Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Speed
Great observations from the game, Alma Mater. I'll look forward to hearing more about Pasadena when you get back to Illinois.
One more thing to add to my "Eight for '08" thoughts below and it has to do with speed.
I remember watching us lose to LSU in the Sugar Bowl a couple years ago and thinking, "My gosh they are crushing us in the speed department. We don't even belong on the same field."
Well, as the national media piles on this morning about how bad we got crushed (ala their love affair with USC and Pete Carroll) it's important to note that some of our freshmen-especially on defense-were able to keep up with USC's speed.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not taking anything away from USC because they could be the best team in the country right now. But I did see some serious speed from some of our guys last night.
The one play I remember the best is the broken lateral that USC's Joe McKnight turned into a big gainer. Everyone in America-especially Musberger-thought he was going to take it to the house.
Yet out of nowhere Vontae Davis comes in from behind and drags him down. See photo here.
I think Martez Wilson also had some pretty good tackles that he used his speed to make.
Again, not taking anything away from USC but it is encouraging that Zook is building a team that's got some guys who can run with the best. If his recruiting continues as it has and he keeps bringing in this caliber of talent the future will be looking very bright in a few years.
One more thing to add to my "Eight for '08" thoughts below and it has to do with speed.
I remember watching us lose to LSU in the Sugar Bowl a couple years ago and thinking, "My gosh they are crushing us in the speed department. We don't even belong on the same field."
Well, as the national media piles on this morning about how bad we got crushed (ala their love affair with USC and Pete Carroll) it's important to note that some of our freshmen-especially on defense-were able to keep up with USC's speed.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not taking anything away from USC because they could be the best team in the country right now. But I did see some serious speed from some of our guys last night.
The one play I remember the best is the broken lateral that USC's Joe McKnight turned into a big gainer. Everyone in America-especially Musberger-thought he was going to take it to the house.
Yet out of nowhere Vontae Davis comes in from behind and drags him down. See photo here.
I think Martez Wilson also had some pretty good tackles that he used his speed to make.
Again, not taking anything away from USC but it is encouraging that Zook is building a team that's got some guys who can run with the best. If his recruiting continues as it has and he keeps bringing in this caliber of talent the future will be looking very bright in a few years.
Labels: Brent Musburger, Joe McKnight, Martez Wilson, Pete Carroll, Ron Zook, Vontae Davis
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