Bruins Shuffle Front-7 Depth Chart: Chandler Moves Over To Defensive Tackle
by Nestor on Feb 23, 2010 7:13 PM PST
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PrintWell we have been discussing about this possibility for a while and it looks like it's happening. Nate Chandler is moving over to defensive tackle per Chris Foster in the LA Times:
The Bruins, thin at defensive tackle, will move tight end Nate Chandler to defense. Chandler, 6 feet 5 and 270 pounds last season, has played position roulette before. He was moved to offensive tackle in spring of 2008, but moved back after tight end Logan Pauslen was injured in the season opener that September.
David Carter is the Bruins’ player to see significant playing team at defensive tackle last season. Two top recruits, Cassius Marsh (Westlake Village Oaks Christian) and Sealii Epenesa (Honolulu Iolani), are slated for playing time in the fall.
First of all huge props to Chandler for the sacrifices he has made in last two years as he switched back and forth between different positions. I cannot imagine that being easy yet we never heard him really complain about it either in public or in the background. He has been the consummate team player through all of this.
Now I really hope this shift will pay off for him. He will get immediate playing time and I also think he not only has the physical frame to play this position, he also has that aggressive, nasty mindset that could make him a solid contributor in our front-7. With Chandler, Dantone Jones, Carter (who is listed at 6-5 290 and is on pace to gain more weight per recent article on BRO), Marsh, Chandler, Epenesa and of course Owa, it could be very interesting up front. Chandler was not the only the one who was involved in our roster shuffle today.
Coaches also made some moves to shore up the LB depth chart by "moving strong safety Glenn Love to an outside linebacker spot." Foster also reported that Taniela Maka, a pretty highly recruit from last year's class is on track to make it in by this spring. Here is what I have as a very rough projection on what our depth chart could look like next Fall.
| SLB | MLB | WLB |
|---|---|---|
| 40 Akeem Ayers (6-4, 252, Jr.*) | 43 Steve Sloan (6-4, 231, Jr.*) | Taniela Maka (6-1, 225, Fr*) |
| Glenn Love, 6-4, 210, Jr) |
Todd Golper (6-0, 222, Fr*) | Isaiah Bowens (6-1, 232, Fr*) |
| Josh Shirley (6'2, 220, Fr) |
Patrick Larimore (6-3, 247, So*) |
Aramide Olaniyan (6'2, 200, Fr) |
| Sean Westgate (5-11, 205, Jr) | Jordan Zumwalt (6-4, 217, Fr) |
*indicates red-shirt
Foster mentioned that Larimore and Sloane will be competing for the Mike spot. I had heard from couple of close observers of practice that Todd Golper had been looking pretty good with the scout team. So I have him at the 2 spot.
As for Maka, I have heard that he is a very talented athlete and solid hitter. His numbers in the chart above are from more than year ago. So I am guessing that has changed. He was listed as a MLB out of high school. Perhaps that's where he will get his shot but I have him at Will spot for now. Really excited to see what Bowens can do this spring and hearing feedback on Love in his new position.
As for the incoming freshmen I think despite all the talent they have to offer there is a good chance they could get redshirted. Perhaps Shirley will be ready to step up right away. I think Aramide, Jordan and Eric Kendricks will benefit from redshirting in their freshmen season.
Again the depth chart above is just a very rough projection on my part. I would love to hear your guys thoughts on it because there might be other factors I am not taking into account. One thing for sure, despite how young this unit looks on paper, we haven't had this kind of talent in our depth chart for a while. For reference see how it looked just two years ago.
Overall, really excited about the move of Chandler to DT. Can't wait to hear the reports from all the BNers who are going to be out there this spring and taking notes. We have less than 37 days to go.
GO BRUINS.
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I was told last week
that Chandler was p to 290 lbs. That just about sealed his move to the defensive side of the ball. He’s got the feet and the size and the strength. Hopefully he picks up on the technique quickly.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Feb 23, 2010 7:17 PM PST reply actions
I've heard a lot of different things on the LB's
Wrt to Maka, what I was told is that the coaches aren’t 100% sure where they’re going to him and that they’re going to use him at a few different places in the spring to get a feel for where he works best. By the end of spring, they’d like to lock him into something so he can work on that. If he picks up on his one spot quickly, then they’ll start working in wrinkles on moving him around.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Feb 23, 2010 7:22 PM PST up reply actions
Oops, didn't mean to post that yet...continued
One of the more interesting things I’ve heard that the coaches are intrigued about though is eliminating the weakside and strongside linebackers. They may put Maka on one side and Akeem on the other, then use them both to come up, move back, slide inside, etc. They think both are athletic enough to really cause havoc the way Akeem did last year and they might want to try having two of those types of players without a weak and strong so as to make things tough on the offense. All of this requires Maka to pick up on things quickly, but physically, they think he offers something like that which could make things really fun.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Feb 23, 2010 7:25 PM PST up reply actions
A name I didn't mention above
Jared Koster at MLB. We signed him 2 years ago. He couldn’t make it because he had a sports related hernia. I haven’t heard anything new on him on whether he is going to make it into UCLA.
Also speaking of making it in, if Maka does make it in, it would a huge accomplishment for the kid and perhaps the coaches can use him as an example for J. Moore (although he is no longer listed as a commit to us per scout.com).
Ryan
What is the word on Bowens? Prior reports have been positive. Personally, I think Bowens has a better chance to start having been in the system for a year already. Maka hasn’t been able to practice with the team and I think it is asking a bit much to expect him to start.
I heard nothing but great things on him all fall
Apparently he was starring on the scout team so I have high hopes for him. I think he has a better chance than Maka to start too for the reasons you stated. When I talk about Maka, I’m speaking purely about his physical tools and what time of skills he brings to the field. The coaches love what he brings physically, but won’t really know where he fits in position-wise or where on the depth chart he fits in until they get a look at him this spring.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Feb 23, 2010 8:45 PM PST up reply actions
I love the thought
Anthony Barr at SS. Tony Dye just didn’t bring any sort of fear factor last year, nor did Glenn Love. If Anthony Barr is the guy I remember seeing at spring practice last year, his size immediately commands at least a base level of respect. Between a wood-laying Barr and a ball-hawking Moore, that could give some of these young Pac-10 QB’s & WR’s nightmares!!
Overall, however, D is going to be a big question mark. The only seemingly locked up spots are Rahim at FS, Ayers at OLB and Hester at CB. That leaves 8 positions up for grabs. I love the guys in the mix for those 8 positions, but there’s still a lot of inexperience. There was some talk of Jayson Almond to DT…wonder how that’s going to play out. Dude is big (barrel chested), but didn’t strike me as DT big…
I hope the competitive attitude of guys like Marvray, Hester & Pressley rub off and we start seeing more excitement to be out on the field and playing for a great university (yes, I’m talking to you WR corps!).
I’m already searching for a bigger memory card in anticipation of spring practice. And a big thank you CRN for opening up practice to frugal (OK, cheap!) guys with too much time on their hands such as myself!
I think our D will be fine
Yes, we are breaking in a lot of new guys. But we have leaders at every level:
D-Line: David Carter is very underrated, and should improve. Datone Jones and Reggie Stokes bring experience, while Tepa and Holmes will push for playing time and provide depth. The other DT spot is really up for grabs.
Linebackers: see above, but Ayers is obviously one of our best playmakers…and we have guys who have been in our system for a while now who can contribute and play solid, if unspectacular defense.
Secondary: Moore, Dye, and Hester should anchor….even though Hester was hurt last year. Sheldon Price got valuable PT last season and he should make strides if he can put on 10 lbs of muscle. And don’t forget about Viney…
Yes, we have All Pac-10 contributors to replace, but think about it…these young guys are way more talented than any of our outgoing seniors were ever thought to be (with the exception of BP). I think our D will surprise some people.
I don't think Dye has the SS spot locked up at all.
He and Love were similar in that they didn’t seem to want to hit. I think between Barr & Reilly(?) he’s going to get passed over; That is, unless he’s put on some weight/muscle that gives him more confidence to drop the hammer….
Sheldon Price. Man, I want to believe, but he was just so overmatched physically by everyone on the field last year. But the guys behind him aren’t that much bigger either (Viney, Pollard…Sermons has some decent size though). Viney actually did OK until he found himself in the doghouse last year.
MLB. The Quarterback of the defense. Sloan has been in the program longest, but had a total of THREE tackles last year (is that right? In 13 games? Just one more than the punter?). Golper ~ Redshirted. Larimore ~ RS Sophomore with 2 tackles in 11 games. So, apparently, between the three contenders for MLB, we have a grand total of 5 tackles for 2009.
Agree that we should be good at DE. Datone = proven. Iuta Tepa, undersized, but an unstoppable motor. Keenan Graham: I think will win the starting job opposite Jones.
DT will be interesting with David Carter likely the starter and a gaping question mark opposite him (Mann, Edison, Marsh, Epenesa).
The ‘up-the-gut’ defensive positions are the most questionable with uncertainty at MLB and DT.
Nestor who is J. Moore
that you mentioned in your comments? Is he in the class of 2011?
Also, you made this comment, “As for Maka, I have heard that he is a very talented athlete and solid hitter. His numbers in the chart above are from more than year ago. So I am guessing that has changed. He was listed as a MLB out of high school. Perhaps that’s where he will get his shot but I have him at Will spot for now. Really excited to see what Bowens can do this spring and hearing feedback on Love in his new position.” As to the bold part, what is the “Will spot”?
Julious Moore
DT from Washington who verballed but did not qualify academically. He hasn’t signed anywhere else and we are hoping he grayshirts.
Will = Weakside LB, Sam = Strongside LB, Mike = Middle LB.
YES!
It’s about damn time! :D Good stuff recognizing the sacrifices young Mr. Chandler has made throughout his career. Hopefully this will be the last time he is moved and he excels at this position because gawd knows we’ll need him.
For such a big guy, Love never brought the lumber. I’m not expecting much from him at LB. He seems to be adverse to contact IMO. Someone mentioned Barr to SS and I’m guessing it’s because of Love’s move. That may not be the case. It can also mean that the staff is high on McKay and/or Hilliard (I don’t know but from the limited time he played, he really played with reckless abandon and brought the wood) or they see Riley pushing for time at SS although I think he’d be better at FS but he will be sitting behind Rahim. I also read somewhere that Tevin grew a bit so he may he end up at Safety or maybe Moutra will be switched over to safety. The coaching staff will have plenty of options when it comes to our secondary. This is a welcome change from the past when we really didn’t have options nor competition for PT.
There are a lot of positions up for grabs especially on defense and we’ll genuinely have competition at most of the positions. I’m excited to see how things shake out. I’m going to try and get out to Spaulding a few times and I’ll be sure to provide some updates.
I have SOO much respect for Chandler.
There’s not many athletes out there that would be so selflessly willing to constantly change positions and radically change their body without any significant playing time. Sure hope he proves himself and contributes heavily this year.
Maka
I saw him play 2 years ago at LB Jordan, and what stood out to me was his motor – guy goes hard every play. He’s also an athlete, reminds me of Akeem Ayers. That’s a positive and a negative I guess. If you shield him up front, bounce the ball outside and let him run pursuit (he was a MLB in HS) he will do ok. As a WLB I feel like he would be good on run away, not sure how he would look on run towards.
Also I was under the impression that he did not qualify last year, though. Does anyone know what the story is on him? Has he had any contact with the coaching staff or has he even been enrolled as a student…greyshirt/redshirt?
He didn't qualify last year and the plan is greyshirt
He has not been admitted yet, but everything I have heard is that he worked very hard to get his academics in order and should be cleared soon. Of course, that’s no guarantee, but it looks good. He often attended practices last year and spoke often with coaches and players.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Feb 23, 2010 10:55 PM PST up reply actions
GREAT KID
Spoke with him at the spring game – he’s a great kid.. I hope it works out great for him….
Nice read N….
"Success is never final, Failure is never fatal. It's Courage that count's"
John Wooden.....
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