2017 DEFENSE Talent & Depth Perspective

#1
tennesseeduke

tennesseeduke

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#1
Defense and Star rating depth & size:

1st Team DL
DE Kyle Phillips 5* 6-4 263lbs
DT K-MacKenzie 5* 6-3 320lbs
DT Shy Tuttle 4* 6-2 308lbs
DE Jon Kongbo 5* 6-6 264lbs

2nd Team DL
DE Darrell Taylor 4* 6-4 254lbs
DT Kendall Vickers 3* 6-3 295lbs
DT Quay Picou 3* 6-1 280lbs
DE Deandre Johnson 4* 6-4 258lbs

1st Team LB's
MLB Darin Kirkland Jr. 4* 6-1 238lbs
WLB Cortez McDowell 3* 6-0 228lbs
SLB Quarte Sapp 3* 6-2 222lbs

2nd Team LB's
MLB Colton Jumper 2* 6-2 229lbs
WLB Austin Smith 3* 6-3 236lbs
SLB Daniel Bituli 4* 6-3 235lbs

1st Team DB's
CB Emmanual Mosely 3* 5-11 184lbs
SS Todd Kelley Jr 4* 5-11 200lbs
FS Nigel Warrior 4* 6-0 194lbs
CB Marquill Osborne 4* 5-11 188lbs

2nd Team DB's
CB Shaq Wiggins transfer 5-10 170lbs
SS Justin Martin 4* 6-1 196lbs
FS Rashaun Gauldin 3* 6-1 193lbs
CB Baylan Buchannon 3* 5-11 185lbs

P Daniel 3 yr starter 6-1 227lbs

WE LOOK LIKE AN SEC TEAM GETTING OFF THE BUSS NOW. GOOD GRIEF A FEW YEARS AGO I WAS WORRIED ABOUT HOW SMALL THEY WERE. NOT NOW!

THOUGHTS VN??

:loco:

TENNESSEEDUKE
 
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#3
#3
If Bob Shoop can't make a "top of the conference" quality defense out of that group of players - then something is wrong.
 
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#5
#5
3 glaring problems with your depth chart:
1) Vickers is a starting DT, alongside Tuttle (when healthy) or McKenzie
2) Starting CB's will be Wiggins and Martin IMO.. it sure as heck won't be Moseley and Osborne...
3) You won't keep Gaulden off the field, he will start.
 
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#8
#8
MSME Vol said:
No Abernathy in 2 deep? He'll play...
Click to expand...

Gauldin and Abernathy will play a lot. I was trying to pick 1's and 2's. Depth now so it's really difficult to say who the starters are in every position anymore. A couple of years ago it was pretty easy to pick the starters.

:loco:

Tennesseeduke
 
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#9
#9
TheBigOne10 said:
3 glaring problems with your depth chart:
1) Vickers is a starting DT, alongside Tuttle (when healthy) or McKenzie
2) Starting CB's will be Wiggins and Martin IMO.. it sure as heck won't be Moseley and Osborne...
3) You won't keep Gaulden off the field, he will start.
Click to expand...

Disagree with #1 and #2. KMac and Tuttle are healthy they are starting on the Dline. Because Wiggins is a transfer he will not start. CBJ will not jeopardize team chemistry for a 1 and done. Wiggins will play a lot though.
Gaulden is a beast and can play several roles.

:loco:

Tennesseeduke
 
#10
#10
tennesseeduke said:
Defense and Star rating depth & size:

1st Team DL
DE Kyle Phillips 5* 6-4 263lbs
DT K-MacKenzie 5* 6-3 320lbs
DT Shy Tuttle 4* 6-2 308lbs
DE Jon Kongbo 5* 6-6 264lbs

2nd Team DL
DE Darrell Taylor 4* 6-4 254lbs
DT Kendall Vickers 3* 6-3 295lbs
DT Quay Picou 3* 6-1 280lbs
DE Deandre Johnson 4* 6-4 258lbs

1st Team LB's
MLB Darin Kirkland Jr. 4* 6-1 238lbs
WLB Cortez McDowell 3* 6-0 228lbs
SLB Quarte Sapp 3* 6-2 222lbs

2nd Team LB's
MLB Colton Jumper 2* 6-2 229lbs
WLB Austin Smith 3* 6-3 236lbs
SLB Daniel Bituli 4* 6-3 235lbs

1st Team DB's
CB Emmanual Mosely 3* 5-11 184lbs
SS Todd Kelley Jr 4* 5-11 200lbs
FS Nigel Warrior 4* 6-0 194lbs
CB Marquill Osborne 4* 5-11 188lbs

2nd Team DB's
CB Shaq Wiggins transfer 5-10 170lbs
SS Justin Martin 4* 6-1 196lbs
FS Rashaun Gauldin 3* 6-1 193lbs
CB Baylan Buchannon 3* 5-11 185lbs

P Daniel 3 yr starter 6-1 227lbs

WE LOOK LIKE AN SEC TEAM GETTING OFF THE BUSS NOW. GOOD GRIEF A FEW YEARS AGO I WAS WORRIED ABOUT HOW SMALL THEY WERE. NOT NOW!

THOUGHTS VN??

:loco:

TENNESSEEDUKE
Click to expand...

Came a long, long way since 2013.
 
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#11
#11
I think Taylor is a starter at end, but it wouldn't surprise me if Phillips ends up with the most sacks. I also think Warrior is too good not to start. There doesn't seem to be much difference between the first and second string which is a great problem to have.

DT depth is better than it has been in a decade at least. We lost O'Brien but hopefully Johnson and Picou play at a similar level.
 
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#12
#12
1chattyvols1 said:
Came a long, long way since 2013.
Click to expand...

Before 2013, Dooley was competing for recruits with the likes of Dartmouth, Wyoming, Ohio, UMass, etc.

Butch has finally built quality depth with talented players due to his elite recruiting.

Hopefully his coaching improves and the new coaches do their jobs this season.

But I agree, we've came a very long way.
 
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#13
#13
tennesseeduke said:
Disagree with #1 and #2. KMac and Tuttle are healthy they are starting on the Dline. Because Wiggins is a transfer he will not start. CBJ will not jeopardize team chemistry for a 1 and done. Wiggins will play a lot though.
Gaulden is a beast and can play several roles.

:loco:

Tennesseeduke
Click to expand...

Wiggins won't start because he's a transfer? That's ridiculous.
He didn't come here to sit on the bench. If he is the best corner then he will start.
 
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#15
#15
tennesseeduke said:
Disagree with #1 and #2. KMac and Tuttle are healthy they are starting on the Dline. Because Wiggins is a transfer he will not start. CBJ will not jeopardize team chemistry for a 1 and done. Wiggins will play a lot though.
Gaulden is a beast and can play several roles.

:loco:

Tennesseeduke
Click to expand...
Jones needs to play the best player.
 
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#17
#17
I'll have to see it to believe it, but Mike Griffith had Dillon Bates listed as a starter after the spring; he's not mentioned anywhere here.
 
#18
#18
3 changes. Shaq Wiggins and Justin Martin will be your starting CBs and Dan Bituli will be a starting LB

Oh yeah, Matthew Butler will be the best DE on the team before the season is over
 
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#19
#19
tennesseeduke said:
Disagree with #1 and #2. KMac and Tuttle are healthy they are starting on the Dline. Because Wiggins is a transfer he will not start. CBJ will not jeopardize team chemistry for a 1 and done. Wiggins will play a lot though.
Gaulden is a beast and can play several roles.

:loco:

Tennesseeduke
Click to expand...

Technically Moseley is a one and done this season he's not back next year unless he gets injured and redshirted. Team chemistry flies out the window the first time he gets burned, so I don't believe Shoop and Warren let it get to that point. Can still happen as a backup. Martin mans the other side if he's been reached...otherwise Osborne gets the call and Labruzza learns. Taylor starts and plays the most while Phillips bounces between both sides (and tries to stay healthy). Think Bituli eventually pairs with Kirkland. Prolly right with Sapp but Austin Smith will have a conversation.
 
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#20
#20
Not sure how accurate those weights are even though they are listed on the new roster . Kongbo tweeted last week and had a picture of the scales with him @ 275.6 lbs .
 
#21
#21
Wiggins was a 4* on rivals & the 247 composite in 2013

I did this for the GA Tech defensive 2-deep as projected by the Atlanta paper and added the class so I'd have an idea about the experience level.

GT has 1 low 4-star (rivals 5.8) playing CB
There are 2 high 3-stars (rivals 5.7), one starts at safety and the other is a backup DE
There are 5 mid 3-stars (rivals 5.6), both LBs, NB, DE, and the other CB - all starting
There are 10 low 3-stars (rivals 5.5), one starting at NT and another at DE, the other 8 are backups
The other starting safety and the starting DT are both high 2-stars (rivals 5.4)
One of the backup safeties is a mid 2-star (rivals 5.3)
One of the backup CBs is a low 2-star (rivals 5.2)

Their starters are all 3 year students or above though I don't know how much playing time they've had. One of the starters, the 2-star DT is a 2nd year JUCO and one of the low 3-star backup CBs is a transfer from USC.

Overall their roster talent according to rivals is on the same level as Vanderbilt. They're a low 3-star team, 3 rungs down the talent ladder from where we presently reside.

It could be the key to GT's success is less about the jimmies and joes and more about the Xs and Os, i.e., coaching.
 
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#22
#22
The Dog said:
3 changes. Shaq Wiggins and Justin Martin will be your starting CBs and Dan Bituli will be a starting LB

Oh yeah, Matthew Butler will be the best DE on the team before the season is over
Click to expand...

In both of these threads you have predicted a freshman to be one of, if not THE, best at their position. Get ready to be disappointed because that's just not gonna happen.
 
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#24
#24
AllVol11717 said:
I think it might end up the other way around. Both very talented players but I think Taylor leads the team in sacks this year.
Click to expand...

I sure hope you're right. They've been hyping Taylor in the off season for 2 years and he's hardly played at all to date. Time for him to shine.
 
#25
#25
TheBigOne10 said:
3 glaring problems with your depth chart:
1) Vickers is a starting DT, alongside Tuttle (when healthy) or McKenzie
2) Starting CB's will be Wiggins and Martin IMO.. it sure as heck won't be Moseley and Osborne...
3) You won't keep Gaulden off the field, he will start.
Click to expand...

Martin is terrible, I've lost count on the times he was burnt last year.
 
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