Brice Laughlin (DT) could turn a few heads when he reports to UK in June due to his size and football IQ. Most UK fans know replacing Corey Peters will be tough and most don’t expect Brice to do so next year. Brice will likely need a year to learn and work on getting stronger. Ricky Lumpkin will start at one spot and most believe Mark Crawford, Shane McCord and Mister Cobble battle for the other. Brice is a very level headed person and will use a redshirt year to his advantage. Brice has the potential become an All-SEC player during his time at UK. He comes from another winning high school program out of South Carolina and his father played at the Citadel.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
2010 Recruiting Rewind- Brice Laughlin
Brice Laughlin (DT) could turn a few heads when he reports to UK in June due to his size and football IQ. Most UK fans know replacing Corey Peters will be tough and most don’t expect Brice to do so next year. Brice will likely need a year to learn and work on getting stronger. Ricky Lumpkin will start at one spot and most believe Mark Crawford, Shane McCord and Mister Cobble battle for the other. Brice is a very level headed person and will use a redshirt year to his advantage. Brice has the potential become an All-SEC player during his time at UK. He comes from another winning high school program out of South Carolina and his father played at the Citadel.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Not so fast there. I would certainly not minimize the possibility that Brice Laughlin will make an impact on one of the DT jobs in 2010. IMHO, either Brice or Donte Rumph will be on the two-deep chart at one of the DT positions by November. I just think their athletic ceilings are so much higher than Crawford and McCord that it's going to happen for one of them next fall.
ReplyDeleteWould Brice be better-off with a redshirt season? Maybe. Maybe not. But Brice's father posts on our website, so we know straight from the horse's mouth that Brice is ready to play as a true freshman if the staff says so. Brice is big enough, and he is naturally strong. Brice has an advantage over Rumph because Rumph hasn't played organized football in a long time. As of right now, Brice is in better physical condition than Rumph. I would not be the least bit surprised if Brice becomes a key player next fall. I will also not be surprised if he redshirts. But the only way Brice redshirts is if the other DTs beat him out in August, and I'm really not sure if they can do it.
Messenger,
ReplyDeleteI interviewed Brice and he is a great young man. He is very big already and has a huge upside. I'm not convinced many freshman can make an impact on the defensive line in the SEC. It's too big of an adjustment from high school to college. I woulud love to see him push for playing time. However, the staff will have to feel he can contribute or they won't waste a year of eligibility on him.
As always, thanks for the feedback.
My opinion is that if Brice can make it to a two deep slot on the DL but is only equal to the talent already there at the back-up DL positions then it would make sense for him to RS. If he is better than the back-ups in the two deeps on the DL then he will play. Just won't know until it all plays out.
ReplyDeleteMany good comments above. The thing is, Shane McCord is not a starting-caliber SEC DT. Shane just gets pushed off the LOS too often by SEC offensive linemen. IMO, that means Mark Crawford or Mister Cobble will win that job in spring drills. Crawford and Cobble are stronger than McCord, but both have short arms that allow offensive linemen to get into their bodies. (I hope Cobble proves me wrong.) So I think Laughlin or Rumph will see significant playing time next fall, simply because they have higher performance ceilings. If Rumph is physically and academically ready after a two year absence from competitive football, he will play. But I think Laughlin has a great chance to win playing time in 2010. Would Brice be better-off with a redshirt? Maybe so. But like 'anonymous' says above, if Brice outplays the other DTs in August, he will play. And that would not surprise me at all. Finally, let's not overlook the influence of David Turner, who will be looking for new difference makers.
ReplyDelete