Defensive Tackles we have recruited recently

M

malcolmtodd2003

25+ Posts
Is it just me or has none of our big time recruit defensive tackles really panned out? Marco Martin, Rod Wright, Larry Dibble, Frank Okam, Roy Miller. Am I missing any more? All these guys came in with a lot of hype but never really did much.
 
Rod Wright was a starter on our 05 team and an anchor on that line. He was 2nd on the team in sacks, TFL, and QBH's. He made one of the most bad-*** plays in Texas history against OU and is currently on an NFL roster.

Dibbles probably didn't live up to his potential but was a strong contributor and co-starter on the 05 national championship season and had a solid 4-year career.

Okam was a good, 4-year player and three year starter who is currently on an NFL roster. Wasn't the kind of game-changer many thought he would be but you can't say he didn't pan out. He was second in sacks, QBH's and TFL's in 2007 and was a pretty consistent player all 4 years on campus.

Roy Miller was an Honorable Mention All Big 12 player in 07 and has spend most of his career behind Lokey/Okam. He is currently our second best d-lineman behind Rak and has had a great season up to this point. He's a lock to get drafted in 09 and has been a solid contributor all 4 years. You look silly saying he hasn't panned out.

It's also very convenient for your argument that you neglect to mention Suan Rogers, Marcus Tubbs, Casey Hampton and Derek Lokey, who all speak for themselves.
 
Casey Hampton and Shaun Rogers weren't recruited by Mackovice and that was a long time ago. I should of put in my subject line , "that were recruted by Mack"
 
Some fans don't realize the changes our scheme went through from 1998 to today. We relied on our LBs (generally DD Lewis in the Reese days) to plug gaps on the line, affectionately known as "mugging" by the old Hornfans faithful. This freed up so many responsibilities for Hampton and Rogers that it was comical how statistically awesome they were in some games.

With the decline of Reese's defenses for inabilities to hold on 3rd and 28, or stop the run, and the resurgence of the spread offense, it was no longer feasible to keep our LBs up close. Thus, the decline of our dominating stats from DTs.

If you look at Tommie Harris, the dude could finish a season with 30 tackles and still be considered greatness. This is the kind of approach we were switching to. Use guys who could keep linemen busy while everyone else got the stats.

Marco Martin was injured before he got here, acquiring his bust status in a simple manner. Throw in his overweight body and some of his off-field "issues" and he never would have been a coach favorite.

Rod and Roy are far from busts. They do their job and still have enough skill for opposing coordinators to scheme against. Dibbles got to Texas at the same time as Rod, and filled his role nicely.

Jury's out on Franklin. I think his high school status was beefed up by the idea that everyone was looking for the "next Tommie Harris" when he was a senior, and he was the best available. It was a very similar phenomenon when BJ Johnson was the highest rated receiver in the country (ahead of Roy W) coming out of SGP, solely because he resembled Peter Warrick, the Heisman favorite. Honestly, Okam didn't have much explosion off the snap, but he still plugged those holes on the line. Nobody ran on him, and it was his job to stop the run first, not pressure the QB.
 
guys like Hampton and Rogers and Tubbs really spoiled us at the DT position. Rod Wright was awesome his freshman year but his production really dropped off after that. Okam was supposed to be the second coming of Hampton but never really achieved that level. Dibbles and Lokey were solid players. Miller is the next great one as far as our recent great ones go.
 
I agree that our DT's haven't lived up to all of their potential. They go on to be drafted, but a lot lower than would be expected based on rankings coming into UT. Not sure if it is conditioning, scheme, position training etc., but they aren't achieving all that they should be able to.
 
our best defense ever (or recently as far as rush defense goes) was in 2001. that d-line was composed of Redding and Thornton at the ends, Tubbs and Gordon at the tackles. our LBs were DD Lewis, Rawls, Jones, and DJ his freshman year. as a poster mentioned above, our sceme was alot different back then and this is probably the reason why the drop off in statistics for our DTs. that year we finished the #1 defense in the country. even after Colorado ran us over in the Big XII Championship game. our secondary consisted of Jammer, Babers, Brooks, and Vasher. wow, what a secondary. the good'ol days i guess.
anyway, even in the recent change in sceme the past two years we've finish in the top 10 in rush defense. but our secondary not so much. so is it sceme or the players?
 
Rodrique's injury was not detected until after he was signed by Miami. So while it may not have affected his draft status, it's fair to say it was affecting his play.
 
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