They knew how to tackle. But they didn’t necessarily put that knowledge to use.
Prime example was something that actually came out in our favor. Remember the Ole Miss game in 2016 when Chad Kelly was scrambling on fourth down at the end of the game? Santos Ramirez lined up for a kill shot. He missed Kelly entirely, but hit the ball and knocked it free, where it bounced out of bounds short of the first down. Take possession, take a knee, we win. But it was a horrible attempt at a tackle. If the ball doesn’t come loose, Kelly gets the first down, drive continues and the Rebnecks might have gone home with a win.
Ramirez knows how to tackle, but all too often he’d make a bad choice like that. So would Coley and Toliver and everybody else back there.
This is a problem all across college football. Way too many defensive players go for the kill shot instead of wrapping up. I don’t think all of those coaches teach that but their players do it anyway. Blame SportsCenter and Top 10 plays for that way of thinking. I will say, it doesn’t seem like a problem with Alabama, Clemson and some others. They probably know better.
Agree…wrap up tackling is a lost art. Its all about taking the guys head off. I thought the headhunting rule would force defenders to start tackling, but doesn’t really seem to be making much of a difference.
Santos did not miss Kelly. He did hit him. He just didn’t tackle him. He hit his shoulder and the ball. Santos was an entirely different player this season. Was a solid tackler and a better defender. Generally, he was in the right place, too. I would have loved to have seen Ryan Pulley play in this secondary. For the most part, this was not a talented secondary. Paul did help recruiting and did sign some defensive backs that will help down the road. I give him credit for the work he put in on the recruiting trail with the class that came in last fall.