I haven't been able to watch the past couple games and have only seen Motuapuaka in French's reviews. Anyone who has been paying attention to him since he replaced Williams, could you give your opinion on his play? Are we looking good next year at mike when Williams leaves? TIA
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I would say that Motuapuaka/Clarke are going to be most athletic and talented pair since Hall/Adibi. Motuapuaka has been phenomenal, he is just young and still has some to learn. As Foster likes to say, his mind is slowing up his body sometimes. But if he figures it out next year, whooooo boy he's going to be a force to be reckoned with.
Yeah I would say if the season ended today, Deon Clarke deserves defensive MVP IMO. Dude brings it every week. We have a lot of talent on our defense right now, but Deon is really, really special and he shows it every time he steps on the field.
He is one of the best "stuffers" I have seen in a while. I doesn't have the most consistent tackle, but when he does, it looks damn good.
I've known he was going to be a force since he was in high school. Very intelligent young man and once he learns some more of the nuances of the position he will be one of the best to play at VT!
He's a playmaker, but he has to learn it's OK not to make a play. By that I mean, he's shown his youth by trying to do too much and not trusting the players around him to do their job. At times that has lead to a loss of gap integrity and a big play. I'm really excited about his upside though.
Seems that this is the essence of the challenge of preparing a talented Freshman (RS or True) to play D. They are used to being "the man" and having free rein to pursue at will because they had the ability to recover vs less talented HS players.
I would agree, Joe. It seems with a couple of the freshman players, they have to get that trust up to play assignments and not get out of position which allows big plays to happen.
I think he'll do well, though. Motupuamolu will do well.
Moto!!
Need to photshop Kyle Fuller on the bike, and put ref uniforms on the other 2 guys
Couldn't have said it better!
Joe nailed it. If Motuapuaka was playing in a two gap-4-3 system right now with two good DT's, he's probably be averaging 20 tackles a game. He is excellent in pursuit, finding the football, and tackling. He has struggled with gap fits, and that has resulted in some big plays against this year.
He has absolutely has gotten better since coming in for Chase. But, he takes bad angles, loses depth, and has trouble with run fits. Again, he'll get there. Shit, he may even be elite before this is all said and done. But he's just a little rough as of now.
Accurate. Another offseason of hitting the weight room hard and learning to trust his keys and do nothing more or less than his job will be great for him. He's already a force (I think he's had something like 35-40 tackles his first three games), but once he gets his mind right to play faster and adds a little mass, he'll be outstanding.
KId brings it. Every play,
He just doesn't always bring it to the correct gap.
Definitely has the talent to be a star. I'm feeling really good about his future -- all he's missing is experience.
I am really excited for the future with him. I think he is going to be a beast. You can tell he gets a little over anxious, but he HUNTS for the ball. Good to see him rack up the tackles as a Freshman. I just hope by the time he is a senior he has our defense doing the traditional Haka dance like his native New Zealand All Blacks... They are bad ass, he is bad ass.
Speaking of our future LBers....What ever happened to Ronnie Van Dyke?
Was he simply outplayed by DiNardo?
Do we think the LB's next year are DC, Moto, and RVD?
Injuries. He's been playing great on ST but it would appear he is not back to his pre-injury performance level. Anything can happen in spring practice so maybe he makes it back, but I wouldn't put money on RVD starting at whip.
Didn't RVD get moved to backer or mike? Is that permanent now or still temporary.
Which happens first?
Motuapuaka will by All Pro before FB can pronounce his name on a consistent basis.