I've been reading up on OSU's new Defense just to see how the other half lives, especially since that team down south has a new DC at the helm.
The way Knowles plans to use the middle of the defense, particularly the LBs caught my eye. Let me preface this by saying that Knowles' linebacker position is not the traditional “linebacker" in a sense but more of a jack of all trades.
“It’s not just ‘Hey, you’re in this place, you’re doing that. You’re doing a lot of different things, which is good for them when they go to the next level," he said.
Essentially, every position group is multiple.
Multiple, something that rears its head everywhere from the defensive backfield to defensive end. With Linebackers, each spot is interchangeable, and responsibilities can switch at any point even if it's inside or outside. Both will play in man and zone coverage.
“You got to just take an inventory of the guy’s skills and then get to know him to understand his demeanor, his football intelligence,” Knowles said. “But it’s something to project because it’s not a typical, in our system, not a typical ‘Hey, you’re an inside linebacker, you’re an outside linebacker.’ You got to be able to do everything.”
Knowles continues to add that he's looking for a guy that has all kinds of football skills and can be a stat stuffer. “A lot of times, we funnel things to them and the safeties. They’re there and they got to get the job done, so they have to understand the scheme and where they fit.”
So it got me to thinking...
If he's trying to get you to funnel things to the middle, guys like AJ Henning, Mike Sainristil Darrius Clemons, etc could have big games running jet sweeps and reverses. Even running an RPO could freeze these guys since you're reading a DE who may or may not be crashing on a play (hello JJ McCarthy).
His defense seems very high risk, high reward like Don Browns' was.
It also seems to me that he's trying to have an OC guess where the pressure is coming from. But if the main goal is funnel things back to the middle, you can manipulate that through formations and motion too; something Matt Weiss and Sherrone Moore can utilize from last year's game tape. Michigan can also be more physical with traps and blast a LB that think he has free space to close in on that would open the run game up for large chunks of yards for Edwards and Corum.
What are your thoughts?
(quotes were used from a friend Colin Gay who writes for OSU's Rivals site: https://ohiostate.rivals.com/news/what-jim-knowles-wants-out-of-an-ohio-state-linebacker)
The way Knowles plans to use the middle of the defense, particularly the LBs caught my eye. Let me preface this by saying that Knowles' linebacker position is not the traditional “linebacker" in a sense but more of a jack of all trades.
“It’s not just ‘Hey, you’re in this place, you’re doing that. You’re doing a lot of different things, which is good for them when they go to the next level," he said.
Essentially, every position group is multiple.
Multiple, something that rears its head everywhere from the defensive backfield to defensive end. With Linebackers, each spot is interchangeable, and responsibilities can switch at any point even if it's inside or outside. Both will play in man and zone coverage.
“You got to just take an inventory of the guy’s skills and then get to know him to understand his demeanor, his football intelligence,” Knowles said. “But it’s something to project because it’s not a typical, in our system, not a typical ‘Hey, you’re an inside linebacker, you’re an outside linebacker.’ You got to be able to do everything.”
Knowles continues to add that he's looking for a guy that has all kinds of football skills and can be a stat stuffer. “A lot of times, we funnel things to them and the safeties. They’re there and they got to get the job done, so they have to understand the scheme and where they fit.”
So it got me to thinking...
If he's trying to get you to funnel things to the middle, guys like AJ Henning, Mike Sainristil Darrius Clemons, etc could have big games running jet sweeps and reverses. Even running an RPO could freeze these guys since you're reading a DE who may or may not be crashing on a play (hello JJ McCarthy).
His defense seems very high risk, high reward like Don Browns' was.
It also seems to me that he's trying to have an OC guess where the pressure is coming from. But if the main goal is funnel things back to the middle, you can manipulate that through formations and motion too; something Matt Weiss and Sherrone Moore can utilize from last year's game tape. Michigan can also be more physical with traps and blast a LB that think he has free space to close in on that would open the run game up for large chunks of yards for Edwards and Corum.
What are your thoughts?
(quotes were used from a friend Colin Gay who writes for OSU's Rivals site: https://ohiostate.rivals.com/news/what-jim-knowles-wants-out-of-an-ohio-state-linebacker)
