General Question for the Board Regarding Safety Prospects

[cowboycane]

It seems to me, especially in regards to this class, that a lot of people are concerned about "natural safeties".

My question is, when did this become a concern?

Many, if not most, great safeties were either jack-of-all-trades in high school or converts from another position.

To wit, Sean Taylor was a running back....Ronnie Lott was a corner....Antrel Rolle played all over...Merriweather played corner AND safety....I am sure there are a ton of great examples I am missing but you catch my drift, surely.

It seems to me that in high school, most teams put their best players at positions of more importance than safety...like corner or receiver, for instance. It would then follow that in order to find good safeties, you have to convert guys from other positions. I could even see it argued that it is a knock if a guy is strictly a safety in high school.

The point I am trying to make is a lot of people seem to think that to be a great college safety you had to be a great high school safety. I think time and again we see this disproven, and that's why I don't understand the complete alarm-ism over our depth. Jenkins, Bush, Burns, Lewis III, maybe Antonio Crawford or Hope...they all seem to be legit safety prospects to me, just as much as a "pure" guy might.

And for the record (maybe this is the Grassy jitters in me), I am not calling anybody out, just trying to learn the other side of the argument.

 

[CanesAreAble]

I tend to agree.

There's been a lot of concern over Deon Bush. If Paul Williams is worth a **** and Bush has a strong work ethic, he can excel at safety.

 

[ben]

the most difficult attribute to project for safeties, i think, is the ability to read plays, just given the advancement of offenses going from hs to college. who knows whether bush or jenkins has it or not.

also: sean taylor played both ways in high school. he set the state td record at rb, but he was the best defensive player on a high school team that was surprisingly loaded.

 

[Peter Ariz]

For me, it's just that a lot of these guys don't have much experience at safety, even at the high school level.

 

[ImU2daDEF...CLF]

With your thought about adding another safety to this class, is a JC transfer a legit option?

Theres a kid named Justin Cox, highly rated kid, who has incredible speed, if legit, 4.3 type kid.

For me, it's just that a lot of these guys don't have much experience at safety, even at the high school level.

 

[cowboycane]

the most difficult attribute to project for safeties, i think, is the ability to read plays, just given the advancement of offenses going from hs to college. who knows whether bush or jenkins has it or not.

also: sean taylor played both ways in high school. he set the state td record at rb, but he was the best defensive player on a high school team that was surprisingly loaded.

Right, but to my point, he would not be considered a "pure safety".

 

[Peter Ariz]

Juco is definitely an option, but a lot of those names won't emerge until the season starts

 

[cowboycane]

For me, it's just that a lot of these guys don't have much experience at safety, even at the high school level.

It would seem to me that if the most important trait in a safety is play recognition (and therefore then being able to go to where you're needed in a timely fashion), experience playing safety isn't as important as football IQ.

Take, for instance, Chuck Williams. I think he will end up a great ball player at Ole Miss, regardless of position, because from what I glean he knows that he is doing. He might not have ever played safety before, but his knowledge of the game, plus his obvious physical attributes, will make him a quick study who could play early and learn on the job. I know that Pete thinks he is a stud and an underrated one at that. Would he not be a good take for this class because he is not a safety in high school?

(Again, not trying to flame.)

 

[DMoney]

I agree with cowboy cane. It's paradoxical, but IMO a true safety is a guy who played multiple positions in high school. That's one of my concerns with Deon Bush. A safety should be one of the most natural, instinctive overall football players on the team.

 

[tsimonitis]

Someone like a former QB? What do you think of AJ back there? Limited physically but good mentally?

I actually agree with cowboy cane. It's paradoxical, but IMO a true safety is a guy who played multiple positions in high school. That's one of my concerns with Deon Bush. A safety should be one of the most natural, instinctive overall football players on the team.

 

[DMoney]

Someone like a former QB? What do you think of AJ back there? Limited physically but good mentally?

I actually agree with cowboy cane. It's paradoxical, but IMO a true safety is a guy who played multiple positions in high school. That's one of my concerns with Deon Bush. A safety should be one of the most natural, instinctive overall football players on the team.

I want to see more. He's smart but doesn't play with a lot of confidence or fearlessness back there. That hinders his play speed.

 

[LuCane]

Mort talked about this in the NFL. A "natural" Safety these days doesn't really exist. A Safety has to be more cerebral now. That's why you get guys worried about certain players in the middle of the field. With the amount of wide open sets, motion and same plays from different formations, an NFL Safety's most distinguishing attribute these days is his ability to process information. I don't think this has happened in college yet, but I believe we'll see this trickle in the next years. People knock VT's speed issues, but I think his biggest issue from day 1 has been his poor angles. Some will say those are *because* of his speed issues, but I see plenty of "slow" players anticipate better.

 

[cowboycane]

Agreed. Ed Reed isn't exactly greased lightning, but he is the prototype for the modern safety because he knows where the ball is going and takes good risks.