GRWolverineFan

January 27th, 2010 at 10:28 PM ^

I have a hard time seeing Parker sticking at SS with 4.6 speed. He is a great hitter and a pretty solidly built kid (who bullied Lombard on a blitz in the USAAA game) and I am convinced he will eventually play FS here. While Parker will no doubt be an upgrade at SS from Kovacs and Williams, I think a guy with elite speed like Dorsey would be a much better fit. Hopefully we land both so we can have that flexibility!!

GRWolverineFan

January 28th, 2010 at 5:06 PM ^

4.6 speed is far from ideal when you have to cover center field. Parker's make-up speed is was the biggest knock against him in the USAAA practices where he struggled against the faster WRs. Parker has much better football instincts and won't be caught out of position nearly as much as Kovacs or Williams but his speed exposes him to unfavorable matchups when he is covering the 4.4 and lower receivers he will face in the college game. Parker isn't tall or long armed either so he needs to be in the receivers hip pocket if he is going to make a play on the ball. While he doesn't have the football instincts to outplay Parker right now Demar Dorsey is a much better fit at SS IMHO. Parker's best fit in this D is at FS where he has vastly superior athleticism to Kovacs and Williams and has plenty of strength and hitting ability to play in the box when he needs to.

At this point I am not sure we have an ideal SS prospect after Woolfolk leaves unless Cullen or JT Turner switch (highly unliky for a couple of years until depth at CB improves). Vlad's speed is less than ideal for SS, Carvin and Marvin are destined for the SAM (or even WILL if they fill out a bit more) spot even if Marvin is being told he will come in as a FS, and I am not sure Vinopal is a Michigan caliber recruit (I will withhold final judgment till I see him in action live). Courtney Avery is a legitimate 5'10" now so I could see him making the switch if they decide depth is good enough at CB in the future but one kid does not an appealing depth chart make. This is why I think Dorsey is a more important recruit for us right now even if Parker is and likely will be a better pure football player. I would take Sean in a heartbeat, Dorsey is just 1a with Parker at 1b on my list of wants right now.

Magnus

January 29th, 2010 at 9:10 AM ^

I've added plenty to the conversation. I just didn't think it was necessary to reiterate what has been said - by me and by others - a thousand times on this board.

A 4.6 forty yard dash is not slow. You can't trust forty times for high school recruits. If it's accurate, he's only .05 slower than Pat White, who would be plenty fast enough to play SS. And even if it's not accurate, he'll get faster in college because that's what college strength and conditioning coaches do. Furthermore, the guys who run sub-4.4 forties that you were talking about...they don't exist.

Anyway, Carvin Johnson and Marvin Robinson are both being brought in to play free safety. While there's a possibility that one or the other could eventually play SAM, the idea that both are headed for linebacker is somewhat ridiculous, especially when you consider that the starter at FS last year was Kovacs. Honestly, do you think they'll move both Johnson and Robinson to SAM and let Kovacs retain the FS position? Not a chance.

So...you're wrong. On many levels.

Now, I do agree that Dorsey is probably a better athlete and might be a better SS than Parker in this defense. But that point is probably moot, since Sam Webb is saying they want Dorsey to play cornerback.

GRWolverineFan

January 29th, 2010 at 1:09 PM ^

Carvin and Marvin may start out at the FS position but there is no way they stay there if we land kids like Parker, Dorsey, and frankly even Rashad Knight. They are both already big kids with great frames to add weight that have plenty of experience in HS with coverage situations close to the LOS like they will deal with at the SAM position. Neither would be a bad FS (like Kovacs or Williams), they just would be better SAMs. Frankly I haven't seen anyone other than maybe Brandin Hawthorne (a big unknown) who has the athleticism to replace Stevie Brown at SAM. IF we land kids like Sean Parker and Rashad Knight our Depth at FS (Emilien, Parker, Knight, Vinopal), while young, is much better than our depth at SAM ( and as such I believe we will see Marvin (initially) and Carvin (definite RS) move before the end of the season.

The whole thing about Parker's 40 time is that he never even ran a timed one at a camp so we have to go off of film and in person reports. Every single piece of film and in person reports I have read on both premium sites says he lacks ideal speed for center field but he has excellent football instincts and is a vicious hitter from the traditional SS position. I am tired of having receivers and even TEs consistently get behind our coverage and I think Dorsey provides the best defense against that once Woolfolk is gone.

When Sam says they are recruiting Dorsey to play CB that doesn't mean they expect him to end up there. He has said in chat many times that the coaches will recruit a kid at whatever position the kid prefers with the expectation that they will get a "chance" there but will likely end up playing whichever position they fit best in. He has referred to this situation in regards to Carvin, Marvin, Dorsey, and even Knight. Some examples of this last year were Roh (recruited as a DE, ended up at the Quick), Cameron Gordon (recruited as a WR, will be an LB in the spring), Mike Jones (recruited as a SAM/FS, now practicing with the ILBs) and Isaiah Bell (recruited as a SAM/FS now practicing with the ILBs).

Stop trying to act like your opinion is somehow more valid than mine, it is just obnoxious. I have given you my opinion with my logic behind it and you can either back your opinion up with your logical argument (which you finally did), or a smug one liner. The former reflects much more positively on you.

Magnus

January 29th, 2010 at 1:23 PM ^

It's not about opinions. Both Robinson and Johnson have been recruited to play FS. That is a fact. That position was manned by Jordan Kovacs, who is a former walk-on. Therefore, he almost certainly be surpassed - sooner or later - by additions in this class, whether it's Johnson or Robinson (or Knight).

The coaches seem to think Furman is athletic enough to play SAM, which is why they recruited him to play that position.

If it's impossible to determine Parker's speed by his forty time, then why did you use it as evidence in the first place? You're the one who originally brought up his 4.6 time and now you're telling me that it's irrelevant.

There are just a lot of inconsistencies and illogical parts of your argument.