(01-09-2022, 04:35 PM)Firesky Wrote:

(01-09-2022, 04:27 PM)JagFan81 Wrote: Not sure how many more chances he can waste. Struggled in 4-3, struggled in 3-4.

Go D!!! Playing great today.

He was raw when he was drafted, played sparingly as a freshman, torn acl/injured as a sophomore, then played the national championship year before declaring for the draft. He was brought in as a project player bc his athleticism is off the charts, I think he needs a ton of coaching but should definitely be depth or rotation until he starts to flash a little more. Smoot was similar albeit not as highly drafted. Smoot was a raw player, good athlete with great measurables for the position, it took him a few years of coaching and refinement but we're seeing the results in the last few games which is marked improvement from when he was first brought in.

Thats some great points and i do think the 1st round pick tag hurts him a lot. If he was a 3rd/4th rounder then the expectations would be lower but fans and coaches expect you to hit the ground running. Hes had so many 'oh nearly' moments with rushing and could maybe benefit from developing and perfecting some kind of pass rush move to build upon. Hes still very young, just 22 i think so nowhere near his peak. 

Smoot seemed to benefit from having Calais around him, seemed to learn how to win his matchup and started making plays and is arguably our best player on the Dline now.

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