Ken Sugiura's article on Lance Austin

RLR

Jolly Good Fellow
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355
Good article on lance Austin, part of Ken Sugiura's series on the incoming class. I have high hopes for the Austin twins. I think they're going to set the tone for tech, on & off the field. Loved this one quote in particular. Ken asked lance what are the two most important items he's bringing to college (e.g. Xbox, guitar). Lances replied,

"“I really don’t have anything specific, just making sure I bring my wallet and my underwear,” he said. “Those are the two main things, I guess.”

http://georgiatech.blog.ajc.com/201...ustin-has-championship-mindset/?__federated=1


@Eric is it still appropriate to post in the archived recruiting pages? Please move, if not.
 

John

Peacekeeper
Staff member
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@RLR, it was fine to have posted in the archived recruiting page but since the article is recent and Lance is no longer just a recruit, I think we can discuss in the GT football forum. :)
 

alaguy

Helluva Engineer
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It would be interesting to see how a 175 lb rover back would fare in big boy fball.That is a position that gets to play a lot vs 6-4,240 lb TEs.Not a good match-up.Not to mention 215+ tailbacks.
 

SidewalkJacket

Helluva Engineer
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It would be interesting to see how a 175 lb rover back would fare in big boy fball.That is a position that gets to play a lot vs 6-4,240 lb TEs.Not a good match-up.Not to mention 215+ tailbacks.

What weight did Jemea come in at? I think he did ok against big time TEs.
 
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What weight did Jemea come in at? I think he did ok against big time TEs.
Overall he really didn't.

In isolation he did kinda OK, but our defense never really stopped the better teams we played as evidenced by our 1-3 bowl record during Jemea's career and then you also have to add in the 1-15 vs. the Big-4, you can't just blame all that on everyone else on Defense and then guys like Jemea are absolved of any blame.
 

Eric

Retired Co-Founder
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Overall he really didn't.

In isolation he did kinda OK, but our defense never really stopped the better teams we played as evidenced by our 1-3 bowl record during Jemea's career and then you also have to add in the 1-15 vs. the Big-4, you can't just blame all that on everyone else on Defense and then guys like Jemea are absolved of any blame.

Wow. So now if the defense performs poorly everyone on it is bad?

Please go watch Jemea Thomas vs Eric Ebron. Jemea Thomas covered TE's very well...end of discussion.
 

Eric

Retired Co-Founder
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It would be interesting to see how a 175 lb rover back would fare in big boy fball.That is a position that gets to play a lot vs 6-4,240 lb TEs.Not a good match-up.Not to mention 215+ tailbacks.

He is not going to bt 175 when he plays...he isn't 175 now.
 

RLR

Jolly Good Fellow
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355
It would be interesting to see how a 175 lb rover back would fare in big boy fball.That is a position that gets to play a lot vs 6-4,240 lb TEs.Not a good match-up.Not to mention 215+ tailbacks.

I know very little about the roles and ideal skillset for the different DB postions. I played football most of my life and am a huge fan of the game, but I was in the trenches and never learned coverage schemes. With that said, your argument doesn't seem very sound to me. To me, it sounds like you're saying that the Austin twins are smaller than most TEs and some RBs. Therefore, if either of the Austin twins are on the field, then GT's defense will be at a disadvantage ("not a good matchup"). I can think of many flaws in that argument, the most obvious of which are:

1. Are the Austin twins only able to play the rover position? Based on your description, the rover sounds like an OLB. Wouldn't Terrel Lewis be more apt for that position? Why couldn't the Austin twins cover the slot or play the #2 corner opposite of Step?

2. If playing either of the twins creates a size mismatch for our defense, then wouldn't that likely also create a speed/athletic mismatch in our favor? How many 6--4 TEs and 215+ rbs do we face each year that are more athletic than the Austin twins? If the Austin twins are covering #2, #3 (TE), or #4 (RB) targets who are 9 inches taller and 80 lbs heavier, they should be able to blanket their man on long routes, right? Or evade being blocked by them in space. Or threaten the edge and apply pressure on a blitz. If Ted Roof can't scheme against this improbable mismatch, the worst case scenairo is you force the offense to make the play - handle the snap, pass protect, make a perfect throw that utilizes the insurmountable height disadvantage, make the catch. My point is, there's more requirements to a disadvantage than a difference in height. It's not like we're throwing it to Waller every play...

I don't know how the Austin twins will fit in our system. But I watched the highlight film, and I loved the way these kids play. I read the updates Eric provided for the past year, and these kids were producing week after week. The Lamar County GT trio lead their team to state semi-finals as juniors and championship as seniors. I believe they won the state 4x100 as well (or was that just Qua?). Regardless, these kids seems like A+ competitors. That's why I quoted Lance's response to what he's brining to Tech. He's an 18 year old kid, moving from middle of nowhere GA to downtown Atlanta. He's about to begin classes at a college that prides itself on its reputation of being academically grueling, if not impossible. A school where you don't graduate, you get out. Based on his response, he seems focused, not worried. He's also an 18 year old kid who is about to play "big boy" football. Based on his tape and desire to play this year, he doesn't seem intimidated.

My support of the Austin twins isn't the type of fact-driven, logical conclusion that our beloved Engineering institute loves. It's more of that wretched gut-feeling type of belief. But as a student at Tech, i had to learn how to reconcile the two types of approaches, intuition and fact-driven analysis. I'm open minded. Show me actual evidence that the Austin twins height will limits their potential on the field, and I'll lower my expectations accordingly. But if your only support is that we play teams with players taller than the twins, then my opinion is as valid as yours. I'd welcome you to keep your doubt, too. I love being right and I love rooting for competitive, talented players who have a chip on their shoulders.
 

Eric

Retired Co-Founder
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My point isn't that everyone on it is bad, but that everyone has to share in the blame also.

A small sample vs. one TE (Ebron) with a horrible QB is not the end-all, be-all, IMO.

Look at Ebron first half vs GT without Thomas on him...then look at the results when Thomas was on him in the second half.

Ebron was also one of the top players in this years draft not just as a TE but overall.
 

gtg936g

Helluva Engineer
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My point isn't that everyone on it is bad, but that everyone has to share in the blame also.

A small sample vs. one TE (Ebron) with a horrible QB is not the end-all, be-all, IMO.

I agree that you win or lose as a team... That being said Jemea is much better than you give him credit for. Go back to the Clemson and UGAg games. When they threw screens look at how Jemea drove blockers back into the running lanes to disrupt the play allowing others to make tackles. I think he covered well, played hard, and had a nose for the football. In the UGAg game he had like 14 tackles and one pick. He is not the primary reason we lost that game.
 

alaguy

Helluva Engineer
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He is not going to bt 175 when he plays...he isn't 175 now.
Eric,
What is he?.That is the weight USED In THE ARTICLE (actually 170) so what is one to go on?.He isn't 6 ft,200+ which is what most would want taking on those guys at that position. btw-Smith listed at 6ft,194 ,Noble 6-2,216.
If he weighs more,ok.who's to say the TEs and RBs he's tackling aren't 10 lbs heavier than shown also.
I'd love for him to be GREAT but my point is he will be undersized there at Rover.
 

vamosjackets

GT Athlete
Featured Member
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You won't find many CB's in the whole country over 200 lbs on any team (especially their listed high school weight). And, GT has rarely ever had a CB who weighs that much. alaguy said something about a rover covering a TE, but that is a hybrid position, likely to be manned by a S or a hybrid LB, so this is all a moot point. And, then JonnyMcKnight said something about Jemea Thomas not playing well, which took everything to a whole new level of absurd.
 

Blumpkin Souffle

Bidly Biddington III
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Ok maybe not over 200 lbs, but I definitely expect him to put on a few. I mean I put on 20 my freshman year, it's not that hard....
 

RLR

Jolly Good Fellow
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355
Alaguy, why are you taking the reported weight of the Austin twins as a concrete fact, while also claiming that the reported weight of our opponents could be understated by 10+ lbs? Lol you also cast doubt on the listed weight for Jemea Thomas, someone whose height and weight are extremely comparable to the twins and excelled playing the rover. Eric said the twins weight more than 170. He knows better than anyone on this board. And, an 18 year old kid could easily put on 10 lbs in a college strength program. I really don't think we have to worry about the kids weight.

As for height, I found a PFF article from 2012 that rated NFL defensive backs based on tackling ability. The survey is old (based on the 2010, 2011, 2012 seasons) and it includes all defensive backs, not just "rovers". Also, my source for player height is wikipedia. So ya, it's not perfect.

Also, I know tackling isn't the same as pass coverage. But you should agree that if you are a starting defensive back in the NFL, you probably have to cover 6'4 TEs and 215 lbs+ rbs more often than a DB playing at Ga Tech. Also, there are plenty of great cover corners 5'11 or under. if the rover is hybrid position, I'm assuming tackling is a more important aspect than the other db positions? Let me know if I got that wrong.

Top 10 DBs (# of total tackles)
  • 4 of the players are < 6'0 (Bethea #1, Mikell #6, Weddle #8, Clark #9 (tie))
  • 2 players are listed at 6'0 ft (Branch #2, Bell #3)
  • Special shoutout to Dawan Landry #7, GT alum and 2nd tallest player on this list - standing at a towering 6'1
  • Based on these players alma matters, many were not highly recruited (Howard, UConn, UL Lafayette, Utah). I found rivals pages for 3 of the players. Branch & Weddle were 2 stars, Pollard a 3 star
Bottom 10 DBs (# missed tackles)
  • 3 of the players are < 6'0, BUT 2/3 were elite cover corners (Ronde Barber - 5x pro bowler, Asante Samuel - 4x pro bowler) and the other, Mikell, is listed in the top 10 for # of tackles).
  • This list features bigger names and bigger college programs (Michael Griffin 4 star Texas, Antrel Rolle Miami, Sean Jones UGA(sic), Charles Woodson Michigan)
Top 10 DBs (highest tackling efficiency)
  • 7/10 players are under 6'0 feet
  • Special shoutout to another GT Alum, and tallest player on the list, James Butler (6'3)
  • This list has 15 players, but I only included the top 10 to keep it consistent. If i included all 15, then add Brandon Flowers (5'9, 175) and Jarius Bird (5'10) to the list.
Bottom 10 DBs (Worst tackling efficiency)
  • 2 / 10 players are under 6'0.
  • This list has the tallest average height
Source: https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/07/06/three-years-of-tackling-efficiency-defensive-backs/
 
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