re: A little info on Tolan..

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There's spots in the season where Penn has played well but then there's spots he gets abused.

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He has decent speed for his size, but very little quickness and seems to read too long before reacting and over runs plays too often. This is further exasperated when he is on the field with Perkins who seems to play with the speed and quickness of DB.

It seems like he is playing at too heavy of a weight?

I remember Eric Alexander and Adrian Mayes being good converts from safety to LB.


I know the game has changed a lot.

Be visited today at Auburn and they feel he will land at Auburn next week after visiting Mizzou later

But slapdick 1977 said he’s homesick lol

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slapdick 1977 said he’s homesick lol

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slapdick 1977 said he wasn't homesick

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and it is not believed to him being “homesick”.

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If you are going to act a fool and start calling people names, check the facts….

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Wish him well at his new home except when he plays LSU.

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Nah frick that. Not if he’s chasing a bag.

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Penn and Weeks should be backups not starters.

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In a great LB group? Yes. But they are adequate players for us to have a great defense if we have good DBs and a great DL.

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Yep. Wit chu.
And HP40 makes this a slightly above average group whoever plays with him plus another year of experience for Penn and Weeks should benefit both. We rip on Penn/Weeks some but I think sometimes we forget that you can't stuff every play at the line. Offenses do run plays with blockers assigned to the LB's. Just saying.
To your point though, when one of the 3 levels is elite all it takes for the entire Unit to be above average is for the other 2 levels to be Average as groups.
To me, we are gonna need some things to come together up front. First and foremost, Maason has to be the same guy as when he went down when Conference play starts.
If Jefferson and Lee - let's call them the Patriot Package! - are what the staff thinks they are then that's an elite inside bunch.
I think the addition of Shand means he Savion and Wiggins out perform Gaye/Savion of this season. Then Savion/Swinton/Womack/Howard opposite them. I'm jazzed about the depth on paper. Holy shite! What if Womack and Howard come as advertised?
But look, we all know the real key to the entire defense is Mehki. With Maason and the other 2 big baws eating blocks I say Wingo will be a First Team All American.
Oh well, so much for talking about the LB's. Sorry, Rods!

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Something happened with his alignment.

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I will go out on somewhat of a limb and say that I think Penn will be an animal next year. House is very good with LBs. Penn was also very green this season - he didn't play a whole lot last season. With another full off season under Flint and House, I think he could turn the corner.
I don't know about Weeks yet, but I wouldn't count him out. He was also very green this season.
With that said, getting Tolan back would help. But, I'd feel more comfortable (with or without Tolan) if we landed an experienced LB out of the portal for House to work with...even if it's not a splash, but a guy that the staff thinks they could get up to speed quickly.

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For my money, that whole thing is a good call.
The Portal is not overwhelming with fits for us right now.
The only ILB of note is from USC. Which means he's prolly a gelding. Tuasivi Nomura LB RS-JR 6-1 230 USC
He played in every game on defense and special teams. They also used him every game as a fullback/short yardage blocker. I don't see it but who knows.
Clayton Smith LB RS-FR 6-4 231 Oklahoma is the biggest upside guy and I can only guess that CJC knows him from Norman. He appears to be a solid candidate for Alignment but I read he plays outside.