Positive mention of Mazi Smith
Some of us were worried that Mazi was not mentioned in Don Brown's last presser. We need that big guy to be a force at DT. On Monday's radio show Brown said:
"At tackle, Christopher Hinton, Donovan Jeter and this Julius Welschof and Mazi Smith, those guys have all put themselves in a position where you would be comfortable putting them in a game and knowing you’re going to get a quality effort," Brown said. "Meaning they’re gonna know what to do, gonna know how to function and is going to go out and play hard and play fast. Also, Carlo Kemp, Jess Speight. A guy that has made significant improvement is Phil Paea."
There is of course some over-inclusive coach-speak, but still a relief to hear his name in a positive way.
October 6th, 2020 at 9:52 AM ^
While I am glad for confirmation that Smith still exists, the rest of the quote does not fill me with confidence. "[T]hey’re gonna know what to do, gonna know how to function and is going to go out and play hard and play fast" does not mean the defensive tackles can hold up, shed blocks, and generate interior pressure. Knowing what to do and getting deposited five yards down field is no better than having no idea what's going on and getting deposited five yards down field.
October 6th, 2020 at 10:05 AM ^
You may have intentionally read too much into that.
October 6th, 2020 at 10:10 AM ^
Indubitably. But it is still the offseason, so what else do I have to do? Also, I have no context for Brown's remarks. For all I know, the quote I pulled could have come at the tail end of effusive praise for the defensive tackles' ability to penetrate and disrupt.
October 6th, 2020 at 10:44 AM ^
I don't think he did though. Don Brown is easy to read. When a player is good, his excitement is obvious. So when he says "yeah, they know what to do and can play" that usually means they'll be a rotation piece at best
October 6th, 2020 at 10:58 AM ^
Uh...Mazi was named after Julius Welschoff
October 6th, 2020 at 11:06 AM ^
And both were named before Kemp, so what’s your point?
October 6th, 2020 at 12:22 PM ^
Did you confirm that with his mom? Seems like quite the stretch to assume Mazi was named after someone halfway across the world that would one day end up his teammate.
October 7th, 2020 at 12:40 AM ^
Underrated comment
October 6th, 2020 at 1:11 PM ^
I'd like to hear the audio. Last time Brown referred to him as "Julian Weiskof."
October 6th, 2020 at 11:09 AM ^
Dude it's simple math:
Last year the interior DL rotation was like this:
In LBS:
286, 290, 270, 282, 303(truFR), 288 (WO)
They only gave regular minutes to one guy over 300lbs.
this year be like:
305, 318, 305, 286, 302, 286, 290
They may not get off blocks but they definitely should hold up better and not get pushed around as much.
October 6th, 2020 at 11:15 AM ^
As long as a LB is not on the goal line D let’s call it a victory.
October 6th, 2020 at 11:52 AM ^
You mean standing directly over a guard, because I believe they have LB's on every defensive set.
October 6th, 2020 at 11:58 AM ^
Last year it was a fullback, so I would even call a LB a victory.
October 6th, 2020 at 12:42 PM ^
I believe he is referring to Jordan Glasgow over the guard in a goal line situation getting destroyed.
October 6th, 2020 at 1:37 PM ^
Right, but I mostly remember the 270lb FB at 3tech.
Ouch
October 6th, 2020 at 9:55 AM ^
I agree, some of it can be attributed to over-inclusive coach-speak but it's never a bad thing to hear his name
October 6th, 2020 at 10:35 AM ^
Right, a coach can't praise one player without mentioning everyone. Otherwise the next question is about the players not mentioned. What about ..., you didn't mention them, are they not impressing?
It's a never ending cycle for coaches in their pressers.
October 6th, 2020 at 12:08 PM ^
I think that's OP's point. Mazi had been absent from previous mentions (I think more than one). So, in most cases, this quote is meaningless I-just-named-everyone coach-speak, but Mazi was excluded from even those recently. So, yaaaay, and also, meh.
October 6th, 2020 at 9:55 AM ^
Good to know that he hasn't opted or transferred out.
I'd like to hear more from Coach Nua on the DLine depth.
October 6th, 2020 at 11:53 AM ^
Maybe the mention is so he doesn't enter the portal. I hope that isn't the case, but hell he hasn't been mentioned since he signed his LOI.
October 6th, 2020 at 9:58 AM ^
Also stated Welschof is up to 290, and still runs like he's 260.
October 6th, 2020 at 10:03 AM ^
And skies moguls like he is 180
October 6th, 2020 at 10:22 AM ^
Das ist eine Last.
October 6th, 2020 at 10:36 AM ^
Genau, und wir mussen diese Last herumtragen
October 6th, 2020 at 10:08 AM ^
He's alive!
October 6th, 2020 at 10:10 AM ^
Hallelujah!
October 6th, 2020 at 10:28 AM ^
Seems like he's just naming every warm body they could put on the interior.
October 6th, 2020 at 12:17 PM ^
...except he didn't mention Ben Mason
/s
October 6th, 2020 at 10:40 AM ^
Many of you are reading way too much into pre-padded practice info. It’s probably useful for WR,CB, maybe safeties and QB, but it’s pretty useless for anything on the OL and DL. It’s not that the coaches are lying or making stuff up, you can only tell so much in the trenches without pads.
October 6th, 2020 at 11:54 AM ^
Padded practice started Sept, 25.
October 6th, 2020 at 1:43 PM ^
Yes, and the “lack of Mazi talk” hysteria started long before that.
October 6th, 2020 at 10:46 AM ^
don't mean to change the subject does anyone purchase products from Fawnskin shoes
October 6th, 2020 at 10:46 AM ^
Paea? O hell yeah my man!
A solid rotation with a good mix of upperclassmen and young talent.
This unit performing at a high level is the D key.
October 6th, 2020 at 11:04 AM ^
Good news - Mazi was mentioned and thus still exists and is on the roster playing on defense. Yay!
Bad news - He was mentioned in a soundbite that literally included every person trying to play DT so it is hard to get too excited. Unless he gets to be a "dude" or a "guy" or is mentioned in other ways with more enthusiasm or by other people....still sounds like he's a year away.
Frankly, if Hinton is starter quality next to Kemp and Jeter is a plausible rotation piece for 30% of the snaps....that might be enough of an improvement over last year for us to survive.
October 6th, 2020 at 3:05 PM ^
If the staff thinks Mazi is a year away, I don't think he'll be at UM next year. His handler is pretty adamant that the work he's done deserves serious playing time this year. Unfortunate. I hope he and Jeter make the most of their snaps this year and come back next year.
October 6th, 2020 at 5:01 PM ^
Who is his handler?
October 6th, 2020 at 7:52 PM ^
Marty Martens
October 6th, 2020 at 11:35 AM ^
Not too worried about the DL. I think with Hutchinson, Paye, and Hinton we shouldn't get pushed around too much. Hopefully Kemp gained some strength and atleast a few backups are decent enough.
October 6th, 2020 at 11:56 AM ^
You mentioned everybody that got pushed around last year against Wisconsin.
October 6th, 2020 at 12:07 PM ^
Everybody?
Except Mason, lol
October 6th, 2020 at 11:42 AM ^
My prediction is that Chris Hinton plays 3 tech, which means Carlo Kemp starts the first few games of the season at 3 tech and then ends up contributing valuable rotational snaps at both tackle spots for what amounts to close to starter minutes. At nose tackle, Kemp is the emergency backstop. In the meantime, Jeter will start at nose tackle with Speight is available as well. This would give Smith an avenue for snaps and rapid improvement with a less-than-imposing depth chart ahead of him.
Remember, this is the time for walk-ons and try hard positional switch guys (VanSumeren, cough). Highly gifted players who may not be your classic grinders are not going to get a ton of love this time of year. I'm thinking about Mazi Smith and Gemon Green. Make no mistake though, the coaching staff is going to give both players their shot at seizing starting roles. But they can't be effusive in their praise when walk-on types are working twice as hard during the offseason.
October 6th, 2020 at 12:06 PM ^
Paea? This is his fourth year, and I don’t think he has played a meaningful snap yet. And a bunch of younger kids are playing ahead of him. He could improve a lot, and still never see the field.
October 6th, 2020 at 12:30 PM ^
And he also could be rewarded for:
(A) sticking with the program (not many from '17 have),
(B)making a position switch to shore up recruiting failures on the Oline without whining like Ohioan (which probably cost him a year and a half)
(C)Being over 300 lbs.
Plus if he gets some playing time, it might help Nua flip Tola and maybe, dare I say, maybe even move the needle with Tuimoloau.
October 6th, 2020 at 2:04 PM ^
Here’s the scoop with Paea. He never really proved himself at camps or combines. He build his high school film beating up on Division 5 kids. Linebackers weighing 175lbs. Lineman were either fat and slow or small and slow. Paea was huge, fast, mean, and strong and dominated those boys. Bottom line is he can’t do that at the D1 level at a major college.
October 6th, 2020 at 4:46 PM ^
Why you no like Paea?
October 6th, 2020 at 12:18 PM ^
Gonna be a serious rotation on the Dline this year. We should be fresh.
Although I don’t want Salt and Pepper coming out much.
October 6th, 2020 at 12:56 PM ^
Interior should be fine. People are reading too much into it. It's not going to be elite, but it will probably be very solid to good. Sometimes it just takes young DL a little longer to learn how to play with the requisite aggression and athleticism without having to come off the field.
October 6th, 2020 at 1:34 PM ^
Agreed. Hold the block of the interior lineman so the athletic linebackers can clean up. It's a good recipe.
October 6th, 2020 at 1:40 PM ^
Definitely, the best "front 7" as a total squad they've had around in a while.