Has Pugh changed positions?
- Thread starter vegasgreed
- Start date
I wouldn't think he's anywhere near big enough. Having said that I don't know. I'd be pretty surprised but anything's possible.
Interesting. Maybe he has the frame to bulk up like Price. I didn't think he was quite that big but the staff certainly knows better than my dumb a$$.
Hope not. We need some athletes with size, speed and hostility at LB.
PN likes speed on defense. The old Miami teams were constantly moving Safeties to LB, LB'ers to DE, and DE to DT.
HC Bob Delvaney of Nebraska may have initiated these position changes, S to LB, LB to DE during the 1960's and you are correct Miami used the same formula.
Actually, that would be good news. That would hopefully mean that we have other solid options at LB.
These kids are still growing & this is exactly how we get more speed & athletes onto the field.
Pugh more than has the frame to transition, he has the football mindset & instinct while having the speed we want out on the field.
I have no issue concerning if he can stand up to OT's, TE's, etc.....more of the question will be can they be quick enough to get the jump on Pugh to put a pad on him to slow him down.
I am all about getting more athletes out onto the football field.
H2 PITT !!!
Pugh more than has the frame to transition, he has the football mindset & instinct while having the speed we want out on the field.
I have no issue concerning if he can stand up to OT's, TE's, etc.....more of the question will be can they be quick enough to get the jump on Pugh to put a pad on him to slow him down.
I am all about getting more athletes out onto the football field.
H2 PITT !!!
I'd never say never but my hunch is he stays at LB, hopefully gets himself to 235-240 or so. We have some young DEs on the roster now, and we desperately need LBs with size, speed, instincts and attitude. That said the coaches will put him where he should be, I'm confident of that.
i started this thread. truth be told i hear peak mention this position change on his free podcast. when he first said it, i thought that cannot be right, i must of mis-heard him. went back and listened to again and peak did say it. i could be wrong but don't see him as a DL.
This ex-Pitt player immediately comes to mind as a good example - Bryan Knight. He had a good career. Similar - except Pugh has a higher ceiling.
It all depends on how Coach Duzz & Staff determine how to use Pugh & any other athlete that may change position.
And on many occasions they may play certain DE's as hybrid LBs drop off into coverage. When I would watch those MSU defense's led by Coach Duzz you would always notice how imaginative & aggressive the players played. Players always seemed to do things outside of a normal position assignments which is what made them so unconventional & good. They attacked w/ their athletes.
They allow their athletes to play the game & make plays. They do not react to the offense but attack the offense.
H2 PITT !!!
And on many occasions they may play certain DE's as hybrid LBs drop off into coverage. When I would watch those MSU defense's led by Coach Duzz you would always notice how imaginative & aggressive the players played. Players always seemed to do things outside of a normal position assignments which is what made them so unconventional & good. They attacked w/ their athletes.
They allow their athletes to play the game & make plays. They do not react to the offense but attack the offense.
H2 PITT !!!
im hoping folston can be Price v. 2.0 although Folston is a few inches taller. PUgh to DE annoys me, adds another year to his development.. He wont sniff the field as a DE this year, could have gotten some snaps at OLB. Maybe it's better in the long run but im inpatient..
I can't see the staff putting Pugh at DE. They might be letting him get some reps there to make him more versatile in certain situations.....but how they are recruiting DE and LB tells me he stays at LB. LB is too thin and void of talent to move him to a position that they are taking 3+ kids a year.
if pugh is growing, he'd make a vicious mlb, something we need.
You must have either not watched a lot of MSU or you didn't understand what you were watching. Rarely have I seen a DE drop into coverage in Narduzzis 4-3. Hell they don't even switch too often depending on strong or weak O line alignments
. He likes to stay in his base defense at all times and run a lot of blitzes out of it. He doesn't move people around much from snap to snap. The secondary is in cover 4 at all times. It's actually a very simple scheme that places a lot of responsibility on the individual players, especially the DBs. He wants to keep things simple so his players can play fast.
Other than that, you're spot on.
And RBs to DBs
Did not know about Devaney ...of course it was The U's standard.
Did I not say the same thing as you in that his D expects & relies on players to make the plays. And he most certainly did allow DE's(in certain situations) to drop into coverage to disguise LBers, safties blitzing. It may not have been the foundation or norm of his D but Coach Duzz always had someone coming on blitz's despite their conventional position. And when they did this someone always had to lay back. It's why It is so important to get as many athletes onto the field because you never know who you may have to pick up or defend.
Just because you see a conventional Defense set up the same way play after play does not mean that the players attack the same way play after play. The one principal that Coach Duzz relied upon & demanded was that his corners be able to play man-up on their assignment which allowed the rest of the D to play a much more aggressive style of ball. You free up 2 other defenders if you can depend on those corners not needing constant help. But for this to work you must have speed to force the offense to react quickly or they will kill you. That is the trade off...the D forcing the offense to do whatever they want to do before they want to do it, before they are in position or set up to allow their play to succeed.
It is why Coach D demands his kids know their responsibility & assignment at a moments notice. It needs to be second nature to the point that your reaction coincides w/ seeing it.
And for the record I have seen Eluan Price fall back into covering a TE on more than just a few occasions this year. So not only does this staff expect a DE to drop off into coverage at times but they even have their best rusher do this ..
H2 PITT !!!
He always had big frame and some us were not eating right in high school or lifting weights so when they get to college and eat at the training table with a good diet they gain weight easily.
Pitt needs linebackers but after Price there is ZERO pass rush from the front four. NONE. Pugh is by no means small, and he would probably be one of if not the most explosive ends on the team. Its a smart move imo.
I dont know.. There has been virtually no production at de, if he can get after the qb i think he'll play in 2017.
maybe, if so, that means he is either really good and put on some good weight in a very short time.. I just see Hendrix, Folston, Blair and Edwards having the first and second team pretty much locked down.. Blair has too much experience, Hendrix too much talent. Beating out Edwards and Folston is far from impossible
Edwards really came on strong at the end of the year. From the Clemson game on, he really stood out to me. I also think Weaver and Jones are 2 solid peospects. Weaver was a Michigan commit from June to roughly a week or 2 before signing day....that tells me he's got talent.
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