PiPress: Gophers defense experimenting with different looks

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per Greder:

Coach Tracy Claeys’ and Sawvel’s defense will remain a base 4-3 front, but could have multiple variations, especially on third and long.

“The fastest guys we can put out there and the most of them, because it’s all about speed,” Claeys said after Saturday’s spring practice. “Speed for coverage and speed for getting to the quarterback, but we can’t get seamed on the running game, so that is what we are playing around in.

“Maybe it will be two (defensive) tackles or one d-tackle and 10 others,” Claeys said. “Whatever we can do to help us out.”

Sawvel had, in part, a simple answer to the ineffective pass rush last season. “We weren’t good enough blitzers,” he said.

Cornerback Jalen Myrick said he has witnessed better preliminary results this spring. “I’ve seen a lot of the backers getting in their blitzes and actually doing the blitzes and making a dent inside the line of scrimmage,” Myrick said. “That will help us out anyway.”

http://www.twincities.com/2016/03/26/gophers-defense-experimenting-with-different-looks/

Go Gophers!!
 

The "boys" are thinking and I like this.
 

If the gophers don't start recruiting more DTs they will have no choice but to only put 1 on the field

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Stuff said:
If the gophers don't start recruiting more DTs they will have no choice but to only put 1 on the field

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Click to expand...

Look at the roster. They've consistently recruited 3-5 a year and have gotten 2-3. Most are underclassmen Fr and So.
 

I'm not seeing all those DTs you're talking about. Anyway, Sawvel and Claeyes seem to recognize there is an issue and want to get the best players on the field and scheme around that.
 


Pompous Elitist said:
I'm not seeing all those DTs you're talking about. Anyway, Sawvel and Claeyes seem to recognize there is an issue and want to get the best players on the field and scheme around that.
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Think I counted 13 DLs on current roster with couple more coming in, where are you looking? They mostly talked about blitzing more effectively and packages to get better on the 3rd and long situations.
 



PMWinSTP said:
Look at the roster. They've consistently recruited 3-5 a year and have gotten 2-3. Most are underclassmen Fr and So.
Click to expand...

No and no. They have not recruited 3-5 defensive tackles a year nor are most of them Freshman or Sophomores.
 




Stuff said:
No and no. They have not recruited 3-5 defensive tackles a year nor are most of them Freshman or Sophomores.
Click to expand...

We took three DTs, three years ago when we got Richardson, Moore and Stelter. I don't remember taking three any other year. I think we are actively recruiting more guys now. Part of the problem was JK did not like to offer early because he was convinced there are a lot of late developers who eventually wind up as better players than the guys we can get early. But it appears that is not true on the d-line where there are just not that many big quick guys, and that is what Claeys wants. Our d-line recruiting has been weak the last two years. If not for the class three years ago, we would be in big trouble. I hope the freshmen we got the last two years turn out great, but they were all guys we found after we missed on others and that is a hard way to win consistently. Basically we have not been recruiting enough kids on either the offensive and defensive lines and I think we are being more aggressive earlier this year to try and correct it. We are still offering later than some schools. I think just about every kid we offer out of state already has an Illinois offer.
 

Isn't this the reason that the cheeseheads run a 3-4, hard to find enough DT's.


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Keyser Söze said:
Apparently DEs and DTs are the same thing.
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Ummm, they recruit defensive line players and develop them into positions. Pretty much why they are listed as DL on the roster. We've actually moved guys around, developed big LBs into DL players, moved guys from OL to DL and vice versa. They are developed so they can play more than one position.
 



Stuff said:
No and no. They have not recruited 3-5 defensive tackles a year nor are most of them Freshman or Sophomores.
Click to expand...

At least eight Fr/So DL players on 2016 roster.
 

Maybe we can play Tai'yon Devers at tackle. Winston Delattiboudere? Tamarion Johnson or jerry Gibson? I won't count the walk-ons and they are under 250. All undersized for tackle and I don't think any have the right frame for it.

Maybe I'm crazy, but ideally we want guys in the middle that aren't going to get road graded and/or have a chance to collapse the pocket. We should be fine this season and probably next assuming no injuries but we know how that goes. We need some bigger bodies soon.
 

PMWinSTP said:
At least eight Fr/So DL players on 2016 roster.
Click to expand...


There are 5 recruited Dline underclassmen on the roster, 6 if Mose Hall moves back from OT. (Gibson moved to DE from TE and he has a lot of strength building to do to play DE). Moore is a redshirt soph and was part of the three DT class three years ago, not the last two classes. We have 1 (uno, eins) recruited freshmen DTs in the last two years (Mose Hall)and he still has about 30 lbs of muscle to gain to be able to contribute, and was a plan B (for us, not Alabama). He may turn out to be a good player, but it will be as a red shirt junior if it happens. We have zero DE recruits who were primary recruiting targets at the position in the last two years. I don't mean the guys we lost were lost to Georgia or Auburn, the guys we lost were guys we need to have a good pass rush in the next couple of years and went to places like BC or Duke. I also do not mean the guys we got have no chance at being good players, but they are guys who will take one to two years longer to reach a competitive size. (That does not mean we won't play them, but they would not be on the field at MSU, Wisconsin, or Iowa)
For the 5 year Kill/Claeys program we have two DEs Ekpe and Elmore, three if you count Kafo who were primary targets.
We have managed to get guys on the field and play decently at DT when we are healthy, but our basic recruiting of freshmen dlinemen has sucked. I really like this staff, but they nee to do something different in dline recruiting and the good news is I think Claeys knows it.
 

I have a feeling we might recruit more DTs from the JUCO ranks going forward, since the supply of ready made or close approximations is limited. Before anyone goes nuts, I'm not saying they'll only recruit JUCO DTs just more than the two they've brought in in their first six classes (I don't count Hinojosa since he signed out H.S. and only spent a semester in JUCO). One reason we might have difficulty recruiting DTs right now is because we have a glut of the upper classmen and playing time will be sparse over the next two seasons. No one wants to sit for 2 years waiting even if it's in their best interest. I think Jackson was told we're changing how we do business up from and you fit what we want and therefore you will play. We have good numbers the next two years. If we bring in 5 or 6 DTs over the next couple years that will replace the juniors and seniors now on the roster. Get a JUCO or two for 2018 and we should have enough guys for the rotation.
 

I like the fact that they are recognizing the "seam" problem against the run. I still think they fire out the DTs too often, leaving the LBs to do too much sideline-to-sideline stuff and it brings the safeties up too tight. I've never coached football, but I think it would help if they had a "stay at home" DT in the scheme to clean up behind the stunts.
 

corcoran1 said:
There are 5 recruited Dline underclassmen on the roster, 6 if Mose Hall moves back from OT. (Gibson moved to DE from TE and he has a lot of strength building to do to play DE). Moore is a redshirt soph and was part of the three DT class three years ago, not the last two classes. We have 1 (uno, eins) recruited freshmen DTs in the last two years (Mose Hall)and he still has about 30 lbs of muscle to gain to be able to contribute, and was a plan B (for us, not Alabama). He may turn out to be a good player, but it will be as a red shirt junior if it happens. We have zero DE recruits who were primary recruiting targets at the position in the last two years. I don't mean the guys we lost were lost to Georgia or Auburn, the guys we lost were guys we need to have a good pass rush in the next couple of years and went to places like BC or Duke. I also do not mean the guys we got have no chance at being good players, but they are guys who will take one to two years longer to reach a competitive size. (That does not mean we won't play them, but they would not be on the field at MSU, Wisconsin, or Iowa)
For the 5 year Kill/Claeys program we have two DEs Ekpe and Elmore, three if you count Kafo who were primary targets.
We have managed to get guys on the field and play decently at DT when we are healthy, but our basic recruiting of freshmen dlinemen has sucked. I really like this staff, but they nee to do something different in dline recruiting and the good news is I think Claeys knows it.
Click to expand...

Not going to beat a dead horse...there is at least eight defensive line players as I indicated. Check the roster.
 

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