Can you name the DT's that travelled today?

[Legore]

Houlik (Prince's recruit) isn't that great of a LB option either. He gets exposed every week.  The difference in KSU is that back in the day, at one point Leber was a back up....a starting NFL LB was a back up. 

But, as a true sophomore, he's better than Reggie Walker is this year, IMO.  I think he would be capable with a redshirt year and a couple years as a backup.  Guys like Houlik probably shouldn't be starting until they're RS Juniors.  However, Snyder's unbelievably sh*tty front 7 recruiting from 2003 on doesn't give us that luxury.

Is Rholeder redshirting?

No he has played this year which is/was stupid.  Prince's deal with playing the kids early instead of redshirting is just really stupid.  The schools that get the high profile recruits can do that but we have to bring in kids redshirt them and let them develop.  We've played a number of kids a few snaps here or there before they were ready and blown a year.  

The DL recruiting wasn't good the last few years under Snyder but we have pretty much always gone the JC route at those spots.  That means you have to bring in quality JC kids every year and if you don't then you're going to have holes.  Prince hasn't done a good enough job at that.

Also the change to the 3-4 was dumb and took ideal 4-3 ends like Jackson and Campbell and moved them both out of position.  Also took Eric Childs who was developing nicely as a 4-3 DE and  moved him to LB where he has not done well.  Then Moran left the team and that really screwed us both this year and next to lose a kid you've invested a lot of effort into developing just as he was becoming an upper classman.  Also the only JC lineman you did recruit was a DT in Juco and should be a DT at KSU but is playing out of position as a DE in the 3-4.  The entire thing has been a cluster and it's mainly Prince's fault for switching to a defense he didn't have the people to run.        

[michigancat]

Houlik (Prince's recruit) isn't that great of a LB option either. He gets exposed every week.  The difference in KSU is that back in the day, at one point Leber was a back up....a starting NFL LB was a back up. 

But, as a true sophomore, he's better than Reggie Walker is this year, IMO.  I think he would be capable with a redshirt year and a couple years as a backup.  Guys like Houlik probably shouldn't be starting until they're RS Juniors.  However, Snyder's unbelievably sh*tty front 7 recruiting from 2003 on doesn't give us that luxury.

Is Rholeder redshirting?

No he has played this year which is/was stupid.  Prince's deal with playing the kids early instead of redshirting is just really stupid.  The schools that get the high profile recruits can do that but we have to bring in kids redshirt them and let them develop.  We've played a number of kids a few snaps here or there before they were ready and blown a year. 

The DL recruiting wasn't good the last few years under Snyder but we have pretty much always gone the JC route at those spots.  That means you have to bring in quality JC kids every year and if you don't then you're going to have holes.  Prince hasn't done a good enough job at that.

Also the change to the 3-4 was dumb and took ideal 4-3 ends like Jackson and Campbell and moved them both out of position.  Also took Eric Childs who was developing nicely as a 4-3 DE and  moved him to LB where he has not done well.  Then Moran left the team and that really screwed us both this year and next to lose a kid you've invested a lot of effort into developing just as he was becoming an upper classman.  Also the only JC lineman you did recruit was a DT in Juco and should be a DT at KSU but is playing out of position as a DE in the 3-4.  The entire thing has been a cluster and it's mainly Prince's fault for switching to a defense he didn't have the people to run.       

I've asked it many times, and never gotten an answer:  who would you play at DT in a 4-3?

And I love that people are:

A) complaining about Prince not redshirting enough guys

and

B) complaining that his recruits haven't made enough of an impact.

[catzacker]

My DT's (at the beginning of the year, sans Moran) would be Cline, Manu, Balkom, Crews, Abana. 

DE's: Jackson, Campbell, Childs, Abana, Vlad.

I think the skill sets of the DT's are better suited for a 4-3, rather than a 3-4, which isn't to say that they wouldn't still suck in a 4-3, just that they might suck less; also I think we'd get a better pass rush out of Ian and Rob. 

I don't care about playing or not playing freshman (no one complained about Josh Moore), but it was really stupid to break up Rholeder's redshirt for like 5 total plays. 

[michigancat]

My DT's (at the beginning of the year, sans Moran) would be Cline, Manu, Balkom, Crews, Abana. 

Manu is 260 (would get owned), Balkom is bad, I suppose Crews could provide depth.  Who knows what Abana could povide.  I doubt Manu and Balckom at the tackles Saturday would have been much better, though.

I'll admit, though, not as bad as I thought.

[Legore]

Houlik (Prince's recruit) isn't that great of a LB option either. He gets exposed every week.  The difference in KSU is that back in the day, at one point Leber was a back up....a starting NFL LB was a back up. 

But, as a true sophomore, he's better than Reggie Walker is this year, IMO.  I think he would be capable with a redshirt year and a couple years as a backup.  Guys like Houlik probably shouldn't be starting until they're RS Juniors.  However, Snyder's unbelievably sh*tty front 7 recruiting from 2003 on doesn't give us that luxury.

Is Rholeder redshirting?

No he has played this year which is/was stupid.  Prince's deal with playing the kids early instead of redshirting is just really stupid.  The schools that get the high profile recruits can do that but we have to bring in kids redshirt them and let them develop.  We've played a number of kids a few snaps here or there before they were ready and blown a year. 

The DL recruiting wasn't good the last few years under Snyder but we have pretty much always gone the JC route at those spots.  That means you have to bring in quality JC kids every year and if you don't then you're going to have holes.  Prince hasn't done a good enough job at that.

Also the change to the 3-4 was dumb and took ideal 4-3 ends like Jackson and Campbell and moved them both out of position.  Also took Eric Childs who was developing nicely as a 4-3 DE and  moved him to LB where he has not done well.  Then Moran left the team and that really screwed us both this year and next to lose a kid you've invested a lot of effort into developing just as he was becoming an upper classman.  Also the only JC lineman you did recruit was a DT in Juco and should be a DT at KSU but is playing out of position as a DE in the 3-4.  The entire thing has been a cluster and it's mainly Prince's fault for switching to a defense he didn't have the people to run.       

I've asked it many times, and never gotten an answer:  who would you play at DT in a 4-3?

And I love that people are:

A) complaining about Prince not redshirting enough guys

and

B) complaining that his recruits haven't made enough of an impact.

Coming into the season the starting DT's would have been Cline and Moran.  They decided to switch to the 3-4 before Moran left the program.   Once he left that obviously was an issue but my staters would have been Cline and Balkcom with Abana competing with Balkcom and Crews backing up Cline.  And Balkcom woudn't of intentionally dropped 20 pounds in the off season thinking he'd be a DE in the 3-4 only to move him to NG during two a days (more evidence of a total cluster).  Once Cline went down then Crews and Balkcom and Abana would be your rotation.

There is no really good answer for your interior DL no matter what your system but at least we would have had quality DE's playing the right position and would have been no worse off in the interior.  Also would of allowed us to play Reggie Walker on the outside which is his natural spot instead of having him get beat up on the inside every week.  LB isn't a strength on this team I'd rather have 3 on the field then 4.   

As for the redshirting it's pretty obvious who should be redshirted and who shouldn't.  Trevor Viers, Kendrick Matthews, Kevin Rohleder, Tony Purvis, Darnez Tigner etc all kids that were not going to help us that have needlessly burned shirts the past couple of years.  You bring in JC kids to fill your immediate needs and play right away and redshirt the vast majority of your high school recruits.  It's not all that complicated. 

[michigancat]

^That 4-3 would have been shredded.  (earlier than the 3-4 was)