DT Tywone Malone enters Portal

[TriStarCane]

He aint trash int he portal...

just for every good move in the portal there is atleast 2 questionable evals and multiple whiffs.

It just is what it is....mans a beast in hs recruiting...and tryna figure out the portal fully i guess.

You’re about to get 2,000 words on why you’re a mopey mope from the resident Hecht press secretaries. Even though this is a fair take that he’s been completely uneven in the portal. I will also not be gaslit on the expectations that were set coming into this window. There were a lot of characters used in this forum on how we are going to fill gaps through the portal and we were moving so silently. Like we don’t have a few portal windows as a benchmark with him already

 

[FrancisSawyer]

Unless there’s a drastic change Rose isn’t happening either. Hence why I’m talking Malone . Malone was the guy and that’s why they were on him as hard as they were. Him starting here wasn't because he’s good because he’s not anything special , it’s because we have nothing but LT and Deen that’s actually proven anything. With Moten having some potential.

Btw why do you suppose Miami tried so hard to make this happen? Why do you suppose we kept adding Dt’s and still searching for more? They were both takes and that’s after taking Deen and Gore earlier in the pre spring. Do you know how crazy that is in todays football? That means your depth/ talent is atrocious.

Yes is does mean the depth/talent is atrocious but that's the way it's going to have to be this year until the staff gets some high end/elite level talent at DT in the 2024 class etc ...

We are going to have to suck it up and roll with what we have. That means guys need to step up. It means the young kids will have to forgo the training wheels and jump right in. That leaves us with the following at DT

Leonard Taylor
*Akeem Mesidor(extremely versatile)
Jared Harrison Hunte
Jacob Lichtenstein
Branson Deen
Thomas Gore
Ahmad Moten
Joshua Horton
*Reuben Bain( will play all over the DL)

Nobody is going to confuse us with UGA but the above is what we have to work with. Leonard Taylor should take the next step and be a high level starter. JHH has been here for what it seems like 8 years now so he's a solid player with experience so there's that. Mesidor will get some work inside for sure because it's necessary. Mesidor is very good player and he will help inside no doubt. Branson Deen is a solid player and Jacob Lichtenstein will give us decent depth. Gore is a body for depth and anything he gives us is a bonus. There is no way around it. Moten and Horton will have to get thrown into the fire. I'm actually high on Moten being the one that ends up filling the role that Darrell Jackson had but that won't happen out of the gate. By the second half of the season I think Moten will be that type of big presence inside we sorely need. I think Josh Horton was underrated coming out of High School and I love him as a prospect. He will most likely need to play but it's anyone's guess how effective he will be as a true freshman. We just don't really have a choice. I think we end up picking up someone in the portal between now and Fall but we're not likely to add anyone who can make a big enough difference. It's quite possible that Bain gets used inside a little more than the staff originally thought. I think he will move all around the line like Mesidor.

Overall this is clearly one of the weaker spots on the team. The situation is far from ideal but I've seen much worse. What we absolutely cannot afford are injuries. Especially to Taylor, Mesidor or JHH but it's almost certain that we have a couple. The key here will be coaching. Big Joe, Jason Taylor and DC Guidry will need to be smart and scheme a way to mitigate our weaknesses while taking advantage of our strengths. We are going to need career years from Taylor, Mesidor, JHH and Deen but I think Moten could be a huge key for us. We need to survive until reinforcements arrive in 2024.

 

[Bender]

He aint trash int he portal...

just for every good move in the portal there is atleast 2 questionable evals and multiple whiffs.

It just is what it is....mans a beast in hs recruiting...and tryna figure out the portal fully i guess.

I guess thats where its at as we speak.

A+ in HS recruiting.

C- in the portal.

 

[FrancisSawyer]

…but if we wanted DT help badly…what does that say about their opinion of JHH?

I don't think the fact that we need DTs is a referendum on JHH in particular. It's much more of a general concern with the talent level and depth.

 

[canes732]

So what were all those baseball tweets from the staff for the past few days

They were about how they were gonna strike out for Malone

 

[Alex Del Piero]

Yes is does mean the depth/talent is atrocious but that's the way it's going to have to be this year until the staff gets some high end/elite level talent at DT in the 2024 class etc ...

We are going to have to suck it up and roll with what we have. That means guys need to step up. It means the young kids will have to forgo the training wheels and jump right in. That leaves us with the following at DT

Leonard Taylor
*Akeem Mesidor(extremely versatile)
Jared Harrison Hunte
Jacob Lichtenstein
Branson Deen
Thomas Gore
Ahmad Moten
Joshua Horton
*Reuben Bain( will play all over the DL)

Nobody is going to confuse us with UGA but the above is what we have to work with. Leonard Taylor should take the next step and be a high level starter. JHH has been here for what it seems like 8 years now so he's a solid player with experience so there's that. Mesidor will get some work inside for sure because it's necessary. Mesidor is very good player and he will help inside no doubt. Branson Deen is a solid player and Jacob Lichtenstein will give us decent depth. Gore is a body for depth and anything he gives us is a bonus. There is no way around it. Moten and Horton will have to get thrown into the fire. I'm actually high on Moten being the one that ends up filling the role that Darrell Jackson had but that won't happen out of the gate. By the second half of the season I think Moten will be that type of big presence inside we sorely need. I think Josh Horton was underrated coming out of High School and I love him as a prospect. He will most likely need to play but it's anyone's guess how effective he will be as a true freshman. We just don't really have a choice. I think we end up picking up someone in the portal between now and Fall but we're not likely to add anyone who can make a big enough difference. It's quite possible that Bain gets used inside a little more than the staff originally thought. I think he will move all around the line like Mesidor.

Overall this is clearly one of the weaker spots on the team. The situation is far from ideal but I've seen much worse. What we absolutely cannot afford are injuries. Especially to Taylor, Mesidor or JHH but it's almost certain that we have a couple. The key here will be coaching. Big Joe, Jason Taylor and DC Guidry will need to be smart and scheme a way to mitigate our weaknesses while taking advantage of our strengths. We are going to need career years from Taylor, Mesidor, JHH and Deen but I think Moten could be a huge key for us. We need to survive until reinforcements arrive in 2024.

First reasonable post I’ve seen on here for a couple of days at least.

 

[KingB02]

They were about how they were gonna strike out for Malone

Lol
Did he select OSU yet?
Can we still make a last minute move here?

 

[ScharfCane]

Lol
Did he select OSU yet?
Can we still make a last minute move here?

He committed yesterday

 

[IndayArtHauz]

thats why i said I'm not getting hyped up until i see something

 

[Astcloud11]

It's amazing that the same coach who recruited those guys (Golden) was also the reason, "Can he play DT?," became a meme on this board.

<Shrug> Time is a flat circle.

Only 1 of those guys are a NT body type though, which is the biggest thing we need right now.

 

[KANE]

Tywone was being recruited by Ohio Taint (same position coach) a couple of years ago. Covid messed up things in 2020 as far as visits and whatnot, and Tywone got injured in his senior year. He was supposed to pick a school in December, but pushed things back to February Signing Day once he was injured, hoping for schools to give him committable offers once he recovered.

Also, Ohio Taint took two higher rated DTs before Tywone, so he would have been the third wheel that year.

How else do we think a kid from New Jersey ends up at Ole Miss?

OK, so a prior relationship, won out in the end. Happens all of the time. Thanks for the info.

 

[Yoyo423]

DT is looking bleak. It could be a problem for multiple seasons. We keep talking about Mario's HS recruiting but he only signed 1 kid at a huge position of need in '23. And that kid flew under the radar most of the season and didn't get bumped up to a 4* until after his senior season.

We'll be in this same position next year (desperate for a portal DT) except maybe even worse off because we won't have LT if he has a good season. Even if we sign multiple 4 and 5* DTs for the '24 class you can't depend on any of them to start in '24.

 

[Cribby]

Lol
Did he select OSU yet?
Can we still make a last minute move here?

It’s been over since Tuesday morning. Game blouses

 

[TheU1984]

DT is looking bleak. It could be a problem for multiple seasons. We keep talking about Mario's HS recruiting but he only signed 1 kid at a huge position of need in '23. And that kid flew under the radar most of the season and didn't get bumped up to a 4* until after his senior season.

We'll be in this same position next year (desperate for a portal DT) except maybe even worse off because we won't have LT if he has a good season. Even if we sign multiple 4 and 5* DTs for the '24 class you can't depend on any of them to start in '24.

Eerily similar to the CB position under Golden. But Golden didn’t have the portal … ended up with the WF kid. This isn’t something that can be fixed quickly.

 

[CANEMC]

The saga continues...begin war...

 

[ZeroBeachCane3]

The saga continues...begin war...

Idk who this is, but he tweeted that 17 hours ago lol

 

[bobbydigius]

The saga continues...begin war...

Would love Rose but at this point we are in a position where we need a body, doesn’t matter if it’s a JAG

 

[E1k]

Yeah that aint happening lol

I hope ya’ll are ready for the kid I was told could be another Elijah Kancey to play significant minutes come fall.

We missed the boat on some serious difference makers inside and we will have to lay in that bed come 4 months, buckle up.

Who? I missed this

 

[gacaneaddict]

It’s been over since Tuesday morning. Game blouses

Hey what do you think happened with Malone? Reports were Miami was reason he hit portal? Was that not accurate? When he hit portal was his intention Miami, and then Ohio State comes in and throws a wrench in it? Did Miami tell him he couldn't play baseball, and Ohio State did? Did Ohio State offer more NIL?

Was it simply he intended on going to Miami, but Ohio State offered to his surprise, and he wanted to go play for a playoff contender vs. a 5-7 team?

 

[BoxingRobes]

DT is looking bleak. It could be a problem for multiple seasons. We keep talking about Mario's HS recruiting but he only signed 1 kid at a huge position of need in '23. And that kid flew under the radar most of the season and didn't get bumped up to a 4* until after his senior season.

We'll be in this same position next year (desperate for a portal DT) except maybe even worse off because we won't have LT if he has a good season. Even if we sign multiple 4 and 5* DTs for the '24 class you can't depend on any of them to start in '24.

It is wild that we will ultimately return (according to many) one of the best interior defensive linemen in the nation (Leonard Taylor), will have acquired an iDL that has rated as one of the best interior pass rushers according to PFF (Gore) will have 3 players that have started anywhere from one and a half to three seasons of football at the P5 or G5 level (JHH, Deen, Gore), two of which were All-Conference players (honorable mention and first team - Deen and Gore), have two promising young players (Moten and Horton) and we are STILL out here trying to land multiple interior defensive linemen and it has become - at least if you look at recruiting - our top priority. I get it...but at some point, the guys we have are going to need to step the **** up, too, especially as each one of these portal prospects goes elsewhere. Maybe the discussion about moving one of the OL to iDL should have more merit. Cooper, Sagapolu, Rodriguez, and Seymoure have played on the iDL before (some maybe back as far back as middle school, but its not completely foreign to them). At some point you got who you got and you gotta make it work.

I can see how some of these players we are looking at, might think we are overselling playing time. I don't think so, as I think there is a very clear avenue to a lot of playing time here, but can see some of these big portal DTs thinking there are a lot of guys in the room. idk, maybe that is just an excuse...but if you're an outsider and you see a team with a returning All-Ameican candidate and a unit that has another three multi-year starters behind him, and some promising young players and STILL think iDL is such an incredible need that Miami was in on another 10 transfer portal guys as well, I can see an outsider not fully getting it. I get it...but it seems we are quickly running out of time for talent acquisition and its time the players on the roster realize they need to step up.