Thanks to a special contact of mine back in Pittsburgh, I was able to get some quotes from Steelers LB Bud Dupree regarding DJ Eliot, under whom he played in college and ended up being drafted by Pittsburgh in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
NOTE: When I first listened to this sound bite and typed it up, I noticed (and you will too, when you skim over his answers) that Mr. Dupree seems well-intentioned, but a bit lacking in the ability to give complex and to the point responses, as are many of his fellow athletes. Regardless, here's what he said. After some of his quotes, I attempted to the best of my ability to add a bit of depth and further meaning to what he's saying.
Q: What did Eliot do for your development and what was he like as a coach?
Bud Dupree: DJ was a good coach. He put me in a lot of situations to be [in] one on one [coverage] in college, he did a great job with letting me play loose on the field.
***I'm very interested to see how Eliot develops the linebackers on this Buffaloes team. If Dupree felt that Eliot put him in good position during his career, it appears that Kentucky LBs Jordan Jones (a sophomore) and Courtney Love (a junior transfer from Nebraska) very well may have felt exactly the same.
After sitting the year out in 2015 due to NCAA transfer rules, Love finished third on the team in 2016 with 76 tackles and recorded one sack on the year. Jones led the team as a sophomore with 109 tackles and added four sacks. Hopefully there's a nice repeat of LB success upon his arrival and the beginning of the 2017 season.
Q:How did he hone your craft? Did he give you more of a helping hand technique-wise or was he more of a motivational guy?
Bud Dupree: He [helped] more [with my] technique. He's a great coach. They got themselves a good dude, [he's] a great coach [and a] great personality.
****Eliot was relieved of defensive play-calling duties after two games into the 2016 season. Head coach Mark Stoops apparently called the plays from then on out, and per the stat sheets, the defense improved as the season went on.
Q: Was there a moment where he really reached you as a player, to where you thought "OK, I get what the guy is preaching?
Bud Dupree: "At the beginning of the season my senior year, he told me to just to take over and become the man he knew I could be. [He told me that I could make it to the NFL] just [based on watching and comparing me to] the past players that he had [that went Pro, including OLBs Josh Forrest and Za'Darius Smith.]
***Think of guys like Pookie Maka, Drew Lewis, Sam Bennion and Jacob Stoltenberg for example (especially Maka, though.) What impact will Eliot be able to have on Colorado's younger linebacking corps? I for one am beyond eager to get an answer to that question.
Hope you all enjoyed. Thanks to Bud Dupree for the intel.
NOTE: When I first listened to this sound bite and typed it up, I noticed (and you will too, when you skim over his answers) that Mr. Dupree seems well-intentioned, but a bit lacking in the ability to give complex and to the point responses, as are many of his fellow athletes. Regardless, here's what he said. After some of his quotes, I attempted to the best of my ability to add a bit of depth and further meaning to what he's saying.
Q: What did Eliot do for your development and what was he like as a coach?
Bud Dupree: DJ was a good coach. He put me in a lot of situations to be [in] one on one [coverage] in college, he did a great job with letting me play loose on the field.
***I'm very interested to see how Eliot develops the linebackers on this Buffaloes team. If Dupree felt that Eliot put him in good position during his career, it appears that Kentucky LBs Jordan Jones (a sophomore) and Courtney Love (a junior transfer from Nebraska) very well may have felt exactly the same.
After sitting the year out in 2015 due to NCAA transfer rules, Love finished third on the team in 2016 with 76 tackles and recorded one sack on the year. Jones led the team as a sophomore with 109 tackles and added four sacks. Hopefully there's a nice repeat of LB success upon his arrival and the beginning of the 2017 season.
Q:How did he hone your craft? Did he give you more of a helping hand technique-wise or was he more of a motivational guy?
Bud Dupree: He [helped] more [with my] technique. He's a great coach. They got themselves a good dude, [he's] a great coach [and a] great personality.
****Eliot was relieved of defensive play-calling duties after two games into the 2016 season. Head coach Mark Stoops apparently called the plays from then on out, and per the stat sheets, the defense improved as the season went on.
Q: Was there a moment where he really reached you as a player, to where you thought "OK, I get what the guy is preaching?
Bud Dupree: "At the beginning of the season my senior year, he told me to just to take over and become the man he knew I could be. [He told me that I could make it to the NFL] just [based on watching and comparing me to] the past players that he had [that went Pro, including OLBs Josh Forrest and Za'Darius Smith.]
***Think of guys like Pookie Maka, Drew Lewis, Sam Bennion and Jacob Stoltenberg for example (especially Maka, though.) What impact will Eliot be able to have on Colorado's younger linebacking corps? I for one am beyond eager to get an answer to that question.
Hope you all enjoyed. Thanks to Bud Dupree for the intel.
Honestly...a lot of good profs. They're not the issue with the J school