Who thought that the '02 DL was going to be money?

[homerHAWKeye777]

I think something lacking in this conversation is the job that Kaczinski is doing as the coach. He has consistently coached up players- I love Klug but he is not in the conversation for our top 10 physically gifted d-lineman over the last several seasons. He was an outstanding technician and Coach K should get some of the credit for that. I feel the raw materials are there this season for the d-line to have quality play. So I am confident that the d-line will be solid by the Penn State game.

spud -

Coach K is very good ... but, then again, so was Coach Aiken. Different coaches, different styles ... both got great results. I won't dispute that Coach K is big for us. However, I don't think that the assertion concerning Klug is quite accurate. Klug is A LOT more than just a technician. The guy has very good speed and quickness. When you couple that speed and quickness with the fact that he has an insane motor and great toughness ... that explains his great production.

What I will say is that Klug wasn't necessarily a physical freak like Ballard. However, Ballard didn't end up as refined a talent as either Klug or Clayborn. Of course, Clayborn was the guy who was the quickest and most explosive off the line of scrimmage.

 

[homerHAWKeye777]

I think something lacking in this conversation is the job that Kaczinski is doing as the coach. He has consistently coached up players- I love Klug but he is not in the conversation for our top 10 physically gifted d-lineman over the last several seasons. He was an outstanding technician and Coach K should get some of the credit for that. I feel the raw materials are there this season for the d-line to have quality play. So I am confident that the d-line will be solid by the Penn State game.

One more thing .... I agree that the '11 DL has a lot of talent. No doubt. However, the more experienced guys are Binns, Daniels, Daniel, and Bigach. Given practice reps and whatnot ... Nardo and Forgy also count among the more experienced guys.

Of the aforementioned guys, here's a brief synopsis concerning how "physically gifted" the guys are:

- Binns: Wickedly useful long arms. Pretty good speed.
- Daniels: Very strong dude ... really good use of leverage.
- Bigach: Good combo of size and quickness
- Daniel: Pretty average
- Nardo: Pretty average
- Forgy: Don't know

The greatest attribute of the more experienced guys is that they're veteran, they know our system, and they're likely capable of playing pretty "fast" and disciplined for us.

As for some of the underclassmen ... that's where we can start talking more again about being "physically gifted" ...

- C. Davis: Described by MSU fans during the recruiting game as being a "physical freak." Nothing I've heard out of the Hawk camp suggests otherwise. We just need him to be able to play at "game speed" for us.
- Alvis: Quick, fast, athletic ... and with a great motor. Most of the descriptions I've heard kinda paints a picture of a Matt Roth type of player. Probably not quite as crazy (as Roth) ... and that's kinda too bad. But it's always impressive whenever a guy has that sort of motor.
- Hardy: Nice size and motor ... don't know much else.
- Heissel: Nice size and motor ... also must have some speed to be a threat on the edge ... don't know much else.
- Cooper: A nice combo of size and quickness ... don't know much else.

 

[AHawk1]

I think something lacking in this conversation is the job that Kaczinski is doing as the coach. He has consistently coached up players- I love Klug but he is not in the conversation for our top 10 physically gifted d-lineman over the last several seasons. He was an outstanding technician and Coach K should get some of the credit for that. I feel the raw materials are there this season for the d-line to have quality play. So I am confident that the d-line will be solid by the Penn State game.

I was looking for some Coach K info on the Nation about how nice it was for him to finally work at a school with a name brand. Anybody know of a nice JUCO or HS with name brand he could check out for next year. Spud, you still out there........