'14 TN WR Josh Malone (UT commit 12/4/13)

Status
Not open for further replies.
#3,551
#3,551
LionPride said:
Will Smith eventually reach the level of Rodgers? Rodgers did have some serious speed, I do recall he also had some drops in the beginning.
Click to expand...

I think he has the potential to be better than Zach, certainly is well ahead of where he was as a freshman. Just want to see him be what they said he was... the WR with the best hands and best ball skills... beginning tomorrow.
 
#3,556
#3,556
KBVol said:
I think he has the potential to be better than Zach, certainly is well ahead of where he was as a freshman. Just want to see him be what they said he was... the WR with the best hands and best ball skills... beginning tomorrow.
Click to expand...

What about Austin Rogers? The forgotten receiver. He only had one decent year but he did catch 56 balls in 2007. That's the type of stuff we need from Josh Smith IMO.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#3,557
#3,557
KBVol said:
Agree with you on the route running and understanding the system. Smith is obviously out there because he's ahead of the other WRs (except for Pig, and I guess Croom and North) to date. I acknowledged earlier that hes done a great job cracking the starting lineup, i.e., running the right routes and understanding the offense.

But, and this is not intended to be a smartass question, what good does it do if you're in the right spots but you don't catch the ball consistently/you drop the ball more than anybody else?

That being said, I honestly do believe he'll improve catching the ball, I think his drops have probably been more about freshman nerves than anything else. I can see Josh in the WR rotation, making solid contributions for the next 3.5 yrs. Just think WRU should have elite WRs to help get us back on top and that Malone and Pearson fit that description better than Josh.
Click to expand...

I guess my main point was that I don't think it's a given that Malone as a true freshman will be further along in terms of route running and some of the technical aspects of the position than Smith/Croom as sophomores in their second year in the system.

The coaches have talked repeatedly about how much this system asks of receivers. The system demands receivers who can run precise routes and block well in addition to just catching the ball and running. And as far as the blocking goes, I don't think anyone we're bringing in will have Croom beat in that department by next season.

There's no doubt that Malone has a higher ceiling than smith, but smith will also have a head start in terms of familiarity to the system and strength and conditioning.

I'm not saying Malone wouldn't play his freshman year here, but the odds would be stacked against him to displace one of those as the starter.

That's not a knock on Malone, that's just acknowledging that we'll have some more depth next season if he commits. More depth means less freshmen impact for the most part.

EDIT: and as far as the drops go, who among our freshmen WRs hasn't had some problems with drops? Sure smith has the most, but he also has the most targets I our young guys. Most of his drops had been on throws in traffic where he was about to get hit.

IMO north's wide open drop against UGA was worse than any Smith has had this far.

We don't know if Malone will come in with hands like glue immediately, or if (like all the other first year guys we've brought in so far) he'll struggle putting it all together initially.
 
Last edited:
#3,558
#3,558
BOP said:
What about Austin Rogers? The forgotten receiver. He only had one decent year but he did catch 56 balls in 2007. That's the type of stuff we need from Josh Smith IMO.
Click to expand...
The state of our receiving corps after Robert Meachem, bret smith, and Swain left was pretty dismal and we needed Rogers to step up. I don't think we'll ever see our receiving corps be that thin as long as butch is here.

My point is Smith may never get 56 catches in a season because of guys like Pig, North, Croom, and Jonathon Johnson. Plus young developing guys like Paul Harris and Ryan Jenkins, as well as guys coming in next year like Vic, Booth, and potentially Malone and Pearson. Oh yeah, and we should have a stout running game with Hurd and co.

Smith can and probably will be productive, but I wouldn't necessarily measure it by how many catches he gets.
 
#3,559
#3,559
Darth_Shiveman said:
I guess my main point was that I don't think it's a given that Malone as a true freshman will be further along in terms of route running and some of the technical aspects of the position than Smith/Croom as sophomores in their second year in the system.

The coaches have talked repeatedly about how much this system asks of receivers. The system demands receivers who can run precise routes and block well in addition to just catching the ball and running. And as far as the blocking goes, I don't think anyone we're bringing in will have Croom beat in that department by next season.

There's no doubt that Malone has a higher ceiling than smith, but smith will also have a head start in terms of familiarity to the system and strength and conditioning.

I'm not saying Malone wouldn't play his freshman year here, but the odds would be stacked against him to displace one of those as the starter.

That's not a knock on Malone, that's just acknowledging that we'll have some more depth next season if he commits. More depth means less freshmen impact for the most part.

EDIT: and as far as the drops go, who among our freshmen WRs hasn't had some problems with drops? Sure smith has the most, but he also has the most targets I our young guys. Most of his drops had been on throws in traffic where he was about to get hit.

IMO north's wide open drop against UGA was worse than any Smith has had this far.

We don't know if Malone will come in with hands like glue immediately, or if (like all the other first year guys we've brought in so far) he'll struggle putting it all together initially.
Click to expand...

All fair points
 
#3,560
#3,560
KBVol said:
Agree with you on the route running and understanding the system. Smith is obviously out there because he's ahead of the other WRs (except for Pig, and I guess Croom and North) to date. I acknowledged earlier that hes done a great job cracking the starting lineup, i.e., running the right routes and understanding the offense.

But, and this is not intended to be a smartass question, what good does it do if you're in the right spots but you don't catch the ball consistently/you drop the ball more than anybody else?

That being said, I honestly do believe he'll improve catching the ball, I think his drops have probably been more about freshman nerves than anything else. I can see Josh in the WR rotation, making solid contributions for the next 3.5 yrs. Just think WRU should have elite WRs to help get us back on top and that Malone and Pearson fit that description better than Josh.
Click to expand...




Josh Smith might have a few drops because he was surprised that Worley actually got the ball to him.And there were so many wanting Worley to start at qb as a freshmen over Bray which was ignorant in everyway but if he had started he might have been a better qb by now. i just wonder what the teams record would be if Bray and Hunter and or Patterson had stayed for their senior seasons
 
#3,561
#3,561
VOLtilldeath said:
Josh Smith might have a few drops because he was surprised that Worley actually got the ball to him.And there were so many wanting Worley to start at qb as a freshmen over Bray which was ignorant in everyway but if he had started he might have been a better qb by now. i just wonder what the teams record would be if Bray and Hunter and or Patterson had stayed for their senior seasons
Click to expand...

Stop it. So now it's Worleys fault even when he hits his receivers in the chest, in the hands and right in stride. Ok.
 
Last edited:
#3,562
#3,562
VOLtilldeath said:
Josh Smith might have a few drops because he was surprised that Worley actually got the ball to him.And there were so many wanting Worley to start at qb as a freshmen over Bray which was ignorant in everyway but if he had started he might have been a better qb by now. i just wonder what the teams record would be if Bray and Hunter and or Patterson had stayed for their senior seasons
Click to expand...

Bray would be suspended and we would all be in a foul mood about this season and team.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#3,563
#3,563
KBVol said:
Hold up now. You don't believe Pearson could beat out Josh Smith? We'll agree to disagree there.
Click to expand...

Nope that is not what I meant. Assuming (which is what this whole discussion is) Malone and Pearson both pick UT. Malone would beat out Josh Smith. Pearson is an outside WR, he sure as heck ain't beating out North, he would have to be really something special to beat out Croomster.
 
#3,564
#3,564
Ulysees E. McGill said:
Nope that is not what I meant. Assuming (which is what this whole discussion is) Malone and Pearson both pick UT. Malone would beat out Josh Smith. Pearson is an outside WR, he sure as heck ain't beating out North, he would have to be really something special to beat out Croomster.
Click to expand...

Didn't mean to misunderstand you. I was just responding to your statement that you would be surprised to see Pearson beat out any of our starters. While I see improvement in Croom, he's hardly shown, at this point to me, that he's a definite starter if we bring in elite recruits like Malone and, to perhaps a lesser extent imo, Pearson. I agree with you that North would be the closest thing to a definite starter for next year that we have, besides Pig.
 
#3,565
#3,565
JCLawyerVol said:
I hope CUM doesn't tell him he is the next Brian Robiskie or Anthony Gonzalez. If so, he gone.
Click to expand...

That ****face will say anything to get a recruit. And he has an ability to read these kids. He knows what to say and do to reach different personalities. I hate the sumbeech.
 
Last edited:
#3,566
#3,566
KBVol said:
Didn't mean to misunderstand you. I was just responding to your statement that you would be surprised to see Pearson beat out any of our starters. While I see improvement in Croom, he's hardly shown, at this point to me, that he's a definite starter if we bring in elite recruits like Malone and, to perhaps a lesser extent imo, Pearson. I agree with you that North would be the closest thing to a definite starter for next year that we have, besides Pig.
Click to expand...

Dear lord man, the boy is a physical monster who is already showing great improvement. He is David Ricky in an even bigger body.
 
#3,569
#3,569
Ulysees E. McGill said:
Dear lord man, the boy is a physical monster who is already showing great improvement. He is David Ricky in an even bigger body.
Click to expand...

Not saying he's not a physical monster, just saying he's not exactly Megatron out there. Has a very long way to go before he's a dominant WR. He has 8 catches for 110 yds and a TD thru 6 games, man.

He's getting better and and has tremendous potential. But let's hold off on naming him to the All SEC team just yet.
 
#3,571
#3,571
KBVol said:
Not saying he's not a physical monster, just saying he's not exactly Megatron out there. Has a very long way to go before he's a dominant WR. He has 8 catches for 110 yds and a TD thru 6 games, man.

He's getting better and and has tremendous potential. But let's hold off on naming him to the All SEC team just yet.
Click to expand...

I just don't think he has that far to go to be dominant.
 
#3,572
#3,572
Ulysees E. McGill said:
I just don't think he has that far to go to be dominant.
Click to expand...

When he gets close to 8 catches for 110 yds and a TD per game, rather than every 6 games (yes, I understand QB is a big part of the equation) then we can discuss him being a dominant WR. He's early in the process so lets see how he develops. We'll just disagree about how close he is. Btw, I would be thrilled if he takes the next step toward being dominant in about 17-18 hours.
 
#3,575
#3,575
KBVol said:
Not saying he's not a physical monster, just saying he's not exactly Megatron out there. Has a very long way to go before he's a dominant WR. He has 8 catches for 110 yds and a TD thru 6 games, man.

He's getting better and and has tremendous potential. But let's hold off on naming him to the All SEC team just yet.
Click to expand...

Yeah because every high school has a Calvin Johnson right? Totally unfair comparison. He has put up some pretty good stats considering he plays in a run first system. Malone is elite.
 
New posts
Status
Not open for further replies.
Advertisement



Back
Top