"Know where you can miss"/"I want guys that love football"

[Deleted member 4942]

Of course kids can be converted, as a general rule. But not all of them can be converted. The question is whether the players on the current roster are willing to do what it takes to improve.

I’m dubious at this point. As Scott commented Saturday, at this point, if a player isn’t doing it, they either can’t, or they won’t.

But I remain hopeful.

Capt., I share your concern that there is a group that isn't interested in being converted .

I think the coaching staff does too.

 

[ShortSideOption]

Couldn’t agree more. Dedrick Young has been out of position so many times , I’ve lost count. Honas should be the starter, the coaches need to not be afraid to fail as well. DY also looks slow or he is loafing

Honas really struggled with little things right away. It wasn't even assignment things, it was some of the individual drill reps where he just couldn't do what he was asked. It was almost too technical for him. But him from game 1 to game 3 is a monumental improvement. I've said he wouldn't start the season opener and it was DY and MB, but also said I wouldn't be surprised to have him overtake someone. I think we see that happen.

 

[BubbaGene]

I've said he wouldn't start the season opener and it was DY and MB, but also said I wouldn't be surprised to have him overtake someone. I think we see that happen.

I remember you saying that and from what I've seen so far you kind of nailed it. D. Young baffles me sometimes with his inconsistent play, but I have to keep remembering he's had to go through multiple systems.

 

[Ellis Boyd Redding]

Great stuff ***. I really appreciate the time you put into this.

So much of this is basic fundamentals taught in good youth football programs (whether to work inside out or outside in, keeping your outside shoulder/arm free). The Young play is alarming.

 

[GIFRRO]

So ***, here begs my question that I've wondered for awhile.
For all of last season and part or all of 2 years ago............weve watched T Farmer, C Conrad, and D young just get burned. Why is it these 3 guys all this time later are still playing bad ball and still starting. Yea, maybe the backups arent all that great but I dont see why you dont give it a try

 

[HuskerInTexas]

Great stuff ***. I really appreciate the time you put into this.

So much of this is basic fundamentals taught in good youth football programs (whether to work inside out or outside in, keeping your outside shoulder/arm free). The Young play is alarming.

Sadly, sometimes when you're bigger, faster, stronger, technique and precision goes out the window. This is the level that it starts getting exposed at for a lot of ppl

 

[Hotlanta Husker]

"Kids that love football"
If you remember, in the player buy-in thread I posted this on Sunday:

On Tuesday, our DC said this:


That's not a fabrication. We have a bunch of kids we recruited that were playing football because it was easy. In the past, I think we were getting the 4 star Keyshawn Johnson who played because he was expected to. As I said in my quote, 3 star Mo Barry is making 4 star Avery Roberts transfer. We can beat Colorado and Troy with Ben Stille's and Mo Barry's. I'm also not naive to say that we need 4 stars to get on Michigan's level.

I fully expect to see more Will Honas, Cam Taylor, Wyatt Mazour, guys like that this week. They've earned it and deserve it.

I will again post one of my favorite pieces of dialogue in a sport movie from Friday Night Lights when Kansas Wesleyan is trying to recruit QB Mike Winchell...

KW Coach: Do you like playin' football, Mike?

Winchell: Yes, sir.

KW Coach:Is it fun for you

Winchell: Lots of fun, sir.

Mom: He loves the game.

KW Coach:That's good. It's important.

KW Coach: It's... legitimate love of the game. Supposed to be fun, you know? Greatest game in the world..

 

[CO4NU]

I wanted to talk a little bit about what our coaches have stated and "no fear of failure" and "knowing where you can miss". While one of these videos may be painful, it's to help us fans understand the defense more. I hesitated to go here, but the reports are that this kid has been getting lit up in practice about this so if the coaches are saying it, I don't feel bad pointing it out either.

"Where you can miss"

So this first one is tough to watch. Our ILBs (Young, Honas, Barry, Miller) are taught to always be on the ball carriers inside shoulder, track the play from the inside out. If you are chasing the ball, and he cuts back to where you just were, that's all on you. You want that guy to either turn back in to you, or go outside of you to which our OLB or safety will make the play. If he gets back inside of where you came from, you get pulled. Here's a case of our ILB not playing inside out, flying outside, not staying on the inside shoulder of the RB:


If Dedrick Young plays that inside out, that guy either has to out run him to the blitzer (I know he gets pancaked), or turn back into Young. Since he overruns the play, the RB can cut up field and then back out again. DY "missed where he couldn't".

So next series we insert Honas, who does a great job of this. Honas gets basically the exact same play, and instead of flying outside, he shuffles his feet knowing he has to stay inside the ball carrier. Honas forcing it out, means Ferguson is able to make the play and lets Honas come finish it off and take him to the ground.


As a LB it's tough, because you are worried if you don't get going that you will get outrun. But you have help there if you are an ILB, Ferguson and our safeties make you "right" if you force it outside.

Since we are in negative town right now on boards... let's look at another guy that "knew where he could miss". Lamar Jackson. I've done my fair share of ripping on him, but he had a better game in my opinion. In this play, it will remind you a lot of what UCF looked like against Auburn. The corner on bubble screens "can not miss inside", meaning, he either turns it back in to his help that is coming from the inside, or he makes the play outside if the WR tries bouncing it out there. Lamar Jackson does an unbelievable job of keeping his outside shoulder free and turning it back in to Ferguson and Reed.


How good does that look when "you know where you can miss"? Lamar Jackson didn't make that play, but he had everything to do with it. It almost looked like 13-0 UCF doing it against an SEC team that beat Alabama:


It's amazing what can happen when you do what you are coached. There's some things on film that have nothing to do with talent. The ship can get going in the right direction.

"Kids that love football"
If you remember, in the player buy-in thread I posted this on Sunday:

On Tuesday, our DC said this:


That's not a fabrication. We have a bunch of kids we recruited that were playing football because it was easy. In the past, I think we were getting the 4 star Keyshawn Johnson who played because he was expected to. As I said in my quote, 3 star Mo Barry is making 4 star Avery Roberts transfer. We can beat Colorado and Troy with Ben Stille's and Mo Barry's. I'm also not naive to say that we need 4 stars to get on Michigan's level.

I fully expect to see more Will Honas, Cam Taylor, Wyatt Mazour, guys like that this week. They've earned it and deserve it.

Thank you ***....ALWAYS a learning moment from your post's....thanks again.

 

[Ellis Boyd Redding]

Sadly, sometimes when you're bigger, faster, stronger, technique and precision goes out the window. This is the level that it starts getting exposed at for a lot of ppl

Good point. I also wonder with Young (specifically on that play) is if he knows he isn't fast enough to get to where he needs to be, so he over-pursues, which makes him vulnerable to the cut back.

 

[N2FL]

Mazour is going to have his issues, he just isn't big enough. But he deserves to get a series to give someone a break. There's some things our offense can open up for him.

Honas just wasn't ready, he has improved a ton the first 3 games. I would not be shocked to see him and Barry starting sometime this year together.

Cam Taylor didn't care how much we were down, he was loving being out there. He wasn't ready either (like Honas), but he's inching closer. Bootle, Taylor, Neal, Reed, and both Williams' is a good defensive backfield.

Mo Barry, Cam Taylor and Deontai Williams played hard against Michigan the whole time they were on the field. Those three are going to be foundation pieces of this defense next year. I know the coaches were paying attention to how kids played last week when the rout was on. They wanted to see who would continue to fight. They had to of loved what those three put on tape.

I'm sure they'd love to get Taylor and Williams more reps, but it's tough. Taylor isn't quite good enough to replace Bootle (who IMPO has looked pretty good this year) or Jackson. and safety is pretty deep with Aaron Williams, Tre Neal and Antonio Reed. Those two have the highest ceilings on the team at their respective positions in the secondary, though, so it'd be good to get them more reps regardless. Also like the idea of a Barry-Honas inside duo. Again, this season is about building for the future and those two are your starters next year. If it's me, I'm forcing the issue and getting them on the field together more.

 

[Native]

Great stuff ***. I really appreciate the time you put into this.

So much of this is basic fundamentals taught in good youth football programs (whether to work inside out or outside in, keeping your outside shoulder/arm free). The Young play is alarming.

Agreed, and it was a good cut by the RB. Planted and upfield leaving the guy who extended himself exposed. (I wasn't able to watch the game, and the clip stopped, but DY may have had the tackle, abet 30 yards down field).

 

[ShortSideOption]

So ***, here begs my question that I've wondered for awhile.
For all of last season and part or all of 2 years ago............weve watched T Farmer, C Conrad, and D young just get burned. Why is it these 3 guys all this time later are still playing bad ball and still starting. Yea, maybe the backups arent all that great but I dont see why you dont give it a try

I really don't know. In Young's case, he actually knows what he's doing, he just doesn't execute. Farmer I think is the victim of just of being good if he can get himself in the right spot but it doesn't happen all that often.

They will try something different on the line. Honas will eventually end up starting, could be as early as Saturday.

 

[Bean]

Dr Tom won National Championships without being constantly in the top 15.

Do we need more top athletes, yes you are right.

But player development, Husker Power and Nutrition, is the bigger is at the current time.

Add our walk on program advantage to that to even a consistent top 25 recruiting class and "boom" were are Wisconsin because all Wisconsin is is DONU redone .

I agree with all those statements but don't believe that will be enough if we don't get a bigger number of 4 and 5 stars. Allot of colleges are doing the same thing with player development, strength and conditioning and nutrition. That's why we see so many FCS and smaller colleges beating FBS teams. We do need to get our pipeline rebuilt so we can reload and not rebuild every year.

 

[Deleted member 3889]

Mo Barry, Cam Taylor and Deontai Williams played hard against Michigan the whole time they were on the field. Those three are going to be foundation pieces of this defense next year. I know the coaches were paying attention to how kids played last week when the rout was on. They wanted to see who would continue to fight. They had to of loved what those three put on tape.

I'm sure they'd love to get Taylor and Williams more reps, but it's tough. Taylor isn't quite good enough to replace Bootle (who IMPO has looked pretty good this year) or Jackson. and safety is pretty deep with Aaron Williams, Tre Neal and Antonio Reed. Those two have the highest ceilings on the team at their respective positions in the secondary, though, so it'd be good to get them more reps regardless. Also like the idea of a Barry-Honas inside duo. Again, this season is about building for the future and those two are your starters next year. If it's me, I'm forcing the issue and getting them on the field together more.

Ah, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but blinding.

 

[jikastew]

Dr Tom won National Championships without being constantly in the top 15.

Do we need more top athletes, yes you are right.

But player development, Husker Power and Nutrition, is the bigger is at the current time.

Add our walk on program advantage to that to even a consistent top 25 recruiting class and "boom" were are Wisconsin because all Wisconsin is is DONU redone .

There were, like, 2 people rating college kids back then. Minimal video. No internet. Someone went back and rescouted most of TOs players from every year until recruiting services picked up. Watched whatever film they could and assigned their ranking. Can't remember if one of the guys here did it or not. But basically TO recruited much better than was given credit for. Most of his classes after 1988 or something would have been considered top 10. Several were retrospective #1 classes.

Wish I had saved that. It must have took a ridiculously long time to do.