Does the fact that Martinez played this year...

He played sparingly when guys got hurt

Yeah, kinda.

Couple things to consider of the why that is...

- Marlon came in physically stronger than your average HS OL. Not by a whole lot, but enough to be noticeable.

- He did not come in overweight AND not an arse load of bad weight

- Even though he went to a private Catholic school (St. Thomas Aquinas) it is renowned for being tops in athletics so he was a step ahead in regards to the coaching he had received. The guys who play at the bigger schools that have regular Div I players face stiffer competition, but good coaching for an OL at that level is hard to find.

- He picked up on the line calls fast. Don't care how good you are, if you can't be in sync with changes at the line you won't play.

Worth noting Hill got a fair amount of time also. And Martinez got most of his "quality" time on the occasions Wire had to move back out from OG to OT. But he gets the nod for being ready and doing quite well when he was called on. This includes during and after the short period where we were without Dare.

Side Note: there was a thread not long ago pondering why LA doesn't put out many highly ranked OL. The coaching I mentioned above is a top reason why. There are way too many HS coaches that just rely on size/mass and do not teach technique at the HS level. When those OL get to camps it becomes glaring. The development needs to start at the HS level; it isn't.

When Cregg (and Raymond- area recruiter) saw Martinez drill they realized they were looking at a 3 star that had actually been coached on technique as was ahead of many 4 and 5* players they had seen. He was offered soon after. He committed not long after that and signed in the early period. Now he's getting playing time as a tFR. That's the benefits of HS coaching over height/weight. I figure Martinez as a 3* simply because he was a sub-300 lb interior lineman. The bad weight ain't worth it. He is a prime example of why the ability to move and having intermediate level technique coaching before entering this level reaps benefits.

Goon, Great post. Thanks.

Have you watched highlights of Kimo and Dellinger? Both look very athletic, with great pulling quickness. Also, they are both sub-300 guys who are lean. What do you think of them?

Dellinger moves very well (shy of great). While his balance is very good and he has fast feet his lateral movement, while very good, isn't good enough to be considered "great" or "exceptional". But he's got the natural or inherent tools you need to drill it into him. I do love his ability to move and maintain form, which is the "net result" you're looking for. There's lots of guys that when they do move fast are lose form and balance and that can't happen with OTs. That alone tells me Cregg's starting point with him is a good one. The base is there to mold a future NFL OT. He also is better than most HS OTs that are that large at keeping his pad level down and not getting stiff legs. Huge plus there. His hands need a lot of work. He has future starter (1.5 years) written all over him. He also has a frame where he can get real close to 300 lbs, maybe over slightly, and be just fine. He isn't coming in super strong. S&C should add both in year 1. Don't forget either, he's an EE too. He'll be in our facilities very shortly. That matters, especially with DL and OL.

Makenole moves great. At times he'll "wow you" with how well he moves. Some guys you see pulling and you think they just love it; he's one of those guys. Seems very natural for him to pivot and pull and then get a hat on somebody. Now with his frame I predict he'll put on enough weight where he might lose some agility/speed (to get above 300 lbs). But he's got extra to work with so that wouldn't be all that bad as long as he doesn't lose any balance. He's got somewhere just shy of "great" balance. He doesn't have the frame, namely length, that you look for in OT at this level. But he moves well enough OT just might be in the cards. I can see it being a possibility; however I think his primary role will be OG.

As far as I'm concerned both of those guys were recruited with the inherent traits that are hard to manufacture built in. And that's how you should recruit OL because it shortens the development time and lengthens the utilization time. I'd much rather this route over say, for example, having to "manufacture athleticism" on a Traore.

I'd consider Dellinger a home run. Period. Kimo isn't necessarily a home run. But if I was laying odds it is very likely we'll be thinking home run by the end of his sophomore year and we didn't even know it.

I20goon

What do you think about the kid from Neville?

quote:

---

What do you think about the kid from Neville?

---

Love him. Great fame, great athleticism. Neville runs a spread system with RPO in it so that helps. High level of competition. Neville does have a dedicated OL coach (Dickerson) who isn't that experienced but he was at least an OLman himself and overall their coaching staff with McCarty->Tannehill and Burch is very good. Is currently and will probably continue to be our #1 OL target in that class. Cregg has him pegged as LT, and for good reason.

These are the battles (a la Cam Rob) we have to win against all SEC competition, including and especially Gumps.

quote:

---

Since Dumervil received the same coaching and was a higher ranked recruit than Martinez, I assume he wasn’t ready physically, to get more playing time?

---

First and foremost, being ready to play OT vs. OG against an all-SEC schedule is a whole other ball game.

And yes, Dumervil had both physical work to do and mental. At OT there's not much room for error. Your first step, your hand placement, etc. has to be right. Every error you make will be used against you and can get one of your two freshmen QBs killed. And if you aren't perfect in technique (most of the time anyway) you better be very strong and very agile. He's not strong enough (or yet agile enough) to make up for the inevitable technical mistakes. He's getting there.

And not to mention we were playing 3 OTs regularly: Dare, Deculus, and Wire. Little bit of a logjam. I would have liked to see him get some time at OG to start getting a feel for the "sudden violence" that is SEC DLmen.