Obviously, you don’t lose a player of Roquan Smith’s abilities without concern about how they’ll be replaced, but if you ask me what aspect of his game will be missed the most, it’s not a close question: his play in pass coverage. Check out this thread on Twitter for an idea of that:
I’m not sure Georgia’s ever had a better ILB in pass coverage. Mel Tucker’s got his work cut out for him this season.
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No question senator. His play will surely be analyzed thoroughly in the film room and Mel will probably have many players and recruits watch it and learn, which is one way Roquan will be with us forever. What a special young man. Jarvis Jones is also special and it pains me to see him struggle.
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I’d love for someone who knows Xs and Os to chime in, but it seems to me that UGAs defense was designed to keep bodies off of Roquan and then let him make the play. I highly doubt UGA has a guy who can fill that void, so that begs the question: Will Georgia have to change it’s scheme/philosophy because or Roquan, or will they simply replace him and attempt to do the same thing?
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Almost defenses are designed to allow the ILBs to flow to the ball. Tucker will probably mix it up until he finds out who he trusts. It took R 2 years to get to a high level, hopefully someone else will have a quick learning curve.
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No doubt. The whole concept is to eliminate the north south running game by having 3 NG sized lineman up front. You gotta have about 8 of those guys to make it work, but if you’ve got them, you’re tough to beat.
You put 3 6’3” plus 330 guys on the line of scrimmage and you can’t waste blockers trying to get them to the second level. The ILBs stay clean, find ball and kill.
Nothing will change schematically but I’m guessing we’ll have a few more missed tackles from that position. However while it’s nice to have Butkus award winners at ILB, I don’t think we need all Americans at ILB to be successful.
Where we really need the talent is at DB, DE and DT.
Great OLB’s and ILB’s are just icing on the cake. Those guys get the glory. The DL is allowing that to happen.
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+1. Cogent observations Derek.
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My favorite thing about R is the way he destroyed the momentum of the ball carrier when he tackled them. Very seldom were there yards after contact with the man. Video highlights of R closing and destroying the runner should be required watching by every defensive player on the roster, every day.
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There are several videos of R under the one featured..just keep scrolling. Roquan plays his position like none other.
Also notable it the way AU’s left tackle gets away with holding.
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I knew which clip you were going to link before I even scrolled down. I had to rewind it live to believe it was R that made the play.
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His coverage of the RB wheel route in the overtime vs. OU was a beauty for the eye to behold. The way he would just eat up the shallow drag route that we’ve struggled with for years was a sight for sore eyes.
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Came here to mention this. I was watching the highlights of that game and noticed a play I hadn’t seen talked about much. Watch this play on OU’s final drive in regulation at 39:10. If not for R’s freak athletic ability get to full speed after turning a 180 Anderson makes this catch at least in field goal range or a Dom Sanders missed open field tackle from a game ender. Unbelievable play.
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Thanks … I forgot it was on the final drive of regulation.
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And those two big stops in OT.
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One of the BEST, ever! So much speed..
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I’ll never forget his 3-and-out in South Bend.
I think that’s also when he started getting national attention.
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I had forgotten about that series until just now. Thanks for reminding me. It was a preview of the year to come.
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Another big R highlight of this past season … the guy is a special talent.
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Instincts and God given talent, you can’t coach it…and you’re right, R will be missed.
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RB’s may be enough depth to cover for Sony and Nick, but nobody on roster to completely fill Roquan and Wynn’s spots. All DGD’S.
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SIMPLY IRREPLACEABLE…….
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Wish we had put him in center field for that 2nd and 26 play for Bama in OT. A timeout at that point should definitely have been used to move to a Cover 3 before they ran that quick play.
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That dude is good.
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