valentine is a key for a special season?

Definitely not a key, but would be ideal if he played a role

quote:

---

key for a special season?

---

quote:

---

I think for our defensive front to be successful, we need him at NT. LaCouture cant play NT, Godchaux is an emergency plug ther ebut pretty undersized. Clearly they dont trust Gilmore to play that many snaps. Valentine makes things so much better for us up the middle.

---

I agree with this. I like our front but to me seem vulnerable to the power run game in the 4th quarter. TV changes that.

I'm as excited as anyone about Valentine.......however, the man has not played a down yet against SEC competition.......no matter how big he is, he's still unproven.

Let's temper our excitement until we actually see him in action!!

quote:

---

The NT in Aranda's scheme isn't the same role as the NT in say Saban's 3-4. Aranda's is a gap-attacking NT

---

I already knew this, but again, why do you think they were scrambling to find a guy to play NT this spring?

Lacouture is a space eater and doesnt fit Aranda's 3-4 NT spot. Godchaux can penetrate well which is why they put him there but they have repeatedly said that is not ideal considering he is still undersized for what they want. The reason they have sold out on Valentine is he is by far the best option to come in and plug that gap for 1 year because they saw first hand he can penetrate with NT size when he was here.

I mean they are trying hard to take back a guy that flunked out of here and has still has had a tumultuous past since he was dismissed from here. That alone should tell you they are pretty desperate to find someone to play that spot for this year until guys like Alexander and Lawrence can get some experience and college S&C under their belt.

quote:

---

He hasn't taken a snap in the SEC yet. He's a complete wildcard. I don't even consider Valentine when I think about the 2016 team. If he comes in and earns a role, then that's great, but we can't count our chickens before they hatch.

---

My thoughts exactly. Greg Gilmore is someone who I'm excited to see play in Aranda's system. Valentine hasn't played a game and people act like he's all Sec

quote:

---

He hasn't taken a snap in the SEC yet. He's a complete wildcard

---

He's a 330 lb nose tackle. It is an easy position dependent on size and strength, which he has.

I mean at worst he'd provide depth.

quote:

---

What has he proven though?

---

That he is 330 lbs and strong

quote:

---

This team is uber talented with or without him

---

With a lack of depth in the middle. Stopping the run was def a weakness on this team last year, especially in the 2nd half

quote:

---

We don't know anything about him until we see him play.

---

People here have seen him play in practice, me included. He's the real deal.

All he has to do is eat up space. Anything extra is lagniappe. He's not gonna shrink

Yes, at least he'll eat space like Cody at Bama couple years ago. Brandon Harris is the "Key" to this season.... hope he's ready.

I will say this about him. Prior to the 2014 season, we heard his name a lot as someone who was basically unstoppable in practice. He could be a game changer, one of those players who gives you that extra edge you need in the big games, particularly in November. If he is the same player we heard about back then, he could definitely make a huge impact for us. He might be the kind of guy that doesn't allow the offense to double team Neal or Key, giving them free reign to kill the QB on every play. Only time will tell, but it would be nice to see his name on the back of an LSU jersey after we were teased for the entire 2014 season by the ridiculous SEC office. Can you imagine something similar happening at Alabama, a star player gets cleared by the NCAA but not the SEC office?