Jones, Hawthorne, Bell healthy? What positions are Hawthorne and Jones at?
In the most recent GBMW tidbit post* neither Mike Jones, Brandon Hawthorne nor Isaiah Bell were listed as running with the 1s or 2s. I found that somewhat disconcerting because they did list 3 regular walk ons as well as a walk on fullback learning linebacker on the second team. Apparently this group couldnt muster much of a fight against the second team offense. Are any of the guys mentioned above hurt? What positions are Hawthorne and Jones playing?
Also an interesting tidbit: they have Fitzgerald at Roh's position for now.
*I know. I read for the depth chart and how reps are split almost exclusively.
April 12th, 2010 at 10:29 PM ^
I believed Hawthorne was moved to FS in the absence of Vlad for spring practice only. I don't think this is a permanent move, just had to be made for depth purposes this spring. With Vlad healthy and Freshman depth coming in over the summer, look for him to move back to a hybrid LB/S spot.
As far as I know, Jones and Bell are still playing LB. Remember though, that both played S in HS and had to gain considerable size to play LB in the B10. It is going to take some time.
April 12th, 2010 at 10:36 PM ^
Thanks for the info. But with regards to Jones and Bell adjusting, Moundros and Kevin Leach are apparently manning the MLB and WLB spots for the twos. I'm not too familiar with how interchangeable the WLB and MLB are in this defense, but if they're getting beat out by Moundros it doesn't bode well for the future.
April 13th, 2010 at 12:48 AM ^
The defense is improving, but we're still weak at depth. Jones, Hawthorne, and Bell were all tweeners who need time to fill out their frame and learn their positions. I didn't think any of them would contribute until at least their junior years. They're all still pretty young (redshirt freshmen)
I know they're still pretty young and I don't mean to sound like I'm writing them off, but I don't see how this can be seen as anything other than worrying. Isaiah Bell is 237 now. He's developed physically. He shouldn't be mentally behind a guy who switched to linebacker from offense this spring.
Mike Jones is still only 207, so he probably has a ways to go physically. I wasn't sure when I posted if he had been moved to spur or bandit.
Brandin Hawthorne has apparently been moved around, but why put him at deep safety for the spring if he's going to be behind Tony Anderson anyway?
Isaiah Bell is as big as Ezeh, about 6'1", 237 pounds. He should be a contributor starting next year.
...is pretty intimidating looking in person, but you still have to be able to make reads and redirect like a LB. While we're at it, I wouldn't want to get into a scrape with Ezeh, either.
I went to GBMW, and was quite put off by the stalker photos of Rich Rod eating.
After reading your post I went and looked, and sure enough, the pictures were just as off-putting as you had described.