Ferguson was a RS last year. Nice move by him in hindsight, as this defense may be a better fit for him.
starting front 7 in a 3-4
- Thread starter inWV
- Start date
just as in the offensive line last year .. it is not the 1st team we should be focusing on
we can field a solid (although not spectacular) 1st team -- if anyone goes down we are going to struggle
project the 2 team -- DE - DT - DE
we have a lot more flexibility at LB
we can field a solid (although not spectacular) 1st team -- if anyone goes down we are going to struggle
project the 2 team -- DE - DT - DE
we have a lot more flexibility at LB
Unless some kids make a big move, esp on the Dline, this is true. Freedom, Carlos and Mick should be fine. Khalil should be able to play some ball. Neal has the physique of a 3-4 DE.
DE - Khalil Davis, Freedom
DT - Carlos Davis, Stolt
DE - Daishon Neal, AJ Natter
We do not have a lot of Depth on the line
People are getting a bit ahead of themselves here, Diaco was running a 4-3 at UConn despite his experience prior to UConn. 3 years in he hadn't switched to the 3-4, not saying he won't at NU, but I don't think it's a guarantee
2015 Depth Chart shows a 4/3
http://www.theuconnblog.com/2015/8/31/9232673/2015-football-depth-chart-reactions
Things start to pick up on the defensive line, as there are some talented guys playing in that front four. The number might be the most interesting thing about the depth chart, as it appears Diaco isn't ready to make the full transition to the 3-4 defense, and is looking at playing a little more fluidly with positions.
Pre-2016
http://www.theuconnblog.com/2016/8/4/12373492/breaking-down-uconn-footballs-first-2016-depth-chart
2015 Depth Chart shows a 4/3
http://www.theuconnblog.com/2015/8/31/9232673/2015-football-depth-chart-reactions
Things start to pick up on the defensive line, as there are some talented guys playing in that front four. The number might be the most interesting thing about the depth chart, as it appears Diaco isn't ready to make the full transition to the 3-4 defense, and is looking at playing a little more fluidly with positions.
Pre-2016
http://www.theuconnblog.com/2016/8/4/12373492/breaking-down-uconn-footballs-first-2016-depth-chart
What OLBs do we have that are very athletic and able to run? I assume you are talking about guys that didn't play this year. I know we have some redshirts that might fit that bill. Can you or someone else elaborate on who that would be, because it was that exact lack of athleticism and speed at the LB position that was our major problem this year.
??? It wasn't always pretty, but 11-1 and a FG away from an MNC was not too shabby. #12 nationally in total D and #13 in scoring D.
Exactly! We outplayed FSU and Charlie Ward. Trev Alberts was amazing in that game despite a bad shoulder. I'd say the transition to 4-3 that year was pretty successful!
sdz
Will be fun too look for; and I am old enough to remember surprise plays from the DE spot being one of the great thrills from the Blackshirts. They seemed to come out of nowhere when needed. GBR
I totally disagree, but that's just my opinion. The guy already weighs 270 and their was talk of him moving inside to DT at times last year. I think he will be better at DE and we need more capable bodies on the interior.
Coach D will look his talent over and use them the best he can as he did at UC. He didn't make the immediate switch to the 3-4 as indicated by the linked articles above. Right now he has little to no clue what he is working with until he sees them on the field. The wild cards are the young guys we have not seen on the field, they hold the key to all of this. I also think there are some current DE's who are going to get lost in all of this. I sure don't see Freedom as a OLB but I could be wrong. I also don't see him as an anchor on the end in a 3-4. There will naturally be some "odd man out" situations.
Freedom is listed at 255 and 260 and is 6-4. This past fall, the Badger starting DEs were 6-3/267, 268. He can play DE in a college 3-4.
I heard I think Matt Davison say on the radio that he thought Freedom would be an OLB in a 3-4 and I about threw up. Freedom even IF he would drop the 20-30 lbs they are talking about, isn't nearly athletic enough to play that spot. It's not just weight.
If you are looking purely at size comparisons, then yes but there is much more than that. Freedom struggled at the end position this year, I don't thin that is a news flash. How that translates to the end on a 3 is yet to be seen but would not seem to fit his wheelhouse given he was recruited as a TE.
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Honestly, I could see Freedom losing his starting job. He's not big enough to hold down a DE spot and he's not fast enough to be an OLB.
My best guess:
Front- Khalil, Carlos, Mick
Back- Newby, Weber, Young, Miller
But Roberts, Guy Thomas, and Ferguson could all get a ton of playing time as well.
My best guess:
Front- Khalil, Carlos, Mick
Back- Newby, Weber, Young, Miller
But Roberts, Guy Thomas, and Ferguson could all get a ton of playing time as well.
This could happen. Freedom has been a starter for 2 years. He is just about the size of Wisconsin's starting DEs. If he loses his starting spot, it will be because a guy like Khalil is a better fit, as he is very athletic for his size.
I watched a UConn game from this season last night and they used a combination of 3-4 and 4-3 fronts. Went back and streamed part of the Stanford vs Notre Dame game from 2012 and it was the same. That's one of the advantages of it. With the right personnel you can go back and forth pretty seamlessly. But there is no magic scheme. That ND defense had some real talent on it.
Very true and even when only playing with three down linemen one or both end can walk up and essentially play a 4 or 5 man front.
We'll go 3, 4, and 5 man fronts to give offenses a variety of things to prepare for.
I really would like :
-LDE KHALIL DAVIS
-RDE MICK STOLTENBERG
-NT CARLOS DAVIS
Olb to get sacks: Collin Miller or Alex Davis
Dog: Alex Davis
Mike: Dedrick Young
Will: Chris Weber
Cat: Marcus Newby
LDE: Khalil Davis
RDE: Carlos Davis
NT: Mick Stoltenburg
Guys that will be in the rotation: Peyton Newell, Daishon Neal, Freedom A., Luke Gifford, Mo Berry, Q. Alexander, Colin Miller, T. Ferguson
Solid list. I hope we have some Freshmen like Roberts, Daniels and Thomas that can come in and pass guys like Gifford and Newell. Also don't forget about Jefferson, I think he will be a beast ILB.
Here is a good article that talk's about Diaco's "okie" front and where our personnel could fit best. The author throws out the idea of Jaylin Barnett as the idea NT and mentions Greg Simmons as a potential ILB. No mention of Freedom at all.
http://www.cornnation.com/2017/1/17/14297024/bob-diaco-nebraska-huskers-football-defense-okie-front
http://www.cornnation.com/2017/1/17/14297024/bob-diaco-nebraska-huskers-football-defense-okie-front
It is surprising how fast we have moved on from Freedom on this board. At this time last year he was our saving grace.
Yes, the only difference is that Neal didn't play much, so we don't really know, which provides uncertainty which provides hope if you have rose colored glasses. We can take that Neal wasn't better than Freedom this last season. Neal just has a better frame for the new 3-4, it's just all hope, Neal has to do something.
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Interesting thought on Barnett at nose. He definitely looks the part. Just not sure if its good weight that makes him look like a WIDE body, or bad weight. Also not sure if he is quick enough. Although big time noses' just look like fat guys, they are generally extremely athletic for their size.
He didn't have enough speed to make many explosive plays at DE. No way does he play OLB.
I just made an assumption after reading about the way Diaco's defense works. It says that the cat linebacker, is generally built more like a traditional defensive end that is mostly responsible for holding the edge and run support. The Dog Linebacker is more like a traditional linebacker that has more coverage responsibilities. If Freedom's weight according to the roster on huskers.com is accurate and he is 255, there is no way he is a hand on the ground defensive end. It would seem to me that it would be easier for him to drop some weight and gain some speed, than it would be to gain 45 pounds to play end
he was over 270 supposedly this season. That was NOT me watching him step on the scale. Second hand. I heard that they had packages designed for him to play DT ..
I will reiterate my post from earlier, Diaco has run a base 4-3 the past 3 years at UConn. There is nothing other than conjecture that Diaco is going to transition to a 3-4, especially as a base defense at Nebraska. I personally expect Diaco's 2017 defense to look awful similar to Pelini's Big Ten defenses scheme wise, a 4-3 2 gap read and react scheme that rarely gets pressure and doesn't force many turnovers.
I hope I am proven wrong, but here's Diaco's defenses in takeaways and sacks
Takeaways
2009 (Cincinnati)- 79th
2010 (ND)- 36th
2011- 112th
2012- 48th
2013- 103rd
2014 (UConn)- 110th
2015- 24th
2016- 120th
Sacks
2009- 10th
2010 (ND)- 54th
2011- 59th
2012- 22nd
2013- 96th
2014 (UConn)- 121st
2015- 94th
2016- 111th
Here's Banker in comparison
Takeaways
2009- 105th
2010- 72nd
2011- 49th
2012- 14th
2013- 14th
2014- 86th
2015- 104th
2016- 67th
Sacks
2009- 105th
2010- 24th
2011- 54th
2012- 50th
2013- 66th
2014- 42nd
2015- 80th
2016- 68th