Keeping the football discussion going:
Coming out of spring ball a very interesting position race has emerged, Steven Rominger vs Bo Tully. Opposite of them Hermey has his position locked down and possibly an all-conference nod before the season even starts. We've got a JuCo safety as well (Coogan) and Lebsock who is splitting time between safety and backer as he transitions to becoming a full-time linebacker.
Rominger came out of spring camp on fire having one of the better camps of all the defensive players and he was specifially called out by coach Delaney for his play. Rominger brings balance to the position, he's not the fastest of the group but he's a good tackler and has shown increased awareness in zone coverage. For lack of a better comparison Rominger is a bit like Mike McCord, his better ability is run support. This spring he had multiple interceptions and great plays showing his continued improvement in pass coverage. Last year he was almost entirely a special teams player, not even seeing much at safety in blow-outs. Rominger brings very little in-game experience at the position which of course is a bit of a gamble. His lack of overall speed is also a concern as safeties need to have good range, there could be concern of him being able to provide zone-coverage help in cover-2 / cover-3 situation and getting to the sideline in a hurry if the corner is beat over the top.
Tully brings an almost full season of starting experience plus a prior season of some split time at safety. Bo is a very fast and agile player, one thing I keep hearing and noticing about him is his overall speed and quickness to close on the ball or ball carrier. Tully held his own fairly well in most zone coverage although of the main contributing safeties he had the fewest amount of tackles and interceptions (52 tackles, 1 pick). Tully's issue has been widely talked about on here, tackling and 1-on-1 matchups. In some games he was quickly targeted and picked on - he wound up splitting more and more time with Hermanson as the season went on. Before spring camp kicked off Tully had a nice endorsement from Pflu that he is continually improving and "will be" the starter opposite of Hermey. Come spring camp Tully showed some good improvement in his coverage but was still having lots of issues with tackling. Arm tackles, getting caught on his heels, over-pursuit.
The possibly interesting wrinkle here is the coaching dynamic. Rominger was a Hauck recruit, Tully a Pflu recruit. While I don't think Pflu/Breske would start "their guy" over the more talented guy I've been told that on the defense they key attribute was speed (and hitting with the face). Tully has better overall speed than Rominger and carries forth much more experience. However with both Pflu and Breske now departed these two are dealing with new DC Ty Gregorak and position coach Leon Burtnett - so any hint of favortism, and possibly over-emphasis on pure speed, might be out the window. While I don't know much about coach Burtnett and how he works with the kids he coaches I do know how coach Ty reacts to missed tackles/poor tackling - he doesn't accept it... at all.
Heading into fall camp this position battle could rage on. The way I see it, Bo Tully will enter fall camp still pegged as the starter. I don't think one strong spring camp will catapult Rominger over him in the coaches eyes. However Tully needs to clean up his continued issues he showed last season, and quickly. Rominger on the other hand needs to prove that this spring wasn't just a spot of luck but that his adaptation to being a safety in this system is continually improving. If he can do that then come the end of fall camp these two could be splitting time at the start of the season opener or into September.
I'm not sure how I see this shaking out, too many unknowns as of yet. Each player has a strength and a weakness. This position could be one of the most important that needs to be anchored this fall camp as our corners are all younger and lack overall experience, having a more veteran and versatile group of safeties will dramatically help our passing game.
Coming out of spring ball a very interesting position race has emerged, Steven Rominger vs Bo Tully. Opposite of them Hermey has his position locked down and possibly an all-conference nod before the season even starts. We've got a JuCo safety as well (Coogan) and Lebsock who is splitting time between safety and backer as he transitions to becoming a full-time linebacker.
Rominger came out of spring camp on fire having one of the better camps of all the defensive players and he was specifially called out by coach Delaney for his play. Rominger brings balance to the position, he's not the fastest of the group but he's a good tackler and has shown increased awareness in zone coverage. For lack of a better comparison Rominger is a bit like Mike McCord, his better ability is run support. This spring he had multiple interceptions and great plays showing his continued improvement in pass coverage. Last year he was almost entirely a special teams player, not even seeing much at safety in blow-outs. Rominger brings very little in-game experience at the position which of course is a bit of a gamble. His lack of overall speed is also a concern as safeties need to have good range, there could be concern of him being able to provide zone-coverage help in cover-2 / cover-3 situation and getting to the sideline in a hurry if the corner is beat over the top.
Tully brings an almost full season of starting experience plus a prior season of some split time at safety. Bo is a very fast and agile player, one thing I keep hearing and noticing about him is his overall speed and quickness to close on the ball or ball carrier. Tully held his own fairly well in most zone coverage although of the main contributing safeties he had the fewest amount of tackles and interceptions (52 tackles, 1 pick). Tully's issue has been widely talked about on here, tackling and 1-on-1 matchups. In some games he was quickly targeted and picked on - he wound up splitting more and more time with Hermanson as the season went on. Before spring camp kicked off Tully had a nice endorsement from Pflu that he is continually improving and "will be" the starter opposite of Hermey. Come spring camp Tully showed some good improvement in his coverage but was still having lots of issues with tackling. Arm tackles, getting caught on his heels, over-pursuit.
The possibly interesting wrinkle here is the coaching dynamic. Rominger was a Hauck recruit, Tully a Pflu recruit. While I don't think Pflu/Breske would start "their guy" over the more talented guy I've been told that on the defense they key attribute was speed (and hitting with the face). Tully has better overall speed than Rominger and carries forth much more experience. However with both Pflu and Breske now departed these two are dealing with new DC Ty Gregorak and position coach Leon Burtnett - so any hint of favortism, and possibly over-emphasis on pure speed, might be out the window. While I don't know much about coach Burtnett and how he works with the kids he coaches I do know how coach Ty reacts to missed tackles/poor tackling - he doesn't accept it... at all.
Heading into fall camp this position battle could rage on. The way I see it, Bo Tully will enter fall camp still pegged as the starter. I don't think one strong spring camp will catapult Rominger over him in the coaches eyes. However Tully needs to clean up his continued issues he showed last season, and quickly. Rominger on the other hand needs to prove that this spring wasn't just a spot of luck but that his adaptation to being a safety in this system is continually improving. If he can do that then come the end of fall camp these two could be splitting time at the start of the season opener or into September.
I'm not sure how I see this shaking out, too many unknowns as of yet. Each player has a strength and a weakness. This position could be one of the most important that needs to be anchored this fall camp as our corners are all younger and lack overall experience, having a more veteran and versatile group of safeties will dramatically help our passing game.
