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Omar Graham Jr., Stranahan LB '22

Memnon said:


One thing that I've noticed about a lot of SF LB's over the years, is they really struggle playing LB at the next level.

It's been that way across the board regardless of where they ended up signing, whether it be Miami, UF, FSU or elsewhere. They're highly ranked & looked great in HS & then get to college & disappear.

I can't really think of the last SF LB that's been dominant or done much of anything in a really long time.
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You’ll find productive linebackers if you think about
Memnon said:


One thing that I've noticed about a lot of SF LB's over the years, is they really struggle playing LB at the next level.

It's been that way across the board regardless of where they ended up signing, whether it be Miami, UF, FSU or elsewhere. They're highly ranked & looked great in HS & then get to college & disappear.

I can't really think of the last SF LB that's been dominant or done much of anything in a really long time.
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We have productive lbs at all levels. However, you raised a great point and I think it’s mostly because many of these kids don’t actually play lb or have lb responsibilities. They either blitz most of the time or standing up on the edge.

IMO, Graham’s issue is that he may need more time to develop and actually learn the position . Keep in mind that Strana
Sandman211 said:
It's been a while, but Perryman & Spence were definitely the goods.
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Devin Bush
 
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Jassid82 said:
Devin Bush Jr I think.

That said..OG Jr is getting a lot of criticism but he was no stud coming out of HS. Not by a longshot. So I can’t dog the kid too much. He was a 3* and is playing like it. There is a reason we passed.
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IMO he was raw. I was surprised he was ranked so high. Mostly because I knew the opponents Stranahan was facing. I also have my questions regarding LBs who only blitz or rush the edge in high school. I remember the LB group we pulled in 08. Outside of Spence and Buchanan, everyone rushed the edge and their productions were inconsistent.
 
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MedleyCane said:
Some of this may be the lack of coaching support at many of the local schools. In my era we had positional coaches at every position plus an extra coach of two chipping from the JVs. Additionally, at our (and other) schools, many of the kids came from Optimist and Pop Warner programs which had several assistant coaches at every level of ball, especially from 7th grade up to 145lbers. JV and Varsity coaches were getting well-coached kids by the time they showed up to their schools. This is important with the highly-technical positions such as QB, OL and LB.
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THIS IS THE ANSWER.

As you all know i coached youth ball mostly (Miramar)

On one of the last groups i coached we had some awesome rbs that played both ways.
My best friend coached lbs a bit. Coached em on reading keys, steps, stance....didnt have to do to much as they played rb and kind of understood alot. But they got coached up at LB for years which continued when they got to high school

....TOLD THE BEST RB AFTER ABOUT TWO WEEKS OF PRACTICE THAT HE WOULD BE RECRUITED AS A LB DOWN THE ROAD.

That was :



Here are the other LBS from that group:


- Semaj didnt grow as much as the others but was a physical DB.

I know @Coach Macho will like this but this was a kid on the pound below that always played off the ball line backer that i also figured would be a recruit down the road he was 9 then.




So if you give them the positional coaching from youth ball, with just adequate size and continued good coaching at high school levels you have a chance to pump a few div 1 lbs.
 
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gogeta4 said:
THIS IS THE ANSWER.

As you all know i coached youth ball mostly (Miramar)

On one of the last groups i coached we had some awesome rbs that played both ways.
My best friend coached lbs a bit. Coached em on reading keys, steps, stance....didnt have to do to much as they played rb and kind of understood alot. But they got coached up at LB for years which continued when they got to high school

....TOLD THE BEST RB AFTER ABOUT TWO WEEKS OF PRACTICE THAT HE WOULD BE RECRUITED AS A LB DOWN THE ROAD.

That was :



Here are the other LBS from that group:


- Semaj didnt grow as much as the others but was a physical DB.

I know @Coach Macho will like this but this was a kid on the pound below that always played off the ball line backer that i also figured would be a recruit down the road he was 9 then.




So if you give them the positional coaching from youth ball, with just adequate size and continued good coaching at high school levels you have a chance to pump a few div 1 lbs.
Click to expand...


Good stuff, Coach.
You coach them up with good habits and technique, it is second nature by the time they get to high school.
We had a nice mix of coaches at Hialeah Optimist....old grey beards who had coached talent
who later went to college and in one notable case (Ted Hendricks) the NFL. We also had younger coaches who were playing at Hialeah, HML and Springs, who all three had some good coaching staffs.
At HML I remembered playing and often tooling with schools who had players equally, and sometimes, more athletic dudes than our team, but they were severely lacking in coaches, having 2-3 coaches on their staff. The same deal with Hialeah HS and Miami Springs vs common opponents.
This not to say there aren't outstanding coaches in soFla. Coaches like Coach Macho and I know
there are others who played in college and NFL. But you can only do so much when you can't assemble a proper staff in quantity and quality because lack of budget.
Anyways, my .02 and good stuff gogeta.
 
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MedleyCane said:
Good stuff, Coach.
You coach them up with good habits and technique, it is second nayure by the time they get to high school.
We had a nice mix of coaches at Hialeah Optimists....old grey beards who had coached talent
who later went to college and in one notable case (Ted Hendricks) the NFL. We also had younger coaches who were playing at Hialeah, HML and Springs, who all three had some good coaching staffs.
At HML I remembered playing and often tooling with schools who had players equally, and sometimes, more athletic dudes than our team, but they were severely lacking in coaches, having 2-3 coaches on their staff. The same deal with Hialeah HS and Miami Springs vs common opponents.
This not to say there aren't outstanding coaches in soFla. Coaches like Coach Macho and I know
there are others who played in college and NFL. But you can only do so much when you can't assemble a proper staff in quantity and quality because lack of budget.
Anyways, my .02 and good stuff gogeta.
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great post.

And me being a young cat has had the proud ability to have met and conversate with TED HENDRICKS multiple times. Great guy...seemed no nonsense but kicked it with me for over an hour each time and im a yopung dude in my 30s.

Told him imma Cane for life
 
Memnon said:
I would assume the best LB's are playing on the best teams in the best conferences no?

I thought the best talent usually played for P4 teams?

Maybe not though. Never mind.
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Why would a 5'10" Linebacker be playing for a P4 team?
 
gogeta4 said:
THIS IS THE ANSWER.

As you all know i coached youth ball mostly (Miramar)

On one of the last groups i coached we had some awesome rbs that played both ways.
My best friend coached lbs a bit. Coached em on reading keys, steps, stance....didnt have to do to much as they played rb and kind of understood alot. But they got coached up at LB for years which continued when they got to high school

....TOLD THE BEST RB AFTER ABOUT TWO WEEKS OF PRACTICE THAT HE WOULD BE RECRUITED AS A LB DOWN THE ROAD.

That was :



Here are the other LBS from that group:


- Semaj didnt grow as much as the others but was a physical DB.

I know @Coach Macho will like this but this was a kid on the pound below that always played off the ball line backer that i also figured would be a recruit down the road he was 9 then.




So if you give them the positional coaching from youth ball, with just adequate size and continued good coaching at high school levels you have a chance to pump a few div 1 lbs.
Click to expand...

Boy had himself a game last week.
11 tackles, 4 TFL's, 1 sack and 3 big hits.

He'll have his work cut out for him this week.
 
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Coach Macho said:
Why would a 5'10" Linebacker be playing for a P4 team?
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nah I think you two are talking on two different points. From what I can see LCC is saying So.FL does not really produce LBs at a high rate and it is likely a combo of poor coaching and we dont have many of those 6'1+ fast thumpers at 235lbs.

You are saying you have guys killing it at lower levels is what LCC is saying, the talent at LB coming out of So.FL is not quality P4 level. Your kids are tearing it up at a lower level but as you mentioned cant go P4 because he is 5'10. That is fine, not his fault, he was coached well just not the measurables. That to me was LCC's point. Whatever the issue is (height, speed, instincts, coaching) no matter where these kids go at the P4 level they seem to struggle so its not just a UMiami problem.
 
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