Defensive Tackles positional preview - upgrade/downgrade
by GopherNation on Jul 29, 2010 10:43 PM CDT
in Gopher Football
30 comments
This 2009 group of defensive tackles was arguably the best unit on the defense and undoubtedly the deepest. Gone are the two starters, Eric Small and Garrett Brown. Replacing them will be their backups Jewhan Edwards and Brandon Kirksey (pictured right). So the good news is that this is how it should be. You have a couple of talented younger players who get a year to backup your experienced starters.
Small graduated after giving the Gophers three very good seasons. He started 31 games notching six sacks over that span after coming to Minnesota from Joliet JC. Garrett Brown was one of my favorite Gophers last year. He was very productive and a smart kid with a bright future. His non-football future will have to wait though as he was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent. He'll be fighting the next few weeks for a roster spot in the NFL. He started 32 games as a Golden Gopher and during his senior year he recorded 35 tackles and one sack.
These two will be missed. They were good sized, talented and very experienced.
Backing them in 2009 were Edwards and Kirksey. They got a lot of snaps last year and are not by any stretch inexperienced. They also are good sized and talented. I am not worried about these guys. As juniors they should be ready to step into starting roles and are capable of producing as well as Brown and Small. Personally I'm very excited to watch these guys play this year and they are capable of having break-out seasons.
Assuming good health they will start all 13 games (yes I said 13) and should combine each have about 30 tackles with a few sacks. I think those are baseline numbers.
What worries me is our lack of depth at this position. It is likely that Anthony Jacobs will move to the inside in certain situations. But after that we have lightly recruited players who have no experience at this level. This is what concerns me about our interior line.
| Year | Ht | Wt | |
| Harold Legania | FR | 6-3 | 290 |
| Josh Tauaefa | FR | 6-2 | 270 |
| Sean Ferguson | FR | 6-6 | 303 |
These are our only scholarship tackles on the roster and notice that they are true freshmen. They may end up being good football players, but as our primary backups in the middle of our defense, this is an area of concern.
I like our starters a lot (I really do) but overall I think this group has to be considered a downgrade.
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Scary lack of depth
If Kirksey or Edwards gets injured, we would be so screwed. It could be the kind of injury that wrecks the whole season. It was a huge blow when they would not accept Cordian Hagans transfer. Damn admissions office!
Would Hagans have been able to play this year?
It’s a reality in football that guys are gonna get injured. If one of these guys misses time, does one of the generic non-true freshmen see the field, or do redshirts get burned? I suspect the former occurs. Hopefully they can protect “this house” while the other guys get rest. Having Edwards and Kirksey play anything more than 45 snaps a game will seriously compromise their effectiveness, put them at risk of injury, and put the center of the defense at serious risk of being pummeled in the running game (Wisconsin, in particular, is a game where this lack of depth will be sticking out like a sore thumb).
hopefully
the offense learns some clock control, can run the ball and keeps the defense off the field for 10 fewer snaps per game.
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by GopherNation on Jul 30, 2010 8:40 AM CDT up reply actions
In 2009
Minnesota already was in the bottom 10% or so nationally for offensive plays run (I recall you and I talking about the fact Minnesota averaged about 58 offensive plays per game). I hope they don’t continue to fall from that number!
Here are the stats: in 2009, the offense averaged 62 plays per game, the defense averaged 70 plays per game.
To compare: Iowa’s total plays were 65 per game on offense, 65 on defense.
Wisconsin’s were 70 offensive plays per game v. 60 defensive plays per game.
I pulled that #10 out of the air
but looks like that should be the goal. Go from 70 defensive plays down to 60 would be huge right?
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by GopherNation on Jul 30, 2010 9:51 AM CDT up reply actions
I expect Ferguson to play as a back up, but that’s it for the frosh unless Legania is more ready to play than I thought, although I don’t expect him to RS either but to play on ST. I also won’t be shocked if they move Hageman inside at times on passing downs next to Kirksey and bring either Garin or KGM on the end. ALSO, I expect to see some 3-4 sprinkled in this year to make up for our lack of depth and also to take advantage of the fact that Edwards is perfect size for a NT and Kirksey, Hageman and Jacobs are all the right size for a 3-4 DE.
anyone else surprised by the poll?
how is this not looked at as a downgrade? We had 4 good players at this position last year, one is getting a legit shot with an NFL team. Now we have 2.
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Because
it’s the preseason, the time of unrealistic optimism, where fans think that 18 and 19 year olds with no game experience have the ability to play the defensive line against 22 year olds with four and five years’ experience in college football. Any team that plays true freshmen on the defensive line other than for situational pass rushing is asking for a pounding in their rush defense.
True Frosh In Any Line Play Typically...
Is a prescription for near if not complete disaster. I say, the OLine and Offense in general is the unit that the Gophers have to depend on to allow rejuvenation of the DLine. Ball control will keep guys like Edwards fresher. Otherwise we may see 4th quarter drop off pattern develop that may cost us games. IMHO of course.
Not Surprized By Poll At All B/C
Jewhan Edwards was an UnderArmor All American I believe and Kirksey may turn out to be the most athletic DT we’ve seen for while; he can really run like a DE. Consequently, we are quite strong still at this position even though very thin. Remember, Kirksey made the game changing play of the game in the inaugural TCF Opener against Air Force causing the fumble. That play won the game. I expect to see a lot of that this year if he is kept reasonably rested although his conditioning is high end which will allow him to recover quicker than most.
don't get me wrong
I really like JE and BK, they could be in the conversation for one of the all-big ten teams next year imo. But the dropoff after that is huge.
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by GopherNation on Jul 30, 2010 9:41 AM CDT up reply actions
I Certainly Agree
That the drop-off can be significant. The coaches are going to need to do a bang up job juggling guys I believe to stay effective through games.
tru freshmen are scary
I’m relatively comfortable with the D Ends because they have redshirted so they’ve had a full year to mature, learn some technique, add muscle and get pounded everyday by the starters. There obviously are not seasoned but there is a huge difference between true freshmen and redshirted freshmen.
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What’s really scary about the DT position is that Edwards and Kirksey are the only two upperclassmen, PERIOD, on the roster. There’s only one sophomore, Curran Delaney, and then Dykstra and Stommes, and then the true freshmen. Any injury to Edwards and Kirksey and the defense is gonna get gashed in the middle.
No pressure, boys.
yes
an injury here or at CB would be the worst for this defense.
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by GopherNation on Jul 30, 2010 9:52 AM CDT up reply actions
The next few years
might not be so bad.
JE and BK will be seniors next year and all of these young kids will be a year older and then they can hopefully step in and start as 3rd year sophomores.
I’d REALLY like to see a big time DT landed in this class (though nothing appears to be on the radar).
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by GopherNation on Jul 30, 2010 9:53 AM CDT up reply actions
I completely agree with you looking into the future.
Brewster’s butt is on the line this year though, so I wonder how he does approach the depth issue. Does he burn redshirts in order to save his job, or does he take a patient approach to development?
We’ll find out early enough. By the USC game I’d expect we would see his plan. USC has 11 returning starters on offense, not even including Prater or Dillon Baxter who will both play, The entire line is 4 or 5 star rated. That game will show how he plans to use the non-true-freshmen because Kirksey and Edwards will have their hands full. If we see Ferguson or Legania getting snaps, well, we’ll have some insight into his thought process.
it may not be that dramatic
Garrett Brown was playing as a true freshman. Ferguson being here all spring will certainly help him and he has legit size. Legania at least played at a high level in Lousiana and 6-3 290 isn’t exactly tiny. They may earn a few snaps per game without it meaning Brewster is throwing away the future.
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by GopherNation on Jul 30, 2010 10:14 AM CDT up reply actions
DT Depth?
VERY SCARY! That is why it was so critical that we got Ferguson in this Spring and got his feet wet; and really Hageman may well play some DT as well. I know he has not played yet but the young man is something special I believe.
I think people are getting overly scared. Sure depth is thin but its thin all over the roster. Kirksey and Edwards were as good as or better (I lean towards the latter) as the 2 starters last year pretty consistently. I think as juniors they will be an upgrade from our starters of last year. Behind them Jacobs is a solid player and will be a solid backup DT. Fergusen is an unknown but he has great size for a frosh, and Legania is a good prospect. If you recall 2 years ago Kirksey and Edwards played significantly as true frosh and Kirksey did so at about 270lbs and after missing the first few weeks of fall practice if I recall correctly. IF the starters stay healthy this will be a solid group, and they should wreak more havoc than last years starters
move Jacques back to DL
if having non-freshman depth is a priority, get Jacques back. what other Offensive Lineman would play well at DL? Bunders, Burris or Alford? Gjere would be an excellent DL in the future because he has excellent feet.
DLine Situation
I would not say folks are “overly scared” about the depth. The issue is just quite noticeable that a rash of injuries would potentialy create havoc. However, the is the case for most teams across the country and we happen to have some very good starters to take most of the snaps and have our fingers crossed that our pups are at least good enough to get their feet wet to give our studs a blow. That way we build the depth we need for the future real time, so to speak. Yes, I am suggesting that some True Frosh on the DLine play this year enough to feel game speed and technique application. Frankly, it will make them better appreciate the need to be mad men in the weight room year round.
There could be a variety of solutions
(feel free to disagree with me on these)
1. As GN said, keep the offense on the field as long as possible. The less the D is on the field, the better our DTs will be
2. Use a 3-4 occasionally. With only one Tackle needed, that could help our depth
3. Move Hageman over to DT on passing downs, and have the better pass rusher of Garin/Gregory-McGee go in on his side (if they are ready)
4. As others have said, Anthony Jacobs is a serviceable tackle. He could be used as well.
Put me in the "worried" category
Case in point—-Wisconsin last year. We were deeper at DT last year and by the middle of the 3rd Qt. the DT’s were worn out/down. I can still see those holes and that tank those LB’s had to get in front of. The LB’s, but especially Triplett, took a real beating that day.
If you recall, WI killed us not by poundin the rock inside, but by going off tackle and taking advantage of our DEs inability to get upfield or even get off blocks. Our DTs played a decent game but we got killed on the edges
by oleboy41 on Aug 1, 2010 12:08 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Neutral
I voted neutral based on starters alone. I think Kirksey will be better than either Brown/Small—not that either of them was a slouch.
Yes, there are depth issues and that is concerning.
why is everyone so negative
Truth is a rash of injuries to any team in the country on the Dline would kill that teams ability to stop the run. Think how much worse Nebraska would have been last year if they lost Suh or this year if they lose Crick.
All teams are forced to either play freshman or inexperienced players when starters get injured its the fact of college football and the reason its hard to predict seasons or if replacing a lot of starters will really hurt a team.
Kirksey and Edwards are much better DTs than Small and Brown. They were arguably better last year as only sophomores. As Juniors and now starters I totally expect great things from them. Throw in giant Ferguson who enrolled early and has all ready practiced with the team and Jacobs who can play any position on the line and the Gophers are fine with their 2 deep at the DT position. The only position that scares me is CB. At DT we will be better then last year.
sure injures are bad for all teams
but last year we had 4 good players at this position. This year we have 2. The problem isn’t that we would have to play second string guys. The problem is the dropoff between 1st and 2nd team is huge this year.
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