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| Guess which one is the defensive tackle. |
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 248 lbs.
High school: Wayne High School in Huber Heights, OH
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #96
Last year: I ranked Terry Talbott #76 and said he would redshirt. He redshirted.
That's right, 248 pounds. Guess how many Big Ten tackles are 248 lbs.?
Zero.
The bigger Talbott (his younger, smaller brother Terrence is a Michigan cornerback; #14 in the above photo) had some back issues in the offseason and ended up having surgery. That may have prevented him from adding weight, but whether he has a good reason or not, there's still a very tiny chance that a 248 lb. lineman is going to make an impact on the interior. The coaches have flirted with moving walk-on defensive end Will Heininger inside to tackle in order to spell the Wolverines' behemoths. Talbott is likely headed for another year of watching on the sideline.
(Rumor alert: Terry Talbott's name has been floated as a guy whose career might be unable to continue due to his back injury.)
Prediction: Another redshirt. Not possible? Fine. Bench.
What do you know, another undersized player without a clear position who isn't ready to contribute for the foreseeable future. Sounds familiar....
ReplyDelete@ Anonymous 10:46 a.m.
ReplyDeleteYou say that like it's a bad thing.
Wait a minute...
I've often wondered if RR only offered the Talbott brothers to enhance his chances of landing Braxton Miller. Not that I think it would have made any difference as Miller was a Buckeye all the way.
ReplyDelete@ Anonymous 11:57 a.m.
ReplyDeleteI think you may be right, at least partially. I also think Michigan needed defensive tackles and cornerbacks, so I think it served a dual (triple?) purpose. But I definitely believe a big part of Rodriguez's recruiting strategy was to offer teammates and develop pipelines. It seemed to be working well for getting players (Pahokee, Dr. Phillips, Liberty, Cass Tech, etc.), although the on-field results have been mixed so far. With the exception of Martavious Odoms, a lot of those pipeline guys haven't done much, although some of them still have a long way to go in their careers.
Really enjoying these posts, Thunder. It'd be too bad if Talbott wasn't able to ever get his career off the ground. (I know many want a certain level of attrition so we can fit in a full 2012 recruiting class, but that's never how you like to see it happen.)
ReplyDeleteI saw Heininger walking around campus recently and he looked seriously bulked up -- I'd guess at this point he's several pounds bigger than his listed 267. Definitely makes sense if he's forced to move inside this year.
@ Ace 1:08 p.m.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment.
I agree that I don't want to see attrition in the form of injury. I do think Talbott has some upside if he can get bigger and stay healthy. And we need tackles, anyway, so I don't really want to see him go.
Heininger looked bigger than 267 this spring, IMO. If he has any hope of being effective playing inside, I sure hope he puts on some weight. This is his last hurrah, so I'm hoping he can have a decent year as a backup.
The 'pipeline' recruiting strategy seems proactive to me, although it would probably more effective with a solid talent base and greater numbers so teammate busts or package deals don't deep-six your roster.
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad only Odoms has really come on so far. Imagine if all the pipeline kids were good enough to be starters.
I don't know about the rest of you, but when I heard that two brothers in the same class, one a CB, the other a DT, were being recruited, I saw no way that that wouldn't ever work out.
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, injuries are always a difficult and disappointing situations. I hope things work out for him one way or the other.
In that spirit, as a small DT, couldn't he potentially be used at SDE?
@ Lankownia 4:58 p.m.
ReplyDeleteI don't think he's ready to play tackle OR end right now, although if he can't put on enough weight, DE becomes an option, I guess. He's not going to play this year (unless bad things happen), so I imagine the coaches will tell him to keep eating so he can grow into a DT. There's a more immediate need on the interior, since Heininger and Martin are both graduating and Campbell will be a senior in 2012.
I remember seeing Talbott in the BTN coverage of fall camp last year. Talbott looked about 100 pounds smaller than Ash and the other guys. My imprsssion just based on some quick camera shots was 6'2" 235 lbs. Could be way off, but my immediate thought was that he would never see the field. For a guy that small to grow into a solid DT, he'd either have to be a freak of nature or to get on the OSU steroids program. I would be surprised if he sees the field at all this year, including special teams.
ReplyDelete248 lbs? I think that guy should be 99 on this list.
ReplyDelete