KDB Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 3 Star Safety, committed last night. Said the staff has said he will have a chance to play early on Special Teams and bits on Defense. https://247sports.com/player/devon-matthews-46038379 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leathernecks Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 I've been wanting us to get a safety like him. Seems like he enjoys hitting. Hopefully in a couple years when he gets stronger, he'll be an Antonio Allen type who can punish receivers over the middle, provide support in the run game, and still be athletic enough to be good in coverage. Seems like he has good hands too from some of the catches his highlights showed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btownqb Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 40 minutes ago, Leathernecks said: I've been wanting us to get a safety like him. Seems like he enjoys hitting. Hopefully in a couple years when he gets stronger, he'll be an Antonio Allen type who can punish receivers over the middle, provide support in the run game, and still be athletic enough to be good in coverage. Seems like he has good hands too from some of the catches his highlights showed. Fitzgerald would have been the best safety on the roster this past year. I could see them trying to beef him up and play him at ILB though next year.. could be Tegray ish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leathernecks Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 1 hour ago, btownqb said: Fitzgerald would have been the best safety on the roster this past year. I could see them trying to beef him up and play him at ILB though next year.. could be Tegray ish He could have been a big help at husky too with Ball missing most of the year. Before he was ruled ineligible, there was talk that he wouldn't redshirt and would be the backup at husky. I like him bulking up to be a linebacker too. He seems to have that natural instinct you want in a linebacker to know where the ball will be going. He can put a hurt on guys too. Wherever they end up putting him, I think Fitzgerald and Ball will be an awesome core to the back end of our defense for the next few years. Juwan Burgess was our highest ranked recruit last year, and he redshirted this year too. I really like what our defense could become in a couple years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobSaccamanno Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 We've done a great job recruiting safeties. I think safeties like how Allen's system will feature them. I like btown's thinking. I'd really be intrigued if Fitzgerald can be strong enough to handle lb. Imagine Crawford, Ball, Burgess, and Fitzgerald all on the field together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leathernecks Posted December 13, 2017 Report Share Posted December 13, 2017 3 hours ago, BobSaccamanno said: We've done a great job recruiting safeties. I think safeties like how Allen's system will feature them. I like btown's thinking. I'd really be intrigued if Fitzgerald can be strong enough to handle lb. Imagine Crawford, Ball, Burgess, and Fitzgerald all on the field together. Not only that, but that would be Sr, RS So, RS Fr, RS Fr. Losing Crawford would hurt, but the other three could be great to build the defense around for the next few years. Our defense might take a step back next year due to some of the losses, but I think our defense in 2 years will be really, really good. Plus, if we can get a better offense next year, it will make life a lot easier on our defense. I'm excited about most of our recruits coming in this year too. Can't wait to see how they all turn out when they get to campus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosier82 Posted December 13, 2017 Report Share Posted December 13, 2017 21 hours ago, btownqb said: Fitzgerald would have been the best safety on the roster this past year. I could see them trying to beef him up and play him at ILB though next year.. could be Tegray ish I thought Fitzgerald would be a good fit at Husky, especially if Ball can't stay healthy. I liked our ILB corp a lot better with the power/speed combo of Scales and Oliver over Covington and Scales who didn't defend the run very well so I would prefer a more stout LB corp then we had this year at least one one of the two positions. What I do know is we can't have our safeties leading the team in tackles next season if we want to compete with the top tier BigTen schools so if Fitz can bulk up and be that guy at ILB more power to him but I'm curious to see how that position unfolds next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btownqb Posted December 13, 2017 Report Share Posted December 13, 2017 3 hours ago, Hoosier82 said: I thought Fitzgerald would be a good fit at Husky, especially if Ball can't stay healthy. I liked our ILB corp a lot better with the power/speed combo of Scales and Oliver over Covington and Scales who didn't defend the run very well so I would prefer a more stout LB corp then we had this year at least one one of the two positions. What I do know is we can't have our safeties leading the team in tackles next season if we want to compete with the top tier BigTen schools so if Fitz can bulk up and be that guy at ILB more power to him but I'm curious to see how that position unfolds next season. We have very different thoughts on safeties and LBers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosier82 Posted December 13, 2017 Report Share Posted December 13, 2017 27 minutes ago, btownqb said: We have very different thoughts on safeties and LBers. I like speed as much as the next guy but when your LB's are getting taken out of the play leaving Dutra and Crawford to lead the team in tackles (see the Purdue game) you have a real problem. If you have an LB who's fast and can lay wood/get off blocks then you've got the best of both worlds but in this set up I'd rather the DB's and the Husky to manage the passing game and have stout DL/LB's to shut down the run. Speed doesn't matter if you're being pancaked by a pulling guard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btownqb Posted December 13, 2017 Report Share Posted December 13, 2017 42 minutes ago, Hoosier82 said: I like speed as much as the next guy but when your LB's are getting taken out of the play leaving Dutra and Crawford to lead the team in tackles (see the Purdue game) you have a real problem. If you have an LB who's fast and can lay wood/get off blocks then you've got the best of both worlds but in this set up I'd rather the DB's and the Husky to manage the passing game and have stout DL/LB's to shut down the run. Speed doesn't matter if you're being pancaked by a pulling guard. Speed is the name of the game. Literally the most important part. The DL was destroyed in the Purdue game, something that shocked me. Also.. safeties are literally in everyone's top 5 in tackles, and yes sometimes they'll be your leading tackler for a game. I'd much rather have a 215lbs LB than a TJ Simmons type player. If you can't play in space, you can't play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leathernecks Posted December 14, 2017 Report Share Posted December 14, 2017 I wasn't sure what to expect out of Juan Harris, but he was getting a little time as a freshman before he got hurt. He'd really help clog the middle of the line and allow quick linebackers room in space. A lot like what the Bears did with Tractor Traylor and Ted Washington in the early 2000s. They ate up blockers and let Urlacher have space to make plays. We need to shore up the DL a little more so they can stop the inside run, and have linebackers with speed who can close and help make plays on the outside. More speed also allows better ability to spy the QB, match up in pass coverage, and get to the QB on a blitz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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