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.
