2021 Defense

[The Jackal]

Had an offense thread, just thought I'd start another.

Looking at the roster, they are moving around a few linebackers. McKoy is now listed as a Bandit. Agbenou back to ILB. Owen to Spur.

Just thinking out loud, against a run look we could go with a 3-4 defense with the following front seven:

NG Stokes (6'1 278)
DT Lewis (6'4 282)
DE Lawrence (6'3 270)

ILB Gilby (6'2 233)
ILB Agbenou (6'2 231)
Spur Owen (6'3 220)
Ban McKoy (6'2 225)

That's about as much beef up front as I can remember us ever having. Of course, we've also got guys more suited to the pass game in terms of rush and coverage.

[apaladin]

I assume the db’s are going to be an issue? Some talent, not much experience?

[AstroDin]

The defensive backfield IMO > has a huge upside…

Corners
Darius Kearse 5-10 176 SR (steady, lots of experience)
Travis Blackshear 5-10 182 SO (ready to start full-time)
Cally Chizik 5-9 170 SO (heady, gutsy ready to start full-time)
Braedon Domino 6-1 175 RSSO (getting better)
Jonah Griffin 5-11 180 RSSO (medically cleared to play)
Kam Brinson 5-10 182 RSFR (highly recruited)

Micah Robinson 5-11 170 FR (highly recruited)
Ivan Yates 5-11 175 FR(highly recruited)

I expect Yates and Robinson to earn PT in 2020… love Blackshear and Chizik.

Safety
Dimarcus Clay 5-9 170 SR (had some strong games in 2019)
Hugh Ryan 6-1 190 SO (only going to get better)
Austin Jones 5-11 188 RSFR (tough redshirt season fighting injuries)
Caden Richards 6-1 185 FR (spring practice under his belt)
Jack Rhodes 6-1 185 FR (spring practice under his belt)
Richards and Rhodes looked very good in the spring, this position could be far stronger than you'd think. Lots of young talent.

[The Jackal]

I think we are fine in the defensive backfield. A lot of guys saw a lot of playing time out there as Furman would use a lot of 5 and 6 DB sub packages. So a lot of guys saw a lot of playing time.

At CB, Blackshear looks like a special talent and was impressive in his freshman season. Chizik also played in every game, primarily as a nickel corner. Remember, those were two freshmen that earned playing time with a number of entrenched upperclassmen last year. Darius Kearse has played a lot and has starting experience. Those are three reliable guys.

At Safety, Dimarcus Clay has played in 30+ games at both S and CB. Hugh Ryan played in every game last season as well. I've heard a lot of impressive things about Austin Jones, who, of course, was out most of last year and redshirted.

As Astro notes, we've got a lot of young talented, but untested, players.

[FurmAlum]

Had an offense thread, just thought I'd start another.

Looking at the roster, they are moving around a few linebackers. McKoy is now listed as a Bandit. Agbenou back to ILB. Owen to Spur.

Just thinking out loud, against a run look we could go with a 3-4 defense with the following front seven:

NG Stokes (6'1 278)
DT Lewis (6'4 282)
DE Lawrence (6'3 270)

ILB Gilby (6'2 233)
ILB Agbenou (6'2 231)
Spur Owen (6'3 220)
Ban McKoy (6'2 225)

That's about as much beef up front as I can remember us ever having. Of course, we've also got guys more suited to the pass game in terms of rush and coverage.

I'm curious about the move of McKoy to bandit. He has 3 years experience at ILB. Even though Hope is listed as a pre-season All-America, is he not good enough to be an every down player?

[The Jackal]

Had an offense thread, just thought I'd start another.

Looking at the roster, they are moving around a few linebackers. McKoy is now listed as a Bandit. Agbenou back to ILB. Owen to Spur.

Just thinking out loud, against a run look we could go with a 3-4 defense with the following front seven:

NG Stokes (6'1 278)
DT Lewis (6'4 282)
DE Lawrence (6'3 270)

ILB Gilby (6'2 233)
ILB Agbenou (6'2 231)
Spur Owen (6'3 220)
Ban McKoy (6'2 225)

That's about as much beef up front as I can remember us ever having. Of course, we've also got guys more suited to the pass game in terms of rush and coverage.

I'm curious about the move of McKoy to bandit. He has 3 years experience at ILB. Even though Hope is listed as a pre-season All-America, is he not good enough to be an every down player?

Hope is an every down player. The Bandit is our primary pass rusher, though, and you just aren't going to have guys go out there and play 60+ snaps at that position. That position is a physically demanding position both in setting the edge against the run and the constant need to attack the backfield.

Like most players on our defense, though, Hope is going to rotate out of the game at times. He's a valuable "closer" late in contests where you want him fresh. We need depth there.

Last season, Hope was backed up by Dillon Vann and Davonta Porter. Porter (not sure the reason) rarely played and Vann missed most of the season with an injury. After Vann's injury, Furman moved Agbenou to Bandit to back up Hope.

We need another body at Bandit and this move just flips Agbenou and McKoy.

Just as an aside, remember that McKoy was recruited to Furman as a safety. He was a RB/DB in high school. Agbenou was recruited as an ILB.

[AstroDin]

When you look at linebacker you can see how Furman can afford to move McKoy to Bandit.
Furman has quickly built a deep bench at Linebacker.

LINEBACKER
ILB Braden Gilby 6-2 233 RSSO
ILB Josh Agbenou 6-2 235 SO
ILB Jalen Miller 5-11 205 SO
ILB Bryce McCormick 6-2 224 RSFR

The duo of Gilby and Agbenou is going to be fun to watch, two big, physical, athletic linebackers.
Miller moved from Spur to ILB in the spring, Miller brings size and speed - will be interesting to see how Miller is used.
McCormick had pre-season surgery before his freshman year and didn't see the field till the end of the season. Bryce is another big athletic linebacker, was a very good BB player CPA.

ILB Nick Kuzemka 6-0 205 RSFR (Kuzemka saw some action in 2019, he played aggressively, could develop into a quality backup)
ILB JR SCHROEDER 6-0 228 RSFR ( I saw JR play several times in HS, a local product who could also develop into a quality backup)
ILB Dan Scianna 5-11 200 RSFR

INCOMING

ILB Evan DiMaggio 6-3 225 FR - Evan had 12 FBS offers. He came back from a fractured ankle in the season opener, coming back in the playoffs to lead Buford to the 5-A GA State Championship. Two weeks later he followed that with a runner up finish in the wrestling 220-pound state championship. His coaches describe DiMaggio's game as simple, loves contact and goes wide-open full speed.
ILB Ty Youngblood 6-0 215 FR - Youngblood was offered by all three academies - plays physical and fits the mold of a prototype Furman linebacker. Ty also was a heck of a fullback (2,157 yards and 46 touchdowns)

[The Jackal]

Also, don't forget that we used a lot of "sub" packages last season. I have followed Furman a while now, and I can't recall when I saw our defense go into as many different looks as we did last season.

Example:

3rd and 8. Furman puts 6 DBs on the field (4 CBs and 2 S). Both inside linebackers were SPURs (Willis and Wilkins). It is difficult for an offense to throw when 8 guys are covering 5.

I think this is going to be sort of the modern age of Furman's defense.

[FUBeAR]

That LB crew is starting to make FUBeAR think of this one...

“[Mike Killian] headlines one of the finest linebacking corps in the SoCon, joining veterans William Freman and two-time all-conference performer Cedrick Ritter.”

Loved watching those cats play. If the current ones can be as good as this bunch was in 2004, could be a very special D.

[AstroDin]

That LB crew is starting to make FUBeAR think of this one...

“[Mike Killian] headlines one of the finest linebacking corps in the SoCon, joining veterans William Freman and two-time all-conference performer Cedrick Ritter.”

Loved watching those cats play. If they can be as good as this bunch was in 2004, could be a very special D.

That was a nasty group of linebackers > C Ritter was an intimidating dude. Freeman played at 6-3 235 DiMaggio is 6-3 225 as a true freshman - with his frame he could easily play at 240.

2020 commit Tommy Beuglas is listed at 225 and most recruiting services think he will play MIKE at the college level at around 240.

Lots of big, physical dudes at linebacker…

[Furmanoid]

That LB crew is starting to make FUBeAR think of this one...

“[Mike Killian] headlines one of the finest linebacking corps in the SoCon, joining veterans William Freman and two-time all-conference performer Cedrick Ritter.”

Loved watching those cats play. If they can be as good as this bunch was in 2004, could be a very special D.

In the past I’ve seen linebackers rack up impressive tackle numbers with tackles 4 and 5 yds downfield (which is suboptimal). Do you know how our guys are coached? How do they make the instant run/pass read and if it’s run do they attack their gap or read and pursue or what? Give me a seminar.

[FUBeAR]

That LB crew is starting to make FUBeAR think of this one...

“[Mike Killian] headlines one of the finest linebacking corps in the SoCon, joining veterans William Freman and two-time all-conference performer Cedrick Ritter.”

Loved watching those cats play. If they can be as good as this bunch was in 2004, could be a very special D.

In the past I’ve seen linebackers rack up impressive tackle numbers with tackles 4 and 5 yds downfield (which is suboptimal). Do you know how our guys are coached? How do they make the instant run/pass read and if it’s run do they attack their gap or read and pursue or what? Give me a seminar.

I hear ya - won’t mention names, but I can think of an Atlanta Falcon Pro Bowl Player & another, a former Georgia Bulldog All-American (who had a cup of coffee in the NFL), who did exactly what you are describing. Dialing up the WAY-WAY-back machine, NFL Hall of Famer, Sam Huff, was widely known as a ‘jump on the pile’ guy ( https://books.google.com/books?id=rFmS ... le&f=false

No idea how they are Coached (FUBeAR is an O-Line guy), but I think this guy more than knows what he’s doing - https://furmanpaladins.com/sports/foot ... endola/426

[DeepPurple]

I sure like our chances going into this season. I like our defensive crowd. We are my more physical than we have been. We are absolutely faster. I think we will be better. I sure look forward to the return of "normalcy" if there is such a thing. Go FU!

[AstroDin]

I hope we see a lot of this in 2020… from Mr. Gilby!

[The Jackal]

I sure like our chances going into this season. I like our defensive crowd. We are my more physical than we have been. We are absolutely faster. I think we will be better. I sure look forward to the return of "normalcy" if there is such a thing. Go FU!

For me, an x-Factor this season is going to be London Lewis.