Lets talk Defensive Line

jacketguy

jacketguy

Damn Good Rat
Joined
Nov 25, 2001
Messages
1,464
Much concern has been expressed about bodies available on the DL.. me included.. based on the info I have, we have the following available this year...

Omar Billy 6-2 270 Soph
Brad Brezina 6-2 270 Fresh
Greg Gathers 6-1 275 Sr. (Probable)
Eric Henderson 6-3 260 Soph
Leron Lee 6-2 280 Soph
Travis Parket 6-5 260 Soph
Chirod Williams 6-4 Junior
Darius Williams 6-6 265 Junior (moved from TE)

Recruits:
Mansfield Wrotto 6-4 310
Joe Anoai 6-3 235
LaShawn Newberry 6-0 310
Adamm Oliver 6-4 250

Couple with this that we have a great corp of linebackers with guys like Kamichael Hall and Philip Wheeler and and Nick Moore coming in.. in the Macon paper the other day, Ather Brown mentioned that he may get some time at DE on some series..

If I am not mistaken .. Eric Henderson received Freshman Honors last year.. add to the mix a guy like Key Fox, who can also play DE.. and this list of guys does not look bad.. thin in numbers, but if strenghth and conditioning improves, and if we can get some "spell time" from some of the recruits, defensive line could be a pleasant surprise..
 
Jacketguy, didn't we get another 310lb DT from some black college in Atlanta that had dropped its football program?

confused.gif
 
Ahso.. I think you are right.. I had forgotten about that..

I should have done my homework a little better..
 
Ahso,

I believe the kid we got was an offensive tackle.

I'm also not sure if LeRon Lee is still playing football. I know he's on the roster, but the coaches seemed to indicate a while back that he couldn't play football anymore.

This is a very scary spot for us, we could use plenty of luck here. I'm rooting hard for Gathers to come back to form. He is a great kid and I'd love to see him play one more great season for us and get a shot at the NFL. He deserves it. The freshmen will have to be real sleepers as well. What the heck we are due some luck.

The Billy kid is strong. Hopefully, we can find a role for him. He probably doesn't have a big enough frame to be effective at DT, but maybe Tenuta can figure out a way to take advantage of his athletic ability.

Henderson is the real deal and Parker is an effective player. Hopefully they both got bigger and stronger.
 
If anyone comes up with a list of expected walk-ons, please post them and anything you know about them.

Thanks

Father Time
 
i'm hoping that newberry and wrotto can come in and do some things.

it's going to be a long season. but i'm still hopeful of a bowl bid.
 
I'll probably get a lot of criticism for this, and don't mean anything about the kids we lost, but we've been so weak on the DL for so long I can't say I'm too worried about it. I mean, if there is any team in the country that's used to having to make up for no inside push or run stoppers it's us. Maybe shaking up the rotation and throwing the young kids in there will help. At least maybe we'll use a lot of bodies so we don't get so worn down. If our DEs can get some pressure and our LBs play up to expectations I think we'll be at least as good as we've been the last few years.

OK, fire away!
 
Kenton Johnson was a 6'6, 310 OT for Morris Brown last yr. He hopes to transfer to GT & be eligible for Fall. He has 3 yrs to play 2 & will probably rs, barring injuries.
Something has been wrong with L Lee & I also don't think he'll be playing this Fall.
Even if Fox or Brown plays some DE, they are quick & agile, but undersized & can be pushed out. The DTs listed are small compared to the OGs & OTs they will be facing.
A real big surprise & immediate help could be Newberry. This guy could make us think of 'the Battleship' once again. Wrotto may help, but would be a better OT with a rs yr. Mansfield may also have to play DT this yr to spell Parker & could develope over the yr.
I don't think we'll be fine @ DT unless Newberry & Wrotto bring 'it' from the gitgo, in which case we may be fine. Injuries here could be devastating.
 
I like the size of the kids CCG is going after.
If he keeps it going like that we will really big on th o-lines and d-lines
drinking.gif
 
This is a HUGE problem area in my opinion because we are 1-deep at most of our front seven...and even Gathers is questionable this year. Most of never played...or never played enough to count...and you are going to have injuries.

It could be a long day against Auburn...which has the number one power running game in the country.

LB has one new starter in Wilkinson and Ather Brown has to back up every LB position. Only Anyansi has playing experience after that.

The kid that transferred in was Kenton Johnson...a 310 lb. offensive tackle.

Depth chart
DE:
Eric Henderson
Darius Williams (never played)

DE:
Greg Gathers (can he stay healthy?)
Chirod Williams (never played)

DT:
Omar Billy (little playing time)
Brad Brezina (never played)

DT:
Travis Parker
LeRon Lee (never played)

freshman rarely contribute because of strength issues...but here they are:
Joe Anoai
Adamm Oliver
Leshawn Newberry
Mansfield Wrotto (may end up on OL)

Willie:
Key Fox
Ather Brown

Sam:
Gerris Wilkinson
Ather Brown
Tug Anyansi

MLB:
Daryl Smith
Ather Brown

then come the kids:
Phillip Wheeler
Kamichael Hall
Nick Moore

The kids have to play though because Ather Brown, Daryl Smith, and Key Fox are all seniors.
 
Originally posted by GT Ace:
Kenton Johnson was a 6'6, 310 OT for Morris Brown last yr. He hopes to transfer to GT & be eligible for Fall. He has 3 yrs to play 2 & will probably rs, barring injuries.
Something has been wrong with L Lee & I also don't think he'll be playing this Fall.
Even if Fox or Brown plays some DE, they are quick & agile, but undersized & can be pushed out. The DTs listed are small compared to the OGs & OTs they will be facing.
A real big surprise & immediate help could be Newberry. This guy could make us think of 'the Battleship' once again. Wrotto may help, but would be a better OT with a rs yr. Mansfield may also have to play DT this yr to spell Parker & could develope over the yr.
I don't think we'll be fine @ DT unless Newberry & Wrotto bring 'it' from the gitgo, in which case we may be fine. Injuries here could be devastating.
Click to expand...
<font size="2" face="Arial, Verdana, Sans-Serif">Ace.. I agree with you about Wrotto.. I watched the kid closely during the Brookwood/Parkview State Championship game.. he was much more effective on offense rather than defense.. it may have just been that game, but he didnt seem to have the feet needed for defense, and on offense he didnt seem to follow through on secondary assignments very well.. but in regards to primary assignments, he blocked very well..
 
Originally posted by ncjacket:
I'll probably get a lot of criticism for this, and don't mean anything about the kids we lost, but we've been so weak on the DL for so long I can't say I'm too worried about it. I mean, if there is any team in the country that's used to having to make up for no inside push or run stoppers it's us. Maybe shaking up the rotation and throwing the young kids in there will help. At least maybe we'll use a lot of bodies so we don't get so worn down. If our DEs can get some pressure and our LBs play up to expectations I think we'll be at least as good as we've been the last few years.

OK, fire away!
Click to expand...
<font size="2" face="Arial, Verdana, Sans-Serif">OK NCJacket.. I am firing... I think you make a great point.. we havent had an inside push on defense for a long time.. in truth, I think both our OL and DL have not been what I would have hoped since 1998.. would love to see us recruit DL like Tennessee does... maybe CG is beginning to do that..
 
Originally posted by ncjacket:
I'll probably get a lot of criticism for this, and don't mean anything about the kids we lost, but we've been so weak on the DL for so long I can't say I'm too worried about it. I mean, if there is any team in the country that's used to having to make up for no inside push or run stoppers it's us. Maybe shaking up the rotation and throwing the young kids in there will help. At least maybe we'll use a lot of bodies so we don't get so worn down. If our DEs can get some pressure and our LBs play up to expectations I think we'll be at least as good as we've been the last few years.

OK, fire away!
Click to expand...
<font size="2" face="Arial, Verdana, Sans-Serif">Agree completely. Parker and Hargrove impressed me last year. If Parker has bulked up any without slowing down, he'll be improved this year.
 
NC Jacket is right. We've been weak there for as long as I remember. No knock on the kids we have, but as a position assessment, this will probably be our downfall.

Def Ends are going to be ok, it is more of a running and athletic position. Up the middle though, the teams with more depth actually have 6-7 players rotating for run downs, pass rush specialists, etc. We have a couple of problems here. No dominant size to match up with the bigger, more physical offensive lines, so I fear the weardown factor might show in the second half. Secondly , we do not have experience. When you have freshman as second teamers they will get alot of playing time early. That might help them down the road in their careers but not help us this year.

Combine that with some unanswered questions about our strength and conditioning and I'm not too optimistic about the middle positions.

The only thing that could help us here is perhaps a walk-on, some cooler weather and an offense that reduces the play count of the time they are on the field. Lets hope for the best until we start recruiting to the position better rather than moving kids over to fill holes.
 
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