Quote Originally Posted by Droxside:
If you are basing your expectations on stars put forth by recruiting services to sell subscriptions, I would be carefull. Sometimes the 3 star recruit ends up with something that is not measured by the services, heart and the 5 star recruits never pan out.
You do realize that it takes time for an offensive line to learn each other and play as a unit, the least understood aspect of a good offense and Bama's starting line-up was in doubt as recently two weeks ago. You said that Carpenter beat out Fluker, but the fact is that as physically talented as Fluker is, he is not mentally ready for college football as Saban himself said a week or so ago about several of the young linemen.
Talent is important, but they must be on the same page or defense's and scheme's like Bud Foster will throw at them will confuse them and cause missed assignments.
You are correct on all counts. For example Demeco Ryans was a 3-star recruit and became the best LB in college football, and was a 1st round pick by the Texans. Bama's NT Terrance Cody will be a 1st round pick as well, and he was only rated a 3-star. And of course there are 5-star busts as well.
However, having said that, Oklahoma, Texas USC, Florida, LSU & Ohio State are the only 6 teams to have played for National Champioships in the past 6 years, and what do those teams have in common? All of them recruit at an elite level, and therefore have elite talent, and therefore are elite programs. And based on the strength of back-to-back #1 recruiting classes, Bama has now joined the party.
I love VT and I'm a big fan, but until they recruit at the level these other teams do, they really don't have much of a shot of competing with the elite teams that simply have superior talent. As far as I know, I don't think VT has ever had a top 10 recruiting class. The teams mentioned above are in the top 10 EVERY year.
So while there are always exceptions, the overall recruiting rankings are a very accurate prognosticator of future success for a program. The bottom line is that recruiting is the life blood of a program. Without effective recruiting, you're pretty much dead in the water.
The only O-line position that was in doubt was the RG position where Barrett Jones won the starting job. But Jones was in the system last year, so he's well acclimated.
I really should have said that Carpenter held off D.J. Fluker, becasue almost everyone expected DJ be the starting LT this year. Andre Smith, like DJ Fluker, was not ready to step in and play immediately as a true freshman either, but he was pressed into service because Bama had nobody else. Now Bama enjoys the luxury of depth (which goes to my original point) so they can work guys like Fluker into the system gradually, and at their own pace. Really, until this year, Bama simply has not had that luxury.
I don't disagree with you that Bud Foster's defense will be a tough first assignment for Bama's O-line, and I have no doubt they will make some mistakes. But honestly they face a much tougher front 7 in practice everyday. Overall, I think they will handle themselves adequately in this game. I certainly don't think it'll be the mismatch everyone thinks it will be. In fact, it may not be a mis-match at all.
Everybody is quick to point out the perceived shortcomings of the Bama O-line, while completely ignoring the most glaring mis-match on the field - Bama's front 7 vesuses VT's O-line, in particular new undersized center Beau Warren. He will be outweighed by his counterpart by 80 lbs. So if you want to see a mis-match against an inexperienced O-lineman, that's where to look.
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