forums

Zion Nelson

Advertisement
Well he did show improvement by the end of the season and hopefully with ones against ones in practice he'll continue doing so.
 
Advertisement
NicKane said:
Ok so your saying that In year two he’ll finally grasp the concept that when the ball is hiked to explode out of your three point stance and actually block or at the very minimum get your hands on the D end correct? That of course versus this past year when the ball was hiked and he remained frozen in his 3 point like some with Parkinson’s while the D end ran right around him. I didn’t know it took two years to figure that out or just maybe he’s a two star for a reason and should never even be playing for UM and is a jag? Again not his fault he was wrongly given a scholarship but there’s no denying he played like you would expect a two star player to play at a power five school and conference. Just facts my friend, just the facts.
Click to expand...
Right, I can’t believe that guys are discussing their Zion Nelson improvement plans. He needs to replaced period.
 
Zion was so bad in the first half of the year that it cemented people's image of him. In the second half, he got past his snap count issues and was thinking a lot less. He was still inconsistent (like any true freshman LT) but flashed toughness and athleticism.

I expect a big jump in year 2 for a variety of factors; friendlier scheme, more experience, physical maturation. The tools and toughness are there.
 
DMoney said:
Zion was so bad in the first half of the year that it cemented people's image of him. In the second half, he got past his snap count issues and was thinking a lot less. He was still inconsistent (like any true freshman LT) but flashed toughness and athleticism.

I expect a big jump in year 2 for a variety of factors; friendlier scheme, more experience, physical maturation. The tools and toughness are there.
Click to expand...
@Canedog. Look you would be hard pressed to find any post from me being derogatory toward a current or former player, just not something I do. I admire Zion for his tenacity and perseverance. I just believe that he can and should be passed on the depth chart through better recruiting. I just don’t see that he can make the leap needed. I could be wrong.
 
CaneSince4Ever said:
LOL, how's He gonna improve His technique when Manny's D-Line only teaches 1 move?
Click to expand...

lmao you got me with this one. Legit laughing.

Honest answer: he can work on his skills and technique individually but you're right that he will see things in games that are new challenges. Fortunately I wrote up the Roche pickup and noted how skilled he is with his hands and how he has an outside and inside rush move. Roche will make Nelson better.

Funny how it seems like the most skilled guys on the team are always grad transfers like Osborn or Roche...🤔
 
Advertisement
Very easy to be most improved when you were the worst player on the team last year. There's really no where to go but up at this point. I give the young man credit he gave all he had but was poorly coached and thrown into the lions pit to soon.
 
HighSeas said:
The guys who are talking about Zion needing to bulk up and not being "physically ready" - what team were you watching this season?

Zion was solid with his anchor and acquitted himself well to the physicality of the game. That was the 1 area of his game where he had success.

The issues were:

1. Pass set footwork - particularly those asinine quick/jump sets that Enos & Barry made him try, often on the slow developing play action plays. You take a HS kid who doesn't even have a consistent vertical set in his toolbox and you ask him to execute a variety of different sets...smh. The timing and hand placement required to execute a jump set is impossible for an 18 year old true freshman. This resulted in panicked lunges from Zion and him opening the gate trying to block with a perpendicular shuffle instead of maintaining half-man relationship with kickslides. Later in the season he showed flashes of doing the latter. He has the athleticism to be good at it but it takes reps and confidence.

2. Mental errors - the whole OL struggled with communication, blitz pickups, passing off games, knowing where the help is, etc. Lots and lots of snaps where Zion looks inside and the edge guy races in untouched. Much like the pass set issue this is another where a more simplified system should make assignments much easier to understand.

I'll buy up all the Zion stock idgaf. If Miami adds a grad transfer I bet it will be a RT (Scaife kicks inside) or interior guy.
Click to expand...

I tend to agree with this post...but your #2 should be the #1, because this man legitimately had no idea wtf he was doing most of the year.

Zion Nelson stock is basically a legitimate penny stock. You're not losing anything by saying he'll eventually get better. He has to. You couldn't possibly get worse. But, you don't want to go into 2020 with hopes of a massive improvement with him at LT. Even modest improvement by him and the entire OL is going to be trouble for this offense.

In a perfect world, you bring in Cochran and Hattis in June and you put Nelson and Clark into reserve roles. I don't think we have the depth to redshirt them and I don't know if that helps anyone. Did that random Corey Gaynor redshirt year in his second year ultimately help him? I personally don't think so.
 
Advertisement
BBBBB said:
I'm calling it now he will be one of the most improved players for 2020. I'm saying it now because another year with coach feeley will do wonders plus we have a legit O-Line coach.

But the biggest reason I'm saying this now because he will get absolutely WORKED in practice going up against these phenom cyborg DEs in practice with Rossaue, Roche, Phillips, and Harvey every day. Boys we are fortunate to have these horses out there.
Click to expand...
We hope you are correct. Difficult for many true freshmen to play OL. We shall see
 
If he’s mentally built for it mentally then last year will have been a good thing for him in the long run. Getting your *** whipped over and over and still coming back to get better will provide invaluable experience. Also show teammates you’re riding with them.
 
Advertisement
BBBBB said:
I'm calling it now he will be one of the most improved players for 2020. I'm saying it now because another year with coach feeley will do wonders plus we have a legit O-Line coach.

But the biggest reason I'm saying this now because he will get absolutely WORKED in practice going up against these phenom cyborg DEs in practice with Rossaue, Roche, Phillips, and Harvey every day. Boys we are fortunate to have these horses out there.
Click to expand...
The human turnstile.
 
People have no idea how much mental work goes into being an offensive lineman. They also don't understand the difference between high school and college level football. Having a redshirt year to both prepare physically and learn the mental aspects is absolutely huge for that position.
 
Zero trust in Zion till he proves consistency. Last off season y’all were claiming Mt Zion earned the right to start at LT, but in reality Miami had to start a freshman 2 star at LT because that was our only option.
Have to look at things without the shades or you’re gonna get heart broken.
 
Well well well....ppl wrote this kid off because he was a true freshman coming in weighing 247 pounds and was outclassed most of the year. Kid had no business starting. Now fast forward to this year and his first start and tell me he won’t be serviceable if not good here. Not every kid is a world beater out the gate that’s why they have strength and conditioning and just getting more familiar with the game.
Shoutout to Zion!
 
Advertisement
Back
Top