Billy Kemp is N!!
- Thread starter Headcard
- Start date
I don't think Frost thought ANYONE needed any coaching. He thought he'd just show up with a popped collar and some chaw in his lip and he would win.JD Spielman was pretty good considering Frost didn't think special teams needed much/any coaching
Kind of a Toure type of pickup. Just a really solid veteran guy who has proven he can play with the big boys. I hope he produces like Toure did.
at minimum I would expect him to be the kind of player the coaches can count on to line up correctly and do his assignment at 3 different positions
plus, as has been mentioned, provide a steady presence in the punt return game
Our leading receivers the past two years have been transfer guys. Samari and Palmer. Let's hope Kemp can make it 3 years in a row.
He isn't comparable to the last two reciever transfers, Toure and Palmer. He's more a Wandale. Small and quick, not the kind of guy you lob up to 50 yards downfield. A possession receiver.
He had 16 total touches for 116 yards. I understand what you are saying about the sweeps, but your op inferred that he was utilized a lot. Im saying that doesn't seem to be the case.
My comment was more in reference to productivity in his previous stop. Toure wasn't a burner but with his experience he seemed to get open and make plays. Different physical makeup but hopefully similar production in part due to their experience levels. Comparing him to Palmer would be doing him a disservice.
He was injured and only played a handful of games. He had 74 and 67 receptions the two previous years.
Yes I see that. Not saying he was a bad player. Originally asked about injury. Hope he works out.
UVA sucked this year, he was hurt & they had a shooting that canceled 2 games
in 2021 he caught 74 balls, in 2020 he caught 67. Trey Palmer, for comparison, caught 71 last year.
he was utilized a lot
Kemp spent time on the injury list this past fall. Listed in 5 game logs for 2022. 74 catches for 725 in 2021, 67 for 644 in covid shortened 2020. Productive guy from a P5 program. Highlights show a quick guy who can operate in space. Poor man's Wandale.
Right. I'd be happy if he ends up being a Welker or Edelman type receiver, those guys were damn productive.
I am super impressed that you made a player comparison that compared guys of two different races (I'm not joking). I don't think that's ever been done in the history of player comparisons. I have no idea if I agree with you or not, but I don't even care. Way to break new ground!
Wait, you mean Kemp isn't white? Actually I was just going by stature and those are the guys I came up with.
This is a guy they got the ball to quickly in space so he could make tacklers miss. He's not as great a vertical threat as someone like Palmer, but he'll play a key role on both offense and in kick returns.
As a matter of fact, I literally cannot recall even one single punt return the last 5 years that wasn’t fair caught. Not a single one
Edit: we might have had a couple but I can’t remember it happening
The first thing that has to happen to be able to return a punt is to actually stop the other team on the other side of their 40 at least. Anything past that is going to be downed, fair caught or a touch back. We did a poor job of stopping teams where we could get a return and either had to fair catch it or it was downed.
Also, there were several that were returned but that's the total over the entire 5 years.
Those types are extremely under-appreciated. Calling someone a possession receiver sounds like a putdown but couldn't be further from the truth. Edelman was amazing. Sometimes the big stuff just isn't there and it's the passing version of grinding it out. It can demoralize a defense.
we haven't had someone we could consistently turn to on 3rd down since Westerkamp
even Stanley Morgan (a legend) caught the dropsies every now and then
a possession receiver really ties the O together
I remember thinking how Morgan’s numbers coulda been that much better had he not dropped a number of very catchable balls.
Palmer, too
somewhat related: I absolutely love the bengals - Morgan is a gunner on the punt team among many other duties
always first to the ball and looks like he's having a blast out there
all-time culture guy who doesn't get enough credit for it. true bring-the-lunch-pail type
They just talked about how Georgia barely touches the transfer portal during the game. They recruit a bunch of 5 star studs and grow them, especially on defense.
According to team stats we returned 77 yards of punts this last year.
Interesting story.
Coming into the Indiana game NU was 131st in punt returns with a grand total of -1 yard for the season (dropped fair catch?). Nu rolled up 78 yards in punt returns in that game. 41 of those were actually credited on a blocked punt so laying that aside we had Palmer return three punts for 37 yards, one for 22. I was pretty excited about that and cheered for it at the game. Finally, returning punts. After the 22 yarder another punt return looked to have some promise, there was room, Palmer deftly ran towards the sideline. To turn it up for a good gain? Nope, just ran out of bounds untouched. But it was a start and I was excited that the new head coach understood the game of inches effect and would take advantage.
Now some math.
Nu came into the game with -1 yard in returns
Nu had 78 yards in punt returns against the Hoosiers.
Nu finished the season with 77 yards in returns.
The game was the most impressive and most comfortable all season. We decided to be aggressive on special teams for once. Apparently that correlation didn't resonate with the coaching staff.
As a side comment/question:
When the the opponent downs a punt inside our 5 or 10 they celebrate and high five like they just won the Superbowl. Yet, we consistently fair catch punts around the five despite having 5-7 yards of open space and the other team nonchalantly jogs off the field. They don't need to down punts, we take care of that.