From the other side, Part 6

October 05, 2007

Drew Champlin

Big thanks to Pete Pelegrin of the Miami Herald for his help.

1) What was FIU’s biggest problem last week at Middle Tennessee (a 47-6 MTSU win)?
FIU is too young and not big enough in size since 68 of the 91 players are either freshmen or sophomores. They have had tough times this season against bigger, more physical teams. MT dominated both lines of scrimmages and I expect Troy to do the same.

2) What kind of discipline style has Mario Cristobal brought to this program, and is it working from what you can tell?
Coach Cristobal has brought a much needed no-nonsense discipline to the program. Under former coach Don Strock, the Golden Panthers had no discipline. With a little discipline last year, FIU easily could have been 7-5 or 6-6 instead of 0-12. The discipline is working. Players were shocked at first with the strict approach, but they have adapted. I think the players wanted discipline.

3) What has FIU shown offensively so far?
FIU has not shown much offensively yet. They have switched from a pro-set offense to a spread, but they do not have all the athletes to run it yet. It says a lot when Cristobal is starting the freshmen he recruited over the players that have been with the program before. I just can’t see FIU topping 20 points this season, unless some of these players master the spread soon.

4) What has FIU shown defensively so far?
The defense is not as fast or as strong as last year’s unit which led the nation in tackles for loss and was No. 28 in the nation in total D. The run and pass defense are subpar. Again, they have to recruit better athletes than Strock ever did. Strock was a pretty poor recruiter and the results have shown throughout the years, especially this season.

5) In what areas could FIU exploit Troy?
The only way FIU can exploit Troy might be with speed on offense. Troy will handle the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. FIU would have to break out on offense for this game to be close.

6) Prediction?
Troy 38, FIU 10

Celebrity sighting?

Drew Champlin

Sitting here in the Tallahassee Regional Airport, and I’m 97% sure I just saw Zach from Big Brother 8.

I haven’t gone through security yet, and when I near him, I eventually sat down and checked my e-mail. That’s when some blonde-haired woman (I didn’t see her face) must have landed, with him there to pick her up, and they left, arm in arm.

The reason I think it was Zach is because he’s a Tallahassee native - which you’ll know if you click the link I provided. The chick could have been Daniele from Big Brother 8 because it looked that way from behind, but I didn’t see her face. Plus from watching the show (I’m a big fan of that show only when it comes to reality TV), I wouldn’t peg them as leaving a Tallahassee airport arm in arm, but who knows? I am pretty sure that was Zach though.

I didn’t take a picture of him with my cell phone camera, because, well, when one strange dude takes a picture of another strange dude, that just doesn’t look right. Didn’t talk to him because I didn’t want to be “that guy,“ so the blog entry will have to suffice.

Now I’ll cross my fingers that my flight leaves at 2:10 EST as planned.

Friday links

Drew Champlin

Flying to Miami today if the plane gets off the ground so I won’t be around, but I’ll have “From the other side. Part 6” in around lunch time.

From me, I’ve got a little feature on long snapper Derick Thomas. From the Miami Herald, Troy QB Omar Haugabook will be a handful for FIU.

Hidden gems?

October 04, 2007

Drew Champlin

Check out this link on cornerbacks from Pro Football Weekly.

It’s got some good things to say about Leodis McKelvin.

—-sorry, link is now fixed

Defensive notes

Drew Champlin

Just spoke with defensive coordinator Jeremy Rowell.

Senior linebacker Josh Maxwell will not play at Florida International Saturday. He suffered an on-field seizure on the opening kickoff of last week’s win over ULM. He went to Birmingham Monday for more tests, and Troy coaches have a 7-day rule of where you have to be in clean health for seven days before you can play. That’s the situation with Maxwell, but it’s unclear when he will return. Troy has a bye week next week before hosting North Texas on Oct. 20.

Maxwell’s linebacker snaps will be taken at the SAM position by junior David McDowell, a junior college transfer. “David’s a big-body guy who runs around very well,“ Rowell said. “He’s athletic and he’s a physical presence on the defense.“

The backup to McDowell would likely be sophomore Nate Nolin, who was awarded a scholarship prior to this year. Defensive back Sherrod Martin is the nickelback in a set with five defensive backs, and the nickel replaces the SAM. Martin returned to action against ULM after missing two games and most of a third when he broke his hand early against Florida on Sept. 8.

“Sherrod’s going to play a lot in every game,“ Rowell said. “You see the effect of when he’s out there versus when he’s not. If he’s not on the field, we lose a kid who’s a great player with a lot of experience, possibly with the most experience on the defensive side of the ball.“

Back in 2004, Martin and Leodis McKelvin were the only two freshmen who saw more than just spot duty. Martin redshirted in 2006 after surgeries on both shoulders.

Redshirt freshman John Mark Patrick is now working at defensive end, a move that was facilitated with the suspension earlier this season of Kenny Mainor and the knee injury to Brandon Lang against Oklahoma State. Mainor missed the UF and OSU games, and Lang said he hopes to be back by the Middle Tennessee game on Nov. 22.

Patrick saw his first game action at defensive end in the last series of the ULM game. Coach Larry Blakeney mentioned Patrick for his solid work on special teams. Right now, he’s the fourth DE behind Mainor, Shawn Todd and Cameron Sheffield.

“He’s physical and athletic and he’s going to have a chance to be a good player at that position,“ Rowell said. “He’s given us depth there and we’re trying to bring him along slowly and give him an opportunity to work in practice before we decide he’s ready for more game experience.“

Troy’s game against FIU at the Orange Bowl is set for 6 p.m. CST Saturday.