Kemoko Turay

-RUFAN4LIFE-

Heisman
Feb 28, 2015
33,902
52,609
113
But can he drop back in coverage? lol.
How many times was he wasted doing that last year?

Do you really think he goes in the 2nd round as a pass rush specialist? He's probably a 5th round selection otherwise.

His ability to drop into coverage and improved run support are what caught the attention of NFL scouts. Everyone already knew he could rush the passer.

I expect the Colts to use him in multiple roles as a LB and with his hand down on the DL. That ability to drop back into coverage even with his hand down gives them the flexibility to hide who's rushing the passer.
 

mildone_rivals

Heisman
Dec 19, 2011
55,607
51,272
0
If he stays healthy, I think Turay's going to be a star in the NFL.

He's a physical freak of nature, which will get that much more tuned up by the Colt's S&C staff. And last season, he really demonstrated an insane motor - he was all over the field all the time.

I suspect he's gonna need some development in terms of technique and reading plays, the article kind of confirms that. But once he gets it, he's going to wreak havoc on offenses.
 
Dec 8, 2009
15,146
13,387
0
Do you really think he goes in the 2nd round as a pass rush specialist? He's probably a 5th round selection otherwise.

His ability to drop into coverage and improved run support are what caught the attention of NFL scouts. Everyone already knew he could rush the passer.

I expect the Colts to use him in multiple roles as a LB and with his hand down on the DL. That ability to drop back into coverage even with his hand down gives them the flexibility to hide who's rushing the passer.
He was drafted to rush the passer not to drop back in coverage
 

JoeRU0304

Heisman
Nov 9, 2005
106,478
18,017
103
If he stays healthy, I think Turay's going to be a star in the NFL.

He's a physical freak of nature, which will get that much more tuned up by the Colt's S&C staff. And last season, he really demonstrated an insane motor - he was all over the field all the time.

I suspect he's gonna need some development in terms of technique and reading plays, the article kind of confirms that. But once he gets it, he's going to wreak havoc on offenses.

...but if he’s just a pass rush specialist as some are saying, why does he need to read plays? It should be easy- just get to the QB and don’t worry about anything else, right???


Joe P.
 

JERSEYROOTS

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2009
2,208
1,324
0
Damn, I love his attitude! If he can stay healthy, his confidence coupled with the Kemoko Dragon talent we all fell in love with, will take him very far. Wishing him the best!
 
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satnom

All-American
Jun 28, 2002
7,240
9,072
88
Really happy for this young man. Dude came out of no where in Newark to seal the win against Michigan and now 2nd round draft pick in the NFL and on the verge of stardom. When he committed to RU, I was literally like How the Heck is a kid that started playing HS football his junior year going to help this program and then look what hard work and dedication has turned into. This is a fabulous story about a program believing in a kid and kid believing in himself. Turay was a no star kid and he is now shining very bright.

GO RU
 

mildone_rivals

Heisman
Dec 19, 2011
55,607
51,272
0
...but if he’s just a pass rush specialist as some are saying, why does he need to read plays? It should be easy- just get to the QB and don’t worry about anything else, right???
Joe P.
I have no football expertise, but I would think that even a pass rushing specialist needs to be able to read blocking schemes, needs to, after the snap, be quick to recognize when an apparent passing play is actually a running play, etc. And he needs to understand how to react to what must be a lot of different cues.

Doesn't mean he cannot be effective early on if he just plays passing downs. But I also don't think Turay will be limited to just rushing the passer. He demonstrated an ability to play in coverage and I suspect that he will be doing that in the NFL as well. I defensive lineman that can pass cover a tight-end or RB seems pretty useful, especially from the standpoint of masking coverage before the snap.
 

JoeRU0304

Heisman
Nov 9, 2005
106,478
18,017
103
I have no football expertise, but I would think that even a pass rushing specialist needs to be able to read blocking schemes, needs to, after the snap, be quick to recognize when an apparent passing play is actually a running play, etc. And he needs to understand how to react to what must be a lot of different cues.

Doesn't mean he cannot be effective early on if he just plays passing downs. But I also don't think Turay will be limited to just rushing the passer. He demonstrated an ability to play in coverage and I suspect that he will be doing that in the NFL as well. I defensive lineman that can pass cover a tight-end or RB seems pretty useful, especially from the standpoint of masking coverage before the snap.

You’re spot-on. That was pretty much a direct shot at the ‘he should have been rushing the passer and nothing else’ crowd.


Joe P.
 
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Knight Shift

Heisman
May 19, 2011
90,039
87,967
113
As a Colts fan, I hit their website every day. Just thought I'd pass it along.
Always nice to add a lokn or a link for those of us on mobile devices, etc, who can't easily search it out. Thanks for the heads up, was a great story.
 

MoobyCow

Heisman
Nov 28, 2001
26,944
26,363
0
You’re spot-on. That was pretty much a direct shot at the ‘he should have been rushing the passer and nothing else’ crowd.


Joe P.
I mean, I'm sure Ash would have loved to just let him pin his ears back, but we didn't have anyone else to do what he did because our LBs stunk/were banged up. He was essentially playing OLB for a lot of plays (like DEs at RU have been doing for years).

Also, Turay seems to be allergic to staying in his lane when he rushes... and when the rest of your D is a step slow having your DE way the hell out in the middle on nowhere because he's taking the scenic route to the QB leads to a lot of open space for a QB to run for some yards. He's talented, but when your D is out-manned everywhere you can't have a guy just freestyling his way to the QB very often, because our D only worked when everyone was exactly where they were supposed to be.

The NFL is more suited for Turay because they can scheme around his limitations in ways that RU simply couldn't because of talent limitations everywhere else.
 

Abro1975

Heisman
Nov 21, 2009
24,499
12,979
0
Amazing that some still think if he was just a pass rusher last year he would have been drafted in 2nd round. Kudos to coaching staff for coaching him up and getting him ready for NFL

I doubt that the Colts will ever have him drop back coverage. It would be like asking Andrew Luck to run the RPO.
 

RBNY87

All-Conference
Dec 24, 2004
10,365
2,080
113
Do you really think he goes in the 2nd round as a pass rush specialist? He's probably a 5th round selection otherwise.

His ability to drop into coverage and improved run support are what caught the attention of NFL scouts. Everyone already knew he could rush the passer.

I expect the Colts to use him in multiple roles as a LB and with his hand down on the DL. That ability to drop back into coverage even with his hand down gives them the flexibility to hide who's rushing the passer.

I agree with both of you. For a team that lacked a pass rush putting your best pass rusher in coverage made little sense. Also showing his athleticism by covering TE and RB definitely helped his draft stock.
 
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TODDB33

All-Conference
Sep 11, 2007
3,937
2,946
0
I doubt that the Colts will ever have him drop back coverage. It would be like asking Andrew Luck to run the RPO.
There will be schemes by the offense that will probably dictate he will have to drop back in coverage. I think he will be able to handle it due to his athleticism once he learns his reads from the D side of the ball
 

MADHAT1

Heisman
Apr 1, 2003
31,855
16,633
113
Fred Dean comes to mind when I think how the Colts will use Turay at first.
Then try to have him expand his game over the years.
But if the Kemoko Dragon plays for the Colts like Dean played for the 49ers, you can bet the Colts will be happy just having Kemoko just being a one-dimensional player, solely focusing on the pass rush . Fred Dean made a great career out of doing just that.
 

koleszar

Heisman
Jan 1, 2010
37,645
59,384
113
Do you really think he goes in the 2nd round as a pass rush specialist? He's probably a 5th round selection otherwise.

His ability to drop into coverage and improved run support are what caught the attention of NFL scouts. Everyone already knew he could rush the passer.

I expect the Colts to use him in multiple roles as a LB and with his hand down on the DL. That ability to drop back into coverage even with his hand down gives them the flexibility to hide who's rushing the passer.
So glad we prepped him for the NFL. Wish he had done more pass rushing while he was a Scarlet Knight for a defense that ranked 113th in sacks and sorely needed more pressure on the QB.
 

-RUFAN4LIFE-

Heisman
Feb 28, 2015
33,902
52,609
113
So glad we prepped him for the NFL. Wish he had done more pass rushing while he was a Scarlet Knight for a defense that ranked 113th in sacks and sorely needed more pressure on the QB.

While I agree with you that we needed a better pass rush that stat can be misleading as most teams ran the ball heavy on the RU D especially in the blowout games. Also it wasn't about prepping him for the NFL but filling a bigger need on the D that paid off for Turay in the eyes of NFL scouts.

If you recall our DL was much deeper than our LBs last year especially after Maddox-Williams was lost for the year. For the better part of last season we basically played a 3-4 front which is why S. Joseph was at defensive end much of the time instead of defensive tackle.

I would love to see how often Turay rushed the passer vs dropped into coverage on passing downs. We don't really know the mix there as that information isn't published so there can be some confirmation bias on our parts.
 

JoeRU0304

Heisman
Nov 9, 2005
106,478
18,017
103
I mean, I'm sure Ash would have loved to just let him pin his ears back, but we didn't have anyone else to do what he did because our LBs stunk/were banged up. He was essentially playing OLB for a lot of plays (like DEs at RU have been doing for years).

Also, Turay seems to be allergic to staying in his lane when he rushes... and when the rest of your D is a step slow having your DE way the hell out in the middle on nowhere because he's taking the scenic route to the QB leads to a lot of open space for a QB to run for some yards. He's talented, but when your D is out-manned everywhere you can't have a guy just freestyling his way to the QB very often, because our D only worked when everyone was exactly where they were supposed to be.

The NFL is more suited for Turay because they can scheme around his limitations in ways that RU simply couldn't because of talent limitations everywhere else.

This might be the post of the month; couldn’t agree more. People tend to forget about schematics and the other guys on the field. A few years back (2012) on the team I helped coach I took our backup FB/ starting LB and made him a guard for the season. One of the other coaches asked me why we just didn’t use the kid more at FB, and I said something along the lines of, ‘because we don’t have anyone else who can play guard as well as he does. He’s going to help us a lot more there than he would be splitting reps at FB.’ The other coach shook his head ‘yes’ and agreed in full.


Joe P.
 
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