Thursday, March 30, 2006

Spring Depth Chart Review--Or, Who Are You People

More than the offense, the defense is a whole new bunch of faces. And, given that the Falcons' consistent inability to get off the field last year contributed a great deal to the 5 loss season, I would suggest this isn't a bad thing. Now, you could see it two ways. Could it be a situation of getting worse? Yes. We hang our hopes on two things. First, that (as mentioned in the presser) Coach Lovett has a full spring and season to prep the D. Second, that the redshirt freshmen are as good as Coach Brandon alluded to last year.

D-Line:

Devon Parks is finishing our his stellar career at one end, and Diryal Briggs, who showed great talent is starting at the other end. The three next players are all redshirt freshmen (Jacob Hardwick, Thomas James and Trevor Frericks.)

In the middle, Brad Williams is returning. He's a good football player who is moving inside from end--I assume because we need help in the middle and have some ability at the end. R-So Nick Davis will start at NG (280 lbs), where he must have made coaches feel good enough to move Brandon Curtis across the ball. Brandon Mack (257lbs)--also moving in from end--is the back up here, and R-FR Brady Minturn backs Williams up.

Some things are tough to change overnight, and our undersized D-Line is one of them. Briggs, for example, is 216 pounds. This has vexed many Falcon fans over the years, and really hurts us when we play the NIU/UT teams, built on big O-lines mowing you over. The idea is to be quick, I understand, but it seems like we don't match up well with some teams. One thing seems clear to me--a team this small can't afford to tackle poorly.

Linebackers

A strength last year, but Teddy P graduated. We really, really need strong linebackers if the line is going to get pushed around sometimes. On the strong side, R-so Erique Dozier is projected to start. In the middle, R-Fr. Cody Basler is starting (moving ahead of John Haneline, who played some last year), and Terrel White (5-Sr) is starting on the weak side, backed up by R-So Scott Goodwin.

Until we see otherwise, this has to be considered a concern. White seems like a good player, but you wonder what kind of impact he makes on the weak side. Dozier is unproven, and Basler in the middle has not been seen in game conditions. He was scout team MVP twice toward the end of last year, and was on the Michigan Dream Team, so perhaps he's a player.


One other note. Nick Lawrence is listed as #3 in the middle. Nick is from Brighton, MI, where his mother is the Mayor, and he plead guilty to drug charges. Coach gave him a chance to prove himself, and he made his way onto the depth chart. (I believe he went without scholarship last year). He was highly recruited, and could be an impact player if he can get himself together.

Defensive backfield

Again, very young, but I believe of all the positons on the field, this is an emerging strength.

The most important news here is the Deaudre Perry is back in uniform. It appeared he was lost to us, but has re-emerged following a "medical" leave. I have no idea what that means, but I'm glad to have him back as FS. He's an R-Jr who has the ability to be an impact player (he ways as much as Diryal Briggs!). He's backed up by R-Fr Chris Wright. At the other ssafety is Loren Hargrove, also an R-Jr who began to make a real impact last year toward the end of the season. He's backed up by Calvin Wiley (R-FR again), a highly prized recruit.

At corner, we have two true Sophs--Antonio Smith and Kenny Lewis. Both got significant time last year. Smith is an impact player, and Lewis showed some great ability. I think that we are set with these guys for three seasons at CB. Probably the strongest point on the defense.

Their backups are 5-Sr Van Johnson, a great athlete who has bounced around as a backup QB and WR, and never really saw any serious time. The backup is r-fr Jerrett Sanderson, somebody nobody had ever heard of before. He just enrolled this spring, after a year in prep school. Seems to have been a productive player in HS (in NJ) and for him to jump right in to the mix more or less sight unseen says something.

Conclusion

I would love for Coach Lovett to bring this unit around and have them become the kind of defense we need to compete. And, given my comments on the offense (ie, we can't count on playstation numbers this year), its important. As of now, until I see otherwise, my guess is we're a year away on defense. Only three senior starters, so next year we could be dangerous.

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