I thought it was interesting to see what position a few of the true freshman are listed on the hokiesports roster.
-Tremaine Edmunds at LB caught my eye because of his size at 6'5 236, have we ever had a LB that big? Which LB position would he be playing?
-Coleman Fox at RB, was thinking he might be put with the receivers to help there. His tape at RB was impressive and he seems to be built to play right away. I believe he will probably redshirt, but is an interesting guy on scholarship that no one has really mentioned.
-Fullwood/Gaines at DE. This is where they were predicted to play but what is the chance they in the mix at a thin position. Fullwood is 6'4 251 so he is not a project there size wise. Gaines is only 20 lbs lighter, so they have at least that much in their favor anyway. (as opposed to 210 lb Keihn for example)
-Harry Lewis as OL. I was kind of looking forward to him playing on the DL, but if he can play OL we need all of them we can get. The odd thing to me is he is listed at only 6' 266. Unless he is playing center, how many 6' OL make it at this level, not to mention 266 pounds. I dont think he will really be looking to play this year but his career should be fun to watch.
DuWayne Johnson was #2 on the depth chart at a corner spot. I dont know how they determine that on his first day of practice but that sounds promising for him. Will probably play as a tr-freshman and has jumped a few guys that have been here longer than him.
Comments
I completely missed Harry Lewis being listed at OL. Is that a mistake?
It is, he'll be a DT.
Big Tim Settle had a nice rep, and there was some buzz about him yesterday. Gaines had a nice rep in drills. He looked very quick.
As for the question about Edmunds being the biggest backer, I believe Jake Houseright was similarly sized (6'4, 245-ish.) He was a great athlete and Bud was rotating him in with Hawkes and Smith during that 99 run, then he wrecked his knee. Still very good, but he could have been a great one. Phenomenal athlete. Lots of folks keep saying Edmunds will eventually be at end. When you watch him on tape, it is hard to fathom. He has great linebacker instincts (just like Trey did) and despite being tall, he does a great job of getting low to take on blocks and is a very fluid tackler. With the way Bud uses Deon Clarke on the edge so much, I could see Edmunds staying at backer and being used in a similar fashion... but he won't be out of place as a backer in the base alignment unless he adds a ton of weight and loses some bend and quickness.
But the DE situation may drive that decision. If Ekanem goes pro after this year, we have some serious issues.
Really to bad Hill got hurt, he needed some reps this year to be in position next year to start.
QB...?
Brewer. Loeffler said he was a bit slow going through his progressions yesterday, but the same thing happened during the spring. He thinks today Brewer will be a bit quicker as he gets into the flow and rhythm of the offense.
I was trying to make a joke about a certain true freshman making an impact at QB.
'Preciate the info though.
We have a freshman QB?
Glad it's a joke. Ya never know with some of these people...
All very astute observations. +1
Exciting freshmen in the Dbackfield. Mook-Johnson-Alexander-Edmunds might be the starting 4 in 2017.
I'll say it then feel dirty.
Tremaine Edmunds has SEC LB size.
FWIW, the average size of the top 12 vote getters for All-SEC LB last year was 6'2 1/3" and 239lbs. That includes middle and outside linebacker positions and all 12 were JRs and SRs. Only 1 was as tall and weighed more than Edmunds.
I'd say at 6' 5" 236 as a r-Fr outside LB, Edmunds is already top-end SEC OLB size right now...and then some.
In a defense with 4 down lineman, there arent many linebackers in the NFL that are 6'5
You're about right. If he stays right there at that size, he could be a problem for the opposition down the road.
Keep in. I don't we've played a TON of freshmen the past couple seasons, so don't be shocked/alarmed if we don't see as many young guys contributing this year. That's a good thing.