First it was Dakotah Tyler moving from Tailback to Safety, now Moncell Allen is moving from Tailback to Fullback. Also, word is spreading that Matt Lentz is moving from Strong Safety to Linebacker. Based on UK's backfield situation, Tyler's move is likely his best opportunity for playing time. "The Turtle" moving to Fullback makes perfect sense, he needs to learn to be a blocking back first. This also means UK will likely not redshirt either Brandon Gainer or Miles Simpson this season.
We've been preaching the Lentz move on this site for quite some time as it makes perfect sense. Lentz is a hitter and has the speed to play Linebacker and should contribute early. Lentz was a Quarterback in highschool so he is football smart. In my opinion, all of the moves will make this team better.
Moving the Turtle to fullback is a great move. The Turtle will be a great fullback. He's a headhunter, I tell ya. Fear the Turtle, baby.
ReplyDeleteAllen will give us a real running threat from the FB position, but unless he learns to block, his PT will be limited. John Connnor set the bar for UK FBs, and it will be tough to live up to it.
ReplyDeleteBoth are good moves. The moving of M Allen to FB will expose him to the position and might possibly give him a career in the NFL (if he learns to block).
ReplyDeleteThe Lentz/Tyler switch adds talent, speed and playmaking ability to a very young defense.
Lentz will add speed, playmaking ability, and experience to the LB corps, additionally it will stabilize a avery unstable unit.
Tyler will add speed and playmaking ability as well. Also, Josh Gibbs will be in the mix as well. I can assure you that Dakotah is pumped about the upcoming season. Whoever wins out may actually give UK it's best set of Safeties ever (at least I can not think of 2 that provide what these do?)
It's a Great Day to be a Kentucky Wildcat Fan!
It's not like we had much of a choice with FB but I agree. He has speed good hands low center of gravity should be an impact player at that position. Spring and Summer should take care of blocking skills if they are rusty.
ReplyDeleteLentz will give us the speed that we have needed
for a long time. We have had big hard hitting players there but not true speed like a few other teams. This can make the difference let UK
rule the East baby!
BTW I wouldn't done anonymous if I could have figured out how to sign in. Guess I'm still slow on technology
The second comment (above) is accurate. Moncell Allen will get additional opportunities to touch the football because he will take snaps at both FB and RB. That's the purpose of the move. Moncell is a solid runner between the tackles, and also a pretty good pass receiver. He is a senior now, so the staff wants to give him a bigger role.
ReplyDeleteBut Moncell is not a lead blocker. The notion that Moncell might become a good blocker in the next several months is, unfortunately, unrealistic. He can certainly become a better blocker than he has been, but he will never be even remotely like John Connor in that department. OTOH, Moncell is a better runner than Connor was.
Moncell will be used at FB somewhat like Maurice Grinter was. So when Joker puts Moncell ahead of Locke (or Russell) in the I-formation, we may see Moncell carry the football or become a pass receiver out of the backfield at times.
This does not answer the question of how Joker will handle the critical short yardage scenarios. Sometimes Moncell will carry the football in short yardage situations. But I think we may see some experimentation with other lead blockers. In 2009, Nick Saban used his all-SEC DT Terrence Cody as a lead blocker in front of Mark Ingram in some short yardage scenarios. There is no reason why UK can't do the same thing with a DT or an OG.
Regarding the other moves, I agree with Aaron that the moves of Matt Lentz to LB and Dakotah Tyler to safety have been widely anticipated for months by veteran observers of UK's football program. The truth is that Tyler has always been projected primarily as a safety. The kid really wanted to give RB a shot, so his development as a safety has been delayed a little bit. But Tyler will be a very solid SEC defensive back, and I would not be surprised to see him play a lot in 2010.
Meanwhile, they lost two starting LBs by graduation, so Lentz can give a serious boost to the LB rotations. Lentz tackles very well. As a safety, Lentz's coverage skills were not very good in the deep zones. But as a LB, he will be an asset in pass coverage. Matt has a nice frame, and will continue filling out. I think he can play either OLB position, but he should grow into a SLB over the next year. Matt could easily weigh over 240# by the time he graduates from UK.