Disagree. If anything, RB & WR look like positions where young guys can make an impact with limited knowledge - because they can play with only certain calls & their athletic ability can allow them to excel. Where as, on defense, you really need to know everything that can happen before you get on the field - and if you aren't in the right position your athleticism doesn't matter.
Any time you go from one level to the next, there is a degree of rawness. My point is, Mingo is raw for a HS player - this will be hugely compounded when he gets to college. Now, he does have 5 years to develop with some great coaching. I just don't get particularly excited about raw players.
Asking what is easier to come in and play, offense or defense, is not the right question IMO. You have to break it down by position. Certainly QB is one of, if not the most difficult position to excel at, but RB is one of the easiest. If you have the physical ability, DL is pretty easy because there isn't a whole lot of decisions you have to make, but DB where a botched coverage often equals 6 points for the opponent is more difficult. So if you have the athletic ability it boils down to what positions are more cerebral on both sides of the ball. In the case of Mingo, DE would be an easy position to learn, but he isn't ready physically. He would be physically ready earlier at LB, but that can be a bit more cerebral, (blitz, drop in coverage, etc.,). The other problem at LB, as far as readiness to play, is that he doesn't seem to have the instincts to fill a gap yet or take a proper angle. We really don't know how long it will take him to progress to that level.
In taking from what tboy alluded to, to say he would not be able to progress in his 4-5 years here at LSU would be tanamount to saying he may not be cerebral enough to pick up the game. From hearing his interviews, my guess is he is very cerebral. I think he will excel as a Jr and Sr on this team.
I seen Mingo's frame firsthand and I'm going to say, hes going to be a DE for LSU. At the very least, hes going to be a LB/DE tweener, much like in a 3-4 system. His arm length is incredible, even for someone his height. His frame looks like he could easily build it into a DE, IMO. I could see him being close to 260 by his redshirt junior year. I think he could easily put at least 50lbs on his frame without losing much athleticism at all. He might even grow more is the scary thing...6-6-6-7, way too tall for a LB for many reasons.
I completely agree. And my concern with Mingo is that is that these are fairly basic things that he has not learned yet. Granted, he's only been playing football 2 years, but how long does that take to learn? And once he learns that, he still got so much left to learn. I do like your point though that DE is much easier to learn, and if he can bulk up this may be an easier position for him to play. Islstlslsls may think he is cerebral from his interviews, but football intelligence is completely different.
Good point. Although it does help immensely to be intellectually smart in order for it to translate to football smarts on the field. Big question will be instinct. Does he have it?
Has anyone seen Mingo in person? Doesn't it look like his arm length is longer than usual for someone his frame? Looks like he has arms for a person that is 6'7. I think that is a sign hes going to get taller to grow into his body...
Happy we are back on Mingo talk? Good insight and dialogue above. I said from the outset that I see him as a Renaldo Turnbull type, i.e. DE. I still think he will contribute sooner than given credit here. He will not be a MLB at 6'6", which is the real "cerebral" position on defense, so I think he will be coached up, his athleticism will take over, and he will be starting sooner than expected b/c he will be the best available. As far as offense vs defense, or making the comparisons by individual positions, overall, I still think defense is easier to learn. RB is the exeception on offense, and MLB on defense. You can go out and wing it on defense if you have to, but offense has to structured and in sync to be effective, IMO.
