RJ Washington in the rotation behind King. [Archive]

starclassic tama

4/9/2009, 01:45 PM

If Taylor or McGee show up as DTs then we will be insane on the line. Our corners are already good, but this will make them look like crazy men. That and with the depth and speed we will have at LB, it will be hard for people to do much against us.

depth at linebacker? i think our linebackers have a chance to be really good as a whole unit next year, but i wouldn't exactly say we have depth there unless you are counting on ryan reynolds coming back and playing the whole year..

BornandBred

4/9/2009, 01:49 PM

CaliBornSoonerBred

4/9/2009, 04:28 PM

How is he doing, anyways?

I saw a report somewhere a few months back that he is supposed to have a full release by May and be ready to play.

JLEW1818

4/9/2009, 05:05 PM

I think RJ might be my new obsession.....

swardboy

4/9/2009, 06:38 PM

I just read where RJ is working in the rotation behind David King. Apparently KIng has mature much since HS and has been impressive. Looks like we're gonna have major dpeth on the d-line next year.

Major props to the unheralded recruits who work their butts off and make nice contributions....I also smell some great behind-the-scenes coaching. Congratulations Mr. King.

snp

4/9/2009, 07:41 PM

Any chance that we could get Taylor Griffin into a football uni. Would he even be eligible. He would be a monster at DE.

He'd be an even better TE.

And if he wanted to, he could play football for 1 year.

Big D Sooner

4/10/2009, 12:01 AM

Major props to the unheralded recruits who work their butts off... I smell some great behind...

Whoa man, that is way too much insight into your personal life!

Isn't taking things out of context fun. I could work for ESPN.

goingoneight

4/10/2009, 09:30 AM

You'd better get some knee pads if they send you out to cover USC...

SouthFortySooner

4/10/2009, 09:34 AM

I can already smell *Colt*'s fear.

You can rag him all you want about his "Opie Griffin" goofy looks, but he hasn't ever appeared afraid in the RRS.

soonerfan28

4/10/2009, 10:13 PM

He'd be an even better TE.

And if he wanted to, he could play football for 1 year.
Yea I thought he could play one year. I thought I remembered hearing people say that Byron Eaton would be a great safety at OSU and he could play one year after basketball. He probably would be good..........for OSU.

Curly Bill

4/10/2009, 11:58 PM

Eaton was a helluva high school footballer -- cept at QB, which he's obviously not built for at the big-time college level. Never saw him play FB, so don't know for sure if he even played any DB in high school.

(I did see him play B-ball in the state tournament -- and he was a stud)

Jello Biafra

4/14/2009, 11:17 AM

depth at linebacker? i think our linebackers have a chance to be really good as a whole unit next year, but i wouldn't exactly say we have depth there unless you are counting on ryan reynolds coming back and playing the whole year..

really? how many linebackers can we have on the field at one time?

we have 11 and outside of 2 or 3 of them, I have heard any of them could be starters. so yes, that would be considered depth. if you are considering not using redshirts for them to play special teams, they are too good to keep off the field.

balogun, bryant both JC transfers (experience)
box, reynolds, clayton, lewis, crow

rooks...franklin, wort, lewis, bird (with wort and bird drawing all the attention)

personally, with three serious injuries, i think reynolds will be limited in his action but even without him, thats 6 deep with experience and 9 deep if they don't use redshirts for the rookies...

BornandBred

4/14/2009, 11:40 AM

Even if Reynolds can't play at 100%, his experience and leadership will add to the depth at LB. He'll be in the other players ears when the coaches aren't. Having a player that can coach up the other guys and lead by example work ethics wise is a great asset. I think we'll be ready at LB this year.

jkm, the stolen pifwafwi

4/14/2009, 01:28 PM

we have 11 and outside of 2 or 3 of them, I have heard any of them could be starters. so yes, that would be considered depth. if you are considering not using redshirts for them to play special teams, they are too good to keep off the field.

so let's say i changed your statement to this - we have 3 QBs and any one of them could be starters. heck, we may just rotate them in because they are all so good.

would you feel comfortable about that situation?

NormanPride

4/14/2009, 02:01 PM

How many stars do they have, jkm?

;)

Jello Biafra

4/14/2009, 02:48 PM

so let's say i changed your statement to this - we have 3 QBs and any one of them could be starters. heck, we may just rotate them in because they are all so good.

would you feel comfortable about that situation?

and your choices now are???

1 with a full season of experience with lewis...so what would you like me to say?

the rest of them played piece meal and we still managed to only lose 2 games....

OU_Sooners75

4/14/2009, 03:05 PM

depth at linebacker? i think our linebackers have a chance to be really good as a whole unit next year, but i wouldn't exactly say we have depth there unless you are counting on ryan reynolds coming back and playing the whole year..

Ignorance is something you thrive on it seems.

R. Reynolds, A. Box, T. Lewis, K. Clayton, M. Balogun, Brandon Crow all have game time experience from 2008.

Now throw in:

J.R. Bryant, Daniel Franklin, Jayden Bird, Tom Wort, and Ronnell Lewis and we have pretty good depth.

That makes for 11 LBs that had solid Spring Games and is the entire LB corps for the Sooners!

In fact, I think Brandon Crow and Daniel Franklin are the 2 out men this year when it comes to the LB Corps.

OU has some depth at Linebacker this year and the 3 1st semester freshmen (R. Lewis, T. Wort, and J. Bird) are turning coach Venerables head!

jkm, the stolen pifwafwi

4/14/2009, 03:36 PM

and your choices now are???

1 with a full season of experience with lewis...so what would you like me to say?

the rest of them played piece meal and we still managed to only lose 2 games....

that's the beauty of college right? you play with what you have. i'm just not one that thought they were a strength last year and don't see much changing this year unless one of our noobs is a tackling machine.

as for last year, our offense panicked teams into playing dumb. there were only 2 teams that really understood that - we lost to both.

for this year, i think our DL will be pretty good, mainly on the strength of the DEs (chris may be the best talent evaluator in college football right now). i just don't see it from our corners - franks fell asleep a lot and jackson peaked in the 3rd game. safeties? who the heck knows. that leaves linebacker.

the good news is that we've had previous seasons with more question marks than this year where we've massively overachieved.

starclassic tama

4/14/2009, 11:48 PM

Ignorance is something you thrive on it seems.

you might have played football beyond high school, but it appears you didn't take any english composition...

i assume depth to mean proven good players returning. which drops that number of 11 way down. travis lewis - very good, borderline superstar. keenan clayton - good with potential to be very good. ryan reynolds - very good if healthy. beyond that, we don't have much that is proven. box hasn't shown anything yet but he was just a freshman. balogun hasn't shown much although i thought he played well in the florida game.

OU_Sooners75

4/15/2009, 01:37 AM

you might have played football beyond high school, but it appears you didn't take any english composition...

i assume depth to mean proven good players returning. which drops that number of 11 way down. travis lewis - very good, borderline superstar. keenan clayton - good with potential to be very good. ryan reynolds - very good if healthy. beyond that, we don't have much that is proven. box hasn't shown anything yet but he was just a freshman. balogun hasn't shown much although i thought he played well in the florida game.

1. We are talking College Football. You will not find many teams like OU that has 6 LBs that have game time experience...all with the first team. Throw in J.R. Bryant and his Special Teams experience we have 7 LBs with game experience.

2. We have quality depth no matter how you want to look at it. Sure, some of them may be freshmen, but they will shine when given the chance...at least that is what BV is thinking. I will take his word for it.

3. My english is just fine. You understood perfectly what I said and meant. But keep tryin' young man, keep tryin'.

OU_Sooners75

4/15/2009, 01:39 AM

that's the beauty of college right? you play with what you have. i'm just not one that thought they were a strength last year and don't see much changing this year unless one of our noobs is a tackling machine.

as for last year, our offense panicked teams into playing dumb. there were only 2 teams that really understood that - we lost to both.

for this year, i think our DL will be pretty good, mainly on the strength of the DEs (chris may be the best talent evaluator in college football right now). i just don't see it from our corners - franks fell asleep a lot and jackson peaked in the 3rd game. safeties? who the heck knows. that leaves linebacker.

the good news is that we've had previous seasons with more question marks than this year where we've massively overachieved.

Our LB corps may not be the staple of the defense this year, but they will be one of the best in the nation this year.

Why? I will say thanks to the Dline being able to do their job and keep the OLine off the LBs.

jkm, the stolen pifwafwi

4/15/2009, 04:26 AM

Our LB corps may not be the staple of the defense this year, but they will be one of the best in the nation this year.

Why? I will say thanks to the Dline being able to do their job and keep the OLine off the LBs.

let's take off our crimson shades for a second.

our linebackers last year were the weakest link in our defense. and with as bad as our safety play was, that is really saying something. and automagically they are going to be one of the best units in the nation? the only way that is going to happen is if one of the incoming frosh is a calmus clone. because what we sorely lack at linebacker is someone who can make plays when the chips are down. someone who can stop someone on 3rd and 2, someone who can stop a QB scramble, someone who can play consistently for 4 quarters while providing that one turnover a game.

i'm trying to think of the last time our DL actually did that. we moved away from that scheme in 2005 i think. the undisciplined rushes drive me nuts on passing downs.

BornandBred

4/15/2009, 07:52 AM

I think I do a pretty good job at looking through neutral glasses, so I figured I'd weigh in a little.

JKM makes a good point. I don't see us having an LB I'd trust 1 on 1 to stop a 3rd and 2. Not YET, anyways. I think that trust is earned through experience and non of the guys have that yet. I would bet that RR, TL, or a few others could be there by the OU/Tex* game, but they aren't there yet.

Now, on the flip side, am I worried about depth at LB? No. I think our LB core will feed off the DL and get support from what I believe to be an underrated, at least by JKM, secondary (assuming we get serviceable play from SS). Remember, before Reynolds got hurt, he was playing lights out. But, you gotta think he'll be less than he was last year, so I don't think we should count on him to be a super star, just solid.

My point being, if I were going to grade this LB group EA Sports style, I think we've got a few high 80's and maybe a couple low 90's, but no super stars. I'd say RR is 88, TW 92, AB 85, KC 84, MB 80. There are a few that have big upside like Wort, but they are as yet unproven and shouldn't be relied upon.

With depth being debated, I'd say we have decent depth. We're still young, so the depth factor will still be an issue, but I'd say we've got a lot to build on. The future is bright.

East Coast Bias

4/15/2009, 07:59 AM

NormanPride

4/15/2009, 08:45 AM

You don't trust Travis in a one-on-one situation? He's come up for us multiple times, and was one of the best LBs in the country last year. If that's not good enough, then I don't know what to say... My hope right now is that Bryant manages to win the SAM job over Clayton, despite his relatively solid play. Bryant just seems like a gamer.

Dom and Jackson will improve, and having a safety like Carter destroying people over the middle will make life easier. Why do you not think anyone can improve, jkm? Most of the guys you worry about (Safeties, young LBs) got tons of spring reps, and you always say that Spring is the most important part of the year for developing your talent...

BornandBred

4/15/2009, 09:09 AM

You don't trust Travis in a one-on-one situation? He's come up for us multiple times, and was one of the best LBs in the country last year. If that's not good enough, then I don't know what to say...

I didn't mean to disparage TL, I think he's a beast. I think he is our best LB, or at least will be this season. What I meant was that I wouldn't describe him as a run stopper nor do I, at this point, trust him like I did Calmus. I think he's very very close, but not quite there. I expect him to be there shortly, was my point.

NormanPride

4/15/2009, 09:21 AM

Fair enough. :)

soonerfan28

4/15/2009, 09:46 AM

I think our LB's were a good unit last year considering the fact that we had 4 guys play MLB. Clayton and Lewis were very good. As far as the 3 new LB's that came in this spring we don't even know how much of the defense they understand. I agree that they have looked outstanding, but I would rather have somebody like Reynolds, Box or Balogun in the middle who understands the assignments and not just somebody who can hit. Lewis and Clayton are guaranteed to start at WLB & SLB. That may not be what Bob says, but that is to keep them on there heels.

Jello Biafra

4/15/2009, 09:47 AM

My fear in this is that we give a LB position to someone based on seniority, not considering injury or on the field performance. If Wort or Ronnell or one of the others wins the position on performance and ability, doesn't their development give our team the best chance to win? Let Reynolds or Balogun give us quality , experienced backup if that is what develops....Box and Reynolds should beat out the young guys.

right, because box starting over crow, balogun, bryant et al. didnt show you this isn't high school football team?

I HATE to say this...i really do...but, reynolds probably won't be beating anyone out this year. even when he was out there, he was obviously slowed by his knee and now hes had yet another surgery.

here's the key to this defense... and it always has been...at least as long as this staff has been around. Dline. if they can keep these linebackers clean and give them time to locate the ball, we will be fine..no wait, more than fine. we will be good.

if we can get a good, disciplined pass rush, and occupy blockers, there are fewer blockers to get to our linebackers and dbacks and it will allow them to do their jobs. the last two years, the blockers got to the second and third levels and we paid the price for it. With this defense, the rb is usually making his first move (spin/juke/highstep) before or at the LOS. when we can't make that happen, we get gashed for big yardage. when we dominate the OLine, we smoke fools. big time.

jkm, the stolen pifwafwi

4/15/2009, 10:11 AM

You don't trust Travis in a one-on-one situation? He's come up for us multiple times, and was one of the best LBs in the country last year. I

travis was in 3 1 on 1's against percy harvin and went 0 for 3.

we've been over this before np. you can't look at the person who makes the stop in an inconsistent defense. when we had GOOD defenses, we never had guys with stats like lofton and lewis, because the other guys made their stops when given the opportunity. the last several years, our linebackers have had many more opportunties than they should have because we can't make the play and extend the opponents' drive.

i view lewis as an unknown quantity. as an OU fan, i have seen the "sophomore" slump hit way too many times to just disregard it.

i view keenan clayton as a known quantity. he causes turnovers, but he also is able to be picked on for first downs.

Desert Sapper

4/15/2009, 10:12 AM

Anybody that saw David King's film from HS wouldn't be questioning the possibility of him being a badass. DL depth is the best we've had in a long time, especially at DE.

If Lofton had returned for his senior year, nobody would have disparaged our LBs last year. Hell, if RR didn't get hurt, we would have had one of the best LB units in the nation (and would have won Red River). Not sure why Lewis isn't getting the love he deserves. The dude isn't a Calmus clone, but he is a Lehman clone. He doesn't always stuff people, but he is always around the ball. His instincts are good, but his pursuit is incredible. If one of the three guys that STARTED last year at Mike gets a little better, the backer unit could be very, very good. If Bryant is half as good as he looked on the highlight reel from the spring, he will start and we will be great at LB.

My $1.50 ($.02 after taxes).

jkm, the stolen pifwafwi

4/15/2009, 10:14 AM

if we can get a good, disciplined pass rush, and occupy blockers, there are fewer blockers to get to our linebackers and dbacks and it will allow them to do their jobs. the last two years, the blockers got to the second and third levels and we paid the price for it. With this defense, the rb is usually making his first move (spin/juke/highstep) before or at the LOS. when we can't make that happen, we get gashed for big yardage. when we dominate the OLine, we smoke fools. big time.

QFT

htownsooner7

4/15/2009, 10:23 AM

"Reynolds was playing lights out before the injury." Not sure what that means seeing as how we played Chattanooga, UW, Tulsa, etc.. He would have gotten exposed against the spread offenses. If Box is back to full speed, he can be a very good player because he's a gamer and has a nose for the ball. Clayton and Lewis are just fine. Hell, both of them are probably pro prospects. But, we need a mike backer bad. Box or Balogun steps up and we are in great shape. Then, you have "depth" because the other one, Bryant, and Reynolds all have experience and can be trusted with the ones. Then, you throw in the talented freshman to the extent they aren't redshirted. If BV gets a mike backer to step up, this can be a very salty unit.

Desert Sapper

4/15/2009, 10:26 AM

travis was in 3 1 on 1's against percy harvin and went 0 for 3.

Was anybody able to stop Harvin 1 on 1 all season?

NormanPride

4/15/2009, 10:28 AM

travis was in 3 1 on 1's against percy harvin and went 0 for 3.

we've been over this before np. you can't look at the person who makes the stop in an inconsistent defense. when we had GOOD defenses, we never had guys with stats like lofton and lewis, because the other guys made their stops when given the opportunity. the last several years, our linebackers have had many more opportunties than they should have because we can't make the play and extend the opponents' drive.

i view lewis as an unknown quantity. as an OU fan, i have seen the "sophomore" slump hit way too many times to just disregard it.

i view keenan clayton as a known quantity. he causes turnovers, but he also is able to be picked on for first downs.

RS Fr LB vs Junior All-American star

Yeah, you want your starting LB to win that sometimes, but it was a bad matchup. I guarantee we didn't want ANY of our LBs in one-on-ones with Harvin unless they had a sideline to work with. I agree that he needs work and that our other LBs have been shaky. With 4 different MLBs playing last year, it was kind of a patch job and the lack of consistency at that position cannot be blamed on the other LBs. My only concern now is that only two of the four went through Spring and neither should be the starter (unless Balogun is hitting his assignments well).

I still find it odd that you think Travis will regress rather than improve. Even if he stays the same, he's still a great LB that can make plays.

Hopefully we'll switch the D up a bit on 3rd and medium-long since we have more depth at corner, and Clayton won't be as much of a liability.

BornandBred

4/15/2009, 10:32 AM

"Reynolds was playing lights out before the injury." Not sure what that means seeing as how we played Chattanooga, UW, Tulsa, etc..

This is what I mean:
http://newsok.com/reynolds-making-the-grade/article/3307888/

I agree that he might have gotten exposed against better spreads, but in previous games he had a habit of being in the right place and the right time. The biggest problem Box had was that he didn't get enough depth on the passes over the middle. That's positioning and recognition, something RR was doing very well when he went down. Also, I believe Tex* had negative yards rushing before he went down. I can't find proof, but I remember seeing that somewhere. Anyways, the point is that RR was playing very well when he got hurt.

Jello Biafra

4/15/2009, 10:46 AM

This is what I mean:
http://newsok.com/reynolds-making-the-grade/article/3307888/

I agree that he might have gotten exposed against better spreads, but in previous games he had a habit of being in the right place and the right time. The biggest problem Box had was that he didn't get enough depth on the passes over the middle. That's positioning and recognition, something RR was doing very well when he went down. Also, I believe Tex* had negative yards rushing before he went down. I can't find proof, but I remember seeing that somewhere. Anyways, the point is that RR was playing very well when he got hurt.

that article mentions he was having problems covering the TE the previous RRS and ironically, until the cheap shot(by a te), the TEs for texas were getting jack and shiite...still pizzes me off.

Chiliman

4/15/2009, 10:51 AM

BornandBred

4/15/2009, 10:57 AM

Box is and will be much better in coverage than RR. Box's problems early on was inexperience. In fact, teams didn't try to throw in the middle as much later on in the season. When you consider the schedule we have this year, a mobile MLB is a necessity.

I agree that Box's issues were with experience, or lack there of. The game seemed too fast for him when he first came in, but it slowed down later when he started playing much better, until he went down... I'm sensing a trend. Anyways, I wasn't meaning to bag on Box either. Just defending the point that RR was playing well. AND the fact that Box/Reynolds will be backing the other up with Balogun waiting in the wings supports a claim for depth. Who is backing up Lewis at this point?

soonerfan28

4/15/2009, 11:12 AM

I think that it comes down to Balogun and Box in the middle because I can't see how Stoops could allow Reynolds to come back and actually play after 3 major knee surgeries. Reynolds is going to have no mobility left and that is going to only hurt us next season. I think Reynolds would be better off being a coach to these younger LBs. I still think Balogun will be the guy in the middle.

jkm, the stolen pifwafwi

4/15/2009, 11:31 AM

I still find it odd that you think Travis will regress rather than improve. Even if he stays the same, he's still a great LB that can make plays.

the sophomore slump isn't about "regressing" its about improving in every area from your freshman year EXCEPT consistency. since, lewis had a habit of disappearing in games, it would mean he'd play like an AA in a game and disappear in the next.

NormanPride

4/15/2009, 03:24 PM

jkm, the stolen pifwafwi

4/15/2009, 05:58 PM

I get your point though. I just don't think it's going to be as big an issue because we'll have a more stable middle in the LB corps.

there is a logical flaw in this argument due to random chance

NormanPride

4/15/2009, 06:18 PM

I just spent a minute devising code to randomize who was our MLB, then deleted it because it was really nerdy. Damn you.

BornandBred

4/16/2009, 08:25 AM

I just spent a minute devising code to randomize who was our MLB, then deleted it because it was really nerdy. Damn you.

Aww, too bad. We coulda done some optimization and then extrapolated for every position and ... I'm going to go cut myself.

jkm, the stolen pifwafwi

4/16/2009, 12:27 PM

Even in the NFL players have games where they don't do anything. If a team gameplans not to run to your side or to throw only when they get you one on one, what are you going to do?

I get your point though. I just don't think it's going to be as big an issue because we'll have a more stable middle in the LB corps.

you are using the NFL as an argument? one loss doesn't ruin your chances for a superbowl dude.

i guess my big issue is that everyone just has such low expectations out of our linebacker corps. the current state of talent at the position is just reprehensible to me. this isn't east popcorn state, OU's tradition of linebackers merits its own wing at the college football hall of fame. even when we've sucked opposing coaches would give their left nut to have some of the athletes we had itching for a chance to decleat someone.

to say we will be "solid" in the middle just rips my heart out. where are the unknown guys that caused terror in opposing teams? the mike coats, the joe bowdens, the travian "smokey" smiths? these are guys that would be all timers at other schools but don't break into our top 40.

i don't want "solid" i want "scary". i want 3 firebreathers who aren't satisfied until the offense has soiled themselves. twice. what the heck happened to intimidating linebackers that people were afraid of? what happened to the days of opposing players being forced into doing something wrong and knowing there was nothing they could do about it? what happened to the days of watching our linebackers be in the opponents backfields more than the running backs?

gah.

BornandBred

4/16/2009, 02:13 PM

i don't want "solid" i want "scary". i want 3 firebreathers who aren't satisfied until the offense has soiled themselves. twice. what the heck happened to intimidating linebackers that people were afraid of? what happened to the days of opposing players being forced into doing something wrong and knowing there was nothing they could do about it? what happened to the days of watching our linebackers be in the opponents backfields more than the running backs?

I think Lewis is close, and there are a couple other younger guys that may get there as well, Wort being a leading candidate. Experience, I would guess, is where we fell down. I think we always played the best on D to keep goose eggs, if we could, and by doing that limited our younger guy's experience. And when we lost Lofton early, we lost the ability to develop these other guys. Also, I think the loss of Mike Reed hurt as well, his experience would have helped a bit in filling that talent gap.

So, we were forced to play younger guys earlier than usual. To date, they've played a lot just 'to not make mistakes', some of them WILL be this kind of scary LB when they're playing is second nature. I feel like the natural progression of talent got interrupted and we've suffered for it. This is how I legitimize it to myself. You may have other thoughts, maybe they're "Fire BV", I dunno.