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Concerning comment from Cassity re: depth at CB

  • I just saw the Q&A that Vaught did with Cassity about the current situation in the secondary. He is happy with the Safeties, raving about how Benton and Neloms are doing and that Lowery is pushing Benton for that spot, but he didn't really have anything to say about Faulkner. I'm personally starting to wonder if we're going to see much out of him or what.

    Anyway, the point of this thread is more about the CB positions. When asked by Larry what he thinks about the depth there, he commented as follows:

    Question: What about the depth at cornerback?

    Cassity: “We have got Eric Dixon, Cartier Rice, Marcus Caffey and Eric Simmons. There will be young guys that come in and have to contribute this year. I have three guys that I feel comfortable with right now.”

    We all knew we only have 4 scholarship CB's in spring practice (Rice, Caffey, Dixon and Simmons), but I thought it was pretty telling for him to go out of his way to say he only has 3 guys that he feels comfortable with right now. Given all we've heard about Dixon and how good he looked last year, I have to assume that puts Simmons as the guy on the outside looking in and being the one that he does not "feel comfortable with right now". That sucks, too, because Simmons was a stud in the ATL metro area, is one of the fastest players on the team, and is one of the (if not THE) biggest CB on our team. I don't know what he is struggling with, unless its maybe a lack of "ball skills" or good "hips" like you need in a quality CB.

    JDrum, Matt, Chris....Do you guys have any insight re: what might be holding Simmons back? He's been around plenty long enough now to where he should be making a push or at least rising to the level of a guy the coach feels "comfortable with" when the depth is so thin. There is no doubt at least a couple of true freshmen will be counted on for depth at CB next season, even Cassity acknowledges that, but I really don't like the fact that we only have THREE returning CB's who the coach is even so much as "comfortable with".

    mjdotson

  • I would say that the guy he's not comfortable with is Caffey considering he was a tailback until recently.

    Bluegrass Baron

  • Bluegrass Baron said...

    I would say that the guy he's not comfortable with is Caffey considering he was a tailback until recently.

    Joker just said today that Caffey is making plays that most college CB's can't make. Apparently had another nice interception today. It appears that he has his name in ink as a starter at this point. Maybe not necessarily a sharpy, but ink that will take some work to get out.

    usa1000

  • Bluegrass Baron said...

    I would say that the guy he's not comfortable with is Caffey considering he was a tailback until recently.

    All of the coaches have been raving about Caffey and he was listed as a starter opposite of Rice before the spring even began. I would say that means they are pretty comfortable with him as of right now, although he is still a work in progress. Simmons just can't seem to make a move. I just wonder why that is when you consider his size and speed. Perhaps he doesn't have the lateral quickness/hips/etc. to be a really good CB at this level and would maybe be better suited at Safety. Just a guess, but I'm curious what JDrum, Matt and Chris have heard or observed.

    mjdotson

  • I find it far Far FAR more concerning that former stud recruits Faulkner and Lowery are not commanding the starting safety positions

    JHB4UK

  • JHB4UK said...

    I find it far Far FAR more concerning that former stud recruits Faulkner and Lowery are not commanding the starting safety positions

    They are sophomores. I would be concerned if they were upperclassmen, but Spring ball as a sophomore and your on the two deep pushing for serious clock? Uhhh, what's to be concerned about? Especially when considering how our CBs are looking.

    MossCat15

  • Concern for our defensive backfield for 2012 is warranted, in my opinion. Rice got quite a bit of time last year, and Dixon looked good at nickel, but after those two, we're completely unproven and there's a good chance we play one or more freshmen at CB for significant minutes.

    Luckily we'll get three OOC games to start the season. Our front seven has a chance to impact the first game, given UL's unproven line, but Rice and Caffey at the corners and Dixon at the nickel have to keep things in front of them and not give up the big play. Lots of questions will begin to have answers Sept. 2 of this year.

    JDHLaw11

  • MossCat15 said...

    They are sophomores. I would be concerned if they were upperclassmen, but Spring ball as a sophomore and your on the two deep pushing for serious clock? Uhhh, what's to be concerned about? Especially when considering how our CBs are looking.

    I think he is moreso referring to the fact that our 2nd year former Army All-American, top-5 rated Safety in the country still cannot overtake a walk-on. No matter how you spin it...be it him not getting to campus until late last summer or whatever...it is worrisome that he still hasn't grabbed the bull by the horns, so to speak. I mean no offense to our program or to Benton when I say this, but when Army All-Americans sign with UK, they SHOULD be good enough to start from dang near day one unless they are behind a stud who has the position on lock down. Benton is not "bad", but he is moreso a guy who just doesn't make a lot of mistakes. He is the "safe" pick. I don't know what the problem is with Faulkner, but I have to wonder why they're not letting him take over and work through the growing pains in practice like they are with Caffey (who just made the transition to CB and was handed the starting spot before spring practice even started).

    As for Lowery, I'm not worried. He played a good bit last year and looked pretty good. I FULLY expect both he and Faulkner to take ove the spots next year after Neloms and Benton leave, but I can't figure out why Faulkner is struggling so much.

    mjdotson

  • Simmons was on one of the most visable teams in Atlanta his senior year. Tons of scouts watched him play, yet UK was one of the few schools to offer. Maybe there was a reason.

    MinterWonderlnd

  • ^ He suffered a serious knee injury in High School. I had the pleasure of sitting next to Simmons and his teammate (sign with Clemson) during the Bama game. Great kid. Very Good size for a corner. He had 4.4 speed in HS. I'm not sure he has that speed now?

    Maximus62865

  • mjdotson said...

    All of the coaches have been raving about Caffey and he was listed as a starter opposite of Rice before the spring even began. I would say that means they are pretty comfortable with him as of right now, although he is still a work in progress. Simmons just can't seem to make a move. I just wonder why that is when you consider his size and speed. Perhaps he doesn't have the lateral quickness/hips/etc. to be a really good CB at this level and would maybe be better suited at Safety. Just a guess, but I'm curious what JDrum, Matt and Chris have heard or observed.

    I think there is a huge difference between being comfortable with a player and a player not being able to play at this level. To be honest I wasn't comfortable with either of our starting senior CB's last year. You can be an All Army whatever in HS, but it is still a huge jump to playing on the college level, let alone the SEC. I think you are jumping the gun questioning the abilities of the youth on this team if they are not leap frogging older players on the depth chart. I find it quite exciting that many have or are competing to break into the 2 deep depth chart.

    Suchy500 ●

  • Our back 7 is extremely concerning. As bad as they were last year, we lost two All American / All Conference caliber players off that squad. I expect improvement up front, but we just better get used to the idea of the secondary getting burned a lot.

    BigTyrone

  • It seems to me at UK the LB position is built to make stars. We have seemed to produce quite a few quality LB the last few years and I expect this trend to continue. I like our Safety position as well. If the front line can slow or alter the RB, we have the talent in the LB position to clean up the run. If the DE's can pressure the QB our CB's will be much more effective than most people expect. With our new coach at the CB position I expect we will have some good solid play there as well.

    Suchy500 ●

  • mjdotson said...

    I think he is moreso referring to the fact that our 2nd year former Army All-American, top-5 rated Safety in the country still cannot overtake a walk-on. No matter how you spin it...be it him not getting to campus until late last summer or whatever...it is worrisome that he still hasn't grabbed the bull by the horns, so to speak. I mean no offense to our program or to Benton when I say this, but when Army All-Americans sign with UK, they SHOULD be good enough to start from dang near day one unless they are behind a stud who has the position on lock down. Benton is not "bad", but he is moreso a guy who just doesn't make a lot of mistakes. He is the "safe" pick. I don't know what the problem is with Faulkner, but I have to wonder why they're not letting him take over and work through the growing pains in practice like they are with Caffey (who just made the transition to CB and was handed the starting spot before spring practice even started).

    As for Lowery, I'm not worried. He played a good bit last year and looked pretty good. I FULLY expect both he and Faulkner to take ove the spots next year after Neloms and Benton leave, but I can't figure out why Faulkner is struggling so much.

    Faulkner is Nelom's sub - not Benton's.

    IamRV

  • Benton and Neloms play hard but are undersized safeties. Why Ky coaches don't get what the rest of the SEC understands might explain why we can't stop the run. I respect walkons like Benton but you don't win in the SEC with them.

    bigcat65

  • Benton and Neloms are pretty good safeties. They just have a ton of experience on Lowry and Faulkner. At safety knowing what you are doing and being in position are more important than raw athletic ability in most cases.

    zcats ●

  • mjdotson said...

    I think he is moreso referring to the fact that our 2nd year former Army All-American, top-5 rated Safety in the country still cannot overtake a walk-on. No matter how you spin it...be it him not getting to campus until late last summer or whatever...it is worrisome that he still hasn't grabbed the bull by the horns, so to speak. I mean no offense to our program or to Benton when I say this, but when Army All-Americans sign with UK, they SHOULD be good enough to start from dang near day one unless they are behind a stud who has the position on lock down. Benton is not "bad", but he is moreso a guy who just doesn't make a lot of mistakes. He is the "safe" pick. I don't know what the problem is with Faulkner, but I have to wonder why they're not letting him take over and work through the growing pains in practice like they are with Caffey (who just made the transition to CB and was handed the starting spot before spring practice even started).

    As for Lowery, I'm not worried. He played a good bit last year and looked pretty good. I FULLY expect both he and Faulkner to take ove the spots next year after Neloms and Benton leave, but I can't figure out why Faulkner is struggling so much.

    First of all, isn't Lowey the one backing up Benton? Not sure, but I thought that is how the depth chart read??

    Secondly, are you kidding me!? If something happened it happened, it's not always about "spinning." He missed valuable learning opportunities last year before the season.... you know, his FRESHMAN season.

    Did you honestly expect Faulkner to come in and take over as a freshman, or already be the starter during his first ever spring? If you did sorry but those are unrealistic expectations to place on any freshman, which is essentially what he is (experience wise).

    MossCat15

  • MossCat15 said...

    First of all, isn't Lowey the one backing up Benton? Not sure, but I thought that is how the depth chart read??

    Secondly, are you kidding me!? If something happened it happened, it's not always about "spinning." He missed valuable learning opportunities last year before the season.... you know, his FRESHMAN season.

    Did you honestly expect Faulkner to come in and take over as a freshman, or already be the starter during his first ever spring? If you did sorry but those are unrealistic expectations to place on any freshman, which is essentially what he is (experience wise).

    THIS! Faulkner is backing up Neloms. Neloms is a hell of an athlete and he's got tons of experience. He can flat knock heads off as well. Faulkner will step in if Neloms gets injured. Other than that Faulkner at this point will never pass Neloms. Thats not a surprise to me at all. Faulkner will be fine.

    tWhit

  • LBs making tackles says you have a poor front 4. Just how many of those LBer tackles were for no gain or a loss? Great defense starts in the front and ends in the front in the SEC. Size and quickness is what all great defense's in the SEC have in spades.

    signature image

    The meanest dog in Taiwan.

    mrhotdice

  • mrhotdice said...

    LBs making tackles says you have a poor front 4. Just how many of those LBer tackles were for no gain or a loss? Great defense starts in the front and ends in the front in the SEC. Size and quickness is what all great defense's in the SEC have in spades.

    Haha!! absolutely a gem of a post!! What position far and away leads the NFL in tackles? Or, what player on damn near EVERY team (high school, college, and pros) in the country leads their team in tackles?? If you answered LB to either of those questions then your a winner!! To further illustrate my point, the highest tackle total for a D-Lineman in the entire SEC was good for 49th overall in the conference. The big guys up front are suppose to command multiple blockers, thus freeing up the LBs to make alot of tackles. In this area we were obviously not as bad as you were attempting to make them seem.

    To answer your question, Winston Guy had 14 tackles for loss, which is good for 6th in the SEC. Danny had 12, which is good for 11th. Not too shabby.

    All that being said, if your point was that our D-Line needs to see some big improvement, then your not wrong, you just explained your reasoning horribly. The real problem is that our front four absolutely got no pressure on the QB.

    MossCat15

  • mrhotdice said...

    LBs making tackles says you have a poor front 4. Just how many of those LBer tackles were for no gain or a loss? Great defense starts in the front and ends in the front in the SEC. Size and quickness is what all great defense's in the SEC have in spades.

    Depends on your defense. Lots of defenses set up their front line to free up them LBs to make tackles. In fact almost all of them do.

    bigcat65

  • MossCat15 said...

    Haha!! absolutely a gem of a post!! What position far and away leads the NFL in tackles? Or, what player on damn near EVERY team (high school, college, and pros) in the country leads their team in tackles?? If you answered LB to either of those questions then your a winner!! To further illustrate my point, the highest tackle total for a D-Lineman in the entire SEC was good for 49th overall in the conference. The big guys up front are suppose to command multiple blockers, thus freeing up the LBs to make alot of tackles. In this area we were obviously not as bad as you were attempting to make them seem.

    To answer your question, Winston Guy had 14 tackles for loss, which is good for 6th in the SEC. Danny had 12, which is good for 11th. Not too shabby.

    All that being said, if your point was that our D-Line needs to see some big improvement, then your not wrong, you just explained your reasoning horribly. The real problem is that our front four absolutely got no pressure on the QB.

    Excellent Post! Well done and spot on.

    Whitaker568

  • MossCat15 said...

    Haha!! absolutely a gem of a post!! What position far and away leads the NFL in tackles? Or, what player on damn near EVERY team (high school, college, and pros) in the country leads their team in tackles?? If you answered LB to either of those questions then your a winner!! To further illustrate my point, the highest tackle total for a D-Lineman in the entire SEC was good for 49th overall in the conference. The big guys up front are suppose to command multiple blockers, thus freeing up the LBs to make alot of tackles. In this area we were obviously not as bad as you were attempting to make them seem.

    To answer your question, Winston Guy had 14 tackles for loss, which is good for 6th in the SEC. Danny had 12, which is good for 11th. Not too shabby.

    All that being said, if your point was that our D-Line needs to see some big improvement, then your not wrong, you just explained your reasoning horribly. The real problem is that our front four absolutely got no pressure on the QB.

    this.^

    signature image

    Stoopified!

    cobbycobb

  • 3 man front defenses are designed for the DL to keep the OL off the LBs and let the LBs make the plays. If the LBs are not getting most of the tackles the defense isnt working properly. UKs LBs had close to 400 tackles last year.

    C1180

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