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The 2012 LB class..

  • Consisted of Joe Bolden, James Ross, Royce Jenkins-Stone, and Kaleb Ringer. But how many of them will actually start for the majority of their careers? Obviously Joe Bolden is prime to take the MLB spot after Demens graduates, but at OLB right now we have Jake Ryan and Desmond Morgan. Jake Ryan has obviously emerged into a super stud, so I don't see any way he loses his starting spot unless an injury occurs. Desmond Morgan just got the honor of wearing #48, Gerald Ford's old number. I think that tells me that Morgan may have his spot locked up until he leaves also.

    I just thought that was funny since pretty much all of us (including me) thought in preseason that by halfway through the year, the freshman would have taken the starting spots by now.

    Morgan--Bolden--Ryan may be the corps we have for the next 2 years until Morgan and Ryan graduate. (Which btw, would be PERFECTLY fine with me, I love all three of these guys. goblue)

    This post was edited by Rabid on 10/26/2012 at 3:32 AM

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    Rabid ●

  • Ross has already seen the field plenty. He is much better in coverage so i do believe he will continue playing.
    Ringer is a special teams missile
    Rjs we havent seen , so Its hard to project a career.

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    kylebennett7127 ●

  • Morgan has improved, but he still doesn't have nearly the upside/ability of Ross. Once Ross' understanding of the defense, and adapts to the size/speed of NCAAF I still believe he'll take Morgan's spot.

    thevictor_11

  • thevictor_11 said...

    Morgan has improved, but he still doesn't have nearly the upside/ability of Ross. Once Ross' understanding of the defense, and adapts to the size/speed of NCAAF I still believe he'll take Morgan's spot.

    Yeah, i think thats true.

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    kylebennett7127 ●

  • kylebennett7127 said...

    Ross has already seen the field plenty. He is much better in coverage so i do believe he will continue playing.
    Ringer is a special teams missile
    Rjs we havent seen , so Its hard to project a career.

    confused

    Do you have Ringer and RJS mixed up? Ringer was in for the Spring but had a season ending injury during fall practice. RJS plays special teams right now.

    xxmgobluexx ●

  • kylebennett7127 said...

    Ross has already seen the field plenty. He is much better in coverage so i do believe he will continue playing. Ringer is a special teams missile Rjs we havent seen , so Its hard to project a career.

    RJS has played great on ST, Ringer has a knee injury and isn't playing.

    Ross will push Morgan to the limit next year. Could definitely take over for starter. Brandon Moore has Kramer's 87 but he's not starting

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    Ducksworth

  • thevictor_11 said...

    Morgan has improved, but he still doesn't have nearly the upside/ability of Ross. Once Ross' understanding of the defense, and adapts to the size/speed of NCAAF I still believe he'll take Morgan's spot.

    I thought that at one time also, not so much anymore. I think it will take an injury to get Morgan off the field now. The kid is a gamer, with great instincts.

    xxmgobluexx ●

  • Yep. Anyway you look at it, it is all good.

    Tom May

  • Do not be surprised if Morgan is moved over to the MIKE during spring practices. That's his more natural position. Bolden could use another year or so of development.

    This post was edited by MaizeBlue321726 on 10/26/2012 at 9:24 AM

    MaizeBlue321726

  • When Hoke talks about competing every day, THIS is the result. Demens and Morgan got better because they were pushed by younger players.

    This is part of the genius of this staff. Most staffs talk about "every position is up for grabs", but in reality the returners have nothing to fear regarding job security. Not with Hoke and Mattison. Every week is a battle for playing time.

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    MSU isn't a very good football program.. takes year of consistent winning to get to that level. - copemoney 1/22/13

    Due51 ●

  • Maize&Blue32 said...

    Do not be surprised if Morgan is moved over to the MIKE position during spring practices. That's his more natural position. Bolden could use another year or so of development.

    Exactly what I was thinking. They'll need another kid playing MIKE anyway since McCray and Gedeon will both (hopefully) redshirt. With Ringer's injury he won't be ready to step into the 2-deep, so I think they have a good competition with Ryan, Morgan, Cam Gordon, Ross, Bolden, and RJS and see who plays best and what combination of 3 works best.

    Dizzo ●

  • Due51 said...

    When Hoke talks about competing every day, THIS is the result. Demens and Morgan got better because they were pushed by younger players.

    This is part of the genius of this staff. Most staffs talk about "every position is up for grabs", but in reality the returners have nothing to fear regarding job security. Not with Hoke and Mattison. Every week is a battle for playing time.

    This is why we will dominate for years to come. Ringer will have a role eventually....kid hits like a Mack Truck and I was impressed during the spring game with his size and speed

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    "Those Who Stay...Will be Champions"

    Moon

  • Due51 said...

    When Hoke talks about competing every day, THIS is the result. Demens and Morgan got better because they were pushed by younger players.

    This is part of the genius of this staff. Most staffs talk about "every position is up for grabs", but in reality the returners have nothing to fear regarding job security. Not with Hoke and Mattison. Every week is a battle for playing time.

    Exactly... even in the middle of a game it's a battle for PT. If someone is lacking in their assignments, Hoke will bring in someone to light a fire. The past few weeks the rotation has died down a little in games, but prior to that i've never seen a team substitute LB's and DB's as much as Hoke would.

    thevictor_11

  • Ducksworth said...

    RJS has played great on ST, Ringer has a knee injury and isn't playing.

    Ross will push Morgan to the limit next year. Could definitely take over for starter. Brandon Moore has Kramer's 87 but he's not starting

    Lol im glad you guys knew What i meant

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    kylebennett7127 ●

  • RabidWolverine said...

    Consisted of Joe Bolden, James Ross, Royce Jenkins-Stone, and Kaleb Ringer. But how many of them will actually start for the majority of their careers? Obviously Joe Bolden is prime to take the MLB spot after Demens graduates, but at OLB right now we have Jake Ryan and Desmond Morgan. Jake Ryan has obviously emerged into a super stud, so I don't see any way he loses his starting spot unless an injury occurs. Desmond Morgan just got the honor of wearing #48, Gerald Ford's old number. I think that tells me that Morgan may have his spot locked up until he leaves also.

    I just thought that was funny since pretty much all of us (including me) thought in preseason that by halfway through the year, the freshman would have taken the starting spots by now.

    Morgan--Bolden--Ryan may be the corps we have for the next 2 years until Morgan and Ryan graduate. (Which btw, would be PERFECTLY fine with me, I love all three of these guys. goblue)

    Great problem to have! as good as the backups are I imagine we'll see them play a little bit atleast in rotation. Once we have this kind of depth at every position then were going to be an elite team again.

    goblue

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    Hoke Express ●

  • The other thing to keep in mind is that Mattison is admitted he would like to have a full 2 deep (22 players, 2 at each position) that he can count on to step in and play at any time. This gives him the ability to rotate people to get guys rest without a dropoff, so while RJS, Ross, Bolden and Ringer may not start for their full careers, they should get some solid playing time spelling the starters. As a result, the defense should remain fresh for a full game which will help our defense play better.

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    freernnur5 ●

  • RabidWolverine said...

    Desmond Morgan just got the honor of wearing #48, Gerald Ford's old number. I think that tells me that Morgan may have his spot locked up until he leaves also.

    What kind of statement is that? Just because you have a certain number you automatically start for your entire career? loco

    I'm really not that impressed with Morgan at all, Ross will overtake him.

    This post was edited by sircharles11 on 10/26/2012 at 11:56 AM

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    sircharles11 ●

  • Also, when I was rewatching the MSU game last night I noticed the announcers saying that Mattison considers all of his personel starter quality, hence he allows them to rotate whenever they want. Just found that interesting. goblue

    This post was edited by sircharles11 on 10/26/2012 at 11:52 AM

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    sircharles11 ●

  • sircharles11 said...

    Also, when I was rewatching the MSU game last night I noticed the announcers saying that Mattison considers all of his personel starter quality, hence he allows them to rotate whenever they want. Just found that interesting. goblue

    I thought that was just for the defensive ends.

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    WillyWolverine ●

  • What's nice is that we will likely get to RS Gedeon and McCray... thumbsup

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    Clarkw267 ●

  • WillyWolverine said...

    I thought that was just for the defensive ends.

    Maybe now it is but with the depth that we are building at linebacker I don't see why it wouldn't apply there as well shrug

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    sircharles11 ●

  • Clarkw267 said...

    What's nice is that we will likely get to RS Gedeon and McCray... thumbsup

    What's nice is that probably for lots of freshman LBs we will be able to afford RS.

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    freernnur5 ●

  • freernnur5 said...

    What's nice is that probably for lots of freshman LBs we will be able to afford RS.

    I look forward to the day when we won't be forced to start freshman right away

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    sircharles11 ●

  • sircharles11 said...

    I look forward to the day when we won't be forced to start freshman right away

    Me too. I still think for most of the defense, that may be a bit away, but LBs seems to be building up quite a strong pipeline and fixing that problem first.

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    freernnur5 ●

  • sircharles11 said...

    What kind of statement is that? Just because you have a certain number you automatically start for your entire career? loco

    I'm really not that impressed with Morgan at all, Ross will overtake him.

    Because they don't just give out legend numbers to just anybody. What Morgan earning Ford's jersey tells me that the coaches are very confident about Morgan being in the game, and I don't think they want somebody with a legend number sitting on the sideline imo.

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    Rabid ●

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