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Beating a dead LB horse

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I'm sorry, but if Brooks hasn't gotten it by now. And if Avery Huff hasn't gotten it by now..

Why is it that Flagg can step in an ball, but we're handicapped when we try to play athletic linebackers?


Flagg and Steed have made the headiest plays to date from the LB position.

We really do have an issue with getting linebackers these past few years and something needs to change.
 
kgranger17 said:
I'm sorry, but if Brooks hasn't gotten it by now. And if Avery Huff hasn't gotten it by now..

Why is it that Flagg can step in an ball, but we're handicapped when we try to play athletic linebackers?


Flagg and Steed have made the headiest plays to date from the LB position.

We really do have an issue with getting linebackers these past few years and something needs to change.
Click to expand...


Avery Huff was a late admission last season. No spring and virtually no fall practice time. This year no spring and limited fall.
 
Part of it is the player, part of it is the scheme. They have way too many things to react too according to what the scheme dictates. Corey was born to be a Mike he has that gift. It doesn’t matter for him because from the snap of the ball it take a split second for him to know what’s going on. And he probably already has a good idea beforehand. I think TAC has it too. Brooks just needs more reps .
 
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In Steed's limited action I liked what I saw. He was always around the ball and he diagnosed and reacted quickly on a couple that although he didn't make the tackle he forced the RB to run right into his friends. I am a HUGE fan of Steed since I saw his HS tape. He is a very natural moving LB. He weeds through traffic very well, diagnoses quick, and clearly understands angles. He WRAPS UP when he tackles! My $0.02.

Go Canes!
 
Because Miami has a bad habit of recruiting athletes instead of recruiting football players. Because we use 7v7 camps and measurables to "project" how good a kid's "upside" will be, instead of just recruiting the kids who produce in actual high school football games.

Not talking about these three kids specifically, just our general way of recruiting.

Sometimes it works out. Our DT projections have been pretty good. Most of the time it doesn't.

Most people on CIS overvalue "development" and "coaching." Look.... coaches have a very limited time they can spend with each kid. For one, there are 85+ kids on the rooster and only a handful of coaches. For two, the NCAA limits the number of contact hours because we live in a country full of walking vaginas.

So that means, for the most part, you are what you are. The kids who are going to be good as seniors are the kids that are good as freshmen. Kids don't really develop in college, at any school. Some do, most don't. And the ones that do.... they're the kids that take it upon THEMSELVES to get better, who work with guys like Mark Duper in the offseason and who have that drive inside themselves to improve.

Especially at positions like linebacker, where it's just as much about instincts and making good, quick decisions as it is about athleticism.
 
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kgranger17 said:
I'm sorry, but if Brooks hasn't gotten it by now. And if Avery Huff hasn't gotten it by now..

Why is it that Flagg can step in an ball, but we're handicapped when we try to play athletic linebackers?


Flagg and Steed have made the headiest plays to date from the LB position.

We really do have an issue with getting linebackers these past few years and something needs to change.
Click to expand...
It’s called PATKE and BAKER. I can’t imagine that Patke was the one that identified Hedley and convinced Borregales to take an extra year here. I do know that he is a LB recruiter and believe Baker to be the same. And if you recall that CMR had elevated Patke as a co-DC with Mr. Banda (who’s good name I will not taint in regards to recruiting) before deciding that he was no longer in control of his faculties and retired.
BTW, move on from Jennings, he is too slow. I said it after UAB while people here were pumping sunshine. McCloud has been irrelevant since his sophomore year. I still believe in Brooks though.
 
Who recruited them is the problem. Since Manny been here LB play has been terrible. You can’t tell me Brooks, Austin-Cave, Flagg, and others won’t be playing better or more right now at any other school that recruited them. Hire a coach that actually played the position at a high level to coach them. Manny needs to swallow his pride and give up coaching LB’s.
 
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CorniceCane said:
It’s called PATKE and BAKER. I can’t imagine that Patke was the one that identified Hedley and convinced Borregales to take an extra year here. I do know that he is a LB recruiter and believe Baker to be the same. And if you recall that CMR had elevated Patke as a co-DC with Mr. Banda (who’s good name I will not taint in regards to recruiting) before deciding that he was no longer in control of his faculties and retired.
BTW, move on from Jennings, he is too slow. I said it after UAB while people here were pumping sunshine. McCloud has been irrelevant since his sophomore year. I still believe in Brooks though.
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Hartley is the one that got Hedley if I remember correctly.
 
RightSaidFred said:
Because Miami has a bad habit of recruiting athletes instead of recruiting football players. Because we use 7v7 camps and measurables to "project" how good a kid's "upside" will be, instead of just recruiting the kids who produce in actual high school football games.

Not talking about these three kids specifically, just our general way of recruiting.

Sometimes it works out. Our DT projections have been pretty good. Most of the time it doesn't.

Most people on CIS overvalue "development" and "coaching." Look.... coaches have a very limited time they can spend with each kid. For one, there are 85+ kids on the rooster and only a handful of coaches. For two, the NCAA limits the number of contact hours because we live in a country full of walking vaginas.

So that means, for the most part, you are what you are. The kids who are going to be good as seniors are the kids that are good as freshmen. Kids don't really develop in college, at any school. Some do, most don't. And the ones that do.... they're the kids that take it upon THEMSELVES to get better, who work with guys like Mark Duper in the offseason and who have that drive inside themselves to improve.

Especially at positions like linebacker, where it's just as much about instincts and making good, quick decisions as it is about athleticism.
Click to expand...

Spot on.
 
Give me more Steed, Brooks, and Flagg. Don't care what PFF says about Brooks. He is young and will make some mistakes but has flashed more skills than Jennings/McCloud with far less time.
 
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It's OK to miss on players in recruiting. It's not OK to miss for multiple years in a row. That's how you get stuck in the position were stuck in at linebacker. You've got McCloud, who was in the 2015 recruiting class. BJ Jennings and Waymon Steed are 4th year juniors, then everyone else is a first or second year player. Add to that, the two second year guys are Brooks (a converted defensive end) and Huff (a late enrollee who is way behind the learning curve). This is on Manny when he was DC/LB coach. You can't just not sign linebackers. Especially since Steed has been injured since the very second he signed his LOI. I think the reason why Flagg has shown the most promise so far is because he already knows how to play MLB. He's not just an athletic guy who chased the quarterback in high school. I will sacrifice raw athletic ability for good instincts and intelligence at MLB. Everyone who complained about Shaq Quarterman being a step slow last year would kill to have him playing right now.
 
Mccloud definitely should be in back up duty. But I think its more the scheme we play that makes our LB's look bad. When was the last time you can remember a LB dominating a game. Recruiting has been sub par but there is talent there. Our defense is just very unfavorable for linebackers.
 
shaq and pinckney were both good college linebackers. the next crop of kids dealt with a bunch of bad injuries. the young kids who are playing now are going to make mistakes because they're young. it's not that hard to grasp.
 
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