I want linebackers. I can’t say there is one I’m completely comfortable with yet.
Post Farmageddon: Sunday Thoughts of Game
- Thread starter cyclone1209
- Start date
Really unbelievable how Campbell got this season turned around. It had gone completely off the rails after the Ohio game, and the faith we fans had in him was at an all-time low. And then he managed to go 6-3 in a Big 12 schedule that was NOT at all easy - and this was with a defense that, while still among the best in the Big 12, probably wasn't quite as strong as in years past, and an offense that simply could not run the ball up the middle, which limits what the offense can do.
The only thing I'll say is I wish Campbell would stop being so conservative pre-Big 12 season, that those games don't matter. I don't care what year it is, we're not going to "out-Iowa" Iowa, and while I get several key members of the team were suffering from food poisoning for the Ohio game, just as much of a reason was the conservative play style. This is a season where we should have been 8-4 or even 9-3 - DESPITE everything that happened in the offseason. Don't get me wrong, I'm not disparaging the 7-5, I'm just looking back at what could have been.
Maybe someone who understands defense far better than me can comment on this.
It seemed like our defense was even more "bend but don't break" than usual in that there were certain 5-20 yard pass plays that were just automatic easy catches if KSU executed well and we didn't get pressure. I'm sure it's impossible to have tight coverage on ice skates if the QB and receivers are on the same page. So they were able to have these long drives that only really stopped if we made a spectacular play or they made an execution mistake.
While I love Sama, Rocco, Higgins and Noel...the amount of giant plays we had had to have something to do with the defense KSU was in compared to what we were in right? I mean we had 7-8 giant plays that developed from every part of the field. Was their formation/personnel just not ideal to stop big plays on that slippery field?
It seemed like our defense was even more "bend but don't break" than usual in that there were certain 5-20 yard pass plays that were just automatic easy catches if KSU executed well and we didn't get pressure. I'm sure it's impossible to have tight coverage on ice skates if the QB and receivers are on the same page. So they were able to have these long drives that only really stopped if we made a spectacular play or they made an execution mistake.
While I love Sama, Rocco, Higgins and Noel...the amount of giant plays we had had to have something to do with the defense KSU was in compared to what we were in right? I mean we had 7-8 giant plays that developed from every part of the field. Was their formation/personnel just not ideal to stop big plays on that slippery field?
demoncore1031
Well-Known Member
Our LB commits for 2024 are ranked pretty low and have no decent offer lists. I hope we grab a couple LBs in the portal.
My personal expectations for the portal are to retain our most important contributors and maybe getting a couple of long-shot guys with potential from lower tier schools & Jucos.
Remember that we have to re-recruit our own players every offseason, so keeping guys like Rocco, Brahmer, Orange, TO, Abu, and Cooper should be viewed as huge portal wins.
Returning next year: Will McLaughlin, Caleb Bacon, Jack Sadowsky V, Jacob Ellis, Zachary Lovett, Kooper Ebel
I'm not going to say that they're world beaters, but that's 6 solid linebackers. My concern would be their speed and coverage abilities.
Behind them there's a number of guys who have seen the field or were decently highly rated recruits: Carston Marshall, JJ Jean-Louis, Carson Willich, Jacob Imming, John Klosterman
The crazy part, none of the guys listed above are upperclassmen. Every single one is Rs-Soph or younger.
If you can transfer in a stud, then do it, but if we don't I'm not going to be super worried.
A) Yes, the field was a huge equalizer. For both offenses. Playing defense on a bad surface makes tackling, coverage, etc - oh, a million times or so tougher than it already is. Slightly hyperbolic, but still, you get the point.
B) We don't have a pass rusher. TO, run stuffer, great player, not really a pass rusher. Orange, big hoss of a man, but not a pass rusher. Peterson, great effort, great motor, not a true pass rusher. The young guys? IDK. I don't see a lot of quick twitch on the DL. Maybe its there, but that is honestly my biggest worry for next year defensively.
Losing Tampa sucks, yes. But you know what helps your corners cover better? A pass rush. Also helps you get off the field on 3rd and medium to long more consistently, etc. We have the size, we have depth, but I just didn't see a guy who I said, yeah, he looks like a natural pass rusher, he's just raw. We basically played the season with two defensive tackles and a motor guy plus a couple youngsters who might be a combination of TO and Peterson but might not be great pass rushers either.
The juco from Iowa western Jacob Ellis has been injured, I liked him early in the season.
We need help here. We need outside backers who can set the edge. Our LB group was very poor in run support, especially anything on the edge. We have guys who can help plug the middle and rush the passer, we don't have the guys who can set the edge or take the back/TE in pass coverage.
I’m hoping that Ike Ezeogu and Trent Jones make a big jump next year after getting a lot of experience this year. They’re only RS Fr and Soph right now. They look like pass rushers.
Even then I’d still like to see a 4th guy rush on every passing down. Disguise it and come from different locations — any of the 3 LBs or a slot corner or a safety. Rushing 3 most of the time against a competent QB seems to be a losing proposition. Every Big 12 team always seems to have a competent QB.
i thought Drew Surges played really well in this game. First start and he was in on a lot of plays. He seems like he could be the next Beau Freyler — physical, rangy safety who can lay the wood. That hit along the sideline on Giddens was big time. Jamo Patton is also playing pretty well. He’s another physical, rangy safety. We’re stacked in the secondary if everyone returns, just need to find an adequate replacement for TJ.
I’m excited for the growth of the o-line.
Obviously the elements heavily favored the offenses in the KSU game, so it’s hard to take TOO much away, but it’s pretty incredible how much they improved over the season. James Neal really became a different player over the course of the year.. here is hoping another offseason and more time with Clanton will pay dividends.
Obviously the elements heavily favored the offenses in the KSU game, so it’s hard to take TOO much away, but it’s pretty incredible how much they improved over the season. James Neal really became a different player over the course of the year.. here is hoping another offseason and more time with Clanton will pay dividends.
Has anyone made a GIF of Sama stiff arming that KSU guy into the netherworld?
It was the joy of Charlie Brown kicking Lucy through the goalposts,
Is Rocco better now then the start of the year? There were reasons we did what we did at the start of the year.
This is really cool, and it is worth watching a guy at a time as there's so much that you don't notice. My favorite part is (I think) Brahmer and Klotz celebrating together as they sprint after Sama.
The Brahmer and Klotz block opened the hole for Sama. That was awesome!
yeah Tampa was noticeably bad for whatever reason. Maybe he wasn't comfortable in the snow but Cooper and Purchase were great. Hope we can keep Cooper but honestly he could probably go get a massive bag from an SEC school
My favorite part is Klotz absolutely steamrolling that DL and then getting a piece of that LB to spring it.
