'09 FB Class Review: DB
| Dennis Thames | |
|---|---|
| Ht: 5'11" Wt: 185 | |
| Scout | *** #40 S |
| Rivals | **** #20 ATH, #10 in Mississippi |
| ESPN | 78 #58 ATH |
Thames was all set to play safety, but then Mullen saw the garbage that Croom left him at WR and so Thames will play there at least his freshman year. I'm leaving him at safety though in this review because I suspect once Mullen gets some more bodies in at WR, Thames will be moved back to safety. Of course if Thames excels at WR, which is entirely possible, he will stay there no matter how many WRs Mullen recruits.
You can check out some video of Thames at his ESPN evaluation.
| Nickoe Whitley | |
|---|---|
| Ht: 5'11" Wt: 185 | |
| Scout | *** #80 S |
| Rivals | *** #74 ATH, #22 in Mississippi |
| ESPN | 73 #170 S |
Whitley played QB and defensive back in high school. One of those situations you see so often in Mississippi, and high school football in general really, where the best athlete on the team is put at QB. He'll be a safety here though. Whitley had 40 tackles and 5 interceptions his junior year and had returned a fumble 55 yards for a touchdown his senior year.
The big question is how good will Whitley be after that injury? Will he be the same player or is this one of those situations where he just is never quite the same again? I'd have to think he is almost certain to redshirt.
| Cameron Lawrence | |
|---|---|
| Ht: 6'2" Wt: 205 | |
| Scout | *** #84 S |
| Rivals | *** #50 ATH, #15 in Mississippi |
| ESPN | 79 #41 ATH |
Lawrence graduated early and came in during the spring. The coaches tried him out some at both quarterback and wide receiver but now he is settled in at his more natural position of safety. He has great size for a safety and could end up at LB down the road if he adds a few pounds. ESPN practically drools over him in their evaluation. Now ESPN's evaluations all tend to be ridiculously positive, but this one even more so than usual.
| Jonathan Banks | |
|---|---|
| Ht: 6'2" Wt: 175 | |
| Scout | *** #69 S |
| Rivals | *** #63 ATH, #23 in Mississippi |
| ESPN | 80 #27 ATH |
Banks played a similar role to Whitley, playing both offense (QB/WR) and defense (S/LB) in high school. He'll be playing defense here at MSU and looks like he'll be starting out at CB due to a lack of numbers there but may end up at safety eventually as he is probably a better fit there. Banks had 35 tackles and 7 interceptions his senior season.
Banks is supposed to be supremely athletic and a big hitter but that was at a small school and poor competition. Nearly every game he was the best player on the field, now he will probably never again be the best player on the field. How does he adjust? Should be a candidate for a redshirt but thin numbers at both CB and S could dictate he play.
| Maurice Langston | |
|---|---|
| Ht: 5'11" Wt: 185 | |
| Scout | **** WR |
| Rivals | *** CB |
| ESPN | Doesn't rate JUCOs |
Langston had offers from North Texas, Troy, UAB, Memphis, and Kentucky. He originally signed with Arkansas State 3 years ago, redshirted his freshman year, then went to junior college for a couple of years. He started out as a cornerback last year, which is what position he is coming to MSU as, but moved to receiver mid-season due to the teams need and excelled. On top of that he is a skilled kick returner. Last year Langston caught 44 passes for 658 yards and seven TDs, ran for 267 yards and 10 TDs on 54 carries, and returned 2 punts and one kickoff for TDs. You can see he is a playmaker
Unfortunately Langston was a moron and was selling weed either back in the spring or early summer. Or at least he is accused of that. He is still on the team but is not practicing and no further decision on his future will be made until a legal outcome has been established. Translation: he won't be playing this year, or at least not very much. He will just be too far behind with missing so many practices. Seeing as how he has already used his redshirt, the best case scenario is he helps the team on the field for one year.
| Darius Slay | |
|---|---|
| Ht: 6'0" Wt: 180 | |
| Scout | ** #116 RB |
| Rivals | ** WR |
| ESPN | 76 #109 S |
Slay had offers from Kentucky and Troy. He did a little bit of everything in high school and may have ended up at cornerback, safety, wide receiver, or kick returner at Mississippi State. He didn't have the grades though and will have to go to junior college. We'll see if he comes back around in a couple of years.
Overall Grade: B-
If you look at just safeties this is a good haul, and becomes a fantastic group if Thames eventually winds up at safety. A definite A+ with Thames and A- without. Either way safety is in good shape in the future. Cornerbacks are DBs too though and this position doesn't look so hot. There is some uncertainty that could help the cornerbacks out though. Does Banks stick at cornerback? Will Langston get his head out of his butt or is it already too late for him? If Banks and Langston end up at CB then things aren't so bad, it is still a pretty mediocre group though. On the other hand there is the potential for there to be not a single cornerback in this class and with a measly four CBs on the current roster, one being a senior, that would be an absolute disaster.
No comments:
Post a Comment