HurricaneVision
Staff Writer
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2012
- Messages
- 943
With the news that Miami is adding a grad transfer from Illinois to help fill the void at the NT position, I decided to review his film to see how he compares with the man he is said to help replace in Kendrick Norton. Illinois and Miami shared a common opponent in Wisconsin, so I thought that would be the perfect game to compare the two players.
Tito is #94 and Norton is #7 in any stills of the game.
First play, Wisconsin runs a play-action bootleg left. Norton is blocked 1-on-1 at first, then they blocked down with the LG as well. Norton is where he should be as he’s handling the cutback and has pushed onto the other side of the LOS.
Next rep, Norton is turned too easily and walled off with one blocker. Stuck at the line, this is a loss for Norton.
Norton goes off on third downs, so after a first down is allowed, Norton is back on for the first down play. He knifes through and is in the backfield on the play, but the run was designed to go away from him the whole way and he doesn’t have the speed to get to the RB, who goes for a big run. This is the play Taylor fumbled at the end of the run.
Now, we have the first drive for Wisconsin against Tito. He is pushed out of the hole here. He needs to anchor this spot and not allow his shoulders to be turned in a 1-on-1 battle vs. the LG. Tito is tasked with a lot here, but it’s a loss.
Second down, Tito is the guy being blocked by #67 here. He is turned out of the hole too easily here. He needs to use his inside arm to control the blocker and flow down the line here. Luckily, Illinois gets penetration and makes a tackle for loss, or this is going for a big run in his gap.
Tito is off the field on third down and Wisconsin goes 3-and-out.
Norton is on the field for Wisconsin’s next possession. Here, he does the perfect job of turning the G’s shoulders inside and getting penetration past the LOS (he’s the man next to #80 in this picture). The edge is given up and this run goes outside, but Norton won that rep.
Next rep Norton is controlled in pass protection. He’s now 4-2 on reps this game, while Tito is 0-2. Norton goes out on the next rep and they move Moten with ease and gash up up-the-middle in that spot. Moten then won his next reps to go 2-1 on the drive.
Tito is back in for the next drive for Wisconsin after sitting out the last drive. They block down on him and he handles his gap decently as he stays with the play. I’ll give him the win here.
Next play, I will say that Tito is quick. He gets into this gap quickly (he’s the guy on the ground) but it’s a fly sweep and the ball was gone long before he had any chance. The LG releases to the next level without blocking him. Because of how quick he was off-the-ball, I’ll give him a win to get to 2-2. He comes off on 3rd down and they get a stop. Wisconsin doesn’t have a first down yet. Then Illinois gets a penalty on the punt and Wisconsin gets a first down.
Tito is out of the next group of downs.
Next possession for Wisconsin with Norton. He gets pushed back here. He needs to shock the lineman with violent hands and get him into the backfield here. That would force the RB to run wider on this play and allow the backside defenders to flow downhill.
Norton pushes the backside on the next play, which is a rollout away from him. No win/loss on that play. Not pictured.
Something that gets taken for granted is how well Norton moves for a big man. Here, he swims over the C and you can see him looking back from the LOS like “what just happened?” I wish he’d have kept his balance and swallowed up the RB here, but his quickness definitely gives him the win here. Miami gets stop on next play as Norton is out on 3rd down. 5-3.
This is the best play for Tito thus far. Here he beats the RG inside and blows up the play. The RB is forced to bounce this run outside. He’s the guy with the G diving at his waist here. Big win for Tito to get to 3-2.
Big loss for Tito here. He gets completely turned and moved out by #66 here. They run right in behind this. You can’t get bullied like this.
Tito has to have stronger, more violent hands here. You can’t allow your guy to run right by you like #65 does here, then allow the RT to get that position and just shield you with a shoulder here. He has to either hold up that G better so the LB get in behind him, or shock that G with heavy hands, then duck underneath him and beat that RT to this spot and make this play. You see the last OL for Wisconsin leaning in, that’s on #94 .
You see the two Wisconsin OL grouped together three yards downfield? That’s a double-team block on #94 and he gets destroyed. This moves Tito to 3-5 on the day. He’s having a tough day thus far.
One thing I can tell you that I see with Tito already is a lack of technique. You see how he’s the only DL with his head down, completely looking at the ground? He’s also bent over at the waist. You lose power, vision, leverage playing this way. He needs to be exploding with knees bent, flat back, head up, elbows in and exploding with his hand punch. The DT opposite him has much better technique in this shot. You notice Tito has completely lost sight of the ball here and he’s taking his momentum away from the ball carrier.
You don’t want your defensive linemen on the ground. This is four straight losses for Tito.
He beats the G here. This is honestly a hold, not called. He’s quicker than he is stout in my review. You see #67 with a complete bear hug on him here. He played on the FG block team as well, so maybe he can give depth there also. He’s 4-6 on the day.
After looking at a quarter each for these players, it’s clear to me they are not at all similar players. Norton is much bigger, at 310 pounds and is a player who is strong enough to hold his ground inside without being turned. Tito is a smaller player, at roughly 300 pounds, and he seems to be more of a penetrator type. He’s fairly quick, so you have to hope that some time with Coach Kul will clean up some of his technique issues and allow his game-IQ to improve, as he struggles to find the ball. Hopefully our strength program is better than Illinois’ as he needs to get a lot stronger. He also needs to improve his balance, as he is on the ground much more than I like to see from my DT’s.
Right now, Tito compares to Anthony Moten more than McIntosh or Norton. I’d say he’s an ok addition since he has some experience and is going to be stronger than most incoming freshmen, but I’d be surprised if he played more than a decent rotational role here.
Tito is #94 and Norton is #7 in any stills of the game.
First play, Wisconsin runs a play-action bootleg left. Norton is blocked 1-on-1 at first, then they blocked down with the LG as well. Norton is where he should be as he’s handling the cutback and has pushed onto the other side of the LOS.
Next rep, Norton is turned too easily and walled off with one blocker. Stuck at the line, this is a loss for Norton.
Norton goes off on third downs, so after a first down is allowed, Norton is back on for the first down play. He knifes through and is in the backfield on the play, but the run was designed to go away from him the whole way and he doesn’t have the speed to get to the RB, who goes for a big run. This is the play Taylor fumbled at the end of the run.
Now, we have the first drive for Wisconsin against Tito. He is pushed out of the hole here. He needs to anchor this spot and not allow his shoulders to be turned in a 1-on-1 battle vs. the LG. Tito is tasked with a lot here, but it’s a loss.
Second down, Tito is the guy being blocked by #67 here. He is turned out of the hole too easily here. He needs to use his inside arm to control the blocker and flow down the line here. Luckily, Illinois gets penetration and makes a tackle for loss, or this is going for a big run in his gap.
Tito is off the field on third down and Wisconsin goes 3-and-out.
Norton is on the field for Wisconsin’s next possession. Here, he does the perfect job of turning the G’s shoulders inside and getting penetration past the LOS (he’s the man next to #80 in this picture). The edge is given up and this run goes outside, but Norton won that rep.
Next rep Norton is controlled in pass protection. He’s now 4-2 on reps this game, while Tito is 0-2. Norton goes out on the next rep and they move Moten with ease and gash up up-the-middle in that spot. Moten then won his next reps to go 2-1 on the drive.
Tito is back in for the next drive for Wisconsin after sitting out the last drive. They block down on him and he handles his gap decently as he stays with the play. I’ll give him the win here.
Next play, I will say that Tito is quick. He gets into this gap quickly (he’s the guy on the ground) but it’s a fly sweep and the ball was gone long before he had any chance. The LG releases to the next level without blocking him. Because of how quick he was off-the-ball, I’ll give him a win to get to 2-2. He comes off on 3rd down and they get a stop. Wisconsin doesn’t have a first down yet. Then Illinois gets a penalty on the punt and Wisconsin gets a first down.
Tito is out of the next group of downs.
Next possession for Wisconsin with Norton. He gets pushed back here. He needs to shock the lineman with violent hands and get him into the backfield here. That would force the RB to run wider on this play and allow the backside defenders to flow downhill.
Norton pushes the backside on the next play, which is a rollout away from him. No win/loss on that play. Not pictured.
Something that gets taken for granted is how well Norton moves for a big man. Here, he swims over the C and you can see him looking back from the LOS like “what just happened?” I wish he’d have kept his balance and swallowed up the RB here, but his quickness definitely gives him the win here. Miami gets stop on next play as Norton is out on 3rd down. 5-3.
This is the best play for Tito thus far. Here he beats the RG inside and blows up the play. The RB is forced to bounce this run outside. He’s the guy with the G diving at his waist here. Big win for Tito to get to 3-2.
Big loss for Tito here. He gets completely turned and moved out by #66 here. They run right in behind this. You can’t get bullied like this.
Tito has to have stronger, more violent hands here. You can’t allow your guy to run right by you like #65 does here, then allow the RT to get that position and just shield you with a shoulder here. He has to either hold up that G better so the LB get in behind him, or shock that G with heavy hands, then duck underneath him and beat that RT to this spot and make this play. You see the last OL for Wisconsin leaning in, that’s on #94 .
You see the two Wisconsin OL grouped together three yards downfield? That’s a double-team block on #94 and he gets destroyed. This moves Tito to 3-5 on the day. He’s having a tough day thus far.
One thing I can tell you that I see with Tito already is a lack of technique. You see how he’s the only DL with his head down, completely looking at the ground? He’s also bent over at the waist. You lose power, vision, leverage playing this way. He needs to be exploding with knees bent, flat back, head up, elbows in and exploding with his hand punch. The DT opposite him has much better technique in this shot. You notice Tito has completely lost sight of the ball here and he’s taking his momentum away from the ball carrier.
You don’t want your defensive linemen on the ground. This is four straight losses for Tito.
He beats the G here. This is honestly a hold, not called. He’s quicker than he is stout in my review. You see #67 with a complete bear hug on him here. He played on the FG block team as well, so maybe he can give depth there also. He’s 4-6 on the day.
After looking at a quarter each for these players, it’s clear to me they are not at all similar players. Norton is much bigger, at 310 pounds and is a player who is strong enough to hold his ground inside without being turned. Tito is a smaller player, at roughly 300 pounds, and he seems to be more of a penetrator type. He’s fairly quick, so you have to hope that some time with Coach Kul will clean up some of his technique issues and allow his game-IQ to improve, as he struggles to find the ball. Hopefully our strength program is better than Illinois’ as he needs to get a lot stronger. He also needs to improve his balance, as he is on the ground much more than I like to see from my DT’s.
Right now, Tito compares to Anthony Moten more than McIntosh or Norton. I’d say he’s an ok addition since he has some experience and is going to be stronger than most incoming freshmen, but I’d be surprised if he played more than a decent rotational role here.
