Here were the takeaways: http://www.wholehogsports.com/news/2017 … tate-hogs/
Good stuff, I mean gooooood stuff in there Clay. Appreciate and look forward to your good writing.
That’s the kind of details that Hog fans need, uh, want to know. Good job, Clay.
Excellent report, Clay. A few comments/questions:
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After Austin Allen’s flurry of interceptions down the stretch last season, I wondered what the coaches would do to ensure that the starting QB is the one who is best able to run the offense and keep it out of trouble. Also want to see if anybody is better at executing in the running game - I mean, paying attention to detail, having the right timing and fundamentals, getting into/out of run plays when needed, all the little things. I wondered how much Arkansas lost in run-game execution from Brandon to Austin. And that’s not even talking about QB mobility.
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Is Arkansas’s Hog OLB position equivalent to the Jack on other team’s 3-4 defenses? If Taylor is up to 270, are they trying to make Ramsey bigger too? Do you ever wonder, in the pursuit of size-without-losing-speed training, whether they sacrifice stamina/endurance in the process? Seems like basic physics.
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Bielema was noncommittal about Greenlaw’s position, but it seems like he would be an inside linebacker like the Reuben Foster role. Do the coaches have other ideas about who might play there?
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If Arkansas chose to move Ragnow to tackle, would Raulerson be the likely center, or someone else?
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Will the secondary have any problems making it through spring (because of limited depth), and is anyone being considered for being moved to the secondary?
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Is it true that Jake Hall is back on the defensive line as an end?
Thanks.
Brandon struggled with getting out of play calls his first season and got a lot better as he gained game experience. I would expect to see a jump in Austin’s ability from his first year to second year starting.
I expect some linebackers will get cross-trained like the offensive linemen. I could see Dwayne Eugene, De’Jon Harris and Kyrei Fisher getting some work at the will position.
I would be surprised if Ragnow is moved from center. That seems like his best fit. If he was moved, I would think Zach Rogers would get a look there.
I think the numbers are pretty good in the secondary. There may be around 15 practicing there in the spring, counting walk-ons. Coaches seem to be happy with him at receiver, but I’ve always wondered if Jordan Jones might end up at defensive back some time in the future.
Matt, how do we go to a 3-4? We only had two decent linebackers last year…Ellis and Greenlaw and Ellis is gone. Who are the guys who can move in and play this year? Needing 4 starters and subs…won’t you need at least 6 linebackers of SEC ability to play next year? Where are the other 5 coming from?
Arkansas has Greenlaw, Josh and De’Jon Harris, Eugene returning. Giovanni LaFrance and Alexy Jean-Baptiste redshirted last year. Ben Brasuell and Grant Morgan were preferred walk-ons (I think), which would indicate there is an expectation they will play. Kyrei Fisher and Josh Paul are in the latest signing class, and Fisher will go through spring practice.
So there are about 10 candidates to potentially play next season. There are a few who have experience and would seem to be ready. The others will have to show what they can do.
I’m sure there will be some growing pains associated with the 3-4 and it will take a few years of strong recruiting to get the depth needed at linebacker for that scheme.
I am not sure what you all were reading but Greenlaw is going to play the “will” or weak OLB mostly, but BB believes he could play any of the 4 ability wise.
To others: more LBs being on the field will help alleviate experience/talent issues because the “3” LBs have more responsibilities and space to cover than the “4” LBs will have. Should allow them to play faster in a smaller window.
In standard 3-4 the OLB are basically slightly smaller 4-3 DEs. I think we will see Ramsey at 1 and Taylor at the other. So taylor will play in the 265 range and Ramsey(hopefully) will be around 240 or so. So really we are only going to be playing 2 LBs vs 3.
That’s a good point that I failed to make when I responded. In addition to the two you noted, I think Karl Roesler and Eli Hale are a couple of others who could fit that stand-up defensive end position. Maybe David Porter once he arrives.
The will is an inside linebacker in 3-4 sets I’ve seen.
What I have seen is the OLBs will be
Hog - Ramsey, Taylor, Roesler
Razor - Jean-Baptiste and Walker.
WLB - Greenlaw, Eugene
MLB - Harris, Fisher
Not sure where you put LaFrance. Probably outside. Same with Gabe Richardson.
I went to look, and your right many have Will in the middle, but also many with will at OLB. Just don’t think he has size/build to play inside in a 3-4.
First of all, everyone thinks in terms of base. Whether you are 3-4, or 4-3, you are playing nickel about 75 percent of the time, dime another 10 percent. Base is very small. So you are not in a four linebacker set. But you are in three. Last year in nickel and dime, you were in two linebacker sets. Greenlaw will play will, most likely. That’s still the top playmaker position. Bret said the inside linebacker is the one who comes out most often in the nickel or dime.
With Michael Scott, Karl Roesler and Randy Ramsey playing this, you are not subtracting a lot of linebacker depth for the one new spot in the 3-4, the hybrid DE. By the way, Karl Roesler played this position in high school. It’s exactly what he’s familiar with, playing in a two-point stance. He was a bit undersized in the old scheme. Fits better in this. Ramsey is a bit of a puzzle to me. He’s not been as productive as what I thought he might. Maybe this helps him, but not sure.
Now, where Greenlaw played last year might be a surprise to some. He moved around a lot, when he played. He was playing mike or the inside spot a lot. It looked like Dre was playing mike in the bowl game a lot. They put Brooks Ellis to the field, and played Dre inside. Dre didn’t play a lot in the second half after hurting his foot again.
As far as trying to make all players the same size to play the hybrid-DE slot, I don’t think that’s what you do. I don’t think you try to add 40 pounds on anyone. I don’t think they tried to add all of that weight to Michael Taylor. And, he probably will lose 10 or so, maybe 15. I think he’s going to play at 255 or so. So that’s about 10 or 12 more than what he was when he arrived. But he is 270 now.
Safety depth is improved. You have Coley, Ramirez, Liddell, Richardson, Edwards and Smith. Edwards and Smith were redshirted, Richardson hurt. That’s six to play two or three spots. With the return of both Britto Tutt and Kevin Richardson, plus the redshirts, then the class coming in, secondary depth will be MUCH improved. Some of that won’t show up until the summer, but some will show up in the spring, with four that were not playing in the fall.
Defense won’t improve until gap control (New DL Coach’s main task) improves and the total defense learns to tackle at SEC level. My belief is that Rhodes will make the defense simple enough that improvement will be forthcoming but question is will it be enough to defend against the other Offensive coordinators in this conference which are pretty good.
Anyone who thinks Dre does not have the size to play in the inside is missing the boat on what it takes to play linebacker. Playmakers are playmakers, no matter the size. He played at a shade under 230 last year. He can play inside or outside. In fact, he should play inside some. Dre is plenty big enough to play inside, since he’s done that for the last two seasons. Again, he’s not just a will linebacker. He played mike a lot the last two years. I think many fans do not see alignment on snaps. They just see bodies and don’t realize which one is mike, which one is will. You look at the offensive formation to determine that. If you see the strength of the formation, then you can tell who is playing what on defense. He did play inside linebacker the last two seasons. A lot. When you are the will linebacker, you are mostly an inside linebacker anyway. Very little difference between the mike and the will except where the formation is on offense.
When you play a spread team with a running quarterback, I think Dre’s best spot is at mike linebacker and let him run the alleys with the quarterback. I saw that in the first half of the bowl game. He can play that and how many times is that needed these days? A bunch.
I ache to see a defensive linemen – any in the front – blow up an SEC offensive lineman. Blow him up. When you are destructive, scheme matters less and less. The one thing that helps make that happen is movement. It’s what the Arkansas offensive line struggles with. It’s much harder to hit a moving target. So quickness and speed matter more than anything else in my opinion. Speed is what that great 64 Arkansas defense had. The tackles could move. Jimmy Johnson could move. The ends could move. None were massive. All were quick. All could run sideline to sideline. That’s always what I wanted. When you sacrifice size for speed, I think it’s a mistake. Now, a big fast guy is king. We all know that.
I will be excited to see those young linemen in the spring. Are they players? I think they are.
[quote=“ClayHenry”]
I ache to see a defensive linemen – any in the front – blow up an SEC offensive lineman. Blow him up. When you are destructive, scheme matters less and less. The one thing that helps make that happen is movement. It’s what the Arkansas offensive line struggles with. It’s much harder to hit a moving target. So quickness and speed matter more than anything else in my opinion. Speed is what that great 64 Arkansas defense had. The tackles could move. Jimmy Johnson could move. The ends could move. None were massive. All were quick. All could run sideline to sideline. That’s always what I wanted. When you sacrifice size for speed, I think it’s a mistake. Now, a big fast guy is king. We all know that.
I will be excited to see those young linemen in the spring. Are they players? I think they are.
[/quote]You guys really need to add a “like” option to this message board.
Agree and like your post.
[quote=“dm919”]
Agree 100% on the sacrifice of speed for size ! We may have more speed with this roster than we have had for a long time. I believe speed is what defines Sec football as a whole, and if lack speed it will show up in the win & loss column. WPS !