Who will play this Fall?

[Just1More]

_ Looking at last year's stats from the new passing coordinator's (Coach Munoz) former team, I think the TE's will get the rock...

Belton led UL's TE's with 6 receptions last season. Munoz's leading TE had 26 receptions last Fall at EIU.

The same sort of thing happened at LSU this past season when Gary Crowton took over the offense...

In 2006 LSU's leading TE had 6 receptions, in 2007 the leading TE had 32 receptions.

Erik Jones looked good at the Spring scrimmage. Also, when a LB is worried about a RB like Fenroy and a mobile QB like Desormeaux, it really opens up the TE. It looks like the stars may be properly aligned for Jones to have a breakout season... _

Man I hope you are right. Good observation. Working the TE into a receiver is absolutely one of the best things in opening up things up. He's a big target and lumbers for extra yardage. It kills a defense to have to deal with a TE who can catch. We seemed desperate to use our TEs as a blockers, almost exclusively, last year. Hopefully, this will be the year we hit on the many offensive cylinders available and just rip defenses apart. Obviously, our defense has to improve, but to win, our offense is going to need to put up some really big numbers.

[zephyr]

_ Dominate run blocker is what I also heard. We have a couple of upperclassmen at the TE position coming back from last year including one I expect to have a good year in Sr. Erik Jones. We also have Jr. Luke Aubry that can be a H-back type player for throwing downs, and I expect Jr. Matt Ulm to see playing time.

Breakdown:
Sr. Erik Jones 6-4 248
Jr. Matt Ulm 6-3 225
Jr. Luke Aubrey 6-3 210
So. Matt Desormeaux 6-2 200 Mike's little brother and converted Fullback
Fr. Brenden Wilson 6-4 220
Fr. Ladirus Green 6-6 220 may be a WR but I would like to see him as a TE

I hope the returning players can play well so Wilson and Green can redshirt. If Jones gets hurt I could see Wilson's redshirt being pulled if it is early in the season.

I also hope Ulm has put on some weight on so he could be a quality back up to Jones. Aubrey and Desormeaux are too small to run block.

The combination of Wilson and Green is going to be scary good in the near future. Green is a great athlete who played WR in high school and has great speed and height at the TE position. In 2-3 years this will be the best group of TE's we have had since I been watching the Cajuns (mid 90's). _

Lets not forget that we got possibly a great steal when Ladarius Green decommitted from FAU and came here. His highlight reel was pretty impressive and he's a physical specimen. I just don't know if they plan on moving him to WR because he has good speed or keeping him at TE but he will definitely give us a downfield presence sooner or later. He may be primed for a Redshirt year however. Sorry, realized you touched on him after I posted. I agree that he is a diamond in the rough.

[cajun4life]

_ Lets not forget that we got possibly a great steal when Ladarius Green decommitted from FAU and came here. His highlight reel was pretty impressive and he's a physical specimen. I just don't know if they plan on moving him to WR because he has good speed or keeping him at TE but he will definitely give us a downfield presence sooner or later. He may be primed for a Redshirt year however. Sorry, realized you touched on him after I posted. I agree that he is a diamond in the rough. _

I really hope we keep Green at WR he is a huge target much like Marques Colston. I seem to remember UCF killing us with the 6'4" 230# WR a few years back. We had great coverage on those guys but a 5'8" DB will not stop a physical huge WR 90% of the time.

[J-Town Cajun]

_ I really hope we keep Green at WR he is a huge target much like Marques Colston. I seem to remember UCF killing us with the 6'4" 230# WR a few years back. We had great coverage on those guys but a 5'8" DB will not stop a physical huge WR 90% of the time. _

I am a little afraid of keeping him at WR. Lets not forget Jordan Jackson who in my opinion was the biggest bust of a recruit we had in the last 10 years. Jackson was 6-6 and 200 lbs. and all everything in high school. When he got to college he did not move well enough to get open and never produced.

Green is already 6-6 and 220 lbs. Unless he is a total freak ala Terrell Owens he will be better served as a TE. I hope I am wrong and he is athletic and fast enough to play WR because he could be a weapon but at the same time at TE he would be going against a LB this can be a huge advantage also ala Kellen Winslow type.

He did look very good on the highlight reel but so did Jordan Jackson. I will wait to judge him when I see him in person running routes, catching balls, and blocking. He is most likely a tweener and that is why he is at UL. But could be a diamond in the ruff like you say. Should be fun to watch.

I am ready for football now. This time of year sucks.

[cajun4life]

_ I am a little afraid of keeping him at WR. Lets not forget Jordan Jackson who in my opinion was the biggest bust of a recruit we had in the last 10 years. Jackson was 6-6 and 200 lbs. and all everything in high school. When he got to college he did not move well enough to get open and never produced.

Green is already 6-6 and 220 lbs. Unless he is a total freak ala Terrell Owens he will be better served as a TE. I hope I am wrong and he is athletic and fast enough to play WR because he could be a weapon but at the same time at TE he would be going against a LB this can be a huge advantage also ala Kellen Winslow type.

He did look very good on the highlight reel but so did Jordan Jackson. I will wait to judge him when I see him in person running routes, catching balls, and blocking. He is most likely a tweener and that is why he is at UL. But could be a diamond in the ruff like you say. Should be fun to watch.

I am ready for football now. This time of year sucks. _

IMO Jordan Jackson should have been left on the Defensive side of the ball. He never really seemed to get comfortable with offense.

[J-Town Cajun]

He was the class 3A defensive player of the year in HS. But I can not think of one player ever at 6-6 in the secondary. He would have looked a little awkward in the secondary at 6-6 200#. I am not sure he was aggresive enough to play defense. In practice he was a slacker.

He was ranked #30 in the nation as an athlete by rivals.com but he was not highly recruited. Our coaches either misestimated his skills or bought into rivals, which is BS.

[DrumRoll]

_ I am a little afraid of keeping him at WR. Lets not forget Jordan Jackson who in my opinion was the biggest bust of a recruit we had in the last 10 years. Jackson was 6-6 and 200 lbs. and all everything in high school. When he got to college he did not move well enough to get open and never produced.

Green is already 6-6 and 220 lbs. Unless he is a total freak ala Terrell Owens he will be better served as a TE. I hope I am wrong and he is athletic and fast enough to play WR because he could be a weapon but at the same time at TE he would be going against a LB this can be a huge advantage also ala Kellen Winslow type.

He did look very good on the highlight reel but so did Jordan Jackson. I will wait to judge him when I see him in person running routes, catching balls, and blocking. He is most likely a tweener and that is why he is at UL. But could be a diamond in the ruff like you say. Should be fun to watch.

I am ready for football now. This time of year sucks. _

I have no idea where he will play (more later), but Green is an athlete that played for an under-publicized losing team with an anemic offense without a passing attack. He played basketball on a team that made it to the 4A semi's in Florida, he won the regional qualifier in high jump for his track team, and was All Area in the Triple Jump. Also, he made honorable mention All State in football which equals first team All State in at least 37 lesser football states, which considering the team he played on, is incredible in and of itself.

Date.........Opponent..............................................................Result
8/31/07 ....West Florida (Pensacola, FL)...................................W 50-10
9/7/07 ......Choctawhatchee (Fort Walton Beach, FL)...................L 9-40
9/14/07 .....Milton (FL)...........................................................L 0-16
9/28/07 .....Pace (FL).............................................................L 3-17
10/5/07 .....Pine Forest (Pensacola, FL) ....................................L 0-28
10/12/07 ...Tate (Cantonment, FL)...........................................L 6-43
10/15/07 ....Pensacola (FL).....................................................L 0-17
10/19/07 ....Escambia (Pensacola, FL)......................................W 24-6
11/2/07 ......Niceville (FL).......................................................L 31-34


Ladarius went from being a 6'2" 180 nobody to a 6'6" (maybe 6'5") 220 (maybe 200 as his BB coach says he is 195) sleeper in 2 years. Today's hyper speed recruiting service "rate em as 5 stars while they are still in diapers" system does not track these types of athletes very well, and this is a great thing for teams like UL. Heck, neither service ever did a story on him, nor do they have a mug shot of him, let alone highlights, further proving my point.

IMO, he looks like a WR. Can he play TE? Maybe? The coaches have seen him toe to toe and have a much better handle on that sort of call. I think he has speed and can jump up and go after the ball. Green with consistent hands + a passer that has good vision of the field = UL's all time leading WR. If you want to run the ball half the time, TE's have to be mean, nasty, and somewhat mule-headed to be really good ones. It takes a special attitude to be an OL that can catch. They have to get off on planting defenders so they have a great view of the sky above as well as catch a football...not sure where Green is in the mean, nasty, and mule-headed category.

As far as Green being a "tweener", I think he is a solid recruit that should have had many offers, if not for his circumstances. Here is an excerpt from the guys I respect the most in recruiting analysis, these guys run Pro combines, they know their stuff, check out #58:

June 11, 2007
MSL Recruiting
If you've followed our recruiting here at MSLSports.net, you will know that when it comes to promoting and evaluating talent throughout the country, we have proven that we can do it as well as anyone.

When it comes to promoting and evaluating the state of Florida, our analysts, Charles Fishbein and Larry Blustein, stand alone as they travel to every corner of the state, watching players live at practices, in games, at camps and at combines.

Since January, Fishbein and Blustein have watched and evaluated events from the Panhandle to the Florida Keys. Attendance at camps in Orlando, Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale, and events in other cities throughout the state has given MSL the recognition from major college coaches to football prospects.

"When it comes to evaluating talent, MSL has the best people around," said MSL Partner and former NFL standout Chuck Muncie. "Nobody comes close to covering the state of Florida like Charles and Larry. It's no mistake that over 50 major college coaches speak with them regularly about rising prospects."

CHARLES FISHBEIN'S PHILOSOPHY: I feel that if you go to a practice, game, camp or a combine, you have the chance to get to know the kids, parents and coaches. You also get to watch them play football, which is the most important aspect of the game. I seldom call kids on the phone. To me, having the chance to shake their hand and look them in the eye is the only way to evaluate talent.


LARRY BLUSTEIN'S PHILOSOPHY: Back when I started doing this, there was no internet or film to watch. If you were going to evaluate a player in this state, it sometimes meant that you would have to drive 12 or 13 hours to make sure. To me, nothing beats the face of a player or a coach when they see you at a game or a practice. Nothing!

Here is a look at the Summer 100 Class of 2008 players in the Sunshine State:
1. Matt Patchan, OL, Seffner Armwood
2. Nigel Bradham, LB, Crawfordville Wakulla (FLORIDA STATE)
3. Patrick Johnson, DB, Pompano Beach Ely (MIAMI)
4. Aldarius Johnson, WR, Miami Northwestern
5. Marcus Forston, DT, Miami Northwestern
6. T.J. Bryant, DB, Tallahassee Lincoln
7. Michael Brewster, OL, Orlando Edgewater (OHIO STATE)
8. Corey Liuget, DE, Hialeah
9. Brandon Washington, OL, Miami Northwestern (MIAMI)
10. Jamie Harper, RB, Jacksonville Trinity Christian
11. Brandon Harris, DB, Miami Booker T. Washington
12. Jordan Futch, LB, Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna (MIAMI)
13. Etienne Sabino, LB, Miami Dr. Krop
14. Melvin Ray, WR, Tallahassee North Florida Christian
15. Nigel Carr, LB, Jacksonville First Coast (FLORIDA STATE)
16. Martavious Odoms, WR, Pahokee
17. Janoris Jenkins, DB, Pahokee
18. Lerentee McCray, LB, Dunnellon
19. Marcus Robinson, LB, Homestead
20. Micanor Regis, DT, Pahokee (MIAMI)
21. Tommy Streeter, WR, Miami Northwestern
22. C.J. Holton, S, Crawfordville Wakulla (FLORIDA STATE)
23. Sean Spence, LB, Miami Northwestern
24. Delvin Hughes, DE, Clewiston
25. Thearon Collier, WR, Miami Booker T. Washington (MIAMI)
26. Jeremy Brown, DB, Orlando Boone
27. British Footman, RB, Tallahassee Godby
28. D.C. Jefferson, QB, Winter Haven
29. Jeremy Longo, DE, Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons (GEORGIA)
30. Karnell Hatcher, S, Delray Beach Atlantic
31. Avis Commack, WR, Jacksonville First Coast (FLORIDA STATE)
32. Kyle Parker, QB, Jacksonville Bartram Trail (CLEMSON)
33. Moses McCray, DT, Tampa Hillsborough (FLORIDA STATE).
34. Earl Okine, DE, Gainesville (FLORIDA)
35. Eric Smith, FB, Seffner Armwood
36. Jacory Harris, QB, Miami Northwestern (MIAMI)
37. Greg Shaw, OL, Miami Monsignor Pace
38. Travis Benjamin, WR, Glades Central
39. T.J. Lawrence, WR/DB, Lakeland Kathleen
40. Mike Goodman, OL, Miami Columbus
41. Darius Morgan, WR, Citra North Marion
42. Benjamin Jones, DE, Miami Northwestern
43. Harry Adams, WR, Fort Lauderdale Dillard
44. Ramon Buchanon, LB, Palm Bay
45. Connor Kempe, QB, North Palm Beach Benjamin
46. Scott Betros, LB, Jacksonville Bolles (WAKE FOREST)
47. Richard Watson, RB, Tallahassee FAMU
48. Davon Johnson, WR, Miami Booker T. Washington
49. Chris Anderson, RB, Lauderdale Lakes Boyd Anderson
50. Star Jackson, QB, Lake Worth
51. Derrick Winter, WR, Tampa Plant
52. Nathan Nord, TE, West Boca
53. Ricky Barnum, OL, Lakeland Lake Gibson
54. Carlton Thomas, RB, Frostproof
55. Jeremy Lewis, DT, Palm Beach Lakes (MIAMI)
56. Andrew Parker, TE, Jacksonville Bartram Trail
57. Jabaris Little, TE, Tallahassee Lincoln (FLORIDA STATE)
58. Ladarius Green, WR, Pensacola Washington
59. Marty Everett, DT, Bushnell South Sumter
60. Damion Allen, WR, Orlando Dr. Phillips
61. Antonio Bell, WR, Daytona Beach Mainland (TENNESSEE)
62. Jeff Demps, RB, Groveland South Lake
63. Alfred Jenkins, WR, Jacksonville Terry Parker
64. Onterrio McCaleb, RB, Fort Meade
65. Joseph Looney, OL, Lake Worth
66. Malcolm Johnson, WR, Bartow
67. Stephen Atkinson, S, Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons
68. Tarik Rollins, LB, Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna
69. Jeremiah Schwartz, FB, Orlando Edgewater
70. Jermaine Thomas, RB, Jacksonville First Coast (FLORIDA STATE)
71. Carlton Lewis, S, St. Augustine
72. Vincent Williams, LB, Ridge Community (FLORIDA STATE)
73. Shaq Wilson, LB, Jacksonville First Coast
74. Andrew Datko, OL, Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas
75. A.J. Grant, S, Jacksonville Sandalwood
76. Anthony Hill, DL, Pensacola (FLORIDA STATE)
77. Santuan McGee, RB, Tallahassee Florida High
78. Joseph Wiley, S, Lauderdale Lakes Boyd Anderson (MIAMI)
79. Jahleel Addae, RB, Riverview (WEST VIRGINIA)
80. Justin Green, OL, Palm Beach Gardens
81. C.J. Odoms, S, Fort Myers
82. David Williams, LB, Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons
83. Hakeem Johnson, DB, Jacksonville Andrew Jackson
84. David Blackwell, ATH, Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons
85. T’Sharven Bell, S, Kissimmee Osceola
86. Anthony Mains, DE, Naples Golden Gate
87. Sergio Joyner, DE, Seffner Armwood
88. Sean Ferguson, DE, Miami Norland
89. Albert Gary, ATH, Citra North Marion
90. George Baker, DB, Miami Archbishop Carroll
91. Xavier Brewer, DB, Jacksonville Bartram Trail
92. Toshmon Stevens, DE, Crescent City
93. Ted Stachitas, QB, Ponta Vedra Beach Nease (WAKE FOREST)
94. Junior Mertile, DB, North Miami
95. Jerome Swinton, DB, Daytona Beach Seabreeze
96. Jatavious Miller, LB, Pahokee
97. Brandon Davis, DL, Jacksonville Lee
98. Jeremiah Harden, RB, Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas
99. Bo Reliford, TE, Fort Lauderdale Dillard
100. Matt Skinner, OL, Jacksonville Bolles (CLEMSON)

Ladarius is #55 below...

[wcd35]

Does Ladarius want to play for Coach Lee too??

[Clutch0364]

_ I have no idea where he will play (more later), but Green is an athlete that played for an under-publicized losing team with an anemic offense without a passing attack. He played basketball on a team that made it to the 4A semi's in Florida, he won the regional qualifier in high jump for his track team, and was All Area in the Triple Jump. Also, he made honorable mention All State in football which equals first team All State in at least 37 lesser football states, which considering the team he played on, is incredible in and of itself.

Date.........Opponent..............................................................Result
8/31/07 ....West Florida (Pensacola, FL)...................................W 50-10
9/7/07 ......Choctawhatchee (Fort Walton Beach, FL)...................L 9-40
9/14/07 .....Milton (FL)...........................................................L 0-16
9/28/07 .....Pace (FL).............................................................L 3-17
10/5/07 .....Pine Forest (Pensacola, FL) ....................................L 0-28
10/12/07 ...Tate (Cantonment, FL)...........................................L 6-43
10/15/07 ....Pensacola (FL).....................................................L 0-17
10/19/07 ....Escambia (Pensacola, FL)......................................W 24-6
11/2/07 ......Niceville (FL).......................................................L 31-34


Ladarius went from being a 6'2" 180 nobody to a 6'6" (maybe 6'5") 220 (maybe 200 as his BB coach says he is 195) sleeper in 2 years. Today's hyper speed recruiting service "rate em as 5 stars while they are still in diapers" system does not track these types of athletes very well, and this is a great thing for teams like UL. Heck, neither service ever did a story on him, nor do they have a mug shot of him, let alone highlights, further proving my point.

IMO, he looks like a WR. Can he play TE? Maybe? The coaches have seen him toe to toe and have a much better handle on that sort of call. I think he has speed and can jump up and go after the ball. Green with consistent hands + a passer that has good vision of the field = UL's all time leading WR. If you want to run the ball half the time, TE's have to be mean, nasty, and somewhat mule-headed to be really good ones. It takes a special attitude to be an OL that can catch. They have to get off on planting defenders so they have a great view of the sky above as well as catch a football...not sure where Green is in the mean, nasty, and mule-headed category.

As far as Green being a "tweener", I think he is a solid recruit that should have had many offers, if not for his circumstances. Here is an excerpt from the guys I respect the most in recruiting analysis, these guys run Pro combines, they know their stuff, check out #58:



Ladarius is #55 below... _

I think if he would have stayed committed to Florida Atlantic he would definitely be a TE because they seem to like TE's who are in that 6'4 210lbs mold. It works very weel for them so we cant say anything bad about it. I am up in the air about what I would like to see done with him, the coaches know better than me. Maybe a 2 TE set with a big blocking TE like Wilson and a guy who can go out and get it like Green.

[FallBallFan]

Tight Ends are a much bigger part of Munoz offense. This spring, tight ends (in three scrimmages of fifty plays or so each) caught 15-16 balls plus others thrown their way. This is over 10 percent of the offense - big change from last year. According to team sources, Ulm had a great spring (especially when Jones was held out week 2) and weighs in now at 240-245. Jones is a good starter but there are competent back-ups, both in the freshman ranks and in potential transfers. I agree with an earlier comment in this post that Aubrey is a great half / slot back type receiver - that is hard to pattern from a roster or film. Little Matt D (moving from fullback) is also a good halfback / motion guy when we use the second TE in that manner.

But we have seen this before - spring is different from fall. Injuries and differences in philosophy can change a lot of things before Aug 30.