stowfan;2049325; said:
Finally you can be of some use, compare the talent Urban is inheriting here to what Zook left him at UF?
Well, y'all are all slower than what Zook left Urb, but...... :p
OK. The nucleus of our '06 team was there. Leak, Caldwell, Baker, Murphy, Everett, Nelson, Siler, McDonald, Atkins...I think we had about six or seven returning starters on both sides of the ball. Our expectations were pretty high. Beating a highly ranked Vol team to start the year off was part of that. Getting the heck beaten out of us by Bama using the Utah offense with Leak running the spread was part of why that fizzzled. So forgive me for wiggling out of this question, but it is not so much the talent level that is the only question, but the suitability of the players to match the offense that is a big factor.
What is Urb gonna run at tOSU? I have no idea what he thinks, but he has to be thinking Brax in the spread offense. So I ask you, the spread depends most upon the ability of wide receivers to make and hold blocks downfield, IMO, and to have backs with explosive acceleration to take advantage of the back on LB match-ups it is designed to create.
I mean, defense is defense. You want and need speed at the DE, gap plugging wide bodies at DT, fast athletic LBs, great open field tackling/run support safeties, and swivel hipped DBs. So does everybody everywhere. I would say that - let me say - that your strength is not in LB and safety right now. It was at Florida in 2005. Our woes were more offensive than defensive at UF in 2005.
So let me ask you this: how many sure, low round NFL draft picks currently are in your roster for Urb to inherit? Florida had several in 05, although they stood out more in 06, given the increased press of the SEC and BCS championship games and typical press slobbering.
And another thing: It takes only one all-universe guy to make a huge difference. In 06 Percy Harvin as a freshman sensation, and Tim Tebow in short yardage packages, saved our rumps multiple times on that NC run. You tell me who Urban will bring in as contributing Freshman next year, as he will play anyone who is better than the seniors. Urban does not care about Seniors or their years of hard work. He rewards on-field output, not legacies, or upper classmen status. So if he gets some five star WR/RB talent to run the spread with Brax, the fast start can be amped up.
So, wall of text reduced: I think the talent left at UF by Zook was better on the defensive side of the ball, but that Brax is the most critical component of a spread offense, and he is a beast. So I think that while Florida may have been a better leftover pot of players, I am mindful of the fact that a different OC in Buckeye 2011 could have resulted in an entirely different won-loss record. So while I absolutely agree that tOSU has great athletes (and my view of Florida's group being better is skewed by the hindsight of the 06 BCSNC and the flood of NFL prospects that were drafted after 06 that were a part of the 05 team), my main concern with the 2012 Buckeye under Urban squad is the WR/RB crew in a spread offense versus the more traditional and physical "big back" talent you have, and my biggest reason I think the 05 Gators had a better group left him is the lb and safety corp. 2005 Gators were better, but unknown as to how much, since the 2012 Buckeyes have a future to get better, and the 05 UF group is a known quality and quantity.
