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Expectations: Z McCloud

I'm just hoping he can stay healthy.

Forget the fact that he may not be what you would want lined up at LB. Look at the fact that the entire LB core is made of glass and is liable to break at any moment and you just hope that the towel boy isn't tossed a helmet.
 
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Ask Jon Vilma and he’ll tell you Quarterman and Pick are nowhere near as athletically gifted as McCloud. He gets his hands up and tips a lot of passes too.
 
The fact that he finally had surgery and his wrist is the healthiest it’s been for the first time in **** near 2 years will be huge imo
 
htownkidd said:
If he hasn’t “cleaned up” his deficiencies by now, then they ain’t getting cleaned up lol. He has been here for 4 going on 5 years. Glad he made his RS decision and appreciate him greatly for what he has done for this program. We desperately needed him to stay for depth obviously but I’d be disappointed if Brooks and Huff are not our 2 main hogs at LB along with Frierson/Smith at Striker. I think Gil starts there but Frierson eventually takes over. JMO
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Huff and brooks are too light in the behind, especially Huff. I believe brooks is about 215 and huff 205. I really hope it clicks for McCloud this year cuz he has the size to play the middle and his speed is far better than Shaq's speed.
 
j06smith said:
Huff and brooks are too light in the behind, especially Huff. I believe brooks is about 215 and huff 205. I really hope it clicks for McCloud this year cuz he has the size to play the middle and his speed is far better than Shaq's speed.
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If Huff is only 205 after being here for 9+ months then we have even bigger problems lol. I assume he is bigger then that but point taken. McCloud is going to play, a lot ....I just hope the pups eventually take over.
 
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He's an athletic upgrade over what shaq/pinckney were but his instincts are well below his departed teammates. Best case he's steady early on and by midseason some combo of brooks, huff, and joyner overtake him by showing out in practice & games, kinda like Greg last year when Patch was eventually relegated to more limited reps. The young linebackers have virtually no experience but I love the upside they bring to the table.
 
htownkidd said:
If Huff is only 205 after being here for 9+ months then we have even bigger problems lol. I assume he is bigger then that but point taken. McCloud is going to play, a lot ....I just hope the pups eventually take over.
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He’s definitely light. Not sure what the exact weight is, but a comment from the 247 guys was that he still needs to fill out. Expected he’s a RS frosh who got on campus very late.
 
Missing all this time will be detrimental to Huff.

He was a late add last year, didn't get enrolled until like 2 days before the UF game, which means he missed all of Spring camp, Summer workouts & Fall camp, plus was an academic redshirt. Now coming into this season he got a week of Spring ball & we'll have to see what happens with Summer workouts & Fall camp.

Now I do believe he is very talented with high upside, but he needs those reps.

As far as McCloud, I'm not really expecting too much, maybe moving to Mike LB & being a 5th year senior the lights will come on for him, but he's been underwhelming since his Freshman season, he was essentially schemed out of the Defense with Diaz moving to the 4-2-5 & using Finley as the Striker/3rd LB. He over pursues, takes bad angles & is a lunge tackler, not trying to bash him but the reality is he hasn't been that good for the last few years.

Hopefully he can improve because he's going to be relied upon heavily, especially with how young & inexperienced we are at LB. Also need TAC to be healthy & for Joyner to step us this year, we can't keep getting by with an overly injured LB corps every year, Ragu shouldn't be taking a single snap in meaningful game this year.

This Covid-19 shutdown fúcked a lot of things up, but if I'm Diaz & Baker I'd be trying like **** to go get Jabril Cox.
 
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What you say in bold below is not bashing; it's an excellent and honest observation. We all hope he improves in his fifth year.

I like the young talent we have at LB. All of them need reps AND solid coaching.

Liberty City El said:
As far as McCloud, I'm not really expecting too much, maybe moving to Mike LB & being a 5th year senior the lights will come on for him, but he's been underwhelming since his Freshman season, he was essentially schemed out of the Defense with Diaz moving to the 4-2-5 & using Finley as the Striker/3rd LB. He over pursues, takes bad angles & is a lunge tackler, not trying to bash him but the reality is he hasn't been that good for the last few years.
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Liberty City El said:
Missing all this time will be detrimental to Huff.

He was a late add last year, didn't get enrolled until like 2 days before the UF game, which means he missed all of Spring camp, Summer workouts & Fall camp, plus was an academic redshirt. Now coming into this season he got a week of Spring ball & we'll have to see what happens with Summer workouts & Fall camp.

Now I do believe he is very talented with high upside, but he needs those reps.

As far as McCloud, I'm not really expecting too much, maybe moving to Mike LB & being a 5th year senior the lights will come on for him, but he's been underwhelming since his Freshman season, he was essentially schemed out of the Defense with Diaz moving to the 4-2-5 & using Finley as the Striker/3rd LB. He over pursues, takes bad angles & is a lunge tackler, not trying to bash him but the reality is he hasn't been that good for the last few years.

Hopefully he can improve because he's going to be relied upon heavily, especially with how young & inexperienced we are at LB. Also need TAC to be healthy & for Joyner to step us this year, we can't keep getting by with an overly injured LB corps every year, Ragu shouldn't be taking a single snap in meaningful game this year.

This Covid-19 shutdown fúcked a lot of things up, but if I'm Diaz & Baker I'd be trying like **** to go get Jabril Cox.
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Sometimes when you have to be the man the lights come on.
 
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My prediction, he'll play as well or better than the two departing. Light seemed to come on last year in his limited play. He's always had more upside, guess we'll see if he lives up to it.
 
Mann he looked really good versus Pitt. Although many of you may have a bigger sample size of games you watched McCloud play in I believe he’s your guy in the middle for this upcoming season.
 
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I think he can be solid playing inside. For a guy who tests athletic, he struggled in space. Mike linebacker requires a lot of intangibles. You’re the leader on defense and you make the calls. This is why I’m comfortable with a 5th year player there. I don’t think he’ll be great and I believe a lot of people here will miss Shaq Quarterman but as a one year stop gap, you could do much worse.
 
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