GregInPitt
Well-known member
Rojas out. Some here didn't believe he was LB worthy of the LB-U name. Well, we'll find out how much of a drop off the D experiences without him.....
Franklin's midweek post practice PC... Rojas out injured long term (i.e. for the season)
- Thread starter GregInPitt
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GregInPitt
Well-known member
Definitely interesting that Franklin said they are considering green lighting Tatsch and Cam Smith, but yet no mention of Arrington. Arrington was the talk of camp initially with his athleticism, so where is his development gone since then and why wouldn't he be the first or at worst 2nd true freshmen LB in the discussion to get in the fray at LB with the Rojas injury? Cam Smith actually only got to PSU in the summer where as Tatsch and Arrington both participated fully in Spring practices, as well as the winter S&C before that.
Wish someone would have followed up Franklin's LB discussion with a question on Arrington.......
Wish someone would have followed up Franklin's LB discussion with a question on Arrington.......
RickinDayton
Well-known member
Athleticism does not always translate right away to PT. Lots to learn about being a college LBer. Wasn't he a DE in HS?
Knowles is high on Tatsch. He is our #1 freshman. Really need Deluca to step up. How good is Speca, Wylie?
RickinDayton
Well-known member
Wylie & Speca need to step up before Tatsch vaults ahead of them. Sure would be helpful if all three became reliable in this defensive scheme.
He was playing pretty good this year, keeping leverage and tackling. He will be missed. Knowles has not been very keen on the younger guys.
GregInPitt
Well-known member
The LB situation, like the rest of the program, rests with Franklin. He recruited the LB's on the roster and if he doesn't have the talent to replace Rojas and have the talent on the roster to replace him and have Lb's that will excel in 2026 and 2027 that's on him.
The 2022 class had only 2 LB's in Carter and Wylie. Carter was obviously a home run recruit and Wylie has gotten some positive comments but has not ever been able to earn a starting LB role. The 2022 class are this season's senior, the leaders of the team, but there are no LB's left from this class.
The 2023 class had just 2 LB's, Rojas and Keys. Franklin seems to have recruited 2 talented LB's in that class but misjudged Keys' off the field behaviors as he is gone due to a reported off the field incident. Nelson was a solid 4 start big framed Safety that was moved to LB 2 years ago who also must not have developed into a LB good enough to play at a high level as we never even hear his name during discussions of potential LB replacements.
The 2024 class had just 2 true LB recruits, Speca and Jackson. If they were talented enough to be future top LB starters they would be more than ready to play by now.
And then there's the 2025 class of Tatsch, Smith and Arrington who all may eventually be good LB's at PSU but it seems may have to be thrust onto the field before they are really ready due to Franklin and his staff's failure to recruit enough LB talent in the preceeding years.
The bottom line is that Franklin and his defensive staff have not recuruited enough LB recruits and talented enough LB recruits such that the bench seems shallow enough that Franklin seemed in a panic about the situation as much as we fans do. For recruiting being a perceived strenght of his coaching resume he sure has had very mediocre recent success recruiting LB's. About the same as his success at WR.
The 2022 class had only 2 LB's in Carter and Wylie. Carter was obviously a home run recruit and Wylie has gotten some positive comments but has not ever been able to earn a starting LB role. The 2022 class are this season's senior, the leaders of the team, but there are no LB's left from this class.
The 2023 class had just 2 LB's, Rojas and Keys. Franklin seems to have recruited 2 talented LB's in that class but misjudged Keys' off the field behaviors as he is gone due to a reported off the field incident. Nelson was a solid 4 start big framed Safety that was moved to LB 2 years ago who also must not have developed into a LB good enough to play at a high level as we never even hear his name during discussions of potential LB replacements.
The 2024 class had just 2 true LB recruits, Speca and Jackson. If they were talented enough to be future top LB starters they would be more than ready to play by now.
And then there's the 2025 class of Tatsch, Smith and Arrington who all may eventually be good LB's at PSU but it seems may have to be thrust onto the field before they are really ready due to Franklin and his staff's failure to recruit enough LB talent in the preceeding years.
The bottom line is that Franklin and his defensive staff have not recuruited enough LB recruits and talented enough LB recruits such that the bench seems shallow enough that Franklin seemed in a panic about the situation as much as we fans do. For recruiting being a perceived strenght of his coaching resume he sure has had very mediocre recent success recruiting LB's. About the same as his success at WR.
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A position that requires intuition, ability to shed blocks and plug holes, lateral speed. A disruptor. A leader. It should be like the QB position where its recruiting is a serious endeavor.