OT: Lawrence Thomas
Lawrence Thomas weighs 290 lbs and Groucho Mark thinks he still may be a LB??!! 290 is that a typo?? It can't be in 2 spots.
Maybe that's just a nice way of saying he's a poor D-lineman.
That's even big for Alabama's standards. I don't think it's a typo. Just wishful thinking. Put your hand on the ground, LT. It's where you belong.
Well obviously Dantonio knows what he's doing so they have nothing to worry about.
WHO LET THAT ASSHOLE GET UP TO 290 LBs WHILE I WAS IN THE WEEDS? FUCK THIS, IM GOING ON AN INTERGALACTIC RECRUITING EXTRAVAGANZA
Doesn't matter, I have faith in any of our O-Line guys to block him whether he is on the D-Line or at the second level. Technique>Size.
His weight gain has definitely not been intentional. There's a MLive article from last year when he balooned up to around 270 that talks about him putting all his effort toward getting down to a weight that would enable him to play linebacker. His goal was 255/260ish, but I guess that plan didn't work out.
He was highly recruited by every major program out of high school because he possessed prototypical LB size at 6'3 235. This just underscores the problem with offering kids at a time when their bodies are still growing. He could turn out to be a good DE, but I suspect that a lot of programs probably dodged a bullet here.
Sounds eerily like another highly recruited prospect out of Detroit.
Vince Helmuth?
Brandon Graham
I guess so! If the weights are accurate he put on 55 pounds in one year! Since he apparently had a shoulder injury that led to his redshirt and precluded him from participating in Spring practice, he could not have been spending much time in the weight room bulking up. Just wow...55 pounds...still the same height...wow again.
Somebody who gains that much has to have had some indicators. How big is his dad/mom? Doesn't tell all but if the Dad for example is a monster then you at least have something to chew on in terms of predictions.
This happens at schools but how can a program at this level not keep this from happening with a scholarship athlete? This can't just happen in the few weeks in the summer where he may be able to be around less frequently.
This is not that big of a deal. 290 is a typical size for linebackers in the Galgamex system where Dantonio does a lot of his recruiting.
I kid, I kid
I think LT probably wants to be a LB and the coaches are saying "We'll find a spot for him on the field somewhere" is a nice way of them saying "you're probably not a LB anymore, time to put a hand down". At this point he went from 30 tech to 3 tech.
""I see him as a 290(-pound) football player,"" - Dantonio, quoted in the article
The insight of the man never ceases to amaze.
Yeah, I would imagine that, now that he has DE size (heavier and shorter than Gholston though, I think), that he'll probably find his way onto the field that way if Mark Dantonio says they will find a place for him. That might be the logical spot for the new Lawrence Thomas. Of course, if he is wise, he will probe the area where he puts down his hand first - he would, after all, be putting his hand down in the weeds.
Huh. I see him as a 290-pound synchronized swimmer. Wait 'til you see his leg kick!
He would probably be pretty buoyant at that weight.
I seem to remember Brandon Graham's weight ballooning as well, causing him to work at the 3-tech for a short period. He was also a highly rated 250 lb-ish linebacker from Detroit as a recruit. Not that I hope he turns into that but gaining weight was likely bound to happen.
he's probably a LB/NT now, with an emphasis on NT.
Theres a bunch of reports about this, I don't even know what's right and what's wrong anymore. He's been reported from being anyhwere from 250-290 (as listed here), and a week or two ago he said he and narduzzi were both all-in for him being a DE, yet this article says he could still play LB? All i hope is that his shoulder heals and he's on the field ASAP, as a LB or DE
I doubt he'll be on the field that much any time soon, regardless of position. He won't be playing LB since you guys are pretty set at LB for the starters and he's probably way too out of shape for that, and he won't play much at DE since he won't be better than Rush or Gholston, and he'll have a lot of technique to learn playing on the DL for the first time.
That's OK for you guys since he's a RS frosh this fall. He might be the heir apparent to Gholston, though.
The heir apparent to Gholston is Joel Heath who could push for some PT this year (he's a RS Fresh). Coaches said he looks like Gholston 2.0 in the spring. maybe on the other side he could spell Marcus Rush since his backup, Shillique Calhoun, was said to be a beast also after a spring scrimmage, but then Narduzzi said "he has to decide if he wants to be a scout team member the rest of his career".