Vega Loane to DT?
- Thread starter aworsnup
- Start date
Just my recollection, but Joe Paterno did a fair amount of position changing.
Seems rare with Coach Franklin.
Seems rare with Coach Franklin.
Very true, but in Joe's hayday the coaches ruled the team and called the shots.
In today's game with all the analysis of each player by camp sponsors, on campus workouts, parents investing in private lessons,.... it seems that high school players are invested mentally in specific positions more so than they used to be. The portal has now made moving players to try other positions that may help the team and possibly be best for the player much more difficult as well. If today's players are set on playing WR it's too easy for them to just transfer to a team that promises to use them at their preferred positon rather than trying a position of need for the team or where the coaches see them as a better fit based upon their skill set and physical abilities.
So I attribute this more to the way college football has changed more so than what Franklin might want to actually do if he had more players that trusted the judgement of him and his staff.....
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Absolutely not. Not now and not ever. Here are the 3 main reasons why:
1). Just look at his film. The guy is a beast made for the offensive line.
2). You don’t just grab a 300+ pound body who never played DT at the collegiate level and throw him into the mix. Only in desperate situations will this be an option. PSU is not in a desperate situation at DT.
3). The portal is still a viable option.
It was my impression that he was going to impact the OLine. This year, backup next year probable starter. Will most likely lose all three interior starters to the draft.
Correct. And we all know how that decision turned out. Thorpe was a penalty prone bust at DT.
Thorpe is a great example of the big body type who played DT in HS who made the move for depth purposes for a couple games one year. It fulfilled its purpose, but was not a glaring improvement.
Ioane is a bigger body with similar history. Too many get hung up on thinking all you have to do is throw a 300+ lbs body at DT and it's instant run stuffing success.
I have no issues with swapping players positions. I thought when they moved Wilson from CB to WR it was a good play. It didn't amount to anything, but I like the flexibility and thought behind it.
I agree with you that sometimes a position switch can make sense and benefit the team.
In terms of Wilson, I was elated to see him moved from defense to offense where he was buried on the WR depth chart. Wilson was just awful as a DB primarily because he was too passive and not aggressive enough. Just rewatch Wilson’s Rose Bowl performance when you have time. He struggled making basic tackles and gave up big pass plays in the same series. I suspect coach Franklin nudged Wilson to get on with his life’s work beyond Penn State. It was the right move for both parties.
Good kid. Contributed early. Played when called upon. Just isn't a high end D1 guy. Didn't have the hands or route running for WR. Hips, reaction time just not enough for CB.
Good grief Vega Loane was rated by some services out of high school as a next level OL and other services as a DL.
The guy was a basketball player and by all accounts amazingly athletic for his size.
CJ Thorpe was moved out of desperation. He should have been moved to the WWE as a villain. All we have heard about Laone is that he is a tremendous athlete for his size and has impressed in camp. We have heard that about Malik Miega...makes one 🤔 just what that mean?
In any event, I expect we will see him on the field shortly and I am curious to see what he can do at any position.
The guy was a basketball player and by all accounts amazingly athletic for his size.
CJ Thorpe was moved out of desperation. He should have been moved to the WWE as a villain. All we have heard about Laone is that he is a tremendous athlete for his size and has impressed in camp. We have heard that about Malik Miega...makes one 🤔 just what that mean?
In any event, I expect we will see him on the field shortly and I am curious to see what he can do at any position.
I think he's the 2nd RG and Nelson is the 2nd LG, but that is to be seen. Nourzad filled both spots last year.
Wrong. Joe did NOT want to make Kelly an LB. He merely mentioned in an interview that he could be one. Very overblown situation. Both Brown and Guman played DB for a year and went back to RB the next year. They went where they could contribute.
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Thorpe PF in the endzone on a 4th down cost PSU a game if I recall correctly.
The curse words are still floating in my family room. Unnecessary. Undisciplined. Stupid. Ass. Play. Clear sign that it was not meant to be..
Cappy would have been a backup to Lydell Mitchell in ‘71. He played where he could help the team.
Or, a backup to Franco Harris. If Mitchell had gotten hurt Joe may very well have given Franco more carries, that is if Franco wasn't in Joe's dog house that week........
Cappy would have gotten damn few carries. Mitchell scored 29 TDs that year, an NCAA record that held up for about 25 years. Cappy started at CB.
In the case of Thorpe, the problem was not just the mental errors. Thorpe flat out was not a good fit at DT. He was just another fat guy plugged into the DT position. So, with respect to Thorpe, it was problematic to move a OL to a DT position for which he was no where near talented enough to play.
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