Re: This years starting LBs

I will never forget the noise when Simpson decleated Darrien Rencher towards the end of the spring game. I think bowel contents came out of Darrien's mouth. I think it was that last drive that TP ruptured his Achilles. I remember them both being carted off the field together.

Simpson can bring the wood perhaps even more than Salski or Spector.

On Venebles.... I know he gets a lot of tackles, but I will never forget in the Natty vs LSU when Skalski got ejected right on the goal line. The very next play when Venebles came in, Jake got pancaked on his back for being flat-footed in the hole. That is a tough spot to come into during the Natty with your first real playing time, but no D1 LB should be pancaked like that.

This team is going to be sick.... we need to protect DJ, use the TEs to keep the box honest and let the defense control the game. Our offense is going to be explosive at times, but I hope we don't run DJ as much as we ran Trevor with the lack of depth behind DJ. I'm also excited to see Shipley out in space like we use ETN last year.

Go Tigers !!! UGA is in for a surprise beat down in CLT.

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Rock Defender [53]

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Posts: 35

Joined: 11/30/98

Jul 12, 2021, 11:05 AM

Here's kind of how I see our backers right now, in order, I do think it's probably our weakest unit on defense atm:

Simpson is a monster. I was bummed when we missed out on Flowe, but I think we got the better deal there. That was a hell of a tackle you're talking about. He's head and shoulders above the others in talent. He just needs to improve his instincts and get some experience. This guy might end up being the best LB we've produced.

Skalski reminds me a lot of Ben Boulware. I have my doubts he'll make it as a starter in the NFL since he's so small and isn't lightning fast, but the dude is just mean as hell. He loves the fight and has a great mind for the game. My only complaints are that he's so aggressive is overruns the play sometimes, and he's not fast enough to get back into it, and that he seems to really have an issue keeping his head up. We need him out there as a leader, and targeting is becoming a pattern there (I hate targeting and would remove it (bring back the old spearing penalty), but it is a thing and he has to adapt). The defense really misses him when he's not on the field.

Bentley hasn't had the time to get his fundamentals all down yet, but the guy has tremendous talent. He is excellent on the blitz and strong enough to go toe to toe with backs and linemen. That forced fumble against Pitt was beautiful. He does need to improve his coverage skills though. He's another one with NFL potential.

Spector has a great nose for the game and good fundamentals. He's very good at timing the ball and hits hard. Unfortunately, he's small and doesn't have a ton of athleticism. His agility is lacking and he gets torn apart in coverage. BC's QB (can't spell it), Book, and Fields all picked on him last year.

Unlike most coaches' kids, Jake has the physical size and a lot of the talent to be a great linebacker. He seems to have good awareness and is almost always in position to make a play, and he can do a good job of it. But at the same time, as you said, he has some real problems fundamentally. He misses a lot of tackles and plays flat flooted. They mock him on some other boards for these issues, but if he improves those basic things, he could be a great linebacker instead of a middling backup.

I don't know enough to speak on Kane or Keith. Kane has looked pretty good though from the little I've seen of him. I'm most excited about the young guys. For quite some time, Clemson has had linebackers who were smart with a lot of drive and aggressiveness. But for the most part, we just haven't had the natural talent there that we've had in the defensive line and secondary. But the newest batch should be an entirely different animal. We've already seen how good Simpson is. No reason Sergio and Swint won't be good. Everyone knows how good Barrett Carter has looked. And Trotter has gone under the radar but you can't beat the genes and coach he's received.

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This years starting LBs