The Blue Board

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T.E. said...

I remember the Barners wanting Jake Holland to be rated a 4 star when he was initially rated a 3 star. He was a "tackling machine"... He ended up getting his 4th star. Seems like now that the 3 star rating was maybe a bit generous...

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T.E. said...

I'm not an "expert" but I had the good fortune to have had a father-in-law who was the head coach at 2 Div. I schools and an assistant in the pros. He and i watched hundreds of hours of high school and college football film and he taught me a lot about what to look for in players. I watched Holland's "highlight" films and thought 3 star was a pretty fair ranking. Watching him last year, I realized that, unless he has great improvement, he is going to have trouble playing in the SEC. Holland biggest strength (and weakness) is his strength. He was able to "arm tackle" a lot of kids in high school and he apparently got into the habit of depending on that strength to overshadow his lack of lateral speed. This has become very evident in his college play. This has also led to some poor technique that coaching, so far, has not been able to correct. If you go back and look at his time at Auburn, he tends to leave his feet with his head somewhat down when trying to make tackles. This comes from poor/slow footwork and/or lack of lateral quickness. He also is somewhat slow to recognize plays developing which leads to even more slow and unsure footwork. Being slow to see plays developing can USUALLY be improved through coaching. Also, he appeared to be slow recognizing his "keys" in the other teams formations prior to the snap or "eye locking" on one player. Even my Auburn friends with no training in what to look for would tell me "he looks lost out there".This can also USUALLY be improved with coaching. Like I said, a lot of his techniques are from his well above average strength for a high school player. He is/was a good, strong high school player but, that seems to be where his ceiling is. He certainly may improve but, he has a lot too overcome. He needs better coaching than he got last year (and by the way, I think he'll get that with Auburn's coaching staff moves) but he will have to work extra hard to overcome some bad habits as well. Not saying he can't do it but, his lack of natural lateral speed and his past of depending so much on his strength will definitely have to be overcome. Not to mention he needs to spend a lot of time in the film room and get better at situational awareness both before and AS the plays develop. He seems like a good, hardworking kid so I am actually rooting for him (except against Alabama (g))...

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@rpayne2107

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aumajorpain said...

At the highest classification, is that worthy of 5* status?

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T.E. said...

I'm not an "expert" but I had the good fortune to have had a father-in-law who was the head coach at 2 Div. I schools and an assistant in the pros. He and i watched hundreds of hours of high school and college football film and he taught me a lot about what to look for in players. I watched Holland's "highlight" films and thought 3 star was a pretty fair ranking. Watching him last year, I realized that, unless he has great improvement, he is going to have trouble playing in the SEC. Holland biggest strength (and weakness) is his strength. He was able to "arm tackle" a lot of kids in high school and he apparently got into the habit of depending on that strength to overshadow his lack of lateral speed. This has become very evident in his college play. This has also led to some poor technique that coaching, so far, has not been able to correct. If you go back and look at his time at Auburn, he tends to leave his feet with his head somewhat down when trying to make tackles. This comes from poor/slow footwork and/or lack of lateral quickness. He also is somewhat slow to recognize plays developing which leads to even more slow and unsure footwork. Being slow to see plays developing can USUALLY be improved through coaching. Also, he appeared to be slow recognizing his "keys" in the other teams formations prior to the snap or "eye locking" on one player. Even my Auburn friends with no training in what to look for would tell me "he looks lost out there".This can also USUALLY be improved with coaching. Like I said, a lot of his techniques are from his well above average strength for a high school player. He is/was a good, strong high school player but, that seems to be where his ceiling is. He certainly may improve but, he has a lot too overcome. He needs better coaching than he got last year (and by the way, I think he'll get that with Auburn's coaching staff moves) but he will have to work extra hard to overcome some bad habits as well. Not saying he can't do it but, his lack of natural lateral speed and his past of depending so much on his strength will definitely have to be overcome. Not to mention he needs to spend a lot of time in the film room and get better at situational awareness both before and AS the plays develop. He seems like a good, hardworking kid so I am actually rooting for him (except against Alabama (g))...

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AUVTM said...

I appreciate your breakdown but you missed one pretty importany point. Its really hard to play MLB when the three tech in front of you is in your lap as soon as the ball is snapped. Our interior d line was garbage at times last year. Not an excuse but fact. Free releases for weakside guards or strongside tackles spells doom for middle linebackers.

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xT I G E R said...

I remember the bammers crowing about BJ Scott being a 5*, Tyler Love being a 5*, Alonzo Lawrence being pushed to high 4* after committing to them, Philip Sims being the #1 QB in the country, Duron Carter getting qualified (lol!), etc.,

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SickNaban said...

Greg Smith, Dontae Aycock, and Raven Gray say hello...

@rpayne2107