Not if he doesn't improve his pass protection.
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How much more will CU improve this season?
- Thread starter dio
- Start date
Not if he doesn't improve his pass protection.
Highflyer
Club Member
He'll be fine. I'd much rather him blocking Cody's blind side than a kid with 0 college snaps going to next season.
colinski
Member
Comments by the staff indicate that he has made great strides in this area. His ability is not in question, but he had virtually no experience after having been used almost exclusively as a run-blocker while at Columbine.
This is the 'big' question, and I wouldn't be surprised if Miller stays at RT -- probably temporarily -- and another of the many line prospects (probably not Tau, who has less experiece) fills that position. This would also be a good position for a veteran with more pass-blocking experience, like Faatagi.
Givens shows all the qualities of an excellent LT, so it's simply a question of how long it takes him to add enough muscle, to avoid being overpowered by some of the high quality DEs out there.
Rivals provides us with breakdowns of OLs according to attribute:
PASS BLOCKERS - http://rivals100.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=1942&Year=2008
Givens #4
MOST AGILE - http://rivals100.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=1944&Year=2008
Givens #5
Other rated attributes for OLs include; best athlete, best run blocker, and strongest -- only the top five are listed and Givens isn't listed for any of these.
It certainly sounds like Givens is best candidate for LT, but the question is how soon. He dropped all the way down to 240 lbs. at the Army all-star game because of an illness. The question would seem to be -- who will be the best person at the beginning of the 2008 season; not who will be the best eventually. I won't even try to figure out position placements this early. I mentioned Tau because he's a very good candidate for RT, but then so is Miller -- obviously. Givens could take a redshirt, and Miller could be the LT for a while. We're in the dark now, let's at least let them go though spring before trying to assess these possibilities.
note: Adkins, not Atkins. I always misspell his name for some reason.
colinski
Member
We're dealing with a problem we haven't seen for a while -- an excess of candidates for these positions.
I, too, like the idea of putting Miller at LT -- if only for a while, and partly to give him experience at that position.
Besides the eventual possibility of Givens at that role, we have a number of other excellent candidates who might make a move in the spring game or fall drills. I wouldn't want to sell any of them short. We can also expect some shuffling -- both temporary and permanent (more or less). I'd rather let them show us than spend a lot of time speculating at this point.
The main point I was trying to make was that the progress of the OL will be instrumental to the team's success. Whoever fills these positions, the future looks very bright.
FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICAN
QB CODY HAWKINS (honorable mention: The Sporting News, collegefootballnews.com)
OG KAI MAIAVA (first-team: Scout.com; honorable mention: The Sporting News, collegefootballnews.com)
WR SCOTTY McKNIGHT (honorable mention: The Sporting News, collegefootballnews.com)
OT RYAN MILLER (first-team: The Sporting News; second-team: Scout.com; third-team: collegefootballnews.com)
SuperiorBuff
Well-Known Member
I've got to wonder how much CU football any of those people saw this year since Kai graded higher than Miller all season.
BeardedCow
Guest
Enough to give the Rams a game maybe
gg
gg
colinski
Member
Reputation is always a big part of these ratings, but don't get too caught up in the grades. Tackle is a harder position for a newcomer, so comparisons between the two may be somewhat misleading.
Sexton Hardcastle
Club Member
I am very excited about the oline. It's a big deal for me. Remember the success we had in the McCartney years? Look at those lines we had. Looking at our linemen we have now remindes me of the Mac years. It all starts up front.
BehindEnemyLines
beware the habu
Hang tight my friend, we're getting there. Soon....very soon.... we're gonna have the monster O-line nobody wants to face.
colinski
Member
Tidbit -- Max Tuioti-Mariner is sometimes rated too low because of an injury (Scout: #20-G). He sat out his senior year, so Scout has him much lower than Rivals, ESPN and CSTV, where he's the #5-G, #10-G and #10-G (as I recall).
The talent is clearly here, with this and last year's classes. It's still going to take some time to develop to their full potential.
colinski
Member
Sorry, I didn't notice this when it was posted. Pardon the lateness of my response.
I'm pretty much in the dark here. I wasn't in Boulder when they brought him in, so I missed a lot of the coverage that would have filled me in. Obi was ranked #83, a 3-star, but he was recruited by a number of good programs. His size and speed are pretty good -- 6'4, 245-250, 4.75-40, so he clearly could be a more than adequate DE, we'll have to see some evidence of what he can do. His production in HS was fairly good, too.
Herrod has very similar credentials -- #84, 3-star, 6'2&1/2, 255(now), 4.65-40. He saw a little time last year, but not enough to tell much. I also see that he was a converted LB. Just wanted to note that since we've been going around on the subject of position changes.
Perri, who was ranked lowest initially, seems to be best of the group, and his size is a little better, weightwise -- 6/3, 270, 4.8-40. He's the only one I've heard much on, and I guess the coaches really like his potential. He's only a junior (for 08), too.
Hudgins is the big question mark, because of his injury. We'd be talking a very different story at DE if he hadn't been injured and had lived up to his billing.
As far as answering the question, I have no special knowledge other than what comes out of the athletic dept. I tend to look for what the position coaches say during spring and fall drills. Much of this team redshirted, so it's really hard to tell. At least the DEs will have the benefit of a good interior defensive line.
BehindEnemyLines
beware the habu
Obi was a 4* who later dropped like a rock. Sometime after he committed to CU. Indications from the staff are that he did really well on the scout team. He may end up the best of the DE's, jmho.
Herrod is pretty athletic - ran sprints in HS. Great story, too. Of all of the current Buffs, I hope this young man does well in school and on the field. Lord knows, he deserves it. As far as being a good DE - the potential is there.
He'll be better in '08. Seems to take the juco's a year to really adjust.
Yeah, and an achilles injury can be a tough one when it comes to full recovery. I still think he's gonna be a tad tentative next year. It's only natural. He'll break out in '09.
The Rabbid Goldfish and his partner, the evil St. Nic, are a really good tandem. I hope the younsters start seeing a little more playing time to prepare for '09 and beyond. Brace has played and done okay - gotta keep from getting nicked up. Kaynor and Lawson - staff is still trying to beef them up - we'll know more about these two after spring ball. Goree could be the next anchor - he was good in HS. Perri and Shields could be hybrids. Both played DE before coming to CU, but they may see time at DT for passing downs (added rushers). For now, they're DE's, and I don't think that will change.