Spring Bal Preview - Position by Postion - DBs

[TiftonJacket]

With about 30 days until Tech straps it back on for Spring Practice, I thought some lively discussion about what each of us hopes to see during the Spring would be fun. So I would like to post two threads each week looking at the team position by position and getting your thoughts on how we improve on our 8-5 campaign.
Rather than start with the most talked about position going into Spring let’s ease into this and start things off with the Secondary.
So let’s back up and see how this group did nationally in terms of INTs and yards passing in 2011. The DBs had 10 of Tech’s 14 picks last year which ranked the team at 31 nationally. We had just over 1 pick per game. In terms of passing yards per game, this unit gave up about 198 which was in the Top 30 nationally. Teams completed 56% of their pass attempts at a rate of 6.7 yards per catch. I do think that teams did run the ball more against us in 2011 because our run D was so terrible plus the old game of keep away from the Offense. Those two factors I do believe helped our pass defense. But you have to acknowledge that the numbers indicate a good year for this group.
For the 2012 campaign, we return three starters Young, Johnson, and Sweeting with Thomas also considered a returning starter given the number of snaps he played in the second half of the year. RR.com doesn’t keep GS records for this position but from what I can tell Johnson, Sweeting, and Young all have about 24-26 games under their belts. We could start three JRs and 1 SR in the secondary for 2012. So there is a ton of game experience for this group.
Sweeting and Young are solid cover guys. I would not consider either one of them lock down guys but when has Tech has a lock down CB in recent memory. So I feel good with our starters at the CB position. What I want to see in the spring is the development of the 3rd and 4th CB for our nickel and dime packages. In several games, we were torched when teams made us go with 5 or 6 DBs especially the UGA game. So I want to see if Golden, Noble, Dennis, or someone else steps up into these spots. Plus will CPJ move Desmond Smith to DB given it seems that he is down the pecking order at QB.
At safety, Johnson did not have as good a year as his Freshman year so I would like to see him use the spring to make some improvements. Hopefully, the coaching staff will move Thomas to strong safety which I think is a great fit for a guy that loves contact and is probably one of the best tacklers on the team. Thomas had a number of issues in one on one coverage and his height makes him an offensive coordinators dream. So I would like to see him move to a more natural position SS. Plus Fred Holton will return but he has little to no game experience. However, I do think the competition at SS will be fun to watch.
The other question to watch in spring is does Laskey stay at DB or move over to offense?
I expect that the incoming freshman DBs will either redshirt or play special teams based on past history, and it doesn’t seem we have anyone that can jump in and make that impact immediately.
So what would you guys like to see from this group in the Spring?
Later this week LBs.

 

[BlackJacket]

Fred Holton was a starter on special teams his freshman year and is the hardest hitter on the team according to some of the guys last year. If he's healthy, I see him being a good option at SS.

Jemea looks like a better CB than safety to me. With him, Sweeting, and Young all returning, we look strong in the secondary. Johnson still seems to be out of position too much, which can be improved with experience and time, but he has really good ball skills.

Also, of all the young guys that could compete for time this next year, I think Golden has the best shot to see the field on defense.

 

[etc79]

So how many days til kick-off?? 195 or something??

 

[gtrower]

Young/Sweeting should be one of the best CB tandems in the conference this year. Johnson is Junior this year (you said had a bad freshman season - that was his TR-SO season last year) and I imagine will start. Thomas/Holton will probably fight for the last spot, but I bet both will get a lot of PT. I expect Golden and Noble to be the 6th/7th guys. DBs as a whole should be the strength of our defense this year.

I was under the impression that Demond Smith was already a DB - he isn't going to crack into a QB depth chart including Washinton, Lee, Days, Thomas, and Andrews.

I'm also curios to see how Milton does. He was very highly regarded out of HS.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Pretty excited about this group this year. I don't recall hearing Young much, but that seems to be a function of his cover ability. I think he has a good shot at leaving for the draft early.

 

[AE 87]

Pretty good look. I expect our LB and DL crews to be markedly better which will help our DBs out as well. A significant number of the completions against us last year resulted from the QB having too much unharried time.

 

[Legal Jacket]

Good post but it could use some formatting to make it easier to read.

DBs will obviously be one of the main strengths of the team next year. I think the pass yard statistics are a little misleading because (i) teams generally ran the ball on us and (ii) we make the games much shorter by milking the clock. That said, I think our top 6 guys are probably among the best in the ACC, and I wouldn't be surprised if a couple other players join the mix by seasons end (specifically Demond Smith)

 

[Legal Jacket]

I was under the impression that Demond Smith was already a DB - he isn't going to crack into a QB depth chart including Washinton, Lee, Days, Thomas, and Andrews.

I haven't seen anything formal about him switching but I think the writing is on the wall. He's not the best QB in his class, let alone on the team. I would assume we'll wait until the end of spring practice though - if Thomas and Andrews are having problems picking up the offense we could possibly need Demond next year for depth.

 

[ThisIsAtlanta]

Personnel aside, I would like to see us cover one TE in zone next year, just once, to prove we can do it.

 

[gtrower]

Pretty excited about this group this year. I don't recall hearing Young much, but that seems to be a function of his cover ability. I think he has a good shot at leaving for the draft early.

Agreed, I think with a good season Young could leave early. He's a got great size for an NFL CB at 6'1" 195 and has good speed/cover skills. If he sticks until '13 though, our secondary should be really nasty with a lot of experience/talent.

I haven't seen anything formal about him switching but I think the writing is on the wall. He's not the best QB in his class, let alone on the team. I would assume we'll wait until the end of spring practice though - if Thomas and Andrews are having problems picking up the offense we could possibly need Demond next year for depth.

The more I think about it the more I think we can't RS Thomas. You don't leave that kind of speed on the bench. I don't care if we bring him in 2/3 times per game for the wildcat or called QB keepers off of "option" plays. He'll be our biggest homerun threat and you don't leave that on the bench for a season.

The only way I see Smith getting reps at QB is if we decide Days gets passed by Washington/Lee and we decide he's too good to not see the field at another position. Then we might keep Smith as an emergency option assuming we don't want Thomas running the full package.

This is all of course my assumptions/predictions and it could very well all be wrong. And apologies to the OP for hijacking the DBs thread to talk about QBs. I'll stick to DBs now.

 

[BlackJacket]

I haven't seen anything formal about him switching but I think the writing is on the wall. He's not the best QB in his class, let alone on the team. I would assume we'll wait until the end of spring practice though - if Thomas and Andrews are having problems picking up the offense we could possibly need Demond next year for depth.

I'd think that if he wasn't kept at QB last year, he certainly won't this year. We lost nobody at QB...

Pretty good look. I expect our LB and DL crews to be markedly better which will help our DBs out as well. A significant number of the completions against us last year resulted from the QB having too much unharried time.

Why will the D-line be better?

 

[TiftonJacket]

Good post but it could use some formatting to make it easier to read.

DBs will obviously be one of the main strengths of the team next year. I think the pass yard statistics are a little misleading because (i) teams generally ran the ball on us and (ii) we make the games much shorter by milking the clock. That said, I think our top 6 guys are probably among the best in the ACC, and I wouldn't be surprised if a couple other players join the mix by seasons end (specifically Demond Smith)

I agree on the formatting. I should have reviewed the post before submitting it. That is what happens when you copy and paste from Word.

 

[gtrower]

Pretty good look. I expect our LB and DL crews to be markedly better which will help our DBs out as well. A significant number of the completions against us last year resulted from the QB having too much unharried time.

I also question with BlackJacket why you think the DL will be better. Unless Dieke/Cummings really step up we could be in a lot of trouble. We are very undersized as a unit at DL right now to be running the 3-4. Gotsis/Gamble/Kallon will help this a lot down the road, but they're not gonna step in an be world beaters right away.

We've essentially got 4 guys with any meaningful experience (Barnes, Cross, Dieke, Cummings) and only one of those guys has any starting experience (Cross). Kallon/Gamble could end up being the two biggest DEs on the roster (if Cross is forced inside) and end up having to play snaps ar true frosh.

Our DL is a serious concern right now. We didn't sign a sign a single Dl in '11 and this is the year it's gonna bite us in the ass IMHO. Our decent '12 DL class could cover it up a little in '13.

*edit we signed Kitchen late in '11. We'll see if he's recovered from his injury and ready to contribute.

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

Here is what I have for depth in the secondary:

Corners

Sweeting
Young
Golden
Dennis
Milton
Carlson

Young and Sweeting should maintain their starting roles. It looked like Golden and Dennis were beginning to see more playing time in the later part of the year and hopefully one of them will emerge as a great nickel player if Jemea has issues doing that. Milton is the wild card here and I hope he is as good as touted.

Safeties

Johnson
Thomas
Holton
Richardson
Noble
Smith
Mann
White (Freshman)

Laskey is moving back to play B Back for spring training although I'm not sure he will stay there long term. I personally see him playing LB at some future date.

Holton is having issues recovering from his achilles tear. I think he developed an infection that prolonged his recovery and limited his rehab. He may or may not be able to partipate in spring practice. So for now I would see Johnson and Thomas as the starters with Holton pushing for playing time come the fall. I am hoping Noble is as good as the rumors indicate and he will be in the mix as well. Smith just seems to be a guy looking for a spot so who knows how he will play in all of this. Maybe DJ White will be off the chain and make an impact next year but that is a rarity so you can not have that as a realistic expectation. Richardson seems to be a non factor as he heads into his Junior year still not seeing much playing time.

I think we are good in the secondary but we need to raise our level of play. We still give up the third and long pass way too much. Really need to focus on technique and assignment this spring.

Go Jackets!

 

[Nashville Jacket]

A stout defensive line would make this group of DBs even better. In fact, a good DL can make any group of DBs look better. That said, the DBs better be darn good because the DL is going to be way below average I'm afraid.

 

[AE 87]

...


Why will the D-line be better?

I also question with BlackJacket why you think the DL will be better. Unless Dieke/Cummings really step up we could be in a lot of trouble. We are very undersized as a unit at DL right now to be running the 3-4. Gotsis/Gamble/Kallon will help this a lot down the road, but they're not gonna step in an be world beaters right away.

We've essentially got 4 guys with any meaningful experience (Barnes, Cross, Dieke, Cummings) and only one of those guys has any starting experience (Cross). Kallon/Gamble could end up being the two biggest DEs on the roster (if Cross is forced inside) and end up having to play snaps ar true frosh.

Our DL is a serious concern right now. We didn't sign a sign a single Dl in '11 and this is the year it's gonna bite us in the ass IMHO. Our decent '12 DL class could cover it up a little in '13.

*edit we signed Kitchen late in '11. We'll see if he's recovered from his injury and ready to contribute.

Well, first of all, I was trying to caveat my opinion by saying, "I expect," rather than saying simply "our LB and DL crews will be markedly better."

Secondly, I meant my expression to be primarily the package of LB and DL especially with respect to the passing game rather than the DL alone or in all respects.

I think that even with the departure of Sylvester and possibly Burnett, our LB will be able to contribute much more to pass defense. While Rambo was a beast in stopping the run, I don't think we got the pass-rush or pass-coverage out of him that we really needed. I think Hunt-Days and McNair will be able to really contribute in this regard. I also expect Menocal and others will be able to rotate in with Watts and Attouchu to provide a bit more continuity there as well.

But, to finally get to your question, I thought Dieke, Crenshaw and Cummings showed flashes of great play this past season. If Cross moves to NT, as I've heard rumored, then I think he and Barnes will rotate well while the three of them will rotate well at DE. I'm also hopeful for Shawn Green and Jimmie Kitchen. However, I really think that Rod Chungong was undervalued and think that he will be making a contribution by the end of the season.

 

[GTTerrific]

Here is what I have for depth in the secondary:

Corners

Sweeting
Young
Golden
Dennis
Milton
Carlson

Young and Sweeting should maintain their starting roles. It looked like Golden and Dennis were beginning to see more playing time in the later part of the year and hopefully one of them will emerge as a great nickel player if Jemea has issues doing that. Milton is the wild card here and I hope he is as good as touted.

Safeties

Johnson
Thomas
Holton
Richardson
Noble
Smith
Mann
White (Freshman)

Laskey is moving back to play B Back for spring training although I'm not sure he will stay there long term. I personally see him playing LB at some future date.

Holton is having issues recovering from his achilles tear. I think he developed an infection that prolonged his recovery and limited his rehab. He may or may not be able to partipate in spring practice. So for now I would see Johnson and Thomas as the starters with Holton pushing for playing time come the fall. I am hoping Noble is as good as the rumors indicate and he will be in the mix as well. Smith just seems to be a guy looking for a spot so who knows how he will play in all of this. Maybe DJ White will be off the chain and make an impact next year but that is a rarity so you can not have that as a realistic expectation. Richardson seems to be a non factor as he heads into his Junior year still not seeing much playing time.

I think we are good in the secondary but we need to raise our level of play. We still give up the third and long pass way too much. Really need to focus on technique and assignment this spring.

Go Jackets!

I don't care how good your DB's are. In 3rd and long if you give any good qb time he's going to find someone open. We can do better than we have back there. Not saying that, but our problem is putting pressure on the qb in 3rd and long. Sometimes someone needs to beat someone and other times we need to scheme better.

 

[gte490v]

Sweeting and Young are solid cover guys. I would not consider either one of them lock down guys but when has Tech has a lock down CB in recent memory. So I feel good with our starters at the CB position. What I want to see in the spring is the development of the 3rd and 4th CB for our nickel and dime packages. In several games, we were torched when teams made us go with 5 or 6 DBs especially the UGA game. So I want to see if Golden, Noble, Dennis, or someone else steps up into these spots.

If R. Ayers would have worked out, we'd be in great shape at CB. As it is, we are 1 injury away to really seeing what we've got behind Young and Sweeting. Losing Ayers (or missing on Ayers) really sucks.

I'm surprised that Laskey is going to start on offense considering I. Johnson's play last year. I thought he would see the field more at safety compared to playing behind Sims, Perkins, &/maybe Watson. I hope F. Holton is everything he's supposed to be (not to discount reports, but I like to see it on the field). I think J. Thomas is a deserving starter on one side, I guess Noble will back him up? The other side is pretty much up for grabs, IMO.

 

[AE 87]

I don't care how good your DB's are. In 3rd and long if you give any good qb time he's going to find someone open. We can do better than we have back there. Not saying that, but our problem is putting pressure on the qb in 3rd and long. Sometimes someone needs to beat someone and other times we need to scheme better.

This is what I was getting at. However, I think your jimmy-joes and x-o's distinction was related. There were a lot of passing downs where we had 3 linemen rushing against 5 or 6 guys blocking (scheme issue) but I wondered if that was determined, in part, by the ability of the LB's we could bring in (Jimmy-Joe issue).

 

[TiftonJacket]

Here is what I have for depth in the secondary:

Corners

Sweeting
Young
Golden
Dennis
Milton
Carlson

Young and Sweeting should maintain their starting roles. It looked like Golden and Dennis were beginning to see more playing time in the later part of the year and hopefully one of them will emerge as a great nickel player if Jemea has issues doing that. Milton is the wild card here and I hope he is as good as touted.

Safeties

Johnson
Thomas
Holton
Richardson
Noble
Smith
Mann
White (Freshman)

Laskey is moving back to play B Back for spring training although I'm not sure he will stay there long term. I personally see him playing LB at some future date.

Holton is having issues recovering from his achilles tear. I think he developed an infection that prolonged his recovery and limited his rehab. He may or may not be able to partipate in spring practice. So for now I would see Johnson and Thomas as the starters with Holton pushing for playing time come the fall. I am hoping Noble is as good as the rumors indicate and he will be in the mix as well. Smith just seems to be a guy looking for a spot so who knows how he will play in all of this. Maybe DJ White will be off the chain and make an impact next year but that is a rarity so you can not have that as a realistic expectation. Richardson seems to be a non factor as he heads into his Junior year still not seeing much playing time.

I think we are good in the secondary but we need to raise our level of play. We still give up the third and long pass way too much. Really need to focus on technique and assignment this spring.

Go Jackets!

Jerry good post. A couple of questions though. Richardson will be a R-Jr this year and my view like yours is that he has seen very little of the field in three years. I would think his role is ST or way down the depth chart. The guys seems to have the size to play at this position.

Secondly, are you referring to Chris Milton? He is listed as an ABack so is this is move going into spring.

The other guy you listed, Carlson, I assume is Coray Carlson. I see he is a walk-on. Can somebody provide some insight as to how good this kid is. No bashing on being a walk-on but I have never heard his name.