Wednesday, April 18, 2012

2012 Spring Game Aftermath Thoughts and E-pinions: Defense

The following is the conclusion on my thoughts and e-pinions on the football team following spring practice. This time I will be focusing on the defense. While the offense was mostly a bore in my e-pinion, the defense looked pretty good. We learned more about the defense than the offense from the spring game this last Saturday. 
Here are some bullets:

  • Craig Roh and Jibreel Black fit pretty well in their new positions. Both of them look bigger and maybe even more comfortable at strong-side defensive end and three-tech defensive tackle, respectively. Roh seemed to be around the ball quite a bit and Black was busting through the line on many plays. I tend to take observations like this with a grain of salt, but it is encouraging none the less. As long as Roh is able to contain the edge and Black is able to make good stands on run defense, we should be in decent shape.
  • William Campbell in my e-pinion looks better, but is still a bit inconsistent. Some plays he is taking on double teams (his main job) and plugging holes and others he is getting pushed aside. Campbell is going to be a big part of the defensive line this season and we knew that, but he is going to need to be able to consistently take on double teams and dominate the line of scrimmage. The signs are there, but hopefully this summer he can continue to work on his technique. He also looks quite a bit more in shape than in the past.
  • Brennen Beyer is the starting weak-side defensive end currently and I think between him and Frank Clark we can't really go wrong. Both are extremely athletic and will be terrors off the edge. Beyer looks bigger as well compared to last season. Clark has the speed to chase down ball carriers from behind, as we seen him run down one this past weekend. Both guys will provide a nice rotation of pass rushers this season.
  • Backups on the defensive line include: Keith Heitzman, Richard Ash, Quinton Washington, Ken Wilkins and Chris Rock. At least those are the ones that stuck out to me the most. Heitzman will be a nice backup to Craig Roh at SDE. He was an underrated guy coming out of high school but he appears to have added the necessary weight and was solid during the spring game. Ash was decent in backing up Campbell at nose guard and could get some playing time depending on how incoming freshman Ondre Pipkins shows up in the fall. Washington and Wilkins were underwhelming during the spring in my e-pinion but they could add some decent depth at the defensive tackle positions. Rock on the other hand was bursting into the backfield quite a bit on Saturday. He also looks much bigger and within the next couple years could find some time at the three-tech spot or maybe at strong-side defensive end.
  • The linebacker spot looked pretty normal from last year with Desmond Morgan, Kenny Demens and Jake Ryan getting the starts. 
    • Morgan is the starting WLB with Antonio Poole and Brandin Hawthorne getting time behind him. Morgan looked good all spring long until he got chopped and hurt during the game. Poole didn't do much to stand out, whether that's good or bad depends on what you think. Hawthorne, on the other hand, tore it up during the game with a couple big tackles for loss and a one handed interception. Hawthorne is the number two WLB in my mind with Poole and freshman Kaleb Ringer there behind him.
    • MLB is being patrolled by Kenny Demens. There was talk that freshman Joe Bolden could be pushing Demens for the starting job, but I don't see it. Demens has a few years experience as the starting MLB and is pretty good on the field as well. His coverage abilities are above par and he is a solid tackler. Bolden is going to be a monster in the future and should get some playing time this season, but I think that him and Morgan could be Demens's (spelling?) backup this year. Morgan may slide inside sometime and that will either push Bolden to WLB, where he is a little quicker than Morgan, or he may be a third guy. Time will tell at who plays second team MLB. 
    • Finally, SLB is manned by Jake Ryan with Cameron Gordon backing him up. Ryan has the starting experience but Gordon may be a bit more athletic. Both players are great ones and either one that starts in the fall will have a more than capable backup behind him. This is the one linebacking position that has almost no ifs, ans, or buts. 
  • Now off to the secondary. Cornerback is pretty much down to Blake Countess and J.T. Floyd as the starters and Courtney Avery and Terrence Talbott as the backups. You could probably throw in Raymon Taylor as well, but I think he is still a year or so away from contributing as a starter. This is arguably the deepest position on the team. Countess is a future star and Floyd is a solid corner with a ton of game experience. Countess made a nice interception in the game, so hopefully that is a sign of things to come for him this season. Avery is a decent corner that will get a lot of time at nickelback and Talbott has looked much better this off season than any other time in his career. 
  • At strong safety it is the ever reliant Jordan Kovacs and then Marvin Robinson as his backup. Kovacs is going to be sorely missed after this season. He just simply makes plays, no matter the situation. Robinson has come in and looked solid as his backup and can come up with some big hits as seen during the spring practices.
  • Free safety is controlled by Thomas Gordon and, in my mind, is being backed up by freshman Jarrod Wilson. Gordon is a good free safety that has some speed and covers fairly well. He is also solid in run support. Wilson is still learning but may have the biggest upside of any safety we have had on the team in a while.
As you can see from the lengthy writeup we are pretty deep on defense for the most part. Defensive line is the biggest question mark and we knew it since the end of last season. If the guys on the line can pick up the slack that Ryan Van Bergen, Mike Martin and Will Heininger left behind, we will be in good shape. 

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