Fall '14 Roster Projections by Position - Defense

[Exit 4]

Again, please chime in if anything is amiss. 35 Scholarships below on defense. I don't think we have a Punter on scholarship yet.

DT/DL 7
Campenni
Pruitt
Myers M.
Adeyemi
Fatukasi
Knappe
[Lawley]

DE 7
McBryde
Frank
Stevens
Ormsby
Stapleon
Battle-Santos
[Carrezola]

Linebacker 9
Ashiru
Vann
Stewart
Steg
Hicks
Joseph
Stephens
Britton
[Rodrick]

Corner 7
Jones
Hadley
Williams
Stevenson
Clark
Marder
Summers

Safety 5 <--as I said in the post regarding the offensive roster, seems like Thomas Lucas should be moved back to safety for depth
Melifonwu
Brown
Adams
Floyd
Lee

 

[gioff23]

Very interested to see what staff does w/Knappe. I dont sim on interior DL. I could see DE or OT. I would also suspect McBryde slides inside. Regardless, they are 2 of many kids who simply need to step up this year

 

[Carl Spackler]

Knappe is way tall for a DT. If he's able to get himself low enough and in good football position to play DT, and he's able to do what is required in there, he could really be a disrupting force, but it's unusual to have a guy that tall be able to play interior. He's intriguing size wise for a DE, but does he have the speed to get upfield? If we are going to more of a 3-4 kind of base defensive system - and it would seem to be the case, then I think he would fit well at a DE. typically, in the 3-4 the DE's don't need to get upfield that much and more of place holders on the line and work to occupy blockers as much as possible and stop the run. A guy his size could fit well there.

But you got to wonder about how good a player he is. If he's able - he's had 2 years to get ready now, and both DE jobs on this defense are really wide open competition for starters.

 

[Exit 4]

Knappe is way tall for a DT. If he's able to get himself low enough and in good football position to play DT, and he's able to do what is required in there, he could really be a disrupting force, but it's unusual to have a guy that tall be able to play interior. He's intriguing size wise for a DE, but does he have the speed to get upfield? If we are going to more of a 3-4 kind of base defensive system - and it would seem to be the case, then I think he would fit well at a DE. typically, in the 3-4 the DE's don't need to get upfield that much and more of place holders on the line and work to occupy blockers as much as possible and stop the run. A guy his size could fit well there.

But you got to wonder about how good a player he is. If he's able - he's had 2 years to get ready now, and both DE jobs on this defense are really wide open competition for starters.

I just have a hard time envisioning a 6'7'' guy at DE. I thought you would want more speed at DE to cover the edge and protect against mobile QBs, RB sweeps, etc.

If we go to a 3 - 4 this year, then Knappe might need to move to the offense. Let's see what happens in spring ball.

 

[jackl]

I just have a hard time envisioning a 6'7'' guy at DE. I thought you would want more speed at DE to cover the edge and protect against mobile QBs, RB sweeps, etc.

If we go to a 3 - 4 this year, then Knappe might need to move to the offense. Let's see what happens in spring ball.

Last year he was listed at 6'9"

 

[Exit 4]

Last year he was listed at 6'9"

Oh, then he's sounds more like an OT

 

[Carl Spackler]

I just have a hard time envisioning a 6'7'' guy at DE. I thought you would want more speed at DE to cover the edge and protect against mobile QBs, RB sweeps, etc.

If we go to a 3 - 4 this year, then Knappe might need to move to the offense. Let's see what happens in spring ball.

Why? You're probably not old enough to know who Ed "Too Tall" Jones was. 6'5" or so is the norm/average....cough...cough...prototype.....cough........but there is no reason why a 6'9" guy can't play DE, but if he can? He's going to be able to have a big impact in rushing the passer.

 

[Exit 4]

Why? You're probably not old enough to know who Ed "Too Tall" Jones was. 6'5" or so is the norm/average....cough...cough...prototype.....cough...but there is no reason why a 6'9" guy can't play DE, but if he can? He's going to be able to have a big impact in rushing the passer.

Sure, he can play DE provided he is fast enough. My guess is that the speed isn't there. Let see what happens in spring ball....I'm happy to be wrong should they place him at DE and he performs.

 

[Uconnalliance]

Why? You're probably not old enough to know who Ed "Too Tall" Jones was. 6'5" or so is the norm/average....cough...cough...prototype.....cough...but there is no reason why a 6'9" guy can't play DE, but if he can? He's going to be able to have a big impact in rushing the passer.

I believe Ed was 6'9" I might be wrong, but he was a load for any O line

 

[Palatine]

Ed "too tall" Jones was 6' 9", he weighed just under 280.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Big differences between a DE in 3-4 front and a 4-3 front is required to do, when it comes to gap control and leverage. If Knappe really has the athletic ability to be a force on the defensive line, this is the kind of player at his size, that makes building a defense fun. But if he's not a force on the field, then his size is probably a detriment. No matter what, he's in year three, is a full grown adult at this point, I think he's probably 23 or 24 years old, and we have wide open competition at the DE spots. Safe to say, that this would be his year to break out if it's going to happen.

 

[uconnbill]

JJ Watts is 6'7", Margus Hunt is 6'8", and many others are 6'6". Just think we can't limit what he does because of his height.

 

[Carl Spackler]

JJ Watts is 6'7", Margus Hunt is 6'8", and many others are 6'6". Just think we can't limit what he does because of his height.

It's the getting the knees and hips and ass bent and down into a good football position that becomes the limiting factor for tall guys. A guy 6'9" just has really long legs, and getting down into a stance requires lots of bending and it's tough to get a good explosion out of the position with those long levers. As on offensive tackle, or a defensive end, the pre-snap position is a lot more forgiving. But you got to be able to play the game, no matter what.

 

[sportsart]

Look for Knappe to head to OT. Like I've said previously, everyone but PP, wanted him to move to OT. Foley probably gets him and by the 2015 season maybe we see if he has what it takes.

 

[nimzovich]

It's the getting the knees and hips and ass bent and down into a good football position that becomes the limiting factor for tall guys. A guy 6'9" just has really long legs, and getting down into a stance requires lots of bending and it's tough to get a good explosion out of the position with those long levers. .

cant speak for andreas knappe, but it is an unsupportable generalization that all tall people have longer legs than people that are shorter. some have longer torsos, and some even have longer necks.

just think of a few examples from other sports. you may not be old enough to remember Bruce "Soup" Campbell (Wilbur Cross High, Providence College), who was a good ballhandler partly because his legs were relatively short, and his hands were closer to the floor than most 6'9'' players.

And take a look at Michael Phelps. Cant verify it of course, but it is said that at 6'4", he has the torso of a 6'8" person. As his head and neck appear proportional, that certainly indicates the legs of a much shorter person.

On average, legs make up half of adult height, but there are wide individual differences, and women tend to have a higher leg-to-body ratios. Turns out Nicole Kidman's ratio is 1.4.....

 

[Carl Spackler]

Really?

I guess so. Take a 6'9" guy, and I dont' care what his leg to torso length ratio is, it's going to be damn hard to get your ass down low enough in a squat football position in the interior line on the offensive or defensive side, and get an effective explosion off the snap, let alone do it over and over and expect your body to hold up. That kind of body is much more suited to the DE or OT position. That's all I'm saying. I'll leave it to the kinesiologists to explain why.

 

[Exit 4]

Updated:

I have 47 projected offensive players on scholarship including Puyol [K] and 35 on defensive. This means we still have room to sign up 3 more before we have oversigning. On D seems like we could use a safety and a DT.

DT/DL 6
Campenni
Pruitt
Myers M.
Adeyemi
Fatukasi
[Lawley]

DE 7
McBryde
Frank
Stevens
Ormsby
Stapleon
Battle-Santos
[Carrezola]

Linebacker 10
Ashiru
Vann
Stewart
Steg
Hicks
Joseph
Stephens
Britton
[Rodrick]
[Diggs]

Corner 7
Jones
Hadley
Williams
Stevenson
Clark
Marder
Summers

Safety 5 <--as I said in the post regarding the offensive roster, seems like Thomas Lucas should be moved back to safety for depth
Melifonwu
Brown
Adams
Floyd
Lee