A closer look at our lack of defensive bulk

[1987alum]

Strictly an academic discussion here, but could be an interesting one ...
I was scouring BG's depth chart for another post and it got me to thinking about our lack of beef on the defensive side of the ball. Conventional wisdom is that we move most of our athletes to the offensive side of the ball. So, do we have some bigger bodies that we could move to defense, if not for this year, then to develop for the next few years?
Here are the true freshmen listed as offensive linemen:
Phillip Pollard (6-3, 270), Anthony Parkinson (6-4, 285), Shane Steffy (6-3, 290), Guy Williamson (6-4, 300), Scott Albert (6-7, 257), Richard Solak (6-4, 280), Kevin Mahoney (6-6, 295), Jarrett Buckosh (6-7, 254).
Now, I just pulled freshmen here, since these kids would, we suppose, be able to make a switch to defense during a redshirt year, then be able to contribute next year.
Just for comparison, here are the freshmen we have listed on the defensive line:
Brady Minturn (6-4, 250), Thomas James (6-2, 255), Trevor Frericks (6-1, 255), Michael Ream (6-3, 235), Jacob Hardwick (6-3, 260), Duane Miller (6-0, 234). We also have these redshirt freshmen: Brandon Curtis (6-2, 276), Nick Davis (6-3, 276), Donald Sprenkel (6-2, 241), Joe Schaefer (6-4, 246).
These are just names and measurements, of course; only the coaches would be able to tell us if any of the wide bodies slated for offense have the skills or could develop the skills necessary to be an effective defensive lineman. With that in mind, we see five freshmen with good bulk already (Parkinson, Steffy, Williamson, Solak, Mahoney). Could one of them become the big body we've all been hoping would anchor our defensive line?
If any of our high school gurus can chime in on the background of some of these kids, that would be helpful.

[Jacobs4Heisman]

I made a post in another thread about this but I'll repeat a little of it. It isn't uncommon for B11 schools to put 20-30 pounds of weight on their freshman lineman. Is it just me or have we failed to see guys get a lot bigger in recent years? If we could get 30 pounds on some of those guys, they could be around 290. I realize there's more to it than just eating cheesy poofs and putting on weight. But perhaps there are flaws in our strength and conditioning program that need to be addressed.

[Flipper]

During last year's signing day function, Coach Brandon said (IIRC) that there were a number of kids that could wind up playing on either side of the ball. It wouldn't shock me if an Olineman or two wound up playing defense. FWIW, Guy Williamson's highlights on the recruiting video were almost entirely plays where he lined up at defensive tackle.

Strangely enough, our dline recruits seem to shrink once they get here. Curtis and Davis are boith 10-15 lbs lighter than when they were recruited.
Another point that got my attention was a comment from the coach's radio show last week, either Brandon or Studrawa noted that Culp had "struggled to get to 300lbs". Adding bulk doesn't seem to have the same priority for the interior dline as it does the interior oline.

Will that philosophy (assuming it even exists) continue under John Lovett?

One kid I think we're really missing is Lance Latkiewicz. He wasa very impressive looking DT recruit in 2004 who had to give up football when a conenital heart defect was discovered.

[1987alum]

Flip: Great insight. That's the sort of thing I was hoping to read.

One kid I think we're really missing is Lance Latkiewicz. He wasa very impressive looking DT recruit in 2004 who had to give up football when a conenital heart defect was discovered.

Thanks, too, for bringing up Latkiewicz. From what I had read and heard about this kid, he was destined for greatness. He had good size coming in and had a frame that could be filled out further. He was strong with good speed. In short, the kind of defensive tackle we need. His loss is one of those things that gets lost when looking at depth charts.

[Germainfitch1]

Guy Williamson, with his size, would be a perfect DT to eat up blockers. Right now we seem pretty set on the OL. I would move him today. Maybe if he picks it up fast enough he could play half of a season

[Jacobs4Heisman]

I agree on Williamson -- he looks like he could develop into a very good d-tackle.

Anybody here want to make a friendly wager he ends up on the o-line?

[1987alum]

Guy Williamson, with his size, would be a perfect DT to eat up blockers. Right now we seem pretty set on the OL. I would move him today. Maybe if he picks it up fast enough he could play half of a season

Especially since he apparently played a lot of DT in high school, as Flipper suggests. My knee-jerk reaction is that it's too late for this year but, on second thought, your'e right, there is still time.

If we're not going to redshirt him, there should be at least a couple of games where he could get mop up duty at DT (I'm looking at the schedule and thinking Temple and Buffalo seem like good targets ... a few weeks to learn the basics of the playbook, etc.).

[Germainfitch1]

I guarantee he ends up on the O-Line.

Chicken and egg type question.

If we don't get Defensive players, won't we start losing offensive players in recruiting because they want to win.

If we don't move our athletes to offense, how can we win games and recruit anyone?

[1987alum]

I guarantee he ends up on the O-Line.

Chicken and egg type question.

If we don't get Defensive players, won't we start losing offensive players in recruiting because they want to win.

If we don't move our athletes to offense, how can we win games and recruit anyone?

Well, I wouldn't make it a leadpipe cinch just yet.

We did move Winovich from TE to LB, which I think was a big move. We've also seen Van Johnson ping-pong from QB-to-WR-to-DB. So we have a slight precedent there.

The key is having enough depth on offense to mitigate the impact. We seem to have some nice depth queing up on the O-line. That might make it easier to move a good athlete over to defense.

[Jacobs4Heisman]

i think that question feeds into a point someone made on a previous thread.

It looks as if, since we obviously can not get the depth of talent that bigger schools can right now, we have made a conscious decision to forsake the defense and build a dominating offense. We have succeeded on both counts. We've decimated the defensive side of the ball and made an offense that is top 5 in the country.

We're hoping the offensive success and the attention it's garnered will attract even more athletes. We can eventually move some of these additional athletes to defense. I hope this strategy works out because defense wins championships.

[Germainfitch1]

I would call Winovich and Johnson no place else kind of athletes that made the decision for us.

Winovich showed his tackling ability on ST's and seemed to flash something that good be special. TE may have fit but we recruited Ruiz so it would not have mattered. Right now he is set to be our starting MLB next year.

Van Johnson went the only place he could. We didnt need another WR (apparently with Partridge, man is that kid good) and his body and skill set lend to being a DB.

The same situation will likely happen to several guys on the offensive line.

In my NCAA 2006 season I have Luke Alexander as my nickel back purely off of speed. That is a fantasy, but it seems that something like that, similar to the Harris freshman year, could happen to try to give a spark to an anemic defense. (Can I use anemic there, can I spell anemic right?) Peel a redshirt and throw a guy in there to spark those around him to play better out of fear of getting yanked.

[Flipper]

And we did move Edwin Hood from RB to DB. Of course we also moved Bobby Thomas from DB to RB, Rhett Magner and Partridge from DB to WR
(actually I'm not sure about that with Partridge...maybe we should ask his dad). Dan Macon went from LB to RB.

It seems the only spots where we don't move guys much are on the interior line.

Is Studrawa cherry-picking the top guys because he has more pull?

[1987alum]

And we did move Edwin Hood from RB to DB. Of course we also moved Bobby Thomas from DB to RB, Rhett Magner and Partridge from DB to WR
(actually I'm not sure about that with Partridge...maybe we should ask his dad). Dan Macon went from LB to RB.

It seems the only spots where we don't move guys much are on the interior line.

Is Studrawa cherry-picking the top guys because he has more pull?

Good points. I especially like the Coach Stud conspiracy theory.

[Germainfitch1]

Doesnt it seem like they are tried on offense first and when things dont work out are moved?

[1987alum]

Doesnt it seem like they are tried on offense first and when things dont work out are moved?

Yeah, in line with our "offense-first" philosophy.