forums

Avantae Williams-Kick Returner and RB

Liberty City El said:
At RB doubtful, at KR possibly.

In the first week of Spring camp Pope & Knighton were getting reps at KR/PR.

I think Knighton has the shiftiness to be good at either KR or PR, Restrepo seems to be a sure handed kid that could be a very solid PR'er, the one I'm curious to see is Harley. Idk if he'd necessarily be great at PR due to he's not really a shifty runner, hasn't shown much wiggle, he's more of straight line speed guy, but I'd still like to see what he can do in the return game.

But that's an area I'd like to see us focus more in recruiting in these next couple classes, we need a dynamic return man that can change the game with flipping field position & being a threat to take one to the house at any given moment.
Click to expand...

I feel better about Pope at KR than PR, but he hasn't shown much, yet, in either area.

If there's anything we learned last year, it's that Berrios was a much better return man than he got credit for when he was here. You can't, ever, drop the ball when you're back there. That's first and foremost. If you're Devin Hester and can return one for a score nearly every game, you get an exception, but that's it.

We need to be better and more dynamic than we have been on returns, no doubt. Hopefully, we've got the talent on the roster to find the right guy or two. Special Teams coaching plays a role as well, we need to be better there.
 
Advertisement
Gatorhater said:
So you're saying next Ed Reed? I'm very good with half that.
Click to expand...
Would be nice. Reed looked like a genius by his final year. He could look at both offense and defense and get a solid idea where the ball was going to go, and be there to make an INT or a hit.
 
Palm beach cane said:
Would be nice. Reed looked like a genius by his final year. He could look at both offense and defense and get a solid idea where the ball was going to go, and be there to make an INT or a hit.
Click to expand...
Yeap. Not to mention the blocked punts and field goals, and his punt returns. His game go better every year. I remember **** Anderson of the Fins, never being fooled on any play -run or pass. Ed took it a step farther. He created traps for QB to fall into. Master of deception in the nfl. All respect to ST but if Ed played that OSU game, he makes the pick ST did but does NOT get stripped, instead scores 6 and we win the game. ST was a Super Man type but Ed just had that THING to win the big game with the big play at the big moment. Genius is the right word.
 
Advertisement
Shocking the most athletic kid on the team played multiple roles for his HS team.. offense, defense AND special teams!!

Thanks OP!!!!
 
Should’ve let Gil get reps at return. He had the vision most of the guys we’ve had the past years don’t. Punt return is all about setting things up, speed is secondary.
 
g8rh8rMD said:
I feel better about Pope at KR than PR, but he hasn't shown much, yet, in either area.

If there's anything we learned last year, it's that Berrios was a much better return man than he got credit for when he was here. You can't, ever, drop the ball when you're back there. That's first and foremost. If you're Devin Hester and can return one for a score nearly every game, you get an exception, but that's it.

We need to be better and more dynamic than we have been on returns, no doubt. Hopefully, we've got the talent on the roster to find the right guy or two. Special Teams coaching plays a role as well, we need to be better there.
Click to expand...

On PR, 100% the most important thing is reliability. The most critical aspect is making the catch, but also knowing which balls to field and which to let hit the turf, and if you make a decision to let a football hit the turf, communicating with your blockers so they can avoid making contact with the ball off a bad bounce, and knowing when to make a fair catch (versus trying for the homerun). Although not always flashy HR hits, Berrios, and to a somewhat lesser extent KJ, were very good at the above.

It will be interesting to see who ultimately gets the PR job this season. The good news is we have several athletic guys with experience fielding punts.
 
g8rh8rMD said:
I feel better about Pope at KR than PR, but he hasn't shown much, yet, in either area.

If there's anything we learned last year, it's that Berrios was a much better return man than he got credit for when he was here. You can't, ever, drop the ball when you're back there. That's first and foremost. If you're Devin Hester and can return one for a score nearly every game, you get an exception, but that's it.

We need to be better and more dynamic than we have been on returns, no doubt. Hopefully, we've got the talent on the roster to find the right guy or two. Special Teams coaching plays a role as well, we need to be better there.
Click to expand...
I would rather a guy secure a fair catch than muff a punt but man, sometimes Berrios would be waving his arm with no defender within 15 yards of him. Better safe than sorry but it got frustrating seeing all that missed yardage. I was actually very impressed with Osborn returning punts last season. He didn't look like he was blazing down field but he had a unique ability to set up blocks and patiently weave his way through traffic while still being a reliable guy fielding punts. He was a more consistent return man than Thomas.
 
Advertisement
Who is the fastest player/cut ability out this world on the roster? That's who I want at PR/KR everyone else can kick rocks. Berrios was reliable not great but reliable you knew he wasn't going to mess up. My choice would be JAYLAN, POPE, OR Cam.
 
KOOLAID4L said:
Who is the fastest player/cut ability out this world on the roster? That's who I want at PR/KR everyone else can kick rocks. Berrios was reliable not great but reliable you knew he wasn't going to mess up. My choice would be JAYLAN, POPE, OR Cam.
Click to expand...

One of the guys at the top of the roster last year on your criteria would have been JT4. It took all of one game to see how that worked out.
I don't care how fast a guy is, if he isn't reliable and smart about field punts, I don't want him back there.
 
KOOLAID4L said:
Who is the fastest player/cut ability out this world on the roster? That's who I want at PR/KR everyone else can kick rocks. Berrios was reliable not great but reliable you knew he wasn't going to mess up. My choice would be JAYLAN, POPE, OR Cam.
Click to expand...
Chaney has more cutting ability and speed than cam and would be a better returner.

I think Pope, knighton, Chaney should get looks at kick return. Of other freshman I’d take a look at Marcus Clarke, Keyshawn smith and restrepo. Harley would be interesting but he’s pretty frail. We will see
 
brock said:
Chaney has more cutting ability and speed than cam and would be a better returner.

I think Pope, knighton, Chaney should get looks at kick return. Of other freshman I’d take a look at Marcus Clarke, Keyshawn smith and restrepo. Harley would be interesting but he’s pretty frail. We will see
Click to expand...

I would love to see Pope get that chance to contribute with the ball in his hands and some space.

Also, some promising TFs for potential PRs. Smith apparently returned 13 kicks for 402 yards and one touchdown, and had 8 punts for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Clarke averaged like 13 yards per punt return and had 2 PR TDs last season. He's probably more ready to make an impact there than at CB. I know Retrepo also returned punts and kicks last year (but couldn't find any stats).

Chaney seems like a better fit at KR than PR. I suspect Knighton could do either well.
 
Advertisement
No_Fly_Zone said:
I would love to see Pope get that chance to contribute with the ball in his hands and some space.

Also, some promising TFs for potential PRs. Smith apparently returned 13 kicks for 402 yards and one touchdown, and had 8 punts for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Clarke averaged like 13 yards per punt return and had 2 PR TDs last season. He's probably more ready to make an impact there than at CB. I know Retrepo also returned punts and kicks last year (but couldn't find any stats).

Chaney seems like a better fit at KR than PR. I suspect Knighton could do either well.
Click to expand...
Agree with all of this
 
Rellyrell said:
What were his stats? I feel some feel he's overrated, while others feel he's the next coming.

What's what, and I'll take @Liberty City El or @gogeta4 on this one.
Click to expand...
Tae is a good natural athlete, he's got legit 4.52 speed & was actually a good RB at DeLand.

He's not really a pure Safety like Jaquan was, doesn't have the football instincts or IQ but has the tools to be coached up into a very good Rover Safety in our system.

His coverage skills need work, at the opening last year you could tell playing on an island in one on one coverage was not his strong suit. I like his tackling, he squares his shoulders, keeps his head up, sinks his hips & gets low, he usually goes for the big KO style hit but also showed he'll wrap up if he doesn't have a clean kill shot.

He's a kid with lots of natural gifts that need refinement, I think with proper coaching & tutelage he can be good for us, but I wouldn't expect him to get a whole lot of meaningful snaps as a TF, at least not early on, he'll be a kid that makes his splash on ST's & in the event any of the upperclassmen ahead of him get hurt could step in & play.

Here's what Ed Reed said about him after coaching him at the UA game:

 
Advertisement
Advertisement
Back
Top