Who will be the football team's Damian Johnson

Donate To GopherHole
Ski U Mah Gopher

Ski U Mah Gopher

Member of the Tribe
Joined
Nov 12, 2008
Messages
7,983
Reaction score
1,281
Points
113
On the basketball board there is a lot of "I was wrong about Damian Johnson" being posted.

In Damian's redshirt freshman year most holers werre of the opinion that Mr. Johnson was a waste of a scholarship. Obviously, that is not the case, as he has become the leader and top defender on the team.

Can you see any player on the football team rising in skill like Johnson?
 

Eric Decker

I would have to say Eric Decker already did that. Or maybe Nate Triplett.

I agree with you that predicting the next one is a challenge. I will go with Ryan Grant. He was not highly regarded, but I just have a feeling he will get better each year.
 

Ski U Mah Gopher said:
On the basketball board there is a lot of "I was wrong about Damian Johnson" being posted.

In Damian's redshirt freshman year most holers werre of the opinion that Mr. Johnson was a waste of a scholarship. Obviously, that is not the case, as he has become the leader and top defender on the team.

Can you see any player on the football team rising in skill like Johnson?
Click to expand...

My vote would be Ryan Collado, he took a lot of heat for his play as a true freshman and sophomore. Most players don't peak until their 3rd year in the program. Ryan will be one of the best players on the defense next season. He is tremendous in the run game, very good in zone defense in the pass game and will be more than adequate in man coverage with experienced safties over the top.
 

PlymouthGopherFan said:
I would have to say Eric Decker already did that. Or maybe Nate Triplett.

I agree with you that predicting the next one is a challenge. I will go with Ryan Grant. He was not highly regarded, but I just have a feeling he will get better each year.
Click to expand...

Come on, nobody thought decker was a waste of a scholarship, and certainly not Triplett (3 star). The question is which player did you think was a waste, not a player who was a pleasant surprise this season or in their career. JD pride?
 

Colllado is a weird case. You can chart his play based almost entirely by his distance from the line of scrimmage. Or, to explain matters better, he plays really well when the play is in front of him. It's when he has to turn his back to the play that he gets in big trouble.

He is a middle linebacker in a corner's body.

He's gotten better each year too. Keep it up Ryan!
 


Collado likes to hit. I like that in a football player

Give Collado's agression to Simmons' and you have a first round NFL pick.
 

Thinking this through, and trying to find an apt comparison, i'm going to go for McKnight. I think he'll be pro when he's done, but he's taking quite a bit of heat as of late. If there is a QB who can get him the ball when he's a senior I'm betting all conference in two years.
 

McKnight is going to have to live with the jugg machine if that were to happen
 




Sportsfan24 said:
My vote would be Ryan Collado, he took a lot of heat for his play as a true freshman and sophomore. Most players don't peak until their 3rd year in the program. Ryan will be one of the best players on the defense next season. He is tremendous in the run game, very good in zone defense in the pass game and will be more than adequate in man coverage with experienced safties over the top.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%. People were way to hard on him. The fact of the matter is he would have benefited greatly from a red shirt season (Imagine if he was going to be a Jr next year!). Just to echo you, he's a fantastic tackler, good in zone and adequate in man. Those who have a freshman or a Juco penciled in at CB opposite Carter next year instead of Collado will be in for a surprise I predict.
 

I'm going to throw Nick Rengel into the mix, I think he's got a solid future ahead of him at either FB or TE. Victor Keise is another to keep an eye on.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom