Franklin's Assessment of Good Recruits on Line is Pathetic
- Thread starter PSUHammering1
- Start date
Was thinking about this again this morning. Poor recruiting ? Poor development ? Poor coaching ? Poor scheme ? Poor S&C program ? Probably a combination of the above.
OC position has been a turnstile with different focal points from JM, RR, KC and MY.
The S&C development that Dwight Galt does with the team makes you wonder how/why the OL positions don't seem to progress more than shown.
The S&C development that Dwight Galt does with the team makes you wonder how/why the OL positions don't seem to progress more than shown.
Franklin likes to recruit athletes, not football players. One can be a great athlete but not a good football player. Athletes can lack football instincts and toughness, among some of the attributes needed by good football players.
Hoping that this has changed with bringing in guys like Tengwall and Shelton, the biggest thing the OL lacks is nastiness and strength, especially on the interior.
I see posters still know everything- had feared some of that "wisdom" might have been lost in the transition.
Agree and IMO its why we've been weak on the OL, and at LBr. (until this year).
I think our S&C focuses too much on straight line speed. We bring in big kids on the OL/DL and the first thing we do is cut their weight instead of getting them stronger. Unless the kids are on PEDs, you can't drop a ton of weight and get stronger. Maintain or add a little, sure.
Just my thoughts.
Yea not really sure but I don't think its uncommon to make OL/DL shed their Highschool weight and rebuild them stronger.
Per the scholarship grid we lose Holmes, Miranda, Whigan, & Wilson.
We retain the following OL unless they leave early:
Wallace 4*
Wormley 4*
Scruggs 4*
Walker 4*
Effner 3*
We also have these 4* prospects from the class of 2020:
Christ 4*
Fashau 4*
Achumba 4*
The star ratings suggest we should be able to run the football. I remember a few years ago we struggled to run with Lynch and it was amazing how much difference it made when Barkley took over. Can Singleton make a big difference as a true freshman?
We retain the following OL unless they leave early:
Wallace 4*
Wormley 4*
Scruggs 4*
Walker 4*
Effner 3*
We also have these 4* prospects from the class of 2020:
Christ 4*
Fashau 4*
Achumba 4*
The star ratings suggest we should be able to run the football. I remember a few years ago we struggled to run with Lynch and it was amazing how much difference it made when Barkley took over. Can Singleton make a big difference as a true freshman?
The current RBs are 4 stars too.
Something is very wrong with our rushing game…very, very wrong.
Lovett was reasonably effective for Baylor. That tells me the biggest problem is the OL. That said, I still think a quicker RB would help. Lee is a bull but not a breakaway threat.
But our players are off the charts at the NFL combines…not necessarily on OLine…but people like Oweh, Micah, Apke, Sanders, etc.
The problem seems to centered around getting the job done at Penn State in the form of a competent running game.
Agreed. We have kids rated in the top 10 at RB, top 20 at OL. They are slower and weaker than nearly every opponent we have faced. It's nearly impossible to miss on every prospect, but highly possible to not develop them.
Is covid still affecting how we lift? It's gotten worse since.
Good point. But were not Micah and Oweh also strong? Not sure on that but thought their overall scores were awesome.
Micah was a 5* freak with high football intelligence. He seemed destined for greatness as long as he never got lazy.
Oweh was a pure athlete. Workout monster whose best football lies ahead.
Both are probably very strong for the position they play, but they are LB/DEs. Not indicative of our strength building for OL or DT.
To be fair, he is recruiting the same players that the other top programs are recruiting . Probably getting more misses than hits than at skill positions. But even the best (Menet, for example) have been underwhelming.
Bring back the Nautilus machines?
Lord no.
However, I'd try to figure out why we can't push around an FCS team. That says a lot in itself.
I'm old enough to remember when Gary Brown and Leroy Thompson were both hurt and Joe put a safety named Shelly Hammonds at RB. He ran for more than 200 yards against Boston College.
Keep in mind that there’s been turnover on the OL coach. For years Dock Anderson served in that capacity, With coaching continuity, our OL seemed stronger then and our running game flourished. Give Trautwein some time to do that without Covid interruptions and I think you’ll see our offensive consistency improve.
yeaaaaaaaaaaa............ i was hoping the move would cause a few to be left behind. guess not
I assume Michigan State had turnover on OLine (?) coaching? Why can they run so explosively?
Exactly. He was a bit if a bell cow there at some point. So I agree with your extrapolation.
I don't think our OL problems have anything to do with Covid.
Must be new about here as back in the Dock or Dick Anderson was widely panned as being the worse OL coach, wasn’t up with the times etc etc etc
Serious point , put the QB under center the back behind him so he can attack the LOS instead of running sideways
Get 2 double teams at hole and let’s roll
The RBs Cannot step through a tackle or make one person miss. It’s like they dive straight to the ground.
Also do not forget we lost Nana Asiedu for health reasons. He was a highly recruited lineman who never got to play.
It appears to me that our RB’s don’t have a good sense as to where they need to run. They always appear to run right into the pile vs looking to cut away. Perhaps they don’t have the instincts/vision for that? I even saw it with Strange in OT during the Illinois game. He got the shovel pass and ran right into the pile vs a slight cut to the left and he would have scored easily. Good backs always have that ability. I think you also have to throw in there when and how the mesh point is done with Clifford. He is responsible for handing the ball off or pulling it back.
I am sure he is missed. But we can’t fall into the trap of thinking the difference between horrendous and best (or even acceptable) is any one player. There is an eight year pattern of poor performance running the ball. And it is costly - especially against good competition.
That would have to be a boat load of 4 star misses - from high schools all over the country.
Or is there’s more rationale explanation for this failure?
did not mean to imply that he was the difference, just a piece of the puzzling poor performance running the ball. the OL seems to do a much better job pass blocking
Agree. I’d like to see the QB under center with perhaps a two back set and have the runner attack the LOS.
I was listening to ESPNU radio tonight, and they talked about Sparty and how the spent two years getting transfers filling most of the holes on the OL and DL. They also said the Walker (RB) was their most important factor in the run game. Then they started talking about two things Mel Tucker emphasizes - first is specific position S&C and second the blocking scheme. The comment that OL might be one of the best opportunities for transfers, and the Tucker looks for guys who fit his system (and even if they were a HS 2*). They said most coaches look for 4/5* transfers, but a lot of them already flamed out and were busts. They mentioned Florida has chased 5* transfers, and have not had much luck.
