Yeah but he spells out why. He loves Stevens manning the middle. So I think the losses of Phillips and Queen will not be as big an issue as first reported. Baskerville gonna start the other inside spot. Ricks and Stingley starting corners. Flott as the nickel. Ward and Jones good depth. Brooks one edge rusher. Clark the other. Could form a really fantastic duo. Ojulari is an early enrollee and someone to watch for depth. Hampton, Vincent and Harris as the safeties. Toles enrolling early also affords him a chance to see immediate PT. We know 3 Juniors return on the D Line, so tons of experience and this will be a strength in 2020. Roy coming in as a freshman will also make an immediate impact. Ika will be a beast at NT.
Guillory will be third string because he’s a NT. He’ll be behind Shelvin and Ika. That’s an embarrassment of riches at that position.
So I considered bringing in Rich Rod before I saw this video, but I disagree with Murph that Rich Rod isn’t dependent on the QB run. The option attack requires a running QB and we don’t have that this year or next. Let’s take another page out of Saban’s book and make this a place for cast out coaches to rebuild their name. I say we bring in Art Briles as a low-grade offensive consultant and let him revive his career to the extent that he can. Promote Munoz to passing game coordinator. Use some of Briles’s concepts to update the playbook, and let E run the show.
I was about to object to the idea of Stevens moving to middle linebacker, until I looked at the roster and saw he weighs almost 230 pounds. Didn't realize he was that big. Now I'm thinking he's got a size to speed ratio similar to Kwon Alexander. Wouldn't mind having another guy like that in the middle.
My beef with that move is that Stevens could be used in such a better role. I think Stevens would be a great MLB in college, but his combination of size and speed is unique. Kwon Alexander is a good comparison, but look at Isaiah Simmons who just won the Butkus. The two are essentially the same player from a physical standpoint. I’d rather see him moved all over the field in a hybrid LB/SS position so that we have flexibility and put him in a position to make plays like we did with Tyrann Matthieu.
He very well may be our Isaiah Simmons this season. I would have no problem watching him roam all over the place. We've got a great LB coming in that could start day 1, he's that good.
