Jack Ham had very good things to say about him on BTN. If he can shed run blocks look out, with that 4.4 speed off the edge he could be a game changer in 2018.
Koa Farmer
- Thread starter trz103
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I sure hope so since we need a reliable 3rd starting LB. But I'm not ready to call him the next coming with only 28 tackles in 14 games last year.
Of those 14 games, he only started in 2 of them and was a Safety until the Temple game.
Just my opinion, but Farmer didn't start out as an instinctive linebacker. Now, he he's had enough experience to get a better feel for the position. With that, and his physical gifts (now listed at 231# and still very fast), he has an opportunity to excel.
He played terrible in the Rose Bowl. He was frequently lost or got over powered. I'm surprised he is playing over Bowen.
Bowen is moving inside as the second box backer with Cabinda. Starters will probably be Farmer-Cabinda-Bowen with Smith seeing a lot of time also in almost a 4 man LB rotation.
Would hope Cam Brown works his way into the mix. Farmer does need to shed blocks better.
Look for Cam Brown to start ahead of Farmer. Brown / Cabinda / Bowen should be the starters with Smith and Farmer spelling them or maybe bringing in Farmer for certain passing situations.
Farmer - Bowen - Cabinda look like our best 3 with Smith in back-up rotation. it falls off quite a bit after that. Brown seems to need alot of work and looks very weak physically. Cooper just has been hurt so much hard to say much about him. Brooks may show up on the field given the depth situation.
Probably to give him more time at his backup position (and reduce the wear on Cabinda in practice).
Brown weak? He put on 15 lbs of muscle since last season. He was learning on the fly last year, pushed into playing before he or any LB that arrived for Fall practice would be really ready for extended minutes. The playing time he got last year together with added muscle and a better understanding of LB play will most likely lead to a marked improvement in his performance in 2018.
You forgot Miller, who has been practicing at LB for a year now and looked pretty decent in the B/W game. He's now in the 220's and on his way to being a nice contributor at LB.
Being 3 deep at MLB (Cabinda, Smith, and Cooper) I believe it is highly unlikely that Brooks does anything but redshirt this year. Only the "new shiny thing" syndrome leads to the conclusion that he will play in 2017.
Faison-Waldon has been on campus since January and should be much more ready to play than Brooks, if there are injuries. And he plays OLB and is reportedly a "star" LB that will be on the field in passing downs. FW is a faster LB and would also likely add more to special teams than Brooks. If CJF can get through the year with 6 scholarship LB's (Cabinda, Bowen, Smith, Farmer, Brown, Cooper, Miller) and some minor contributions from walk on's (Johnson, Vranic) all of the 2017 class LB's will likely redshirt.
Smith is at Will, not Sam or Mike, is what I read. But really "What's in a name?"
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In the spring, it was Bowen/Brown at Will, Cabinda/Smith at Mike and Farmer/Miller at Sam. I don't know if it's changed, but they do practice them at multiple positions for versatility reasons.
A healthy Jake Cooper is a plus for this unit's depth. I think we'll find that out this season also.
Brandon Smith has been practicing with the first team at Will linebacker with Manny Bowen as the second team backup. The projected starters are Farmer, Cabinda, and Smith.
It would seem some folks on this site fail to realize just how talented Brandon Smith is at linebacker.
I am really excited for Smith at linebacker. He was very disciplined and played a lot like our instinctive linebackers of the past. He is often where the ball is going to be before it gets there. It's not speed...it's smarts.
Red shirting is not a goal for any position other than O line. If they can't at least contribute (not start) as Freshmen then we need to recruit better. If they don't get on the field because there are too many talented guys in front of them, then this is a good problem to have.
CJF is on record as saying he prefers to redshirt ALL true freshmen. When his roster was weak he was forced to play true freshmen before they were really ready. But he is also on record, obviously, as saying he will play true freshmen that can make an impact, and as his recruiting has gotten better there are and will be going forward true freshmen that are just too good to redshirt.
Regarding Brown, CJF stated that he would have preferred to redshirt Brown. But lack of depth forced CJF to play Brown when multiple injuries occurred.
No matter how well you recruit, true freshmen do not have the maturity that they will have after they are in the program for years. No matter how physically mature players are when they step on campus, they will get stronger and better within the S & C program. The players that have been in the program will always have an advantage physically and mentally.
When you consistently recruit better the roster is still filled with more mature senior, juniors, sophs,...., that are ahead of the true freshmen. Even Bama, the top recruiting team of at least the last 6+ years, redshirts many of their freshmen. Recruiting better ups the talent across all classes. The only real difference is that more players leave after 3 years in the program for the NFL, with the need for depth that that causes providing more openings for true freshmen to fill.
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I suspect that Bowen is only a backup because he's still in the dog house.
I had the chance to watch the LB practice video. A guy who kind of jumped out was #44, Brailyn Franklin. He appears bigger than his listed weight,and certainly looks the part of a WLB. I expect he redshirts. I also saw Brooks ( #13 ) and he looks like an ILB.
We do appear to have some developing depth this year at the positions. I expect Pry is going to rotate guys quite a bit because so many of them have experience. Smith practicing at WLB may well mean that Cooper will be available. Barring injury, I expect the freshman LB's to redshirt this year.
We do appear to have some developing depth this year at the positions. I expect Pry is going to rotate guys quite a bit because so many of them have experience. Smith practicing at WLB may well mean that Cooper will be available. Barring injury, I expect the freshman LB's to redshirt this year.
If I remember right, Brandon was a pretty good hurdler in high school, so he might be faster than some of us think he is.
..and a successful high school wrestler; he's a good, if not great, athlete who has sound instincts and makes plays. He's no weak link.
Brandon Smith and Josh Hull, great PSU walk on LB's who came from towns along Route 45 east of town.
Wow some of you guys are able to get an awful lot of info out of still photos and 30 second smart phone clips
There's a lot of experimentation and moving around of personnel right now trying to find the best groupings.
My guess is that next week you'll start to see things settling down and positions being solidified. JMO
I like the thought of Farmer at linebacker not necessarily the player. He's going to have a hard time fighting off Brown at that position. Brown just pops when you watch him even at 220. He was all over the field during the Blue White game. He looked like the player of the game for the white........crushed Mark Allen on one tackle and showed some nastiness on the hit in the end zone on Andre Robinson. Robinson went flying and he's a big dude. Brown plays bigger than his 220 pounds and is a bit of a headhunter. It will be tough to keep him off the field.
To me Koa Farmer is a Chaz Powell type of player.......good enough to play both sides but probably more of a natural offensive player.
To me Koa Farmer is a Chaz Powell type of player.......good enough to play both sides but probably more of a natural offensive player.
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Too much consternation over who the starting three are. It's 2017. Base defense is the nickel. We have plenty of guys who can play. More often than not, only two of them are going to be on the field. The best coverage linebacker we have is Smith.
This is especially true this year, as it seems pretty obvious that Toney is going to play a significant passing down hybrid DE/LB rushing role.
There is also Allen, who plays significant portions of the game in the box and can function as the Sam in this defense, where nominally the Sam and Will positions are backward relative to traditional terminology. He also reduces the time a third LB would need to be on the field.
Finally, I expect that we'll be playing with a lot of leads, leading teams to pass more. Obviously, this means that we would spend more time out of 4-3 base defense.
The conversation, really, in my opinion, is about who are our best two. I'd combine a rotation of Cabinda/Smith (making the calls) with Farmer/Bowen, but the possibilities are pretty endless. Pry has a lot of good options.
This is especially true this year, as it seems pretty obvious that Toney is going to play a significant passing down hybrid DE/LB rushing role.
There is also Allen, who plays significant portions of the game in the box and can function as the Sam in this defense, where nominally the Sam and Will positions are backward relative to traditional terminology. He also reduces the time a third LB would need to be on the field.
Finally, I expect that we'll be playing with a lot of leads, leading teams to pass more. Obviously, this means that we would spend more time out of 4-3 base defense.
The conversation, really, in my opinion, is about who are our best two. I'd combine a rotation of Cabinda/Smith (making the calls) with Farmer/Bowen, but the possibilities are pretty endless. Pry has a lot of good options.
If Cabinda gets hurt, smith will be moved back to the middle or we will have a tough time vs the run. Bowen and Farmer are as athletic a group of OLBs PSU has had. Instincts, not as much. Bowen was much better late in the season. Let's hope Farmer makes as much of a jump. I would be shocked if the starters are not Bowen, Cabinda and Farmer. Smith and Brown next two in. Cabinda needs to stay healthy.
I'm pretty sure we played Cabinda, Bowen, & Bell on most defensive possessions. I'm not sure why you think 5 DBs is standard.
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