DT Depth and Recruiting (Split from Barksdale)

[808 Buck]

Here's a vote for Barrow. He may not start, but I would not be shocked to see him in the interior line rotation. Tell you what, next year's recruiting of linemen, both O and D, will be interesting to watch.

 

[OSU_Buckguy]

this could be just another example of the type of player that tressel recruits and offers: the player that is willing to shed his previous expectations and do what is best for the team. rose will be a beast wherever he plays on that line.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Here's a vote for Barrow. He may not start, but I would not be shocked to see him in the interior line rotation. Tell you what, next year's recruiting of linemen, both O and D, will be interesting to watch.

Should be interesting to see how he progresses in the offseason and how much weight he is able to add. I think Barrow, Dublin and Williams to go along with Martin(hopefully) will be the backup DE's to Gholston and Wilson.

 

[WaitingforKickoff]

Exactally, that and the fact that his frame is just going to continue to add weight. He will be 300 lbs by the time he leaves here, so why not move him down earlier and give him more time to adjust to playing inside.

Are you sure Rose will end up being over 300 lbs? 270-280 has become the standard for our DEs. If Rose stays in that range, he is by no means too big to play DE.

The sentiment was that Rose was going to end up a DT before he came to Columbus. Then we watched him absolutely blow up at DE in the Army All Star game. And then he stepped on the field and we saw the kind of sack machine that he will be. And again, he looks very lean out there, almost like a LBer. Is it too much of a stretch to envision him staying at end?

Rose's strength at this point is his explosion around the edges and his speed in pursuit. Do we know that he is strong at the point of attack? Again, there was chatter during the season that playing the run was not one of his fortes.

With Gholston possibly having only one year left, Rose has a chance to pair up with Gholston as the most dominant DEs in the country and become a staple on the DL after Gholston's departure. I really see Rose as a great defensive end, hence my questions concerning him moving inside to DT...

 

[BGriffBuckeye]

We have a potentiel depth chart of:

DE: Rose/Wilson/Gholston/Dublin/Williams/Thomas/Martin?/Still?
DT: Worthington/Barrow/Denlinger/Larimore/Garnier/Abdallah/Hayward?/Still?/Davis?

...for potentially 2 more years... I think we will be fine.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

I really see Rose as a great defensive end, hence my questions concerning him moving inside to DT...

I agree. Reggie White was a 300-pound DE, and Bruce Smith was probably 285+, and both of those guys could play a bit.

 

[NFBuck]

92 Todd Denlinger - Going to be really good at DT IMO
87 Lawrence Wilson - I think he stays at DE. Kind of played below expectations this season
84 Doug Worthington - Could move down. Took some snaps at DT this year
78 Alex Barrow - Same as above
72 Dexter Larimore - Coaches are high on him
50 Vernon Gholston - DE all the way
6 Robert Rose - Soem say can move down, but think he is great at current position

With just those names right there, we have a good core to build around the next season or two...not counting the diamonds in the rough JT has continued to find year in and year out. No reason to worry to much on this, focus your concern elsewhere...for instance, tax season is coming up pretty quick.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Are you sure Rose will end up being over 300 lbs? 270-280 has become the standard for our DEs. If Rose stays in that range, he is by no means too big to play DE.

The sentiment was that Rose was going to end up a DT before he came to Columbus. Then we watched him absolutely blow up at DE in the Army All Star game. And then he stepped on the field and we saw the kind of sack machine that he will be. And again, he looks very lean out there, almost like a LBer. Is it too much of a stretch to envision him staying at end?

Rose's strength at this point is his explosion around the edges and his speed in pursuit. Do we know that he is strong at the point of attack? Again, there was chatter during the season that playing the run was not one of his fortes.

With Gholston possibly having only one year left, Rose has a chance to pair up with Gholston as the most dominant DEs in the country and become a staple on the DL after Gholston's departure. I really see Rose as a great defensive end, hence my questions concerning him moving inside to DT...

I think alot has to do with his frame, moreso than anything. In pictures and in pads he doesnt look that big, but he carries his weight so well and he is just a bull. With another full year of stregth training he could easily be 300 by the beginnig of next season, but probably more likely after his junior season. Also guys like Gholston, Barrow, Wilson, Williams, Dublin will man the outside positions meaning that if you could get Rose on the field with 2 of those guys you are putting 3 of your best lineman on the field instead of putting say Rose and Gholston while having a good set of DE's you are still leaving one of your best d-lineman on the bench in Wilson. If you slide Rose down and pair him with Denlinger or Worthington or Larimore then you are putting four of your best d-lineman on the field. This is also not say that he might not play some DE, on pass rushing downs, much like Pittcock did and slid out some times. Anyway you look at it I think the d-line will have no problem and Coach H will put them where they need to be to make plays.

 

[RB07OSU]

Interior DL is tough to step into and have an immediate "impact"...I would suggest being in the rotation and controlling a gap is adequate for a 1st year college player.

If you are counting on a freshman wildcard to provide an impact, we are really in trouble.

DTs can be built...I promise you. Recruit the athletes and get the best 4 on the field...

I certainly won't disagree with you on the first point...I in no way envisioned Barksdale or any other DT coming in and being an instant stud. I thought an opportunity for some playing time and possibly cracking the two deep was realistic though with our numbers. So I agree 100% with you there. However, I am more concerned down the road. Keeping in mind what we agree on, when our classes of '06 and '07 are upperclassmen, we will need some good DT's that are upperclassmen. We only have Larimore right now in those classes and the problem that I see is we didn't get any combo DE/DT's either (unless we get Still or Heyward). I can't envision any of Dublin, Martin,or Thomas sliding down. Rose is a possibility but I agree with Tresselbeliever and LJB...I think he will be a great DE and that he may be big enough to move to DT but is better suited at DE. If we could have got some big DT's in '06 or '07 we could have kept Rose at DE...imagine Rose and Martin at DE. Now Rose might end up at DT but only out of necessity imo. You could tell the coaches pursued some big DT's and are probably disappointed by the way our DT recruiting turned out. We are in serious need of a BIG OL/DL class in '08.(OL I am not worried about in the slightest in '08 btw) In summary...this won't hurt us next year but it likely will when the '06 and '07 classes are the juniors and seniors.

 

[osugrad21]

In summary...this won't hurt us next year but it likely will when the '06 and '07 classes are the juniors and seniors.

I guess Im just confused on how you can you make that prediction based on what has been discussed and on what we agree? Hurt us? Cmon...

You can't buy into the stereotypes of a DT...that is not the philosophy at hand. That type of player can be recruited sparingly in Heacock's scheme.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I guess Im just confused on how you can you make that prediction based on what has been discussed and on what we agree? Hurt us? Cmon...

You can't buy into the stereotypes of a DT...that is not the philosophy at hand. That type of player can be recruited sparingly in Heacock's scheme.

Exactally. Even a guys like Devon Still that we are recruiting now, are guys that while rated as DE's and playing there in high school, are guys that will eventually move down. We recruited 3 DE's 2 years ago and 2 last year. We have 2 in the fold now. That is to go along with Denlinger and larimore. That is 9 d-lineman and hopefully we can pull one more in this year. Keep in mind we are talking power guys here. Grad hit it on the head earlier when he said that pure DT's can't move positions. DE's have the posibility to go to DT, DE, TE, etc. It is all about Tressell's recruiting philosophy and why it might not look traditional to what some are accustomed to you can't argue the success it is having.

 

[t_BuckeyeScott]

Once again Wad, Grad, cbf40, LJB, rb07, et al providing fantastic information for us new to this. You guys never make me want to even think about subscribing to the pay sites. Cool heads with fantastic information. You guys are fantastic.

 

[Taosman]

I would just like to thank the mods and all contributors for trying to maintain some sanity through this craziness!
Thank you all!

 

[RB07OSU]

I guess Im just confused on how you can you make that prediction based on what has been discussed and on what we agree? Hurt us? Cmon...

Well I agree that freshman aren't going to make an immediate impact at DT...perhaps get some PT and hold up alright, but not make a huge splash. With that analogy, you would agree that we won't want freshman playing DT or starting at DT down the road correct? So with only Larimore in '06 and '07, if we don't get at least 1 DT this year, then that pretty much forces whoever we get in '08 or '09 to play right away at DT. Yes there are other possibilities but it's also a matter of depth. What if Larimore gets injured or Denlinger? Then we have all those young guys going in and as I said earlier, the transition from DE to DT isn't guranteed...it is very possible yes(as we have withnessed here at OSU) but you can't always bank on it. All I'm saying is that there is call for some concern...bucknuts freeboard doomsday concern? Not hardly. I do think however that to say we have done what we wanted with our interior DL recruiting in these last 2 classes wouldn't be accurate. This won't effect OSU this year or maybe even the next, but what about after Worthington and Barrow are gone? We have Larimore and Denlinger as sure bets at DT as upperclassmen and hopefully they stay healthy...not to mention that hopefully they don't turn out to be busts. Plus we have our rotation and we will need other DT's to be rotating in. Rose is the only younger player that has the possibility of sliding down and I've already voiced my opinion on that. Hopefully we can get Still or Heyward (I see both ending up at DT) or I really see a depth problem down the road.

 

[redskinbucksfan]

What about moving Davis over to make way for the '08 OL? Assuming of course, that Davis will be a Buckeye.