ball915
All-American
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2012
- Messages
- 5,794
At the beginning of summer we heard that we might expect "the best DL class in program history" and "Jason Taylor could win Recruiter of the Year". Fast forward to the end of the summer and we've landed 1 DT and 2 DE's. Both DE's are legit and it's a position we have depth at having recruited well there the last 2 cycles (2021 - Moss/Kelly and 2022 - Bain, Wayne, Achemepong) and adding Lightfoot and Rudolph in 2023 is exactly how to stack talent at a position. Taylor missed out on Simmons and Stewart but we were able to shoot our shot there because we had depth and two committed. DT is nothing less than an unmitigated disaster and fear Mario retaining Big Joe is going to hurt bad in the short and long term. Jones is a good commitment and Horton last year is too but other than that he's been the Achilles Heel on our staff on and off the field. All we hear from the practice reports is how our run defense is the concern which falls under his umbrella and his **** poor recruiting speaks for itself. We are slated to lose Taylor, JHH, Deen, Gore, Lichtenstein leaving us with Horton, Moten, Jones and Campbell as every down DT's (Bain can slide in occasionally).
Not only is he missing out on talent at the position but the numbers are equally as concerning from a depth perspective. There were 3 positions we HAD to nail this cycle in WR, S and DT with 2 of them being addressed well. Our entire roster has made significant upgrades under Mario at every position with the exception of DT (would say QB too but am super high on Emory Williams). We are all for Mario and Joe going after elite DT's but it feels like we focused on the ones in the highest demand with not much of a backup plan. Everyone else on our staff is pulling their weight except for Big Joe meaning its not a Miami, NIL or record issue. It's him and in August we are in need of a miracle to salvage the class because you can have all of the nice pieces (which we are getting) but if you don't have the interior DL it won't matter. Can only hope a couple of solid wins help change this and Friday can't come soon enough
Not only is he missing out on talent at the position but the numbers are equally as concerning from a depth perspective. There were 3 positions we HAD to nail this cycle in WR, S and DT with 2 of them being addressed well. Our entire roster has made significant upgrades under Mario at every position with the exception of DT (would say QB too but am super high on Emory Williams). We are all for Mario and Joe going after elite DT's but it feels like we focused on the ones in the highest demand with not much of a backup plan. Everyone else on our staff is pulling their weight except for Big Joe meaning its not a Miami, NIL or record issue. It's him and in August we are in need of a miracle to salvage the class because you can have all of the nice pieces (which we are getting) but if you don't have the interior DL it won't matter. Can only hope a couple of solid wins help change this and Friday can't come soon enough
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