Below are five key defensive players to watch heading into spring practice. The Cats lost some key players to graduation and we should see a few of them playing on Sunday's soon. With those departures, the staff will likely hold an open competition at their position. Personally, I wouldn't name any starters for these positions until fall. I would want these guys pushing each other to get better everyday.
Mister Cobble (RS-FR) could be the one to replace Corey Peters next season. The staff used a redshirt on Cobble last year, but he was close to earning a spot in the rotation. Cobble was a wrestler and understand how to use his weight. Corey Peters speaks very highly of Cobble which makes a candidate to win the starting job.
Qua Huzzie (RS-FR) was competing for playing time last season as a True Freshman until he suffered an injury. Huzzie appears to be competing with Ronnie Sneed as the replacement to Micah Johnson. By sitting out last season, the La Grange standout has gotten stronger and has a better understanding of the defensive schemes. I look for Huzzie to be the starting against Louisville.
Martavious Neloms (SO) saw action as a True Freshman last season and even received a few starts when the injury bug hit UK's secondary. Neloms is confident and competitive and while there has been a lot of talk about the incoming freshman, Neloms is going to compete for the starting job opposite of Paul Warford. Neloms is one of the tallest Cornerback's on UK's campus, which is huge for coverage skills.
Collins Ukwu (RS-SO) was receiving a ton of praises from Rich Brooks heading into last season. Ukwu worked hard in the weight room and has the look of a potential NFL star. However, his work in the weight room hasn't poured onto the field yet. Collins will compete with Taylor Wyndham and possibly Justin Henderson this spring for the starting role opposite DeQuin Evans.
Josh Gibbs (JR) is a Juco transfer who was able to enroll in December and will participate in spring practice. Gibbs addition is a big reason Matt Lentz was able to move to Outside Linebacker. Gibbs is very fast and will compete with Jarvis Walker and possibly Dakotah Tyler. Obviously the Cats felt Gibbs could contribute immediately or they wouldn't have went the Juco route.
Another terrific post, Aaron.
ReplyDeleteCobble - It remains to be seen whether his arms are long enough to keep SEC blockers from getting into his body. But he is a strong kid with pretty good athleticism. Aaron makes a good point with regard to his wrestling experience. His competition in the spring will be Mark Crawford and Shane McCord, two journeymen who can't come close to replacing Corey Peters. So Steve Brown needs Cobble to have a big year.
Huzzie - Would have played a lot last fall if not for the shoulder injury. He has never played MLB before. He has bulked up during his redshirt season, and is now a key for UK's 2010 defensive unit. Huzzie has a reputation as a relentless sideline-to-sideline defender who takes great pursuit angles. Steve Pardue says Huzzie is the best LB who ever played at Lagrange HS, which would include Tray Blackmon and Wesley Woodyard. That's tall praise.
Neloms - Who replaces Trevard Lindley? The spring competition is between Neloms and Randall Burden. Neloms is bigger and faster than Burden.
Ukwu - He has the size, speed, and athleticism to become a very good SEC DE. But he is still really green. He played at La Vergne HS, which isn't a very high level of competition, and he missed a big chunk of his HS career with injuries. Then he got a little rusty as a redshirt in 2008. Last fall, the light never turned on. He played in all 13 games out of necessity, recording eight solo tackles and no solo sacks. He frequently blew his assignments and was awful in the defense against the run. He never really grasped how to become a factor in UK's pass rush either. He was clearly beaten out by fellow freshman Taylor Wyndham. So Ukwu has the physical tools to be an SEC DE, but he hasn't made enough progress with technique and hasn't caught up to the speed of the SEC game yet. UK's DE roster remains thin and green, so Steve Brown needs Ukwu to climb his learning curve this spring.
Gibbs - I do not really see Josh as a key defender this year. Josh was a very good JUCO safety, but he's smaller than his reported measurements. In reality, Josh is probably not quite 5'11", and he weighs around 190#. He runs well, but he is not a burner like Winston Guy or Mychal Bailey. Participating in spring drills will certainly benefit Josh. Even so, Josh is probably a special teams player and a situational sub. If Bailey doesn't make it to campus, then Josh may have to play on the two-deep chart at some point. But Josh probably can't take playing time away from Guy, Bailey, Jarvis Walker, or Taiedo Smith. And if Dakotah Tyler beats him out, Josh isn't going to see the field much. I am not trying to minimize Josh's skills. He's a pretty good football player. But this is the SEC, and Josh is smallish for a D-1 safety. JMO.
I should add that Smith, Walker, Tyler, and Bailey (if he makes it to campus) are potentially key players in UK's safety rotation. Burden will be a very important performer at CB whether or not he actually cracks the starting rotation.
Two other players to watch closely in spring drills are Pat Ligon and Justin Henderson. With Chandler Burden expected to move to the OL, and Taylor Wyndham expected to miss some spring reps with a shoulder injury, Ligon and Henderson will see a lot of action in April. Because of Burden's move, there is a job open on the DE two-deep chart. Ligon redshirted last fall. He is the son of a HS football coach. Ligon's big brother had a productive SEC career at Tennessee. Henderson was one of the top DL prospects in the state of South Carolina last fall at Ehrhardt HS. Justin enrolled in January and will participate in spring drills. These two kids will be needed next fall.