O-Line Starting 5 Predictions

#53
#53
OT - Blair / Richmond, Thomas
OG - Jackson, Sanders, Stewart
C - Crowder, Raulerson
OG - Roberson, Weisman, Boulware
OT - Kerbyson, Kendrick, Jones
 
#54
#54
MrVolton said:
No offense to VFL like Frogg, Gilliam, and the Sullins Bros, but I do believe this could be the first time in over a decade that we've not had to count on walk-ons in the 2 deep at OL.
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If we could somehow continue to get walk-ons like Gilliam I would be fine with them in the 2 deep. I understand he was an exception to the rule. Love having guys like that in the locker room.
 
#56
#56
KBVol said:
I don't see anyway Jackson moves out to LT....I think we're trying to limit/eliminate players playing out of position given the disaster of last year. I've actually heard that Kerbyson is working exclusively at LT this offseason which is discouraging enough imo. Here is RTI/Daniel Lewis' take on the OL....

"2. Offensive tackle: Really you could throw the whole offensive line into a competition as the Vols look to upgrade their weakest spot from 2014. But finding answers at tackle, in particular, will be key. Kyler Kerbyson told us recently that he’s been working almost exclusively at left tackle like he did at the end of last year, so if that remains the case, that right tackle position could be the main one up for grabs and look for players such as Dontavius Blair, Coleman Thomas, Brett Kendrick and Jack Jones to battle for time there."
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if Kerbyson is a starting tackle for us dobbs may not make it through the season.... I like the kid but hes absolutely awful
 
#57
#57
keckjm said:
Jackson is 6'2" man lol he isn't playing LT. Most likely Kerbs plays LT and Blair plays RT with Kendrick and Richmond being the backups.
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if Kerbyson can beat out Richmond that would mean Richmond is terrible and should have never been a 5 star. Kerbyson is by far the worst tackle ive ever seen in major college football
 
#58
#58
ATLVols said:
I'm not sure Crowder will start. He got blown off the ball quite a bit and needs to add some strength.
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This. Thomas played out of position last year and wasn't physically ready to take on that roll. However, his physicality improved as the season progressed and he did much better as the year went on. He would start at center, his natural position, over Crowder if he doesn't have to fill in at a place (out of position) like he did last year at RT. Look for him to be the starting center moving forward if he gets the chance, if not he'll still contribute in the two-deep at RT IMO.
 
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#60
#60
IndyVOL26 said:
if Kerbyson can beat out Richmond that would mean Richmond is terrible and should have never been a 5 star. Kerbyson is by far the worst tackle ive ever seen in major college football
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126 posts in 8 years? I'd ask you to post less, but it seems you have that covered.

Indy, your statement above is absolutely absurd -- there's no way around that. You're asking a kid, regardless of rating, to come in and be more physically and mentally ready than a guy who's been in the system for 3 years?

I'm not sure how you could say something like that, being that most kids that play in the trenches, again, regardless of rating, are rarely going to make an impact in year one in SEC ball. Not saying it doesn't happen, but I wouldn't put my money on it.
 
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#61
#61
IndyVOL26 said:
Kerbyson is by far the worst tackle ive ever seen in major college football
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Then you kept your eyes closed a lot - all you needed to do was look across to the other side of he line as Thomas was significantly worse than Kerbyson.
 
#62
#62
OrangeHammer said:
This. Thomas played out of position last year and wasn't physically ready to take on that roll. However, his physicality improved as the season progressed and he did much better as the year went on.
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I recall Gilliam took over at RT and Thomas went to the bench as the season progressed?
 
#63
#63
MyBloodRunnethOrange said:
Not what I was hoping to hear.
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*** ALERT RAIN MAN REFERENCE ***
I think this falls along the lines of Raymond playing roulette at Vegas after counting the hell out of cards...:ermm:

Not your game Bob...not your game. :no:
 
#64
#64
sjsmith87 said:
LT- Blair / Richmond
LG- Jackson / Weisman
C- Crowder / Thomas
RG- Robertson / Sanders OR Raulerson
RT- Kerbyson / Jones

Kerbyson will be a starter at one of the tackle positions going into the season, at least for the beginning of the season unless Richmond or Jones can't be denied during fall camp. I see Sanders, Raulerson, and Thomas getting significant PT throughout the season, too.
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I think you have hit on the best guess for now but the reports have surprisingly been that the staff wants to keep Kerbyson at LT.
 
#66
#66
ATLVols said:
I'm not sure Crowder will start. He got blown off the ball quite a bit and needs to add some strength.
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Define "quite a bit" and provide some evidence. UT's middle 3 were not bad last year. The tackles killed them. That would seem to suggest that you keep the middle intact and build around it. Kerbyson is almost sure to start at one OT spot. That makes the real competition for the other OT spot. Thomas could pass Crowder as he is said to have the better physical talent... however he got blown off the ball quite a bit last year too... and he wasn't playing against 300 lb DT's then.
 
#68
#68
Catbone said:
We gave up 43 sacks last year. If we can get that down to 30 I'll be impressed. Maybe we can get some push too, it'd be nice to see us be able to run up the middle and gain positive yards for a change.
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I don't see it. Worley had 29 sacks in 7 games, Dobbs had 12 sacks in 6 games. Even if we don't improve at all, extrapolating from the sack rate after Dobbs got the starting gig, we shouldn't have more than 25-26 sacks. With any improvement at all, we should be in the low 20's.
 
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#69
#69
sjt18 said:
Define "quite a bit" and provide some evidence. UT's middle 3 were not bad last year. The tackles killed them. That would seem to suggest that you keep the middle intact and build around it. Kerbyson is almost sure to start at one OT spot. That makes the real competition for the other OT spot. Thomas could pass Crowder as he is said to have the better physical talent... however he got blown off the ball quite a bit last year too... and he wasn't playing against 300 lb DT's then.
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I may be remembering wrong, but I could have sworn that Thomas's main problem was with getting beaten with speed, not so much with power. It seems as if every other play someone breezed by with him barely laying a hand on them. That shouldn't be as much of a problem in the middle.
 
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#70
#70
VFL-82-JP said:
Ok based on this update (thanks BM!), I'm flip-flopping Kendrick and Blair's spots on the two-deep. Understand the rest of what you said, Bob, but there's still a lot of spring and summer to play out before I go putting Jones at tackle instead of guard. So my list now looks like:

LT -- Kerbyson // Richmond
LG -- Jackson // Wiesman
C -- Crowder // Thomas
RG -- Robertson // Jones
RT -- Kendrick // ?? // Blair

Cheers!
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I agree...to start the season. Not sure about Jones at OG though. Others will be given a look at tackle as the season goes on. Kerbyson will slide inside in the event someone gets hurt. I can't believe some don't have Robertson at RG. Proven commodity. Started every game there on short notice and made All-SEC frosh team. He will probably end up being the highest drafted OL off of the 2014 UT team.
 
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#71
#71
LT-Kyler, Kendrick
LG-Marcus, Dylan W.
C-Crowder, Thomas
RG-Jashon, Dylan W.
RT- Thomas, Blair
With plenty of depth at guard,
 
#72
#72
turambar85 said:
I may be remembering wrong, but I could have sworn that Thomas's main problem was with getting beaten with speed, not so much with power. It seems as if every other play someone breezed by with him barely laying a hand on them. That shouldn't be as much of a problem in the middle.
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I saw a few plays early in the year and actually against lesser opponents where Crowder appeared to lose his leverage and get pushed back. I noticed Thomas consistently losing both to speed and to bull rushes.

I'm not blaming him. He was put in a bad position by playing out of position as a true Fr. Unless he changes a lot, he's probably less prepared to face SEC DT's than Crowder.


Plus, there was an obvious and distinct drop off when Crowder went out last fall. The OL actually improved when Thomas went out.

Whoever wins, wins. But I suspect that Crowder will be much tougher to displace than many here seem to think.
 
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#73
#73
IMHO, Richmond's immediate future is probably dependent on Blair. If Blair cannot start then Richmond will get a very long look. If Blair does start then it will be a great opportunity to RS Richmond.
 
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#74
#74
OH-Vol said:
0% chance Roberson isn't one of the 5 (excluding injury knock on wood)
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Agree! He was on the SEC All Freshman team and a True Freshman All-American. Yet some people are guessing he will not start or even more laughable, redshirt? Teams build around players that make all-american teams, not replace them.
 
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#75
#75
TheDirector said:
Agree! He was on the SEC All Freshman team and a True Freshman All-American. Yet some people are guessing he will not start or even more laughable, redshirt? Teams build around players that make all-american teams, not replace them.
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Jashon was pretty much the offensive version of Derek Barnett of the 2014 class. Both were freshman all-Americans. So, to your point, why in the world would anybody expect him to not have that RG position locked down?
 
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