Caliborn72

It's a little disheartening because the RB coach at so many schools is just a recruiting ace with less emphasis on coaching. You have one position to recruit (so they often help with recruiting other positions too), which is a position where freshmen can make a difference, and one where obviously coaching the skills matters but perhaps a tad less than QB, WR, and OLine. Davis feels like an NFL coach, which has its benefits but I don't care what offense MR wants to run, Lincoln has a proud tradition of RBs and shouldn't have the problems recruiting top level RBs.

The teams I can recall making the switch recently and struggling from it were Kentucky, Colorado State, and Washington State. Back when Cal made the switch several years ago, they just got run over every game. I live in Colorado now and Colorado State's defense was just a disaster all year last year. I have no doubt we could see a major improvement but I can also see why national guys are skeptical or in wait and see mode. Either way, I'm ready for the season to get here and see what Diaco and crew can do!

I remember basically everyone being underwhelmed with the Riley hire, but there were enough good reviews from peers and analysts for excitement. Didn't help that his initial staff was underwhelming too, but I also can understand how much he'd value continuity and being able to trust his staff. I'm not entirely sure that the all-star staff he has been assembling would have worked right from the jump. I will say that I've seen several teams make the transition to a 3-4 and it has been a mess the first year every single time. I'm not saying it's going to be like that this year, but having chatted with friends and family, they seem to think having enough linebackers is the only hard part. The DLine makes such a drastic change that it's almost like playing a different sport. Those 3 guys have to be some of the most selfless athletes in all of sports. Donte Williams has been an ace recruiter so far, which is everything I assumed of him from articles and stuff after the hire. But I really haven't read anything to his coaching acumen, it's all just his recruiting chops. And watching Arizona football the last couple years, I don't know that I'd have wanted to hire any of their defensive coaches until he came into the fold. I'll be interested to see how he does. I went from being cautiously optimistic a few months ago to hoping for no meltdowns and less than 4 losses. We will see. All of my recent worries could be for nothing.

Recruiting him as an ILB in Diaco's 3-4 system right? Man, this guy would be a true #Blackshirt.

I agree, if DL and MR have an attractive system to QBs (they do) and prove that they can get QBs to the NFL, then recruits will come regardless of who is on the depth chart in front of them. I don't care how small of a class size you are dealing with, you should always take 1 QB and 1 RB imo.

Likely a hand in the ground, dominating OLB, but he could probably even bulk up to being a DE in Diaco's system. Either way, the type of difference maker the defense needs. Hoping he's among the top of the board and that there's a chance.

I don't mind being patient, although I understand being very disappointed with anything less than 9. The recruiting is excellent and the staff has been majorly upgraded. The cupboards are filling, the only question now is if MR is the guy to take the next step. I'd like him to be. Assuming a 6 to 8 win season doesn't mean a recruiting collapse, then I'm fine with that as long as there is promise. But 2018 has to a great season, no matter how brutal it is. The OLine will have no excuse by then, there will be a lot of talent coming back and on campus, and regardless of who the QB is, there is no reason not to have a great offense. The defense will be in year two and despite losing some talent, there will still be a lot of talent left. @Michigan and @Ohio St is brutal, I get losing those. But @Wisconsin and @Iowa? Nope, it's time to win games like that on the road. For me, a weak '17 season makes me lose sympathy for the tough '18 schedule. A weak '18 season and it's time to move on.

I either forgot or didn't notice that Oregon beat Utah last year when Utah was gunning for the Pac12 South. That's a pretty big win to suggest they have something to build on when they could have easily collapsed to finish the season. I've also read that their DC wants to be a HC again. I think it's likely he picked a good destination where he can make himself look really good when there is actually more talent than thought there. The more I read, the more nervous I get. Herbert and Royce Freeman are both the real deal and they bring back the OLine.

Weirdly, all of the public criticism of the OLine is what is making me nervous about the defense. The coaches know what they have, if they expected the defense to be an elite - top 25 defense - then I don't think we'd be seeing the same criticisms of the OLine, at least not publicly. I imagine that the defense will be above average but I do feel the transition year might lead to some frustrations. Also why I'm even more nervous about the OLine :-/ I fully expect a lot of coverage sacks and some interesting blitz packages. Hopefully with the secondary being such a strength, it will allow Diaco to be less vanilla than you'd normally see with a new defense.

Small recruiting class so I definitely understand some of the tight numbers but I don't really get what the plan is for the DLine going forward. Don't get me wrong, I completely trust Diaco to know what he needs in his system but DT/DE often has a lot of overlap in a 3-4. Michael Thompson, for example, seems like he could rotate anywhere on the DLine and I actually think he perfectly fits as a "DE" with his length. But he isn't being pursued because there's no room for him? Nothing about him screams that he must be an NT to me. Avery probably only really fits as an NT so I understand that. But I'm admittedly not all that high on Wildeman and it seems like the DLine recruiting should be better. We will see.

I really like this guy's film and size at safety. Not sure where his recruitment stands though.

6 wins would suck but I could even excuse that as long as the recruiting stayed extremely strong and there was enough promise for next year. But only 6 wins would mean something else was bad besides a new defense struggling. It would likely mean that this OLine had a bad year and another bad year would mean Cav has to go, no question. I'd also have to wonder about DL. I think the defensive staff going forward is set up perfectly. However, even with the insane schedule next year, MR would have to be on the hot seat for me if this is a 6 win season.

Hmm, weird to rank him so low while not writing any criticism to explain the low ranking.

That's big news, thank you for sharing that. Yeah, that's the kind of beef the DLine needs. He definitely looked mostly the part in the spring game; I still thought he was a tad light but I'm no expert and if he's 320 that's plenty big. That changes my perception of the defense a great deal.

If you look around at most of these other 3-4 defenses, they have a 330lb dude in the middle and two others approaching or over 300lbs on both sides of him. In a year or two, I'd expect 305lbs to be the second or third biggest guy on the DLine, but this year, that will be the biggest guy and that's my top concern. It's okay to have some change of pace guys and 3rd down blitz guys who are 270 or so. You definitely see those around the country. But if you watch Diaco's incredible ND defense, they have BIG dudes on the DLine and it's a lot to ask of a 4-3 defense to all of a sudden turn into a massive DLine. I expect big things from the secondary and LBs but I can't help but feel nervous about up front. That said, I also am willing to excuse some struggles because of a new defense and I completely agree that the offense will help the defense. Also, I think when it's 2nd and 3rd and medium to long - watch out, Diaco will bring the heat and allow the corners to do their thing. But I also won't be surprised if we are frustrated with some rushing yards against at times this year.

Thanks for posting these threads and all this info, I'm very interested about Northern Illinois in particular.

A 5 win season would be a disaster but it's not even remotely on my radar. A 10 win season is certainly possible but I don't expect that either. I expect progression through the season, no blowout losses, and in fact, some blowout wins. And then a strong recruiting finish. If that means 7 or 8 wins with a transition year defense then so be it. My issue is that I don't think the OLine, QB play, and offensive playcalling have any excuse. This is year 3 with at least one QB capable of running the offense MR and DL want. If the OLine can't protect Lee and/or we see more of those facepalming playcalling decisions then I'm going to have a hard time defending the staff. Still optimistic that this will be a fun offense to watch but all this OLine talk is worrisome.

Not to make too obvious of a statement but this game will tell a lot about the whole season. Taggart comes from that Stanford pedigree and while he certainly will spread the ball around, he's also going to look at running right at you. Diaco is going to turn this defense into an elite, top 10 defense. I have no doubt. But year one could have some hiccups and I have concerns about the size of the DLine transitioning from a 4-3. If the scheme can stifle Royce Freeman, watch out. But if he has a big day, it doesn't bode well for some of the trench battles later in the year. Similarly, their defense is in transition too. If the offense can't run on them, then it doesn't bode well for conference play either. Helfrich made them soft and I fully expect the offense to do their thing. Autzen is crazy but this is a majorly winnable ooc game. I'm pumped.

Not a good sign, especially because I'm fully prepared to be patient with the defense. Switching to a 3-4 is incredibly hard unless you already have the bodies for it. Diaco is a mad hatter type who I fully trust, but I think we see a major improvement in '18 when everyone in the front 7 adds more weight and familiarity with the system. Currently though, I think the DLine is going to have a tough time for much of the season. Which is a-okay, as long as the offense improves. Bummer to hear some of these question marks at a time when it's acceptable to be given doses of koolaide.

Yeah, it seems odd that Colorado didn't offer him when they also run a 3-4. I think it's a weird take with all the recruiting momentum but I trust Diaco. Maybe they like his frame to get up to 290+. Or they they think he can be a good change of pace guy at 270. Or maybe Diaco plans on using 4 linemen at times?

Seems like exclusively a 4-3 DE. Has me excited and curious for what Diaco is planning. Looking like he likes some hybrid tweeners in his defense. Maybe some kind of hand in the ground OLB who sets the edge and rushes the QB. Probably don't want him dropping into coverage.

DLine looked way more like a 4-3 today but that's to be expected. Stoltenberg looks the part. A couple others on the red squad looked okay but most of the white squad DLine looked about 30lbs too small. Diaco should have some fun change of pace guys to utilize. The ILBs are going to have to have a season.

Doubt he stays with Washington. His uncle is now the DC at Louisville and Louisville offered shortly after. And then Yankoff committed to Washington shortly after that.

It's weird too because Louisiana kids never seem to adjust to such wildly different culture changes going to the Midwest, or anywhere out of the south for that matter. It's to the point that I would not recommend trying to recruit kids out of there even though it's so talent rich because they are more likely to be attrition candidates. But somehow basketball school Kansas is killing it there.

Friday night lights is unbelievable in Pennsylvania. They have a ton of in-state talent because football is taken about as seriously as it gets outside of Texas. It's the reason Penn St was not about to start playing games on Fridays lol.