In watching the bowl game with the radio broadcast dubbed over the TV it came to my attention that Jabari Ellis played at 275 lbs all year. I love the guy but that's light for an interior linemen in the SEC. They mentioned that he, in prep for the draft, was going to put on some weight. I've never played or coached football and don't claim to know X's and O's. However, when I hear that and look at our depth chart for '21 at DT and LB I think I can find the reason for our struggles against the run; UGA, A&M, Clemson, Kentucky and Missouri. The combo of being undersized in the middle of the line and oversized/slow at LB while playing a 4-2-5 provides me with hope moving forward in terms of improvement. Maybe not an immediate, drastic improvement in 2022 but with Greene, Pickens and Johnson coming back and Huntley flashing in the bowl, and Tonka growing up, maybe we take a small step forward.
That brings me to my next question. Obviously, to compete in the SEC defensively, you need to be above average on the defensive line. With Clemson having lost Bates, who was an ace recruiter and a good coach, we have an opportunity with the 2023 class to really clean up in-state and be more active in NC/GA. Obviously we brought in some numbers this past year, and them being EE's is awesome, but there are a couple highly ranked guys that I'm aware of in the SC 2023 class that we need to lock down. If we are able to land them it bodes well for Beamer's future at SC(I consider our DL to be the most important aspect of Spurrier's success). Off the top of my head Xzavier McCloud and Monteque Rhames are the two in-state guys that are cant miss prospects.
@Wes Mitchell who are some other in-state guys that we should be paying attention to? Any NC or GA names that should be on our radar?
That brings me to my next question. Obviously, to compete in the SEC defensively, you need to be above average on the defensive line. With Clemson having lost Bates, who was an ace recruiter and a good coach, we have an opportunity with the 2023 class to really clean up in-state and be more active in NC/GA. Obviously we brought in some numbers this past year, and them being EE's is awesome, but there are a couple highly ranked guys that I'm aware of in the SC 2023 class that we need to lock down. If we are able to land them it bodes well for Beamer's future at SC(I consider our DL to be the most important aspect of Spurrier's success). Off the top of my head Xzavier McCloud and Monteque Rhames are the two in-state guys that are cant miss prospects.
@Wes Mitchell who are some other in-state guys that we should be paying attention to? Any NC or GA names that should be on our radar?
