Consensus heading into the season
Until a rash of injuries in camp, most felt this group would be strong, especially with the depth on the edge.
Roster Reminders
Returning Starters
Jim Ramella
Austin Giles
Alex Albright
Backups and Hopefuls
Brad Newman
Bryan Murray
Damik Scafe
Max Holloway
Nick Rossi
Kaleb Ramsey
Kasim Edebali (likely to redshirt)
Dillon Quinn (likely to redshirt)
Chatter
The buzz coming out of practice has been good. Not only is Albright healthy and ready to go, but Holloway is another guy who can get to the QB. Scafe won't be Raji or Brace right away, but he can be an all conference player.
The Real Question
How good can Giles and Ramella be this year? This is not intended to slight them. Both have been solid contributors for three seasons. But both are entering their fifth seasons. If we are to surprise people both will need to take their play to the next level.
My Bold Prediction
Alex Albright will lead the ACC in sacks. He's healthy and will help fill the Herzy void.
What keeps me up at night?
That these guys don't stop the run. Making teams one dimensional was pivotal to our success. No one is expected to be Brace or Raji, but we still need Giles, Scafe, Rossi and Ramsey to stuff things up.
Outlook
The Defensive Line is going to be good. Other than Albright (and maybe Scafe), there's not a ton of all conference caliber talent, but they are deep, experienced and smart. For example, Ramella's never been a burner but he's done a good job of keeping contain and being where he needs to be. If these guys stay healthy they should make things easier for the linebackers and the defensive backs.
Posts
4 comments:
This will be a different kind of defense, with speed off the edges.
Question - will Albright and Holloway be spelling each other, or might they be on the field at the same time at opposite ends? It seems to me that those two can get to the quarterback a little quicker than Ramella or Newman, who are very good at containment, etc.
What do we know about Murray? He has real good size and could blossom into a real good defensive lineman. As long as we don't pile up the injuries, I think red-shirting Quinn and Edebali is the right move.
Is Ramsey back to 100% yet?
I'm very optimistic about this year, because that's the way I am - but next year I think we have a great chance to be in the ACCCG in Charlotte.
Go Eagles!
I'm very thankful that Herzy is doing so well, and I pray he beats this thing, as we all do.
I hope Geiser gets his act together - we need our long snapper for sure. I'll be rooting for Sean Flaherty - a walk-on.
I was happy to hear that Momah has a sprained MCL in his right knee, nothing worse, and he hopes to be back in a few days.
Go BC.
Do you all think the Northeastern game will be very similar to last year's Rhode Island game - lots of running plays? I'm thinking that the young QB's need practice and there may be more passing than one would anticipate.
Thank God we don't start with 3 straight ACC games as we did in 2007.
Anyone hear anything on how Edebali has looked? Heard he was a great athlete, but incredibly raw. Has he shown any flashes? Was hoping that he'd be our next diamond in the rough DE in the tradition of Mamula, Kiwi, Albright, etc, etc, etc.
Also, any word on why Quinn is red-shirting? Seems like he went from potential true freshman starter to red-shirt. I took this as an indication that we were really happy with the performance of the rest of the line and thought we could afford to hold him back.
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