re: The adjustment to get Perkins on the field took Ojulari off

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Why not, we did it for stingley his freshman year, and the honey badger his sophmore year.

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? Aranda always used man coverage at LSU. Stingley fit into that defense like a glove. I'd say the same for Mathieu in Chavis' scheme. The 'mustang' spot worked perfectly for him in part because Claiborne/Taylor/Reid/PP7/Simon were good enough to give TM7 the freedom to roam around and ball. But most importantly Mathieu was and still is an exceptionally smart football player. Like on a level you rarely see.


ILB is a different animal entirely to playing DB. It asks a lot mentally of the player and discipline is a lot of times more important than just being the best athlete. Perkins was not an every down linebacker in HS. It's not a position he's used to playing, and just like with Devin White it sometimes takes a year before they're fully acclimated to play that position.


Ojulari is not great at stopping the run. He is a true pass rusher. If you moved him to Ali Gaye's spot our defense would be gashed on the ground. Until Perk is more comfortable playing on the inside, it wouldn't make sense to have them both on the field at the same time outside of your pass rush packages on third down.