floridacorn

17 hours ago, uberism said:

 

he told the coaches before spring ball started. 

Rafdal informed the coaches he was entering the portal prior to spring, he participated in 2 days of spring ball, & Becton referenced him during his post practice presser?  Is that accurate?  Unless he didn't participate in practice & Becton was just covering until the announcement was formal, that's somewhat bizarre.  

Olympia has put out a lot of kids, (Chris Johnson, Trevor Siemian, Deandre Francios, Joe Milton off the top of my head) but they aren't a very good program.  I also believe Fabian Washington is still coaching over there, so that might be part of the connection here.

Don't know this kid, but I do know both his QB's, and they are both, let's be nice and say subpar.  So, perhaps there's some upside here.  

Physically, Hickman sure doesn't look like a player cross training at Y, not that there's anything wrong w/that...

And, I'm sorry, but Rafdal entering the portal after 2 days of spring practice is pathetic and short sighted.  Even if you're being completely selfish, you went through winter conditioning, you started spring camp, get the reps, and focus on individual improvement before moving on.  Who mentors, advises, parents these kids?  From a fan perspective however, glad to see him move on now, more focus on the development of Fidone.  

Interesting "read between the lines" storyline trickling out of these pressers is this heavier emphasis on a "power running game" referenced by Austin, Lubick, & Frost. If you put the pieces together, Austin alluded to slowing down, Frost/Lubick referenced Toure starting inside (R), & Becton mentioned cross training Fidone at Y & R.   

Assuming they aren't referencing going under center, I would speculate this points to usage of more Pistol sets & Veer, similar to what Baltimore runs.  It's rarely been utilized, but it has been run by Frost & Co at NU & UCF.  From a personnel standpoint, this would make sense with Stepp at RB, & utilizing your best receiving options.  If true, we'd see more intermediate route RPO's, and fewer bubble screens & flat RPO's.  Time will tell.

6 hours ago, All Hail Herbie said:

This is a refrain I hear often; that the game is too complex and that coaching / practice methods of the past will not work.  I just disagree.  Blocking is about position and leverage, not simply nutrition and S&C.  Essentially, without focus on the first, we have great athletes who are consistently out of position and out of sync with their teammates.

 

Coaching is about teaching.  This point has been lost.  Consider this, Coach Lombardi knew nothing about basketball (never played or coached) prior to being named his High School's basketball coach and yet managed to win a state title in basketball after studying the subject.  Teaching.  He knew how to teach and how to motivate.  

 

In this complicated world of football, I guess the good news is that we at least have 24/7 access to 4 win seasons...

 

 

That point hasn't been lost at all, some are just better at it than others, as with anything.  I don't think coaching has changed, but what you coach has, & the complexity of the game requires you to be very efficient with your time.

If NU is measuring itself against Wisconsin, they are falling short of expectations.  NU's success isn't tied to Wisconsin's failure.  But, there is no doubt Alvarez has been the driving force behind that program, and it's a testament to him they have remained as consistent as they have through multiple coaching changes because that doesn't/hasn't happened anywhere else that I can recall.  

"Epley writes in his book that the indexing is on a 0-1,000 scale in which 500 points represents the Division I average and takes into account the weight of the athlete. "

I'm prob getting into the weeds w/this, but as an analyst this invites questions.

I'd be curious to know how they determine/acquire the data for the D1 averages?  For example, there are notable programs that don't even test 40's, & I can't imagine all, if many S&C programs are all willing to share testing results with competition.

If these index scores are predicated on current D1 averages, it's not an apples to apples comparison of index scores from different years, let alone era's.  You could theoretically be bigger, stronger, faster, & quicker than player X from the 90's, but so is the average athlete, so your score could still be lower.  The value of such a comparison then would be how you compare to today's athlete versus how they compared to the athletes at the time of their testing.  Seems like a static performance score similar to Sparq would be more relevant, at least in terms of direct comparisons/leader boards, ect...  

Regardless, as alluded to above, if Damian Jackson has the extreme burst and short area quickness for a big man these tests suggest, it seems like he could be an effective pass rush specialist from the interior if nothing else.  

4 hours ago, Toe said:

 

Maybe now that Riley's OL recruits are gone, we can teach the rest of the guys some run blocking techniques.

I don't know about that, but I thought Farniok would be dominate inside, & I would be shocked if he didn't grade out better in pass pro.  He rarely got movement & the frequency with which he whiffed or fell off blocks immediately after contact was reminiscent of watching a fat freshman playing on Friday night.    

The jury is still out on Austin, but it appears he coaches Zone Blocking by having his guys run tracks.  I'm not saying that's wrong, I would just suggest he is coaching at the school where the guy who literally wrote the book on zone blocking coached, & that's not how he did it.  

23 hours ago, lo country said:

We rushed for approx 1660 yards in 2020.  Take away the QB runs and we are at 775.  Take away Wan'dale and we were down to 535 yards by RB's....That's not a "run heavy" O. That's the kind of O capable of winning 4-5 games a year.  Sadly, with no RB returning with more than 24 touches (Scott 24 for 62 yards for 2.6 a carry) I do not expect much better. And it's an O that has gotten worse each year.  We lost JD, but had Wan'dale.  We just lost Wan'dale.  What do we have now?

 

AM-521

Mills-396

Luke- 364

Wan'dale-240

 

I'm hoping we get old quick on O.  D gonna have to do their thing.

 

 

I get what you are driving, but It feels like you are conflating issues.  NU runs zone read option.  To a large extent, the D dictates who carries the ball.  Arbitrarily taking away QB runs doesn't equate to them running the ball less & Wandale was running the ball from the RB position.  Dismissing or discounting his runs would be like doing the same when Adrian Killins ran the ball at UCF.  

I'll acknowledge NU ran switch zone or bash concepts far more frequently than say OSU, plays where you anticipate the read to lead to the QB running the ball, but w/o getting technical, I believe that reflected a lack of confidence in the O-line balanced w/a desire to still run the ball.  RB play needs to improve, but good teams run those plays looking to cash in.  Running those plays at the frequency NU did last year, says far more about the O-line than the RB's to me, & my ?'s around the running game this year are still far more dependent on the O-line than the RB's.

5 hours ago, Farms said:

I think Mo could have been that kind of player had things worked out differently.  Have we had any guys make 1st team all B1G in the past 5 years not including kickers?

I believe hindsight shows us why programs w/legit RB's like OSU were recruiting Mo as a CB.  NU was desperate for talent & there's no ? he had play making ability, but he lacked physical toughness.  I expected him to surface at Jackson State, almost interesting that he hasn't.  

But, I agree w/your point.  For whatever reason, bad evaluation, poor development, NU hasn't produced playa's in recent memory, and it's why they've watched programs like Minnesota & Indiana ascend past them, they have.  A couple guys on each side of the ball can make the entire team look better.

I would have given 2-1/3-1 odds that Stoll could run sub 4.7, Mills sub 4.6, Bottle sub 4.5, Farniok sub 5.4.  

16 hours ago, Spooky Tooth said:

Ah, group think at its finest.

 

OP makes and optimistic comment.

• Hey watch me be snarky about it.
• I can be snarkier than you
• No wait, watch how clever I can be
• You guys are dopes....I'm the snarkiest
• Uh uh, lemme show you how uptown funk you up I can be......

Look, I have trouble agreeing with the OP, but you figs who pile on trying to be cuter than the one before .......not sure what to say.

Was this the uptown funk you up post? 

I'm also pretty sure no thread in this forum is complete w/o the doomsday cult of nothing matters cuz Frost sux and there is nothing to be positive about except his firing like ever!

2 hours ago, Husker in WI said:

 

How much contact did he even have with them - just meetings, right?

I'm not 100%, but I'm pretty sure QC/Analysts coaches were allowed to participate in practices last season as a special allowance for the Covid delays.  If so, Alabama prob had what, a staff of 25?

12 hours ago, Hilltop said:

You play the best guy in your QB room, period.  If that person so happens to be a freshman, let the kid play.  If you don't, you can bet on him playing somewhere else the following season unless your name is Alabama or Clemson.

I agree, but these 2 teams haven't been immune to having QB's hit the transfer portal, primarily because they have pushed the best QB forward regardless of class, even ahead of established starters.  

Re-watching Smothers HS film, he threw a nice ball, but didn't drive it when needed.  Similiar to a Wuerfel minus the shot put throwing motion.  It will be interesting to see how he's developed, if he throws outs, & across the middle w/more zip.  

2 hours ago, deedsker said:

Dude looks like Mike Vick in Madden 04, where you just run back and forth until your receiver gets open and chuck it down the field. Plenty of arm talent, but can he read and react in a standard passing attack? There is a lot to be desired from the highlights/competition. 

There are enough plays in his highlights where he stands in and/or makes a read post snap that he's not as raw as his sandlot in pads highlights present imo.  A lot of this is coaching.  First, he typically drops back WAY too far out of the gun.  Second, they run a lot of deep routes w/o check downs.  If he was bypassing check downs to go full fledged Tarkington, I'd be more concerned.  Third, and I see this a lot in HS, they run so many different plays, he doesn't instinctively know where his secondary options.  

But, he has really bad habits as a result.  

54 minutes ago, TGHusker said:

I wonder if Scott could bring someone back from the O side of the ball and be an inspiration.  Of course he comes from that side but someone to do what Peters and Foreman are doing.  I'm thinking someone like a Rathman, Gill, Green or Aaron Taylor, etc.  I'm not sure what these guys are doing in particular.  Of course Matt Davidson is around.  It would be nice to see some of the old 'pancake' king guys from the 1990s pipeline to inspire our OL.

Stai was a volunteer coach at one point.  But, the bottom line is that leadership comes from within.  If Peter thinks he's going to change the culture with a bunch of in my day speeches, whatever.  If he & Foreman develop leaders within the program so that they can lead the program forward, ok.  

On 3/16/2020 at 8:21 AM, BigRedN said:

 

From an article I read, we seem to have over 400 offers out [closer to 450 I think].  A team like Clemson will have around 150 or so.  The better teams usually have around 150-200.

 

 

This topic comes up frequently and to the consternation of many.  I'm old enough to remember when an offer was an offer and what proceeded offers were LETTERS.  What changed that?  When Nick Saban went to Alabama.  He started shot gunning offers across the country, offering early became the new MO for getting in on recruits, & now we have uncommittable offers replacing letters to large degree.  

Of course, today Saban has his pick of recruits, & whines as much as anybody about the recruiting culture he created.  NU's offer list will go down when their recruiting interest is reciprocated at a higher rate.  Recruiting is a numbers game and right now NU needs a higher volume of offers to generate the mutual interest they covet.  

I've seen Milton play since well before HS, he's a dual threat QB the way Haskins & Cardale Jones were.  Kid has a cannon for an arm though.  

As an aside, I saw James Franklin on NFL network go out of his way to make the point Micah Parsons only opted out after the BIG cancelled the season.  I didn't think that sounded accurate & a 30 sec trip through the interwebs confirmed it.  Why people lie about irrelevant stuff...

4 hours ago, lo country said:

I approve of this message.  Wonder why we don't use a TE as a HB.  Perhaps we did and I missed it.  Seems a great way to get more of our most talented (and deepest) position group on the field.  Run 12/13 personnel and have one go to an HB.....Use what we have.  Not what we want.  I also like the idea of a true FB.  Something primal about that position....

Agreed.  If I were Frost looking at the talent on the roster, I would be experimenting with using Fidone & Hickman as the slot receiver similar to how UF utilized Pitts, or moving them around between slot, TE, & H-back as KC does w/Kelce.  Most spread option offenses have an interchangeable big H or H-back & a little h or Duck-R in NU's scheme.   Outside of Bubble Screens & triple options, which NU doesn't execute very well, & has rarely been run since the early Oregon days, you lose very little scheme wise.  

On 2/12/2021 at 9:32 AM, teachercd said:

Also, if you are interested.  This is amazing

 

I was doing some freshmen football a few years ago, we were 0-8 and getting killed, letting up over 20 a game.  I literally installed this in pre-game, in the meeting room, showing them how to do it just using the marker board.  Ended up losing the game in OT 6-0.

 

It might not be great at the MS level but I think it would still work because of the difficulty with blocking the "dogs".

 

I just used two calls, Loop (Ends go out, Dogs go in) and Pinch (Ends crash in, Dogs go out). Two calls was all we needed and if you have low level kids that you have a hard time getting on the field...they make great ends and great dogs in this system because they are only asked to go in or out.

 

 

 

You are essentially blitzing your way into the 46 defense w/out of position LB support.  If I could make 1 simple suggestion, twisting your weakside ED is redundant,  Your weakside B is already playing contain & he's prob one of your better athletes.  If you slanted the weakside E & blitzed your weakside B off the edge, now you are in the 46 on the backside w/your D in position to support everything you could face.  

54 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

I know this is a football board and the vast majority of discussion is about actually playing the game.  But, the sad part of the portal is that there's a heck of a lot of these kids that going to college and playing was their way out of poverty or bad situations at home or in their community.  If they would stick it out, they would have the chance to get a degree and help themselves out long term.  But, what will happen is they think they can transfer and play, meanwhile they lose their spot and their's not another one on the other side. So, they wasted their chance to make a better life.

Couldn't agree more & that was the point I attempted to make w/that last point.  When I said delayed gratification built the middle class, I wasn't just using it to make a metaphor for the non-star athletes, I was also implying these kids are throwing their real life opportunity away.  

On 2/10/2021 at 1:58 PM, MinnwiscowaSker said:

The theory is great: any college kid can transfer to any other college or university that accepts them, with no penalty, so the same should be for an athlete. A college student should find and be accepted at the university before officially leaving the current one.

 

The practice is bad: any college athlete can opt transfer out of a college or university, but there may not be a college or university that accepts them and has a football team that wants them. College students are forced to officially announce they're looking elsewhere before they're confident a university will accept them.

 

I think we'll have a couple rough years for transfers not finding a place to land, and data will show it's not always greener on the other side because there may not be another side.

The practice is worse than that:  Impact players are being recruited off rosters & going through the charade of entering the portal.   But, honestly, we live in an era where Coach K is as dirty as any coach in America, so it is what it is.   

For many more, these are the same kids who simply would have quit, been encouraged to transfer by their coaches, or simply not had their scholy's renewed (depending on the school).  The portal is little more than a false sense of control for these kids & I suspect reality comes quick and is hard.   

For the rest, as they say, delayed gratification built the middle class in America, and the need for instant gratification will be it's demise.  

2 hours ago, knapplc said:

Miles & Groce, not only because they were excellent cover guys but also for their special teams work. Tyrone Williams & Ralph Brown were lockdown cover guys.

 

My big quandary was between Pickens & Craver, and I ended up going with Craver. He was the young guy on either the 96 or 97 defense, played (started, I think) as a Freshman, and because he was the youngest, he got targeted all the time. Young dude held up well under that, though, and by the time he was an upperclassman he was a lockdown guy and a classic Blackshirt.

 

Pickens was a standout in the 5-2 defenses and truly a great player. So maybe there's some sympathy bias in picking Craver over him.

 

There isn't a wrong choice on that list, though. Some guys are better than others is all.

 

This would be my 5 as well.   It's not just talent & production, it's what they were asked to do.  All 5 of these guys were Revies Island & I'm not sure I've ever seen a more impressive individual performance than Miles vs Chris T Jones.  Pickens, Booker, & Washington were better pro prospects than CFB players IMO.  I would probably take Erwin Swiney over all 3 & Prince is probably closest to those 5 for me.  

2 hours ago, Hilltop said:

 Verduzco criticism is a bit ridiculous as well imo.  

I will preface this by acknowledging McCaffery had limited experience as a QB and it's likely his mechanics fell apart under the pressure of live action as a result.  But, Verduzco is essentially a trainer taking up a coaching staff position because Frost values his ability to teach QB's to spin the ball.  He himself frequently talks up his ability to improve his QB's "stroke".   

In this era of 7 on 7 offseason leagues & position trainers at the HS level, it is rare to see a CFQB throw the ball as poorly as Luke did last season.  I'm not even talking about decision making, I'm talking about the simple ability to throw a spiral.  And, I say this as a non-QB coach who works with QB's, the easiest pass to teach a kid to throw well is the bubble screen away from his dominant hand, & yet Martinez still has issues with that.  I trust Frost more than most, but I question his faith in Mario.

41 minutes ago, FrantzHardySwag said:

Any stats to back that up. Find it hard to believe Aaron Donald isn't the most double teamed guy in the league. 

I was going off a claim Todd Bowles made in an interview.  According to an article I found referencing nextgen stats, Suh was doubled 3rd most in 2020 behind Donald & Kenny Clark.  This isn't a I'm was wrong, but I was right statement, but I still find that pretty telling given the # of talented interior lineman in the league, & pretty remarkable given most feel Suh is past his prime.