My Take on Wake - Where’s the Beef?

Where’s the Beef?

There has been some concern voiced out there in the Peanut Gallery that Jim Grobe and his staff whiffed this recruiting period on one of the great needs of the program, more size in the defensive line. Both DC and Jim were especially concerned about the nose guard position in the 3-4 defense, which redshirt freshman Nikita Whitlock played this past season at 235 pounds. So let’s assess what Coach Ray McCartney will have to work with starting with spring drills.

I see on the roster 10 candidates for playing time at one of the defensive line positions, and that’s not counting Kyle Wilber or Tristan Dorty, both of whom are expected to be at outside linebacker. It also doesn’t include Gelo Orange, who I imagine at 6-1, 230 pounds will get his best shot at playing time at linebacker. The 10, in descending order of size according to their 2010 weight are:

Sophomore Ramon Booi—6-6, 300 pounds.
Freshman Duke Mosby—6-2, 290 pounds.
Redshirt freshman Frank Souza—6-4, 285 pounds.
Redshirt freshman John Gallagher—6-4, 255 pounds.
Redshirt freshman Kris Redding—6-4, 255 pounds.
Redshirt freshman Zach Thompson—6-5, 255 pounds.
Sophomore Derricus Ellis—6-2, 245 pounds.
Redshirt freshman Nikita Whitlock—5-11, 235 pounds.
Freshman Daniel Vogelsang—6-3, 235 pounds.
Sophomore Kevin Smith—6-4, 230 pounds.

So, at least on the face of it, the concern appears valid. I can buy the argument that a defensive lineman in a 3-4 needs more lead in the britches, so to speak, than one playing in a 4-3. I guess the main thing I could say to assuage that concern (which as far as I can tell is one that neither Grobe nor McCartney seem to share) is that so many of these players are young, and thus more apt to put on weight before the start of the 2011 season. I remember one Tuesday gathering to eat chicken and talk football late in the season when Grobe talked about how both Thompson and Gallagher were already considerably heavier than the weight listed in the roster. I do plan to make it a point to ask Ethan Reeve, the strength and conditioning coach, for updated weights at the outset of spring practices. If I forget, please jog my feeble memory.

Another option would be to move an offensive lineman or two over to provide ballast. Two that have been mentioned as capable of playing either side are redshirt freshman Devin Bolling (6-5, 290 pounds) and freshman Antonio Ford (6-3, 285 pounds).

I did ask Grobe on Wednesday if both of the defensive linemen signed this week were seen as bona fide, knuckles in the ground defensive linemen and weren’t being looked at as possible outside linebackers. The two I had in mind were Desmond Floyd (6-3, 235 pounds) and Gods-Power Offor (6-2, 220 pounds).

“They could do both, I think,’’ Grobe said. “I think when you look at Desmond Floyd, he has potential to be a real, real big guy. I think he could really blow up. And Gods-Power, you have the same thoughts because he’s big and physical enough to play defensive end. But both of these can run really well.’‘

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By Dan Collins on 02/04/2011 (3:52 pm)

Comments

OK, let me try this, Where’s the Beef” one more time. Nakita Whitlock would make a great NCAA division one, middle linebacker. It will be a crying shame if he is not allowed to compete at that spot. However, to think that someone hs size can compete day in; day out with most D-1 programs “in the trenches” is pure folly. Sorry, but a man his size cannot anchor a defensive front four in todays D-1 game. Over the course of a game teamns did and will continue to figure out ways to exploit his small stature. Now, if Wake wants to once again win NCAA D-I football games, they simply MUST control (or at the very least neutralize) the line of scrimage at THE POINT OF ATTACK!!! It all starts and ends in the defensive line trenches. Last year the Deacs were unable to come close to even neutralizing the defensive line of scrimage OVER THE SOURSE OF A 60 MINUTIE GAME. That is why they averaged giving up over 39 (?) points per game!! Failure to compete in the down, defensive line position is an offensive co-ordinators dream and sheer delight This opens up a plethora of offensive options if his guys can consisitenly,over the course of a 4 quarter game,overpower our guys. Switching to a 3-4 defense is likely to be a great move for Wake next year. However, let’s face the facts! a 3/4 DEFENSE is another way of admitting that we do not have the 4 “DOWN LINEMEN/horses NEEDED TO SUCCESFULLY IMPLEMENT A 4-DOWN DEFENSIVE FRONT. Unfortunately, it signals to our opponents coaching staff that WF ADMITS THAT IT cannot control the line of scrimage against 90% of the teams we play and that we are going to attempt to compensate for this fact with 5 linebackers on the field. Our defensive goal next year will be to attempt to “contain” the football once it moves forward, pass the original line of scrimage. A 3/4 defense bascially means that you do not have enough “Large,Athletic ‘Mean” bodies” with enough quickness/foot speed to consisitenly A. pressure the quarteback in passing situations. Secondarily, it also indicates our teams starting defensive linemen are not fully developed in upper body strength and, as such, are unable to consisitently “hold their ground” against an opponents running game long enough to allow their linebackers to make tackles AT or near the line of scrimage. In recruting, our staff simply MUST PLACE a renewed emphaiss on large (265 poounds and up); tall (6’5’ and up)quick and mean HIGH SCHOOL D-Linemen. If we could attract a nucleus of these types of athletes, you would quickly see many of the defensive players who compete with these guys start to look better and better. Without them, get ready for another season of our defense being on the field a minimum of 20% more (in terms of minutes) than our opposition; with the greatest imbalance of possession coming in the second half when the Deacs legs begin to (rightlfuly so)tire. Everyone blames the Offensive Unit when it cannot put together either points on the board or llong, sustained drives that give the defense a chance to rest. There is, of course truth to this but in the final analysis, it is up to the DEFENSIVE UNIT to get itself OFF the FIELD….. and it all startes in the trenches. So yeah, the qwuestion of ,“where’s the beef” in this years WF recruting class is a legitamate one that must be addressed to move WAKE BEYOND IT’S CURRENT STATUS QUO.

Bluedeacon1 on 02/09/2011 (3:01 pm)

I am very proud of Nikita Whitlock. He is an inspiration of our football team. In a defense of 4-3 as a nose guard or a defense of 3-4 as a nose tackle, he represents our football team as a great talent. When no person on our team was all conference or anything it seems like for a very bad season, he managed to have received 2nd team all freshman recognition. We are not a football power, but he is the mouse that roared this season at his position, especially at the end of this season. I predict greater things in the future for this young man.

Paul Crumpler on 02/07/2011 (11:31 pm)

Until WF understands that size,speed and athleticism is an absolute TOP PRIORITY in NCAA division 1 football, expect our defense to “remain on the field” for long periods of time and for the 30 plus points given up a game to continue. Fred Brown STILL plays in the NFL after 10 years! John Russell does not.

Bluedeacon1 on 02/05/2011 (12:26 pm)

We certainly need a beefier D line. But I think everybody agrees with me that Nikita Whitlock is a fantastic football player. He embodies the old adage about the size of the fight in the dog. He played NT last year because he was the best we had at that position and I really enjoyed watching him frequently beat the big goons he confronted every week. He never looked lethargic, never got morose despite the physical abuse he had to endure. I believe that he could make a great LB or DE, but if again he turns out to be superior to everybody else we have at NT I bet he will do even better this year than last year.

DannyB on 02/04/2011 (8:00 pm)