Defensive Tackles / Nose Tackles:
Mike Martin: Did not practice or scrimmage because he was injured. Based on last years film / performance Martin has the most upside of any nose tackle since Branch or Watson. Difference is he has better work ethic than other two combined!
Renaldo Sagesse: Tons of respect for this kid. This program is not easy for bigger guys and he sticks it out and works hard. Has the ability to be a big contributor.
Vince Helmuth: Okay, worked hard and gave solid effort. Just not a true nose tackle in our opinion.
William Campbell: No doubting the raw skills and talent. Needs a ton of work and some patience. Red shirt would be best in our opinion, but not likely.
Defensive Ends:
Brandon Graham: Broken record time. Best player on team period. Was basically unblock able. Only defensive Linemen who provided any consistent pass rush.
Thing that B. Graham does so well is gain leverage, he does it with combination of get off and ability to dip that front shoulder and get offensive tackles off balance. Thing that surprised us is despite not being a physical giant B. Graham is really strong, once he gets offensive tackle off balance he has the strength to move him backwards.
Ryan Van Bergen: Kid size is impressive, he is huge. Very good against the run. Not a great overall athlete, and that limits pass rush. But has talent to very good.
Adam Patterson: Big body who can help out at RVB's position or even at defensive tackle. Not overly quick or athletic, but he is good at point of attack.
Greg Banks: Every time we watch this kid he makes great plays against the run. Gets and maintains great low leverage. But he gets almost zero penetration or pass rush.
William Campbell: Also played some here, same great athlete who needs work on fundamentals.
Campbell's fundamentals have already shown improvement from his high school film. He starting to use his hands and his quickness. He still needs to learn proper leverage and pad level. Also needs to learn he cannot muscle every opponent.
The reason we think a red-shirt would help is it would allow W. Campbell to develop physically and allow him to work on his fundamentals instead of playing through poor ones. Worry that playing a kid before he is ready sets up scenario of him getting beat up and reading in papers and other places he is flop or bust or whatever. 18 year olds going up against 5th year seniors can be trying and difficult especially if you have poor fundamentals.
Three keys this year:
1) Is to stay healthy. The drop off from group one to group two at most positions is noticeable and significant.
2) Pressure from front is on my list. Would go further and say pressure sets up the third key. Improved pass rush will be one of the keys to improved defense in our opinion.
3) More turnovers, especially interceptions.
One final note: Finding quality defensive linemen is second hardest position to fill behind quarterbacks.
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Written by CoachBt and ErocWolverine
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