I saw his number and was thinking who the hell is this guy playing DE.
Cael Brezina Appreciation Thread
- Thread starter stuclone
- Start date
That’s what I was thinking. He could be listed as an outside linebacker, but be a pass rush specialist like Lawrence Taylor.
Giving a true freshman the green dot during his first start in Kinnick Stadium is absolutely insane. I love it. I'm buying every last share of Brezina stock.
Not sure why thinking of Brezina as another position is event a discussion. This kid looks like the next Mike Rose. He's not going to be a d-lineman or pass rush specialist. He's going to be at the heart of this defense at linebacker for several years.
Brezina was all over the field. That was the position I thought would be weak and lead to the Hawks rolling on us and be our downfall, but he did incredibly well for a true freshman. Looks like we could have a big-time player on our hands and he's this young. Wow.... portends well for the future.
This may be an overreaction, but watching the D, I felt his play was the key for the entire defense. As the SLB he was crucial to most plays. Just fun to have a young guy step-up, in a spot where we were weakest and everyone had legitimate worries coming into the game and play like that.
This may be an overreaction, but watching the D, I felt his play was the key for the entire defense. As the SLB he was crucial to most plays. Just fun to have a young guy step-up, in a spot where we were weakest and everyone had legitimate worries coming into the game and play like that.
I questioned why everyone was high on him before the game.
Now I see why. Kid's a baller. Seems to have Rose's instincts and command of the game but I think his athletic ceiling is quite a bit higher.
Now I see why. Kid's a baller. Seems to have Rose's instincts and command of the game but I think his athletic ceiling is quite a bit higher.
It sounds like Sadowski could have come back in the game if needed so he should be back for the next game.
I’ve heard mixed things with McLaughlin. I heard rumors of back surgery and he’s done for the season, but also Campbell mentioned in a press conference that he would be back soon.
LBers that also wrestled in high school. That's a recipe for success.
Per my earlier post, the kid already looks bigger than 6'3" 240. Linebackers moving to defensive end isn't a new concept. That being said, I'm totally not opposed to a monster linebacker either.
Listen to the Kickin It podcast with Woody and Mahoney. Woody gives an excellent explanation of the adjustments Heacock made. For examples, he told the linebackers to not worry about making the tackle but to instead smash into the TE and drive them into the traffic. This frees up the safety to clean up. Moved the defensive line alignment to make it harder for Iowa to exploit a double team which also freed up our defensive linemen to win one on one matchups. The alignment change also made it look like the C gap Iowa was making hay with look even more enticing. So it looks like we were baiting them into keep trying it.
Last edited:
Agree that he looks like a DE playing MLB. Him and Bacon together would have been such a treat...
In a 4-down d-line I agree he may end up as an end. But in our 335 stack, he's perfect at MLB. Mike Rose, O'Rien Vance, and Caleb Bacon are all massive LB's in today's game. But they fit well in our scheme to help add beef to the box with only 3 down lineman
This makes me think Heacock is even more astute than I thought he was coming into the game. Fascinating adjustments and rewatching the highlights, you can see it. There's many times Brezina, with his large size, is just pummeling and smashing into blockers gumming up the running lanes. Interesting.
Our safeties also deserve a ton of credit for their play Sat.
Freyler was all over the place and made a ton of plays. Verdon had I think 13 tackles with 9 solo. And he absolutely rocked an Iowa ball carrier one play when they were in our red zone. Iowa got a good gain on the play but Verdon knocked the guy horizontal about 5 yards out of bounds. It was clean and just a punishing hit. Loved it.
He doesn’t need anymore weight, just continue to get stronger and faster. Tensile strength. I was in the 13th row at the 25 yard line so got to see him close in person and honestly the kid looks perfect at his current weight. He’s athletic and looks like an NFL LB right now. Just a dude.
