wadley....speed to the spot, if Parker can't return well he literally brings nothing to the team. He at least has to be Paul Chaney. Wadley seems ready for a role.
PR: I loved King back there and hope they give him the shot. don't get embarassed and start McCarron (Sandeman) over King (Micah Hyde)...put the playmaker back there! We have depth at CB too.
Hope you enjoyed the read.....
