Starting secondary now...

#1
skasper06

skasper06

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#1
I think the only locks are Randolph and Sutton. Outside of that, who does everyone see starting in the secondary?

I'm taking Sutton and Martin at starting CBs, Randolph and Kelly at safeties (even though Kelly is technically Randolph's backup I think he is more SEC game ready than Evan Berry). And lastly I'm putting Foreman at Nickel. Moseley, Berry, Abernathy, and Griffin all get significant playing time in the rotation as well.
 
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#2
#2
skasper06 said:
I think the only locks are Randolph and Sutton. Outside of that, who does everyone see starting in the secondary?

I'm taking Sutton and Martin at starting CBs, Randolph and Kelly at safeties (even though Kelly is technically Randolph's backup I think he is more SEC game ready than Evan Berry). And lastly I'm putting Foreman at Nickel. Moseley, Berry, Abernathy, and Griffin all get significant playing time in the rotation as well.
Click to expand...

Martin isn't healthy enough to start. Moseley will start at CB.
 
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#3
#3
Jancek said Martin is far behind and still limpy since he missed a lot of time. I doubt he starts.
 
#4
#4
Sutton and Moseley at CB. TK and Randolph in the back with Foreman probably playing Nickel when we are in it.

Later in the season, I could see Justin Martin and Moseley at CB with Sutton at Nickel. That'd be pretty deadly IMO
 
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#5
#5
Is our secondary now a train wreck given we've lost two starters already and the season hasn't even started? Teams will pass at will on the vols?
 
#7
#7
Catbone said:
Jancek said Martin is far behind and still limpy since he missed a lot of time. I doubt he starts.
Click to expand...

I know my credibility is shot, but I *did* see Martin walking around HSS today, and he had a very noticeable limp. He was favoring his left leg (if I recall).

It didn't seem awful...it just seemed like he was a little tight/sore.
 
#8
#8
Martin has missed too many reps, but later on he very well could start.
So Mosely has the other CB spot opposite of Sutton. The only caveat
would be moving someone around to nickel,Martin included.Foreman
will definitely be in the mix at nickel,but UT does have options with not a lot of drop off.

And unless they aren't fixated on certain DB's playing certain positions,
such as a certain type of player is a SS and they look for a certain type for a FS,
then Berry will be the man taking McNeil's spot and TKJr and Randolph will rotate.
 
#9
#9
Neyland Law Vol said:
Is our secondary now a train wreck given we've lost two starters already and the season hasn't even started? Teams will pass at will on the vols?
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Nah. The problem is depth, not high-end talent. Moseley was good last year, and by all reports looks much improved. Cam is a superstar. Randolph is a fantastic veteran presence. Berry and Kelly were looking good enough to be nipping at the heels of Randolph and McNeil (pre-injury). And then we have Martin who can, after a few weeks, jump into the starting lineup. We have a secondary that should still be better than last year, with a MUCH improved DL, putting more pressure on the QB.

People won't be passing at will on us.
 
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#11
#11
turambar85 said:
Nah. The problem is depth, not high-end talent. Moseley was good last year, and by all reports looks much improved. Cam is a superstar. Randolph is a fantastic veteran presence. Berry and Kelly were looking good enough to be nipping at the heels of Randolph and McNeil (pre-injury). And then we have Martin who can, after a few weeks, jump into the starting lineup. We have a secondary that should still be better than last year, with a MUCH improved DL, putting more pressure on the QB.

People won't be passing at will on us.
Click to expand...



Agreed Signed M Teague and B Brewer
 
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#12
#12
Moseley looked really good at the open practice. With the added weight that he has put on since arriving on campus I would look for him to be a physical imposing presence this season.

People want to just automatically give that other cb spot to Martin cause of his high ranking coming in. I do think he will be good in do time (rest).
 
#14
#14
Could Evan Berry play Nickel? He's athletic and he can tackle well for run support. Thoughts?
 
#15
#15
We don't need a secondary, our line will stop every play!
 
#16
#16
Neyland Law Vol said:
Is our secondary now a train wreck given we've lost two starters already and the season hasn't even started? Teams will pass at will on the vols?
Click to expand...

Good questions that OU will tell. But, I don't think it's as drastic as you put it.

The DBs were one of our deepest positions, so I see us still being pretty solid back there. Without a doubt, losing Gaulden hurts our playmaking ability at N. Losing McNeil costs us experience and depth at S.

So, I say were weaker. But weaker than awesome should still be pretty good IMO.
 
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#17
#17
amillz said:
Could Evan Berry play Nickel? He's athletic and he can tackle well for run support. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Probably do fair if pressed into it. But he has good size for a safety. Nickel is there to often lock down a top receive moved into the slot to try and create a bad matchup on an LB or SS.

He could do it, but 1:1 with Pharoah Cooper may not be the kinda matchup we really want.

Remember the vacated win Bama had against us in 2005? That hail Mary like pass that got them in FG range, was to their top receiver. He got matched in the slot against our backup DB playing nickel.
 
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#18
#18
To the OP, I would think ...
Sutton, Moseley are the locks outside. With Foreman at the N, and Randolph and Kelly at S.

Now later, I could see Martin starting and Sutton taking over for Foreman.

Also, I'm not 100% convinced Randolph will keep Kelly and Berry from starting. Both may be more athletic and talented. Regardless, I see all three getting about the same # reps, interchanging some, and working on reduced reps to stay fresh late in games. Maybe Abernathy gets some meaningful reps before McNeil presumably returns too.

All jmo.
 
#19
#19
livefaith said:
Good questions that OU will tell. But, I don't think it's as drastic as you put it.

The DBs were one of our deepest positions, so I see us still being pretty solid back there. Without a doubt, losing Gaulden hurts our playmaking ability at N. Losing McNeil costs us experience and depth at S.

So, I say were weaker. But weaker than awesome should still be pretty good IMO.
Click to expand...

Thanks. A little over reaction by me when I first heard the news. Frustrating that we are losing so many guys. Hope our young guys step up!
 
#21
#21
We shall see how our secondary handles things next sat...BG is a pass heavy offense. So is should give us a little insight
 
#22
#22
volquest86 said:
We shall see how our secondary handles things next sat...BG is a pass heavy offense. So is should give us a little insight
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Agreed. On paper we look like we will be solid since our backups have been solid when they were on field and in camps. Now we need that to translate to results on the field.
 
#24
#24
The Secondary is very thin but the current contributing group is quality.

A 3 safety group of Randolph, TKjr and Berry is rock solid. Stephen Griffin has a ton of potential as a ball hawk free safety, but it is too early to count on him contributing much this season on defense.

At CB we are strong if we don't lose anyone else. Micah Abernathy is capable and more than skilled enough to be our 4th or 5th option at CB right now. But there is almost nobody after him. Darrell Miller needs a year (or two) to get up to speed to compete in this league.
 
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