OL talk....

[Kakdawg]

You saw Buford playing corner, and Gifford playing the rover, Of course the man to man coverages were going to look suspect. When Ceyair came in, that side of the field got better in coverage. Then you add Andrew Marshall, who by all accounts is going to start at the other side. So my point was, I don't care about last year because you are going to have 2 guys starting at CB this fall that weren't starting at the beginning of last year. You will have Buford, back at safety and you will not have Gifford back there at all, and even if his cover skills aren't up to your expectations, they are still better than Gifford's were.

As far as responding to the wrong post........My initial comment to you was about your comment that you think the DL is going to be able to pressure the QB but you weren't sure if the DBs are going to be able to cover, to which I replied that pressure helps with your concern about covering because it reduces the time the QB has to make a decision. Then you flipped the script and asked me why I thought they were going to be able to get pressure because of the loss of a few players. So which is it? You believe the DL in 25 is going to get pressure or they won't because Williams, Butler and Robinson are gone and the new guys are going to have to do it.

Ok...gotcha. I absolutely think it's easier to cover with pressure from the front 4. I also know that just because you replace guys doesn't mean you will get better pressure from those replacements. . Both things can be true..

As far as my beliefs I think this dL will be more athletic AND it will get more pressure than last years. That said it's not a given. I also think this Dl won't be quite as stout against the run as last year's either. But it's also not a given.


Lotta whatis. Ifs. Same for coaching. We don't know till we DO.



Holla

 

[ZJSARENOTFREE]

I think our interior is going to be nasty. Sounds like JEJ is playing a lot like how Cam was. Very aggressive and good. Rocco is going to be good and Henry L really started to come on last year. If our tackles get figured out. Best line we've had since probably 2010.

 

[BleedRed89]

That's fine and we can agree to disagree. Good teams with good WRs were seeking him out on defense. That isn't an accident. You know who doesn't get a ton of interceptions? Guys who QBs don't throw the ball in their direction.

Hartzog is a great kid who does thing the right way. A guy who is bought in. A guy who isnt hard to coach. Of course the coaches love him. All of that is great. But none of that makes him a great football player. I also don't care about what a guys rating was coming out of high school. That's irrelevant once they hit the field.

Just because I point out and recognize weaknesses of a player doesnt mean he's bad or I don't like him. I just don't look at his stats and equate it to him being a very good football player like some do.



Holla

I really like Hartzogs physicality for his size. I like him MUCH more in the nickle. His hips definitely aren't great, so I do have concerns. But I'm hoping Singleton playing closer to the LOS and a more aggressive front 7 (6?) will create a more optimal scenario for Hartzog to operate between the hashes or relatively near the LOS. He's not a bruiser and he's had his share of misses, but overall I like his physicality and discipline at the nickel.

I am terrified of folks blowing the top off on him. Especially if one of our safeties is also going to be playing more in the box. Hope the deep man's reaaall deep this year.

 

[inWV]

That's fine and we can agree to disagree. Good teams with good WRs were seeking him out on defense. That isn't an accident. You know who doesn't get a ton of interceptions? Guys who QBs don't throw the ball in their direction.

Hartzog is a great kid who does thing the right way. A guy who is bought in. A guy who isnt hard to coach. Of course the coaches love him. All of that is great. But none of that makes him a great football player. I also don't care about what a guys rating was coming out of high school. That's irrelevant once they hit the field.

Just because I point out and recognize weaknesses of a player doesnt mean he's bad or I don't like him. I just don't look at his stats and equate it to him being a very good football player like some do.



Holla

Dude has an all-conference listing to his name. He has weaknesses. He is also a good football player.

 

[Kakdawg]

Dude has an all-conference listing to his name. He has weaknesses. He is also a good football player.

Like I said we can agree to disagree. I think he's an average at best football player. I have goals of winning 8-10 games every year and being in contention for the Playoffs. Imo in order to do that we need better more talented players.


If you are telling me he's the best we got then I get it it. You roll with him and hope for the best. But also know if that's the bestbwe have we need to start recruiting/developing better and temper our expectations. Or at least I will. You don't have to of course.


Holla

 

[Spinner4]

I heard Teddy is gonna start at right tackle. Left tackle- Gunnar is playing very well, but there's a lot of money invested in the Alabama kid. If there's a tie, who do you go with? The returning starter or the big money transfer? One thing is that Pritchett can play either side so there's some flexibility there.

I haven't heard anything about Corcoran. Don't think he's practicing yet. Who knows, maybe he'll get cleared to practice and give the line a boost in the latter half of the season.

If there’s a tie and you go with Gunnar and he sucks, you probably sign your pink slip. Boosters spent a lot to bring Pritchett and I’m sure they’d rather suck with the guy they paid a lot for vs the one they didn’t. “He’s got to learn pass pro” only goes so far. If only had a O-line coach to teach him that, one that recruited him and knew what style of offense he was coming from and what it would take $ wise to get him.

Keep in mind we were 4-5 with Gunnar as the starter and 4-6 when he played significant time. The offense really stunk with him, but I get it. “He works hard… does everything they ask of him… good kid… stays late…good teammate… Blah blah”. Would just love to hear coaches start using words that make me believe he is really good @ football vs just a good person. Maybe that’s wrong.

when’s the last time we had a really good LT? Or a really good O-Line?

 

[dinglefritz]

Is anyone really expecting anything from Teddy P and Corcoran? After so many injuries when I hear their names bring up I just think how can you ever count on them? Am I wrong?



Holla

Depth

 

[Nuts McClanahan]

Keep in mind we were 4-5 with Gunnar as the starter and 4-6 when he played significant time. The offense really stunk with him, but I get it. “He works hard… does everything they ask of him… good kid… stays late…good teammate… Blah blah”. Would just love to hear coaches start using words that make me believe he is really good @ football vs just a good person. Maybe that’s wrong.

I'm betting on Pritchett starting and it may not even be a tie. But Gunnar's the more athletic of the two. If he works harder than Pritchett, then that's on Pritchett. Don't blame Gottula. What Pritchett has on Gunnar is that he's bigger and stronger. Plus Pritchett was the #1 rated tackle out of HS that kind of ranking gets kids all sorts of extra opportunities including huge NIL deals after struggling at their first school.

 

[OxfordComma]

Guttula vs Pritchett. The answer is easy. You go with the guy that you believe gives you the best chance to win on game day. If they don’t do that, we need new coaches. If it’s really a close call, you probably want to find a way to get both some PT. For morale, for continued development and evaluation of both. If it’s a really close call, you can make a switch between drives if you think it will help.

The question here is whether what they have said is really what’s going on. Is this motivation ploy to get Pritchett to fully engage? Is Gottula just better, and they are prepping the NIL donors for that?

 

[inWV]

Right now it appears they have 4 tackles ready to play. I’m assuming a couple of the younger interior guys are ready, but we don’t hear as much bc Rocco, Luto and Evans have those spots locked down. So the depth has finally arrived and along with it, better competition in the room. No offense to the guy, but we are no longer depending on a guy like Trent Hixson to stay healthy.

 

[Anon1751505855]

If Pritchett makes Gunnar a stud then it wss worth every NIL dime he was paid.

 

[Spinner4]

Guttula vs Pritchett. The answer is easy. You go with the guy that you believe gives you the best chance to win on game day. If they don’t do that, we need new coaches. If it’s really a close call, you probably want to find a way to get both some PT. For morale, for continued development and evaluation of both. If it’s a really close call, you can make a switch between drives if you think it will help.

The question here is whether what they have said is really what’s going on. Is this motivation ploy to get Pritchett to fully engage? Is Gottula just better, and they are prepping the NIL donors for that?

You’d think that was the easy answer but coaches are human and tend to be bias at times. Don’t rate a guy high enough because they don’t personally like him or Vice versa, you really start pulling for a player and start to lie to yourself about his ability. It’s human nature.

Bo might have been the worst about that. Remember his nephew starting over Ryne Reeves? We’d bring Reeves in for a series and March down the field for a TD, we’d go back to Mark and go 3 and out. But Bo and Barn would swear Mark was “ahead” of Ryan.

or going “where’s Phillip Dillard”. He was in both BC and Bo’s dog house all the time. For better or worse, you knew with Tom you were getting the best football player on the field. He knew how to handle 19-20 year old egos, even the bad ones

 

[Trike Rider]

You’d think that was the easy answer but coaches are human and tend to be bias at times. Don’t rate a guy high enough because they don’t personally like him or Vice versa, you really start pulling for a player and start to lie to yourself about his ability. It’s human nature.

Bo might have been the worst about that. Remember his nephew starting over Ryne Reeves? We’d bring Reeves in for a series and March down the field for a TD, we’d go back to Mark and go 3 and out. But Bo and Barn would swear Mark was “ahead” of Ryan.

or going “where’s Phillip Dillard”. He was in both BC and Bo’s dog house all the time. For better or worse, you knew with Tom you were getting the best football player on the field. He knew how to handle 19-20 year old egos, even the bad ones

The fact that Rhule didn't step in and force Satterfield to play Emmett Johnson in 2023 and 2024 makes me question his leadership and ability to start the best players. NIL and the stupid single digits has clouded Rhule's ability to start the best players.

I have family who attends practices regularly who told me day one of 2024 spring ball that Emmett is an average B10 RB and that Dowdell was a bust. (I provided this report last spring and @Indy Husker freaked out on me) This is only one example over Rhules time here.

Rhule will never build a championship roster with this mindset. Props to Johnson for sticking it out when he was CLEARLY the better option. Most kids would say screw you im out.

 

[Charlie Marlow]

Love the kid, but if Hartzog is starting on the OL we are in a world of trouble.