I am starting to get a little excited and simply want to share what I believe will be the starting team defensively.
Starters:
DE - Taylor - very athletic and has put in the time. I believe he will be a real problem for other teams
DE - Kongbo - another freak of an athlete. lost a little weight and is in great physical condition
I believe these 2 combined can be as productive as Barnett and Vereen. Neither are Barnett but I believe both will be more dynamic, and make more plays, than Vereen.
DT - McKenzie - was starting to make a move last year before getting injured. He will occupy OLineman, make plays in he backfield, and be a good starter
DT - Vickers - will play the 3 technique and will take another small step ahead this year making a few more plays in the backfield. Not dynamic but solid.
Overall if we can just stay healthier at DT we will be light years ahead of where we finished last year. The injuries at DT and LB decimated our team last year. If the DT had stayed healthy our backup LBs wouldn't have looked so bad and if our starting LBs had not gotten hurt our DT issues wouldn't have stood out so bad. Combined it was devastating.
3rd and Long - Taylor, Phillips at end with Tuttle and Konbgo sliding in. Think this could be devastating if all but in
OLB - Sapp - he is fully recovered and from all reports looks good. He is a play maker and if he stayed healthy last year would have started a lot. I believe he is the strong side LB that Shoop likes to have on the field in his preferred 4-3 lineup
OLB - Kirkland - I think the coaches have to get Bituli on the field and moving Kirkland to the Weakside position while in the 4-3 makes a ton of sense. He is highly intelligent and will have no mental issues with the change. This is a key move to put more SEC athletes on the field on defense. Not doing this is going to be passive on the defensive side of the ball.
MLB - Bituli - I think this guys is a future star similar to Kirkland. He will fill the gaps and is extremely athletic. You could move him to WLB and leave Kirkland at MLB but I think the easiest solution is for Bituli to stay where his is comfortable and let Kirkland make the move
CB - Wiggins - I believe he will be one of the top 2 and will be a nice addition. Not expecting the world but believe he will be solid.
CB - Martin - was really disappointed in his play last season. The new DB coach seems to have added some life to Martin and I hope all goes well. I am not bought in fully at this point on this pick and could see Mosely getting more run if needed. I hope that isn't the case.
S - Warrior - get him on the field and get him mentally ready. Should be a future star and I full expect us to lose him for a couple of Qtrs this year as he is going to be a head hunter and will no doubt get penalized at some point.
S - Kelly Jr - if I hadn't read that he has dropped a little weight my preference would have been to go another direction. 1 on 1 I watched him playing Qtrs and he was simply not able to keep up with WRs. If the loss of weight has added to his speed/quickness I will be excited to see him this year
DB feedback - we played without Sutton for almost the entire year and it simply couldn't get worse. I think Warren is a good coach and will turn this puppy around. Add that with Wiggins/Warrior and I am hoping we are much better in the back half. Kelly improvement is a big factor as well
Backups:
DE - Kyle Phillips - a healthy Phillips plays a lot and is on he same line as taylor/kongbo. He a big piece to our DLine being as good as it can be this year - he should get lots of snaps
DE - Butler/Johnson/thaxton - we need 2 of the 3 to be solid. Anything better than solid and that will be phenomenal.
Injuries at DE would hurt us immensely this year. Have to stay healthy here.
DT - Johnson, Picou - I am happy with these 2 and believe they will add a lot to a bad unit the back half of last year - if Johnson stars that would be a tremendous lift but I don't expect him to play that high. I think Picou can give us 20-30 snaps per game.
DT - Tuttle - if the above 2 play well, or a freshman pleasantly surprised, I think you redshirt Tuttle. Another option would be to add him mid season after he is more than ready. Too talented to keep off the field but too risky to let him play the first 4 games in my opinion. I would let him work on conditionin/strength until week 1 and then get him involved in weekly prep weeks 2-4
OLB - McDowell - glad to hear that he dropped a few lbs as I thought he looked a little slow last year. He should be more athletic this year and will be a very solid backup and good special teamer. If he starts I think that is a mistake as Sapp has a higher ceiling if healthy
OLB - Berry - good special teamer, maybe gets a little run at LB, but he should not start unless significantly improved
OLB - A smith - I think this guy has all the physical tools - will play special teams and could end up playing WLB and causing a lot of issues. If he starts at WLB, because they can't keep him off the field, that is the only reason I would leave Kirkland at MLB.
MLB - Obviously if Bituli were hurt you move Kirkland back over the stick McDowell at OLB. True freshman Ignont should be fast tracked and be made to be ready if needed.
CB - Mosely and Osborne - Mosely isn't SEC starter material but can fill some snaps if needed. Osborne has some upside and should be solid if needed. Excited to see more on Labruzza and Shamburger but I am not putting them higher until we see a little more
Safety - Abernathy and Berry - if berry doesn't get hurt last year I think he starts the back half of the year as he added SEC athleticism and hitting to the safety position. He could be a sleeper starter and if that happens I would be pleased because athletically he is a significant step of Kelly. Abernathy started the year well and then dropped off. Was he dinged up, what happened, etc...I went from being excited about his play to being very unhappy with his play the back half. Hoping another year gets him a step ahead. Solid backup and could start next year.
NB - Gaulden - I think we will play more 4-3 this year assuming Sapp is the player we need at SLB - Gaulden is one of our best 11, and will see the field a lot, but will get more limited snaps this year based on philosophy changes.
Starters:
DE - Taylor - very athletic and has put in the time. I believe he will be a real problem for other teams
DE - Kongbo - another freak of an athlete. lost a little weight and is in great physical condition
I believe these 2 combined can be as productive as Barnett and Vereen. Neither are Barnett but I believe both will be more dynamic, and make more plays, than Vereen.
DT - McKenzie - was starting to make a move last year before getting injured. He will occupy OLineman, make plays in he backfield, and be a good starter
DT - Vickers - will play the 3 technique and will take another small step ahead this year making a few more plays in the backfield. Not dynamic but solid.
Overall if we can just stay healthier at DT we will be light years ahead of where we finished last year. The injuries at DT and LB decimated our team last year. If the DT had stayed healthy our backup LBs wouldn't have looked so bad and if our starting LBs had not gotten hurt our DT issues wouldn't have stood out so bad. Combined it was devastating.
3rd and Long - Taylor, Phillips at end with Tuttle and Konbgo sliding in. Think this could be devastating if all but in
OLB - Sapp - he is fully recovered and from all reports looks good. He is a play maker and if he stayed healthy last year would have started a lot. I believe he is the strong side LB that Shoop likes to have on the field in his preferred 4-3 lineup
OLB - Kirkland - I think the coaches have to get Bituli on the field and moving Kirkland to the Weakside position while in the 4-3 makes a ton of sense. He is highly intelligent and will have no mental issues with the change. This is a key move to put more SEC athletes on the field on defense. Not doing this is going to be passive on the defensive side of the ball.
MLB - Bituli - I think this guys is a future star similar to Kirkland. He will fill the gaps and is extremely athletic. You could move him to WLB and leave Kirkland at MLB but I think the easiest solution is for Bituli to stay where his is comfortable and let Kirkland make the move
CB - Wiggins - I believe he will be one of the top 2 and will be a nice addition. Not expecting the world but believe he will be solid.
CB - Martin - was really disappointed in his play last season. The new DB coach seems to have added some life to Martin and I hope all goes well. I am not bought in fully at this point on this pick and could see Mosely getting more run if needed. I hope that isn't the case.
S - Warrior - get him on the field and get him mentally ready. Should be a future star and I full expect us to lose him for a couple of Qtrs this year as he is going to be a head hunter and will no doubt get penalized at some point.
S - Kelly Jr - if I hadn't read that he has dropped a little weight my preference would have been to go another direction. 1 on 1 I watched him playing Qtrs and he was simply not able to keep up with WRs. If the loss of weight has added to his speed/quickness I will be excited to see him this year
DB feedback - we played without Sutton for almost the entire year and it simply couldn't get worse. I think Warren is a good coach and will turn this puppy around. Add that with Wiggins/Warrior and I am hoping we are much better in the back half. Kelly improvement is a big factor as well
Backups:
DE - Kyle Phillips - a healthy Phillips plays a lot and is on he same line as taylor/kongbo. He a big piece to our DLine being as good as it can be this year - he should get lots of snaps
DE - Butler/Johnson/thaxton - we need 2 of the 3 to be solid. Anything better than solid and that will be phenomenal.
Injuries at DE would hurt us immensely this year. Have to stay healthy here.
DT - Johnson, Picou - I am happy with these 2 and believe they will add a lot to a bad unit the back half of last year - if Johnson stars that would be a tremendous lift but I don't expect him to play that high. I think Picou can give us 20-30 snaps per game.
DT - Tuttle - if the above 2 play well, or a freshman pleasantly surprised, I think you redshirt Tuttle. Another option would be to add him mid season after he is more than ready. Too talented to keep off the field but too risky to let him play the first 4 games in my opinion. I would let him work on conditionin/strength until week 1 and then get him involved in weekly prep weeks 2-4
OLB - McDowell - glad to hear that he dropped a few lbs as I thought he looked a little slow last year. He should be more athletic this year and will be a very solid backup and good special teamer. If he starts I think that is a mistake as Sapp has a higher ceiling if healthy
OLB - Berry - good special teamer, maybe gets a little run at LB, but he should not start unless significantly improved
OLB - A smith - I think this guy has all the physical tools - will play special teams and could end up playing WLB and causing a lot of issues. If he starts at WLB, because they can't keep him off the field, that is the only reason I would leave Kirkland at MLB.
MLB - Obviously if Bituli were hurt you move Kirkland back over the stick McDowell at OLB. True freshman Ignont should be fast tracked and be made to be ready if needed.
CB - Mosely and Osborne - Mosely isn't SEC starter material but can fill some snaps if needed. Osborne has some upside and should be solid if needed. Excited to see more on Labruzza and Shamburger but I am not putting them higher until we see a little more
Safety - Abernathy and Berry - if berry doesn't get hurt last year I think he starts the back half of the year as he added SEC athleticism and hitting to the safety position. He could be a sleeper starter and if that happens I would be pleased because athletically he is a significant step of Kelly. Abernathy started the year well and then dropped off. Was he dinged up, what happened, etc...I went from being excited about his play to being very unhappy with his play the back half. Hoping another year gets him a step ahead. Solid backup and could start next year.
NB - Gaulden - I think we will play more 4-3 this year assuming Sapp is the player we need at SLB - Gaulden is one of our best 11, and will see the field a lot, but will get more limited snaps this year based on philosophy changes.
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