I hear Gray is moving to nickel. IMHO love it. Thoughts?
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Replies to: “I hear Gray is moving to nickel. IMHO love it. Thoughts?”
Too small/slow to play safety? Seems like less playing time than CB
But seems like they are trying to put him in a position to still contribute. That assumes the plan is not to run nickel/dime D more, but maybe that assumption is wrong. Although given LB and DL talent, I’d be surprised if we didn’t run a blitz heavy 4-3 or 3-4.
So, I don’t see Nickle happening as much during the season, but possibly more in playoffs depending on situation.
I think he'll struggle. His tackling is not great, and he's not proven to be strong against quick
twitch athletes.
I think it's a good move, who will start at field CB?
I wouldn't be surprised if it is one of the freshmen.
I thought that DJ McKinney was expected to take that spot
He had to have gotten some kind of assurance that he would get the first crack at it when he agreed to transfer
I think it will be an open competition.
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Of course it will. You asked who will it be.
Giving someone first shot doesn't mean that it won't be an open competition. It's my opinion that Mckinney is the likely starter. He's pretty good and flirted with declaring for the upcoming draft. But, if someone else plays better, Freeman has shown in the past that he will play that guy, regardless of what class he's in.
Agree that he's probably penciled in.
I also think moving Gray to NB was always the plan, otherwise they would have targeted a NB in the portal.
He has been a solid player for us
He's not as good of a pure cover man as Benjamin Morrison was, much less what Leonard Moore is now, but he's still very good. He's a bit of a higher risk vs higher reward kind of guy.
Some folks may criticize him for his less than stellar performance in the NC game, but Jeremiah Smith would have made any defensive back other than Leonard Moore look that way as well.
The key here is that he's resilient, and versatile. He can play either field cornerback or boundary cornerback effectively, and playing at nickelback could give him even more of a resume for his pro career, much like how it helped out Matthias Farley.
If we didn't have that "three star guy" named Leonard Moore already playing the boundary cornerback position, he'd probably be playing there right now.
Toughest position to play because it is easy to get beat one on one, afterall the receiver knows
where he is going, the defender is reacting. He has a short memory which is absolutely the most important thing a back can have. He will go down in history with a very memorable play against Penn State and also a key one against USC.
Love that kid...I think he will excel
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I'm down.
Golden will start at nickel, Gray can spell him.
With the transfers and young talent at corner, it's he logical move.
Gray is my favorite player. He's the soul of the team.
Ok, I'm super curious and think you know by now I am not being
Sarcastic or flippant.
Why the soul of the team????
Yes, he prefers to play inside and it's more beneficial to the team as well.
I just want him to stay healthy this season
He has been a very good corner that gets beat by very good receivers sometimes. Oddly enough that happens to a lot of corners who play talent equal to them.
He, IMO, wants to jump routes. This has caused him to bite on some moves and get beat deep. He's had issues turning and running sometimes. He does make plays, and he does give up some plays.
A few of the big plays last year early on I think were communication issues. By USC the communication seemed fine but he was obviously injured and got beat a few times.
Nickel could be very good for him as long as he picks up the nuances of the position, but from the presser it sounds like he is doing that. He also needs to be able to cover without grabbing as much.
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