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| See which freshman will make their way onto the field this season (Picture: www.yahoo.com) |
We are only 43 until the start of football season and less than two weeks away from the Bulls packing up show and heading down to Vero Beach (feel the excitement rising). As we prepare to bring you the latest news and insights on the Bulls preparation for the 2011 season, I have decided to do one more series before the start of the season (I know, you should be grateful).
We have covered a lot of ground, looking at a ton of players, positions, and everything else to get everyone ready for the season, but now we turn to the incoming freshman that will make an impact this season. Holtz threw several freshman on the field last season and players such as DeDe Lattimore, emerged to opportunity. This season, the recruiting class of 2011 hits the campus and the football field and it is time to pick the 5 players that will not only get onto the field this season, but will make the biggest impact. Here is number five. [keep reading]
Kenneth Durden - Cornerback - 6-1 170-pounds - Valdosta, GeorgiaDurden comes in at number five on my list of incoming freshman that will be first to get onto the field and play. Durden, the talented 3-star cornerback from Georgia helps fill a major need for the Bulls this season and will get playing time before the season ends.
The Bulls have two talented corners in Quenton Washington and Kayvon Webster, but the depth behind them is questionable. George Baker and Ricardo Dixon, very capable players, have been dealing with injuries all spring and there are questions still lingering about Dixon's back. Tyson Butler is a good, solid player, but after that, the depth at corner is very thin. The Bulls have some players on the roster, but none of them jump of the page at you.
Durden is a solid player, running the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds and will add some weight as the season goes on and he gets use to the college game.
Durden probably won't start a game and shouldn't, being that he is a freshman this year, but with his speed and ability to get to the ball carrier and the lack of proven depth behind the starters, Durden has a great chance to get on the field early in his career and it could start in 2011.
Being a big fan of zone coverage, I don't think you can ever have enough talented cornerbacks. Though I wonder why you chose this guy out of the three DBs coming into this class. I haven't really gotten a chance to evaluate any of these players yet, but they were all three stars.
ReplyDeleteDurden appears to have the most speed and coverage ability of the 3 incoming DBs. Chris Garye is actually a safety and will be behind Joyce, Lejiste, etc. He could move to corner, but is a natural safety. Corian Hamilton is another player that could potentially move to linebacker with his frame and skill set. I have heard that change over rumors and general chat, but he could still be at corner. I think Durden right out of the gate will get the best chance at corner, but the others could step in as well.
ReplyDeleteStars don't mean too much either.
I'm not so familiar with the recruiting scene, but looking at USF's recruiting classes they seem to be getting better, and those players are coming in with more stars than ever. So while I think it's not always a good indicator of success, stars can be a rough indicator of a player's likeliness to succeed on the field. A greater percentage of five-star players were drafted than the four star players and vice versa.
ReplyDeleteTends to be the trend, but there are a lot of players that are 2-stars or lower that get drafted and do well. George Selvie was a 2-star player and look what he did.
ReplyDeleteRecruiting classes are getting better as the program grows, drawing more talent from the area and Holtz will find high character guys that can rise to the challenge and help this team win.
True, Nate Allen was a 2-star too I believe.
ReplyDeleteYes he was. Also look at the highly rated players that have come in, like Mike Ford who was a 4-star recruit and we see how that worked out in the long haul.
ReplyDeleteCarlton Hill and Johnny Peyton were other highly-touted recruits that wound up having off the field issues nullify their contributions to Bull history.
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