How good can our linebacker corps be in 2018.

[TrueVolsGBOInsider]

I totally get that. I'm very skeptical about his ability to be a productive football player as well. But I think we disagree about his athleticism. When you take size/strength/speed into account, he might be our best athlete up front. He just hasn't translated any of that into being a good football player.

I agree, he is all speed and athleticism honestly. To say he has no burst is ridiculous. He’s still learning to play football is what it boils down too, and with the coaches we had before. He was destined to underperform and fail under the previous staff. Will be interesting to see how he improves with actual coaching!!

 

[MyBloodRunnethOrange]

I would say a dominant defensive line is more important. Football games are won and lost at the line of scrimmage.

In a 4-3 yes. In a 3-4 the DL is primarily there to take on the blocks and the LBs are the ones making the plays.

 

[FïreBall]

I agree, he is all speed and athleticism honestly. To say he has no burst is ridiculous. He’s still learning to play football is what it boils down too, and with the coaches we had before. He was destined to underperform and fail under the previous staff. Will be interesting to see how he improves with actual coaching!!

Check out the Chris Rumph video, he talks about Kongbo..

 

[FLVOL_79]

I think worrisome Is the right word for the whole team. Defense: because the change to 3-4. I understand this will be a hybrid year but still this change takes time for most teams. Offense: because of, well every area, but o line mostly. Special Teams: must find a replacement of one of the best punters we've had in a long time, hope field goal results improve and kick return will need to not fall off. Depth of all: experience takes time which this team doesn't have. AND Coaching: looks to be (how could it not) better than before, here again, time will tell...... Go Vols looking forward to September and beyond.

I forgot about the kicking game which is, in my opinion, the most important part of the team. How could I have been so blind!!

I hope the change to 3-4 is less painful than in the past. Didnt Sunseri do that? 4-3 to 3-4..

 

[TrueVolsGBOInsider]

Check out the Chris Rumph video, he talks about Kongbo..

I like it, if Rumph is excited to work with him than he obviously sees a talented player. I think he’s right about Kongbo playing too heavy last year. I’m excited about Deandre Johnson too, he could be a breakout player this year IMo. I like our defensive staff a lot, it’s a great group of coaches!!

 

[TrueVolsGBOInsider]

I forgot about the kicking game which is, in my opinion, the most important part of the team. How could I have been so blind!!

I hope the change to 3-4 is less painful than in the past. Didnt Sunseri do that? 4-3 to 3-4..

He tried too, didn’t work out well for him though. As somebody else mentioned earlier, Dooley didn’t recruit the players to thrive in a 3-4 so it was doomed before the jump!

 

[RollerVol]

well, we're about 12 deep now so surely we can find somebody...starting with Bituli...

GO VOLS!

 

[FlyFishnVol]

I think the LB group should be nasty. The secondary should be stout as well. I would wager a Schlitz Malt Liquor that the defense will be adequate or better this year..its the O that is worrisome.

I like PBR =}

 

[TrueVolsGBOInsider]

well, we're about 12 deep now so surely we can find somebody...starting with Bituli...

GO VOLS!

Amen Brotha

 

[gunner]

In a 4-3 yes. In a 3-4 the DL is primarily there to take on the blocks and the LBs are the ones making the plays.

Regardless of the scheme 4-3 or 3-4, it’s starts with controlling the line of scrimmage. It’s well documented that Pruitt has said UT will run both schemes depending on the offense they play and if you look at Pruitt’s defenses at FSU, Georgia, and Alabama they all played multiple schemes depending on the opponent with 3-4 being the base.

 

[LittleVol]

Regardless of the scheme 4-3 or 3-4, it’s starts with controlling the line of scrimmage. It’s well documented that Pruitt has said UT will run both schemes depending on the offense they play and if you look at Pruitt’s defenses at FSU, Georgia, and Alabama they all played multiple schemes depending on the opponent with 3-4 being the base.

At FSU he had guys like Tim Jernigan and Demarcus Walker

At Bama, AShawn Robinson and DeAndre Payne....
He knows what to look for and gauging a players motor and skill-set. He knows how to use talent.

We've got some good sized and veteran front 7. I expect us to be formidable.

 

[KBVol]

I totally get that. I'm very skeptical about his ability to be a productive football player as well. But I think we disagree about his athleticism. When you take size/strength/speed into account, he might be our best athlete up front. He just hasn't translated any of that into being a good football player.

May be a very good athlete, but his type of athleticism evidently doesn’t translate to being a good football player in the SEC, certainly not to this point. Perhaps Rocker and Rumph get more out of him, but to this point, he can’t get around any OTs and he can’t shed anybody’s block. And with all due respect, I think Taylor is the better athlete of the two. Jmo.

 

[KBVol]

I agree, he is all speed and athleticism honestly. To say he has no burst is ridiculous. He’s still learning to play football is what it boils down too, and with the coaches we had before. He was destined to underperform and fail under the previous staff. Will be interesting to see how he improves with actual coaching!!

Well then I’m willing to be “ridiculous”. Give me an example of Kongbo ever showing any burst on the field of play. Perhaps I’m forgetting. 3.5 sacks in 17 games played in his career thus far.....about 1 sack every 5 games he’s played. He’s best known for consecutive personal foul penalties vs Bama for illegally grabbing and shoving an OT’s face mask, not for showing any burst on the way to an opposing quarterback.

 

[LittleVol]

Well then I’m willing to be “ridiculous”. Give me an example of Kongbo ever showing any burst on the field of play. Perhaps I’m forgetting. 3.5 sacks in 17 games played in his career thus far.....about 1 sack every 5 games he’s played. He’s best known for consecutive personal foul penalties vs Bama for illegally grabbing and shoving an OT’s face mask, not for showing any burst on the way to an opposing quarterback.

Good news for you, KB.

Is that this is his last year. For better or worse. Let's just hope someone steps up...

 

[Remy]

Well then I’m willing to be “ridiculous”. Give me an example of Kongbo ever showing any burst on the field of play. Perhaps I’m forgetting. 3.5 sacks in 17 games played in his career thus far.....about 1 sack every 5 games he’s played. He’s best known for consecutive personal foul penalties vs Bama for illegally grabbing and shoving an OT’s face mask, not for showing any burst on the way to an opposing quarterback.

It's beginning to appear Kongbo is one of these practice beasts but a gameday kitten. It happens a lot across all programs. It's just that in most programs they get marginalized and the guys that play best when the lights come on play the most. We've not had that luxury on The Hill in recent years. Jones proved that finding a way to limit playing time for playmakers like Evan Berry turns out not only thought to be stupid but heavens to Betsy in reality was stupid once put into operation, nothing anecdotal in his analytics!

 

[Volteacher]

Quart’e Sapp looks like an absolute monster on the field. He and Daniel Bituli look like what you would create if you were designing the perfect template of an SEC linebacker. Both can move well, and Bituli has surprisingly good hands for an inside linebacker.
-Nathanial Rutherford

this was from practice #2 I think we can be excited............

 

[SmokyRiverDog]

IMO, Colton Jumper embodies what it means to be a volunteer. He always gave his all for Tennessee and that’s what we need more of. I don’t know this for sure, but I think jumper helped guys like sapp and Bituli make a step to the next level. Guys feed off of players like jumper, what he lacked in athleticism he more Than made up with heart. I’d drink a beer with him any day of the week!!!

Good post. He was the living embodiment of a linebacker corpse.

 

[TrueVolsGBOInsider]

Well then I’m willing to be “ridiculous”. Give me an example of Kongbo ever showing any burst on the field of play. Perhaps I’m forgetting. 3.5 sacks in 17 games played in his career thus far.....about 1 sack every 5 games he’s played. He’s best known for consecutive personal foul penalties vs Bama for illegally grabbing and shoving an OT’s face mask, not for showing any burst on the way to an opposing quarterback.

Our definitions of burst are completely different. Sacks come from technique, vision, gap discipline, other players putting pressure on their man, strength, and overall experience. That last one is the key, EXPERIENCE. And Kongbo didnt have enough of it to be great on the D line. But If you take him to a plymetrics class I bet runs circles around people, that’s what burst is, raw athleticism, speed, quickness, and agility. Looking at sack staticitics to prove he has no burst is short sided, your saying because his sack numbers are low that means he has no burst. Does that mean if a wide receiver doesn’t have enough catches for you then your gonna label him slow or he has no burst either. If Kongbo has anything it’s athleticism and burst, it’s all the other intangibles he needs to work on to become a better edge rusher.

 

[WoodsmanVol]

I agree, he is all speed and athleticism honestly. To say he has no burst is ridiculous. He’s still learning to play football is what it boils down too, and with the coaches we had before. He was destined to underperform and fail under the previous staff. Will be interesting to see how he improves with actual coaching!!

Finally, someone with some sense rather than being just ignorantly judgmental. Kong, Kong, King Kong has some coaching now and we're going to see the results. Pruitt ain't gonna settle for less.

 

[Darth_Shiveman]

Well then I’m willing to be “ridiculous”. Give me an example of Kongbo ever showing any burst on the field of play. Perhaps I’m forgetting. 3.5 sacks in 17 games played in his career thus far.....about 1 sack every 5 games he’s played. He’s best known for consecutive personal foul penalties vs Bama for illegally grabbing and shoving an OT’s face mask, not for showing any burst on the way to an opposing quarterback.

TBF, you said you think Taylor is the better athlete and he actually has fewer sacks than Kongbo in 2016 and 2017. Granted he was suspended one game....for stomping on a teammates' head in practice.

You're conflating a lack of production for a lack of athleticism.

 

[stevenrich2003]

I think the LB group should be nasty. The secondary should be stout as well. I would wager a Schlitz Malt Liquor that the defense will be adequate or better this year..its the O that is worrisome.

I think they will struggle some early on. As the season progresses I think they will get nasty towards the end. I say that simply because of the complete change in scheme.

 

[KBVol]

Our definitions of burst are completely different. Sacks come from technique, vision, gap discipline, other players putting pressure on their man, strength, and overall experience. That last one is the key, EXPERIENCE. And Kongbo didnt have enough of it to be great on the D line. But If you take him to a plymetrics class I bet runs circles around people, that’s what burst is, raw athleticism, speed, quickness, and agility. Looking at sack staticitics to prove he has no burst is short sided, your saying because his sack numbers are low that means he has no burst. Does that mean if a wide receiver doesn’t have enough catches for you then your gonna label him slow or he has no burst either. If Kongbo has anything it’s athleticism and burst, it’s all the other intangibles he needs to work on to become a better edge rusher.

I’m saying the guy, after nearly two seasons worth of games (17), has not shown the ability to be disruptive in any way, shape, size or form. I’m saying he hasn’t shown the ability to line up across from an offensive tackle and beat his man one on one so as to have any impact on the opposing offense in any way. And I’m saying that if he did indeed have all this “burst and athleticism” that’s been/being attributed to him, that we’d have seen it by now in the form of sacks, tackles for loss and just general disruption and mandatory double teams by the opposing offenses he’s played against.....and none of that has materialized.

Perhaps he’s been playing to heavy. Perhaps he’s not been taught proper technique (can almost guarantee that), but either way, he’s not shown to be overly athletic at any point the last two years imho. Just haven’t seen it.

Maybe Rumph and Rocker get things out of Kongbo this year that he’s thus far not even flashed....I sure hope so, because we need studs on the edge to be successful, and he (and to a lesser extent Darrell Taylor too) has been nothing short of a pretty major bust to date, after a pretty fair sample size. And it’s why I’ve said I’m hopeful that somebody else like Jordan Allen will step up and move past Kongbo and prove to be the player we all thought and were told Kongbo was gonna be.

 

[LittleVol]

KB,
Right now they have Kongbo running 1st team.

They see something in him.
I think he puts it all together...

 

[FïreBall]

Pruitt stated something that could make all the difference for a player like Kongbo.. Pruitt went on about teaching.. He said "the players will understand why we do it that way".. The coaches have said Kongbo is a smart guy.. Maybe teaching from the coaches going more in depth on techniques and fundamentals and backing it up with the reason why it is done that way will help things to click, instead of blindly playing a position and possibly just going through the motions because that is all he knows to do. All speculation on me.. But I'm a firm believer in when you teach something, you also teach the reason for it.. These are my hopes..

 

[DaUndergroundMan]

It's beginning to appear Kongbo is one of these practice beasts but a gameday kitten. It happens a lot across all programs. It's just that in most programs they get marginalized and the guys that play best when the lights come on play the most. We've not had that luxury on The Hill in recent years. Jones proved that finding a way to limit playing time for playmakers like Evan Berry turns out not only thought to be stupid but heavens to Betsy in reality was stupid once put into operation, nothing anecdotal in his analytics!

Remember Bernard jackson. Nicknamed Godzilla by teammates? He was a bit of a tweener, changed positions, never found "it" or put it all together despite being legendary practice player and respected feared by teammates.

For a year or so, that's who kongbo has reminded me of.