Josh Allen and Jordan Jones getting some love on the ESPN SEC Nation Blog
- Thread starter ukalum1988
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This is the best linebacker group we have had in a long time.
While we continue to lack the depth and talent that other top teams stockpile on the DL, our linebacker group looks the best I have seen since following UK. Hopefully that will make up for all of the 5* DL types we will face against teams like Georgia, Ole Miss, and Florida.
It seems like their are so few excellent DL players to go around. While we might hit on a gem or two occasionally, we have never been able to fill that position like the rest of the SEC. Hopefully the great equalizer will be continually focusing on having the best linebacking group we can possibly assemble.
It seems like their are so few excellent DL players to go around. While we might hit on a gem or two occasionally, we have never been able to fill that position like the rest of the SEC. Hopefully the great equalizer will be continually focusing on having the best linebacking group we can possibly assemble.
You brag about our LB group, and deservedly so but only 2 of them were 4* and they're both backups. The rest are 3* or lower.
Again, there are only about 25-30 kids each year that are 5* and that encompasses all positions so there are just a handful of 5* D-linemen in each class. There are about 250-300 more players that are 4* and again, a good majority of those are not D-linemen.
Getting a 3* D-lineman is not a bad thing. If they have good measurables, some athletic ability and a good motor a very good D-line can be formed from them. Teams like Mizzou and Michigan State have done this regularly with 2 and 3 star players. I would advise you not to sell our guys short as we are on the come.
Our entire incoming D-line class is 3* or better. The kid that showed out and forced his way on the field as a true Frosh just last year, TJ Carter, was a lowly 2* and he's likely the starter at RDE going into this fall. Of the 18 recruited kids we have on our roster at the four positions of (RDE, DT, NG and Jack), only 4 are 2*. The rest are 3* with the exception of the incoming 4* Paschal.
Would I rather have 4 and 5* kids? Duh, but don't get all hung up on stars, especially at the positions of O and D-lines where the kids are so hard to rate anyway. There are just too many kids for services to accurately rank them all unlike basketball which has much more exposure, head to head matchups and fewer overall players. Rankings are good if taken with a grain of salt so don't just think that star ratings are the end all, be all in football.
RV2, I agree with you 100%! I'm just pointing out all of those games where we got destroyed in the trenches due to our lack of quality DL depth in comparison to the top echelon of teams.
Remembering players like Trey Burton scoring 5 TDs against UK makes me want to vomit. With a deep and talented DL, that never happens. Even if they are only ranked as 3* but we have a solid group of them to play their ass off to make up for it.
Remembering players like Trey Burton scoring 5 TDs against UK makes me want to vomit. With a deep and talented DL, that never happens. Even if they are only ranked as 3* but we have a solid group of them to play their ass off to make up for it.
