Who here said that Matt Elam was physically weak?
- Thread starter Rhavicc
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Matt didn't come in and score 23 ppg and average 11 rebounds...., err, I mean didn't record three sacks and 10 tackles per game so he was deemed a failure by some who tend to look at everything through a prism defined by another (very) popular sport at UK...
He will be very good this year and will be unstoppable next year.
He will be very good this year and will be unstoppable next year.
I tend to agree. There was one clown that didn't even criticize his on field performance. Just said that he was a weak person, based on nothing. Now they have to base that assumption on a 355 pound guy that puts up those numbers in the weight room, and whoever said that looks ignorant.
Elam showed a ton for us in his first season, where he really didn't know much about the playbook, was limited on snaps, and was too overweight to play the interior tackle for us in the 4-3 (which says something). Even then, didn't he have like 2 pass deflections in one game (against USCjr.)? That's pretty good for any lineman, let alone one in the condition he was in at that time. He was getting blocked by 2 o-linemen at once multiple times, and he would man-handle them at times. As a freshman, that's very telling.
A guy with shoulders that wide and arms that long benching up around 500 at only what, 19 years old? That's very, very impressive.
A few weeks back Drake Jackson asked him on Twitter what he was pressing. Matt's response, "Your house."
A lot of UK fans do not understand exactly what a Nose Guard's job is. These folks look at stats only.
I cannot recall in my lifetime KY having the talent, depth, and size at Nose that they will have this year with Melvin and Matt backing him up. That is legit SEC depth folks.
Everyone who has an ounce of football knowledge knew Matt needed a year or two to get his conditioning in order. He is never going to run down folks in an open field. The main things he needs to continue to work on more than anything else is his technique and getting his pad level lower which it sounds like he is doing much better at now. The weight and all has and will continue to take care of itself.
He is a massive human being and will be a serious problem for a lot of Olineman as he matures more.
I cannot recall in my lifetime KY having the talent, depth, and size at Nose that they will have this year with Melvin and Matt backing him up. That is legit SEC depth folks.
Everyone who has an ounce of football knowledge knew Matt needed a year or two to get his conditioning in order. He is never going to run down folks in an open field. The main things he needs to continue to work on more than anything else is his technique and getting his pad level lower which it sounds like he is doing much better at now. The weight and all has and will continue to take care of itself.
He is a massive human being and will be a serious problem for a lot of Olineman as he matures more.
Agreed. I would rather have a lineman that draws blocks from 2 offensive linemen on every play, and still has the ability to get into the backfield, rather than a lineman that can get in the backfield more frequently but only draws one blocker on every play. Changes the whole complexion of things, and it opens things up for the players around him. Equates to more tackles at the LOS, or in the backfield off the blitz. Easier to read running gaps too.
Elliott put it beautifully: It's not the plays those NGs make. It's the ones they take away.
Combo blocks in the 1 or 2 gaps where the guard is to chip the NG and get to an ILB? Gone, because one guy can't move Lewis or Elam. The QB stepping up in the pocket to pass? Gone, because the center is in his lap. Counters and traps? Gone, because the center is too far back to pull past.
It's a great thing to see an offensive line get no push against UKs D Line and it's been a long time since we've seen it. I'm looking forward to it.
Kid is definitely not weak. Did I miss something, or did he move ahead of Lewis to #1? Thought he was still #2 on the chart.
I do not think he has moved ahead of Lewis on the depth chart but that doesn't matter because both will play a lot so the Cats can have a fresh man in the position at all times.
It is been my experience that push up the middle will destroy an offense both the pass and run game quicker than about anything.
A Nose Tackle that can control both A gaps and or get push up the middle is the main thing needed to make a 3-4 alignment effective.
Great Nose Tackles are probably the most wanted players by pro 3-4 defenses.
It is been my experience that push up the middle will destroy an offense both the pass and run game quicker than about anything.
A Nose Tackle that can control both A gaps and or get push up the middle is the main thing needed to make a 3-4 alignment effective.
Great Nose Tackles are probably the most wanted players by pro 3-4 defenses.
Absolutely. That bench is more impressive than the squat weight, and both are very good.
Some pencil neck geek named Zipp was literally making fun of Elam on the UL board. To their credit a couple of their fans defended Matt says he's just a true sophomore. Heres to the big guy having a great year.
Zipp isn't known for being a class act. Seems like something that he would do, but only behind a computer screen.
Zipp=0 knows that lots of UK fans visit their fb board daily so he loves to start threads that he feels will get the most attention. He loves to bait UK fans endlessly!
Great post OP. Furthermore, I have never understood the criticism of his Freshman year by some of our fans. Every time I saw him in the game, he was getting a pretty good push up front to only be a Freshman.
Sure, he couldn't play a bunch of series in a row, but you know what? SO WHAT.
The kid was a Freshman and he's got a massive body to carry around and get into shape. He played just fine as a Freshman and made some good plays.
I truly think he will be one of the MAIN REASONS our defense improves this season. Simply put, he will clog the middle more than most nose tackles with his size and athleticism.
And yes, the ignorant basketball fans were probably the ones criticizing his Freshman season. The same ones that said we would go undefeated in basketball last season.
He is going to disrupt some O lines and our line backers are going to feast on QB'S AND RB'S because of his size and power. He is going to be a great one. Nick Saban and Urban wanted him pretty bad. I think he did a solid job as a run stuffer was suprised he was ised more on 3 and short or 4th and short last year. I bet he will have another solid year then start to become great next season. He has NFL written all over him. Just wait and see.
count me in as a big Elam fan! I was very pleased with his play last year as a true frosh, and expect him to improve big time each season he is with us. Only morons expected him to play a lot of snaps last year. Anyone with football knowledge knows that a guy like that takes time and must get in shape to increase reps...and still will never be an every down kind of guy. Really, when you finally start recruiting properly, most positions don't have every down guys anymore. That's a positive thing in most positions! Unfortunately, most UK fans aren't used to that concept historically.
Any body putting up numbers like that is a beast. I graduated from Corbin in '82. Martin Earl Pennington played for UK 83-86. Martin graduated the year after me. He was a freak athlete. He was a TE. In his senior year at UK he was around 450 in bench and 750 in squats. He weighed around 250. He was pound for pound the strongest guy on the team. Anytime someone is 450+ and 700+, they are freakishly strong. Elam is going to be a monster.
The big man is progressing and it is no problem seeing he is in better shape than last year just by looking at him. I believe I saw that he is down to 355 pounds. I believe their target weight for him is around 340.
I also believe the weight he has now is much better than the weight he came in with. More muscle and less fat. The gut has gotten much smaller.
I also believe the weight he has now is much better than the weight he came in with. More muscle and less fat. The gut has gotten much smaller.
Maybe they do. If so, he is an animal. Who knows if he can play or not. We already know Elam can play.
Yes, they do. The kid never played high school football and I'm not sure if he's ever got any snaps at ul.
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