re: Position changes, number changes, and attrition (spring)

Holmes to corner might really be a good move, imo... I remember at the time some people were saying he had more potential there than at WR during his recruitment. Wade at FB could be interesting too. The Manning situation looks kind of dire.... Hamm is dropping a couple clues that it's not good but we will see I guess....

I think if Sabo weren't entering his senior year, maybe they would've considered it. But to relearn the position after years of not playing it just for one season is probably inefficient and ineffective. He certainly has the hands to be a DB

Noel Ellis! Good to hear. If he lives up to his potential we will have a shut down corner the likes we haven't had in decades. If Armani moves over to corner we could have a pair of em.

Gotcha... From what I believed upon him coming to tamu he had he skills and speed to be such a corner for us.

Regarding Armani, I know he's a really good safety and came up big a few times for us this year. I was reading that we only had one true corner and that watts could potentially move over, since he was recruited as a nickel he would be able to grasp the position quickly. But that was most likely hearsay apparently and was before Ellis' return was announced.

sorry - that may have come across to matter of fact. And apologies in advance as this is long. You're on the money that Ellis is a good one and that Watts was originally recruited as a CB, not a S. But I think what people may not quite understand yet is the kind of player coaches look for can be quite different and depends a great deal on scheme.

Both Ellis and Watts were recruited by Yates in Snyder's 4-3 under scheme in which he liked to mix coverages a lot. We played a lot of Cover-1, Cover-3, Man, and a few more exotic looks (robber 2 for instance). To disguise those looks, he preferred to play off the WR. For as much hate as Snyder gets, this idea is pretty prevalent to the point that I'd say it's far more normal in the college game than the press man Chavis prefers.

Playing off allows the coach to confuse the opposing QB with coverages and blitzes. The 1st INT vs Bama in 2012 was entirely about confusing McCarron with a coverage (robber-2) he wasn't expecting. It also resulted in countless coverage busts as certain players were never able to master the sheer number of calls they were required to know.

We'll see but my understanding is Chavis basically gives two looks - man and cover-2. You can do both of these out of a press man with the CBs simply passing to S in Cover-2. The calls and complexities are simplified since there just aren't that many options. He blitzes out of man and zone but the zone blitz is easier to grasp since it's always the same zone (though you may have a different coverage area depending on call).

Anyway, long story long, the two schemes require extremely different kinds of DBs.

Snyder - you want a quicker player that has a good back pedal. Since you are playing off you need to be able to drive out of the pedal when the QB makes a throw. Guys like Devante are ideal. Very quick change of direction and reflexes. There is less emphasis on straight line speed and length though obviously you'd love the complete package.

Chavis - lining up on the WR, you want bigger stronger and more physical corners. You will press the line and as the WR gets by, chase. So ideally you want good length so your wingspan in the chase makes the window smaller and you want good straight line speed because rather than a quick change of direction, you are trying to close from behind with the ball in the air. Again, you'd love the complete package but ideally you're looking for 6'+ with good speed

Ellis and Watts are built around Snyder's scheme. Both are smaller and neither has elite straight line speed to make up for it. This is why despite their talent, neither had LSU offers, while guys we didn't touch, like Jalen Mills from Desoto, ended up at LSU. Last year our recruiting suggested we had a long term plan to change schemes but Snyder didn't force it. No idea what he'd have done this year. But Chavis is forcing it. He's not teaching the old scheme at all.

Thus, right now your corners are Harris and Davis with Garner and Harvey backing them up. Davis is probably the only one that fits the scheme though a guy like Harvey is so talented it won't matter. Ellis may get some play out there if he shows he can be physical enough but right now he's playing inside as a slot CB or nickel. This allows us to match him up on the smaller quick guys often employed in the slot.

The other thing to note is Chavis likes to play 5 and 6 DB packages a lot. We'll see up to 4 safeties on the field at once with a couple playing near the LOS and 2 in normal spots. I think guys like Watts, Harvey, Ellis may end up in the LOS roles though I think he'll match the nickel up more than Snyder did (may have been simply limited players he trusted to be fair). Ellis isn't going to end up on a TE and we'll move Burns or someone to nickel to match up like that.

Well, first team FS and 2nd team nickel. We're a bit shorthanded though. The nickel is the S in the box I was referring to. The other I believe is called the Mustang

as always

Manning is officially out for the spring

LINK