Diamond in the Rough emerging...

[FrancisSawyer]

Im sure this was discussed in the scrimmage chat, but figured i'd put it in its own thread... is Brian Balom Turning into a legit dude on this team? the stat sheet was unreal yesterday.. idk if he was playing against the walk-ons or the 1st teamers but still..

according to 247 he had only one other p5 offer, and hes already coming to the U and showing out.. would love to hear some hot takes on the kid.. how would the depth chart look next year assuming one or 2 of the safetys declare & now with Balom in the fold ??

I think we are finally starting to see some legit depth at multiple positions. The safety position is loaded with talented depth. This is what a UM scrimmage should look like. Playmakers, speed and insane competition everywhere. The good news is that the level of talent and skill will only get better and better. The next 2-3 seasons should be very exciting.

 

[Calvin]

But can he swing a helmet like Reddick?

ROFL, this **** stupid, lol!

 

[FrancisSawyer]

Well he performed really well at paradise with other big time talent around.

I thought his testing numbers were very solid too.

4.63 forty
4.34 Short shuttle
32.5 vertical

Those numbers are good especially for a true frosh. I always liked the Balom pickup. The part about the only 1 other P5 offer sounds doubtful to me though.

 

[Calvin]

Im sure this was discussed in the scrimmage chat, but figured i'd put it in its own thread... is Brian Balom Turning into a legit dude on this team? the stat sheet was unreal yesterday.. idk if he was playing against the walk-ons or the 1st teamers but still..

according to 247 he had only one other p5 offer, and hes already coming to the U and showing out.. would love to hear some hot takes on the kid.. how would the depth chart look next year assuming one or 2 of the safetys declare & now with Balom in the fold ??

LoL, he's been legit, the problem is people keep getting caught up in these nerd recruiting site rankings and not paying attention, 1st off that man not scared of no competition and when he plays, he almost always play like he's the best player on the field. He's an old school Cane, has a high football I.Q., and is real mature out their on that field, these are the type of guys that made UM Great, they gone have a hard time keeping brian off the field. He's one of those guys that make big plays when people not expecting it, he's a natural on that back end. Coach rumph and banda got guys who out to dominate again, if football is played going to be fun to watch!

 

[Canesq]

i think, based ONLY on one scrimmage's stats, that he is a combo of Ronnie Lott, with the smarts of Polomalu and the athleticism of Ed Reed. i'm serious, just off of one scrimmage's stats.

What’s his after the play awareness looking like? Any Earl Thomas in him?

 

[bambam]

I would say Ed was smarter and Polomalu was more athletic

AFKA, you beat to it. ER = smarts, TP = athleticism, and RL = big hitter.

Anybody disagrees please explain.

 

[Coach Macho]

I don't know how well he moves in space but he definitely likes to hit people.

 

[JgDaCane]

Our saftey room is crazy & it’s getting even crazier next year. DE & Safety are going to be elite elite in coming years.

 

[nycane]

Balom was unbelievable at Paradise. He made his name that day.

I can see him making an early impact similar to Anthony Reddick. College-ready and solid in all categories. Hopefully the rest of his career turns out better than Reddick, but they are similar as freshmen.

People I trust mike him. I actually heard flagg has played well so far. Good instincts.

 

[FrancisSawyer]

Our saftey room is crazy & it’s getting even crazier next year. DE & Safety are going to be elite elite in coming years.

100% I can also see DT, WR, RB and LB going in that direction as well. We add OL and CB to that and..........

 

[FrancisSawyer]

Also keep an eye on Marcus Clarke. All the kid has done is come in as a true freshman at a new position and lead the team in INTs thus far in Fall camp. That's no small feat. Not saying that the kid is going to be Philip Buchanon 2.0 or that he's going to take someone's spot in the 2 deep this fall but the kid has my attention.

That is one of the things that make Spring/Fall camp so exciting. Once in a while you get a kid that wasn't super hyped or expected to contribute immediately and for some reason they come in and just "get it" right out of the gate. Convesrely you also get the very highly touted kids who are high 4 star maybe 5 who are expected to factor in right away but it ends up taking 2 years for the light bulb to come on. That's why you just keep stacking and let the wars on Greentree sort it out. **** I love this game!

 

[TheMatador]

People around here don’t know the difference between subject and object pronouns, or even the difference between “apart” and “a part”, and you are trying to teach them to correctly use the subjunctive mood? LMAO

We have our own rules hear on this bored.

 

[DTP]

Exactly the type of physical attributes you want to see in an "underrated" prospect.

Exactly. You can’t coach up good athleticism. We joke about diamond in the rough type guys because they constantly flopped under Golden and Shannon. Those coaches made the mistake of targeting guys were not great athletes and who were undersized because they were smart and coachable. Having smart, hard workers on your team is great but if they’re 5’8” running a 5.2, they’re not going to really help.
Not sure how Ballom slipped through the cracks because Miramar is a well known program for putting out good players. Usually you can find these type of guys at non traditional powerhouses. A good athlete flying under the radar on a bad team. Or a good athlete playing out of position because his high school coach is a doofus.

 

[Timmy T-Bags $$$]

Also keep an eye on Marcus Clarke. All the kid has done is come in as a true freshman at a new position and lead the team in INTs thus far in Fall camp. That's no small feat. Not saying that the kid is going to be Philip Buchanon 2.0 or that he's going to take someone's spot in the 2 deep this fall but the kid has my attention.

That is one of the things that make Spring/Fall camp so exciting. Once in a while you get a kid that wasn't super hyped or expected to contribute immediately and for some reason they come in and just "get it" right out of the gate. Convesrely you also get the very highly touted kids who are high 4 star maybe 5 who are expected to factor in right away but it ends up taking 2 years for the light bulb to come on. That's why you just keep stacking and let the wars on Greentree sort it out. **** I love this game!

 

[305407cane]

He can stick!

Amari told me he's one of the hardest hitters on the team.

If general hitstick says so then it must be true

 

[M3N]

I don't know how well he moves in space but he definitely likes to hit people.

We can certainly use that. Need to get back to having dozens of guys who wanna kill people.

 

[KrazyCane]

He can stick!

Amari told me he's one of the hardest hitters on the team.

**** as a true freshman that’s impressive.. this board didn’t talk about Harrell at all really that I recall. I just liked the fact that he was a 4 star but had no info on his game and the type of safety he is.

 

[Cane44]

This year's covid rule on eligibility applies to all classes, right? So all the FR can play every game on ST and still keep a RS or Covid Shirt?

 

[itsacanething]

Balom was unbelievable at Paradise. He made his name that day.

I can see him making an early impact similar to Anthony Reddick. College-ready and solid in all categories. Hopefully the rest of his career turns out better than Reddick, but they are similar as freshmen.

i love a legitimate diamond in the rough story.

 

[JAYBLAZE]