So the spring practices are over. The Aggies got their first taste of Kevin Sumlin's coaching style, Kliff Kingsbury's high-paced offense, Mark Snyder's 4-3 Under defense, and the Larry Jackson's grueling workout and conditioning regimen. So how are things looking for the upcoming inaugural SEC season? Let's have a look:
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First of all let me explain what having "depth" means. There are five key components to depth: quantity, experience, talent, physical attributes, and longevity. If any one of these things is lacking, then the depth of the position suffers. For example, in the depth chart above, you may see four (4) 3-tech defensive tackles and four (4) 1-tech nose tackles. That looks like plenty of depth, but would you believe me if I told you that our defensive line is probably the least-deep position we have?
Let's dig a little deeper using the five components of depth I described above
Quantity: Check. There are 8 players slotted to practice, participate, and play in the 2 interior DL positions; four per spot. Ideally you'd have 7-9 players at the position always. If it got below 7 players, there would be serious red flags in case of injury, conditioning, etc.
Experience: Lacking. Of the 8 players in the combined interior defensive line position, only one has ever started a game at the Defensive Tackle position in the Maroon and White: Jonathan Mathis. Mr. Mathis, who was injured in game 4 of the 2011 season and hasn't seen the field in live action since then (he sat out most of the spring and didn't participate in scrimmages), is the ONLY player with starting experience, and it's limited at that - not to mention it was starts in a 3-4 defense not a 4-3 under. Of the other players, only Kirby Ennis has extensive playing time at the position. Luckily Mr. Ennis, who came to A&M as a 233 lb DE, has grown into a serviceable DT. But is serviceable good enough in the SEC? Of the rest of the players: SO Ivan Robinson has played in 4 games in 2010 and redshirted in 2011; FR Shayvion Hatten redshirted in 2011; FR Godwin is a walkon true freshman looking to impress after not being recruited out of high school; JR Rhontae Scales is a converted offensive tackle who is looking for a home on the team (he played in 11 games as a SO, but only made 2 tackles... special teams?); FR Julian Obioha just got on campus this summer and was recruited as a DE but may have the size to grow into the role; FR Ed Ray won't get to A&M until later this summer and may still have a few academic hurtles to clear. So, though there are eight (8) bodies listed at the position: one (1) experienced starter is coming back from injury, one (1) experienced backup is hoping to start, and the rest are a hodgepodge of inexperience and youth.
Talent: To be determined. When we are talking about talent its a mixture of athleticism, time at the position in general, and mostly potential to become a good to dominant defensive tackle. Let's look at where these eight players were when recruited by A&M: Mathis 4-star JUCO DT, Ennis 3-star DE, Scales 3-star OL convert, Robinson 4-star DT, Hatten 3-star Jumbo ATH, Godwin - unrecruited walk-on, Ed Ray 3-star DT, Julien Obioha 3-star DE convert. Mathis is definitely talented when he's 100 percent and Ennis can hold his own, but what happens when these two get tired or (God forbid) go down with an injury? Robinson is undersized (more on this later), Hatten is athletic (raw) with lots of upside but not much time at the position, Godwin was good enough to earn a roster-spot but I wouldn't count on him to be a factor yet, and Scales made a sacrificial move to DT to try and earn playing time. The jury is still out on Ray to see how he adjusts to the college game and also on Obioha to see if he can grow into the tackle position after being recruited as a DE.
Physical Attributes: Needs improvement. I am using this as a catchall for size, health, injuries, conditioning, etc. Taking a look at the roster here is a quick assessment of each player:
Mathis is made for the position but his injury and ability to recover are concerning.
Ennis came in at 233 lbs and has grown into the necessary size (now listed as 6'4" and just under 300 lbs) but how has this affected his conditioning, his "motor", and his quickness? Did he gain muscle or bulk?
Robinson has the mentality and experience to play DT but just cannot seem to put on the weight necessary to play consistently, down after down, at the position. He seems destined for specialty roles as a quick DT.
Godwin is an unknown since he walked on and the latest rosters with Ht/Wt have not been published.
Hatten should be able to fill out and turn into a true specimen at the DT position.
Scales is big and has some raw athleticism but just hasn't switched over into a DT from his OL role yet.
Obioha will have to hit the weights and bulking-diet hard when he gets to town.
Ray has the size necessary to compete at the position right away, assuming he gets past the clearinghouse.
Longevity: Promising. How many years do these players have left? Who is coming down the pipeline to back fill the vacant spots? Will anyone leave early for the NFL, for personal reasons, due to grades, or simply give up football? Seven of the eight players (six are presumed backups who will not gain much experience this year) have a chance to be in Aggieland in 2013. But will they?
So to summarize these five attributes of depth, lets put them into a chart, rate each component per player, and determine a "depth" to see if it is truly good or not:
So from this chart you can see how individually certain players stand out, or other need to grow. The younger guys need to gain experience, the older guys don't have much time left. Some players are undersized, or under talented, etc. The 400 potential score would be if you had 10 D-Linemen, all 5-star DT recruits, all with starting experience, all 6'3 and 320 lbs or bigger, all with 4-5 years left to play (impossible I know, but a baseline).
You can see from the aforementioned components of depth and the rating table above that the Aggies have decent depth at the position in 2012 but after Jonathan Mathis leaves, we will need young talent to come in and claim spots in the rotation. You could use the chart above to compare the Aggies lineup to, say, the LSU Tigers, Arkansas Razorbacks, t.u. Longhorns, or OU Sooners and get an objective rating of how "deep" these others schools are as well. This could be used for other positions too.
