That's nowhere near enough...Gotta kill the position like FSU,Bama, OSU, LSU, Clemson do
Hopefully these DJ Johnson rumors are BS and he isn't transferring.
Christ. Our dt depth chart is just fine as long as we get 2 studs in here. Step off the ledge.
So you admit it. Our depth isn't where it should be.
Our depth chart is exactly where it should be. 6 studs with one more spot for Carson, Briggs, chatman, Thompson or another hidden gem we don't know about. Of course we need 2 kids now that rj and Norton have blown up and are leaving early, but we sure as **** ain't hurting for QUALITY. Kul likes to rotate 4 so we should have at least 7 in the roster in case of injury.
The problem is that dummies have already discounted Martin and fines even though kul made a living turning western Kentucky kids into nfl prospects.
Willis
Bethel
Ford
Fines
Martin
Silvera
Carson
That's 7 potential nfl draft picks right there.
When did Carson commit?
When did Norton and RJ declare for the draft?
That's the part people keep overlooking. As it stands right now, we have 8 DT's. We are just assuming that two of them are leaving. Norton is rated to be the 16th best DT who will be eligible for this year's draft. RJ is not listed among the top 25 draft eligible DTs on any analysis I've seen. Some of y'all need to come to grips with the fact that 23 total tackles and 2 sacks isn't exactly the kind of season that propels a kid to the NFL. That's Kendrick Norton's numbers this season. RJ had an 11 tackle game against 1-8 UNC, but his stats are as average as Norton's outside of that. 2.5 sacks? Most of his tackles are clean-up/assists? Yeah he was disruptive as **** in the ND game but he only logged 5 tackles and 0 sacks.
We, as people who scrutinize every play of every game, know these players are better than their numbers. They have flashed a potential that has convinced us that they can be great and they can help us achieve great things. But they are not there yet. If they choose to leave now, they may be drafted. They may make their way through camps, and they may earn a roster spot. But this is all a gamble. 23 tackles and 2 sacks is not going to turn many heads. RJ's athleticism is going to raise some eyebrows at the combine, but how much is that worth. He's not even among the top 25 DT's. If he blows up the combine and get's up to the 20-22 range, that's about a 5-7 grade. And if he has a bad day? Ask him if he knows Joe Yearby.
Don't get me wrong. Our guys are great. I'd rather have them than just about any DT combo in the country. But the secondary was weak this season. You can't get much production from the D-Line when every scrub *** QB is hitting 75% of his passes running quick ins and outs. The LB corps took a step back in gap discipline. 80% of the tackles made by a DT should be because the ball carrier had nowhere else to go. Nobody runs straight to the biggest dude on the defense on purpose. The idea is to run around those big uglies and find gaps. I think with better DB play--which the 2018 class promises to deliver, and better LB play--Shaq, Pink, and McCloud can only get better, our DTs will actually have time to do their jobs on the elite level they are capable of.
Both Norton and RJ would be making colossal mistakes to declare early based on the info I've seen. Yes, that hasn't seemed to be enough to stop anyone recently, and this situation is as fluid as any. They may blow up on 12/30, injuries may happen, other guys rated ahead of them may decide to stay in college one more year. But right now, as it stands, potential recruits have to look at us as a team with 2 solid starters at DT, with 2 experienced rotational guys, a 5* on the bench, last year's best S.FLa DT prospect, and this year's best S.FLa DT prospect.
