CB Depth

#28
#28
I'll say this: it's certainly nice having the problem of finding ways to get guys on the field. Jones has done an incredible job recruiting and this is how championship teams (see: Alabama of late) are built. With depth like we have at most positions, an injury or two aren't the same kind of blow they have been over the past 5-6 years.
 
#29
#29
I'd personally like to see Abernathy starting at nickel. I don't have much faith in Foreman to be honest. Yes, he played much better later on but he is our only deep ball liability. I see Warrior as the back up safety by the start of Texas A&M. I see Warrior making some big time plays for us later on in the year.

DJ Henderson is nothing special and won't see much playing time this year due to Byrd. Justin Martin is going to have the biggest breakout year for the secondary. Perfect Size, Great Tackler, top notch specimen for bump and run coverage. Couple this with Sutton and this is exactly why Shoop is so excited about our run defense. This also leads to large amounts of safe but devastating blitz packages. I see this being one of the best defensive units we have ever had. Just need Tuttle back 100% and this can actually come to fruition this upcoming season.
 
#30
#30
In addition to KR/PR I hope he moves to offense, with the new about Joseph Young we could use another back. Perhaps a Devrin Young type role?
 
#31
#31
OH-Vol said:
In addition to KR/PR I hope he moves to offense, with the new about Joseph Young we could use another back. Perhaps a Devrin Young type role?
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You realize we have Hurd, Kamara, and Kelly?!!!! We already have an issue splitting the carries and you want to bring berry to the mix... cmon
 
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#32
#32
08Vol said:
Put Berry at punt return, save Cam from taking some hits and a bit of endurance. Berry is scary good at making a man miss and acceleration. Wouldn't mind seeing him take a couple swing passes or used as a decoy on a sweep
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I love your thinking & this is what I've been posting would be a good idea but people tell me I'm crazy. They tell me why remove Cam from punt returning when he's one of the best?

Just like you said, save him for CB play. He could very easily get hurt on returns. I'd rather just let Evan do both kick & punt returns & let Cam be his best at his normal position of CB.

Maybe every once in a while we could let Cam take a punt return but turn these duties over to Evan. He's just as good if not better than Cam anyhow. He is very capable of doing both.

He's not going to play that much as a a true DB so use him all we can for special teams. That's how I feel about this. Cam is good yeah but it's taking too much of a risk with our best CB. Plus, we have Evan who's just as good in the return game.
 
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#33
#33
tonybologna said:
I love your thinking & this is what I've been posting would be a good idea but people tell me I'm crazy. They tell me why remove Cam from punt returning when he's one of the best?

Just like you said, save him for CB play. He could very easily get hurt on returns. I'd rather just let Evan do both kick & punt returns & let Cam be his best at his normal position of CB.

Maybe every once in a while we could let Cam take a punt return but turn these duties over to Evan. He's just as good if not better than Cam anyhow. He is very capable of doing both.

He's not going to play that much as a a true DB so use him all we can for special teams. That's how I feel about this. Cam is good yeah but it's taking too much of a risk with our best CB. Plus, we have Evan who's just as good in the return game.
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150% agree
 
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#35
#35
tonybologna said:
I love your thinking & this is what I've been posting would be a good idea but people tell me I'm crazy. They tell me why remove Cam from punt returning when he's one of the best?

Just like you said, save him for CB play. He could very easily get hurt on returns. I'd rather just let Evan do both kick & punt returns & let Cam be his best at his normal position of CB.

Maybe every once in a while we could let Cam take a punt return but turn these duties over to Evan. He's just as good if not better than Cam anyhow. He is very capable of doing both.

He's not going to play that much as a a true DB so use him all we can for special teams. That's how I feel about this. Cam is good yeah but it's taking too much of a risk with our best CB. Plus, we have Evan who's just as good in the return game.
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I don't have a problem with that, as long as we get similar production. Having a short field after a good return seems to help our offense. There is no reason to believe EB can't handle both, but there are some major adjustments from one to the other.

Jump higher Vols.
 
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#36
#36
RyNeyland89 said:
I'd personally like to see Abernathy starting at nickel. I don't have much faith in Foreman to be honest. Yes, he played much better later on but he is our only deep ball liability. I see Warrior as the back up safety by the start of Texas A&M. I see Warrior making some big time plays for us later on in the year.

DJ Henderson is nothing special and won't see much playing time this year due to Byrd. Justin Martin is going to have the biggest breakout year for the secondary. Perfect Size, Great Tackler, top notch specimen for bump and run coverage. Couple this with Sutton and this is exactly why Shoop is so excited about our run defense. This also leads to large amounts of safe but devastating blitz packages. I see this being one of the best defensive units we have ever had. Just need Tuttle back 100% and this can actually come to fruition this upcoming season.
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Byrd is playing WR. If Henderson doesn't see the field it won't be because of him. Think it's between Martin and Gaulden for who "breaks out" and agree on Tuttle.
 
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#37
#37
RyNeyland89 said:
You realize we have Hurd, Kamara, and Kelly?!!!! We already have an issue splitting the carries and you want to bring berry to the mix... cmon
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Disagree there's a issue splitting carries. Kelly, as much as I like him and believe he's gonna be very good for us in the future, ain't taking any carries away from either Hurd or Kamara IMHO. I think we'll see a very similar mix as last year...Hurd will get his 22-23 touches per game, AK his 13-14, and Dobbs his 10-11 on keepers and options. Kelly might get a meaningful carry here and there in relief of Jalen or Alvin, but I just don't see any way an "issue" develops because we start splitting carries 3 ways among running backs. Jmo.

As far as Evan, it sure seems that he either plays on the defensive side of the ball or he doesn't get on the field outside of returning kicks. They experimented with him at RB 2 years ago and evidently didn't see what they wanted to see. Guess you never say never, but I don't see it at this point. My guess is he stays at safety and he either earns playing time there or he doesn't.
 
#38
#38
tonybologna said:
I love your thinking & this is what I've been posting would be a good idea but people tell me I'm crazy. They tell me why remove Cam from punt returning when he's one of the best?

Just like you said, save him for CB play. He could very easily get hurt on returns. I'd rather just let Evan do both kick & punt returns & let Cam be his best at his normal position of CB.

Maybe every once in a while we could let Cam take a punt return but turn these duties over to Evan. He's just as good if not better than Cam anyhow. He is very capable of doing both.

He's not going to play that much as a a true DB so use him all we can for special teams. That's how I feel about this. Cam is good yeah but it's taking too much of a risk with our best CB. Plus, we have Evan who's just as good in the return game.
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I think back to 2014 with Evan returning kicks. He was electric, but he had poor ball security. Last year, it looked like he improved in that area. But returning punts is a whole different animal. Having great hands, securing the ball quickly, and great decision making are of utmost importance. Maybe Berry is ready for that role. :dunno: Sutton and Kamara splitting the PR duties were pretty fun to watch. I felt comfortable with either of them back there while knowing they could still take it to the house at any point (same as Berry on KR).

If the coaches want to 'save' Sutton/Kamara, then maybe one of the new guys would be ready to step into the PR role. Maybe Byrd or CFA.
 
#39
#39
RyNeyland89 said:
I'd personally like to see Abernathy starting at nickel. I don't have much faith in Foreman to be honest. Yes, he played much better later on but he is our only deep ball liability. I see Warrior as the back up safety by the start of Texas A&M. I see Warrior making some big time plays for us later on in the year.

DJ Henderson is nothing special and won't see much playing time this year due to Byrd. Justin Martin is going to have the biggest breakout year for the secondary. Perfect Size, Great Tackler, top notch specimen for bump and run coverage. Couple this with Sutton and this is exactly why Shoop is so excited about our run defense. This also leads to large amounts of safe but devastating blitz packages. I see this being one of the best defensive units we have ever had. Just need Tuttle back 100% and this can actually come to fruition this upcoming season.
Click to expand...

I recall Mosely getting a ton of hype going into last year then getting torched a lot until Martin emerged. I agree not 100% confident in Foreman but also Mosely.
 
#41
#41
OH-Vol said:
I recall Mosely getting a ton of hype going into last year then getting torched a lot until Martin emerged. I agree not 100% confident in Foreman but also Mosely.
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I,don't recall anyone getting torched alot. I think Mosley will be a lot better. He has everything to be good.
 
#42
#42
Kristy* said:
I think back to 2014 with Evan returning kicks. He was electric, but he had poor ball security. Last year, it looked like he improved in that area. But returning punts is a whole different animal. Having great hands, securing the ball quickly, and great decision making are of utmost importance. Maybe Berry is ready for that role. :dunno: Sutton and Kamara splitting the PR duties were pretty fun to watch. I felt comfortable with either of them back there while knowing they could still take it to the house at any point (same as Berry on KR).

If the coaches want to 'save' Sutton/Kamara, then maybe one of the new guys would be ready to step into the PR role. Maybe Byrd or CFA.
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I think Tyler Byrd would make an excellent punt returner. Have you watched any of his film in the return game from high school? He's just electric. He'll no doubt in my opinion be our PR specialist in the future if not his freshman campaign.

I'm just trying to avoid any of our regulars/starters joining in on the return game. That goes for both PR & KR. We can't afford to lose Cam or Kamara to injury from a smash hit/blow on a return. Evan will no doubt continue to be our KR guy.

He's proven that. He's not a regular starter in the secondary so it's perfectly ok to continue using him this way. You can't say that for either Cam or Kamara with their critical roles on each side of the ball. I wouldn't use either one of them in the PR game. We have at least 2-3 others that are capable of these duties even though Cam & Kamara have great hands.

That's why I say let Evan have a try at it. He's not going to be fatigued. He will only play sparingly on defense because of our depth there now. He would be well rested to take on both duties as KR & PR guy.

If Butch only wants him to do KR then take a look at Tyler Byrd. He can certainly do it. He could be that freshman specialist as a return man. He will play some snaps at WR but not enough to keep him out of the return game. He's just absolutely fun to watch on punt returns.

His agility & cutting is like hardly anything I've seen before from a high school return guy. He's also really fast too. What does that add up to? I think a special PR player if not his freshman season then definitely beyond.
 
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