CB DeAndre Byrd

[Axl_sued_me]

And I thought chasing chickens was only a Philly thing!

Only at a certain gym on the southside...........ran by a guy named Mick I believe.

 

[BigWillie]

Haha, I always find the term "florida speed' funny. What's that mean exactly? If you're born in Florida are you given a special certificate saying you are now part of the fastest state in the nation? What makes the kids in Florida faster? Intersting.

It's about talent level.

Practicing and playing against kids who are faster, stronger and bigger everyday makes kids work harder. They don't just roll over and decide they have talent. Most actually work their butts off in the weight room.

Kids from places like Florida have gone up against unbelievable talent from a younger age. You can call it more about population density or whatever you like, but the 'Florida speed' is not some fallacy.

It's pretty easy to notice that 'SEC' (southern) speed when you watch a guy with SEC and ACC players, then compare it to a B12.

Anyone remember when Darren McFadden got ran down from behind in the Arkansas Wisconsin bowl game? Yeah, I'm not buying it.

Do you remember when Corey McKeon played an assignment perfectly? GWB said something intelligent? Or when Amy Winehouse wasn't a crack ho? Crazy stuff happens.

But it isn't a thing about player vs player as there will always be players who pop up that have incredible measurables, even like our own Baker Steinkuhler. But it is a matter of overall team speed.

And really, it isn't even a matter of timed speed either. Look at a guy like Ali Highsmith who played under Bo. Incredibly slow timed speed (5.0 or something), but when you watch him play he was insanely fast in pursuit and from sideline-to-sideline.

But as far as that particular instance you mentioned -- Ikegwuonu was side-by-side with McFadden when he broke free. McFadden got a step, then it just became a race to the end zone. Ikegwuonu made a diving tackle, but hardly 'chased him down from behind'.

But I will say that Ikegwuonu was always known as an incredibly fast person, especially before the knee injury. But overall, the Wisconsin defense has never been known for it's team speed.

But if you can honestly watch an SEC game and think it looks similar in terms of speed as compared to any other conference, then myself and many others have a very different understanding of the word speed.

 

[bbeerma2]

Haha, I always find the term "florida speed' funny. What's that mean exactly? If you're born in Florida are you given a special certificate saying you are now part of the fastest state in the nation? What makes the kids in Florida faster? Intersting.

It's about talent level.

Practicing and playing against kids who are faster, stronger and bigger everyday makes kids work harder. They don't just roll over and decide they have talent. Most actually work their butts off in the weight room.

Kids from places like Florida have gone up against unbelievable talent from a younger age. You can call it more about population density or whatever you like, but the 'Florida speed' is not some fallacy.

It's pretty easy to notice that 'SEC' (southern) speed when you watch a guy with SEC and ACC players, then compare it to a B12.

Anyone remember when Darren McFadden got ran down from behind in the Arkansas Wisconsin bowl game? Yeah, I'm not buying it.

Do you remember when Corey McKeon played an assignment perfectly? GWB said something intelligent? Or when Amy Winehouse wasn't a crack ho? Crazy stuff happens.

But it isn't a thing about player vs player as there will always be players who pop up that have incredible measurables, even like our own Baker Steinkuhler. But it is a matter of overall team speed.

And really, it isn't even a matter of timed speed either. Look at a guy like Ali Highsmith who played under Bo. Incredibly slow timed speed (5.0 or something), but when you watch him play he was insanely fast in pursuit and from sideline-to-sideline.

But as far as that particular instance you mentioned -- Ikegwuonu was side-by-side with McFadden when he broke free. McFadden got a step, then it just became a race to the end zone. Ikegwuonu made a diving tackle, but hardly 'chased him down from behind'.

But I will say that Ikegwuonu was always known as an incredibly fast person, especially before the knee injury. But overall, the Wisconsin defense has never been known for it's team speed.

But if you can honestly watch an SEC game and think it looks similar in terms of speed as compared to any other conference, then myself and many others have a very different understanding of the word speed.

I feel that they get their speed based on the packages they run rather than the player personnel. The issue is that for years and years the other big conferences (Big 12 and Big 10) were smash mouth football and have to run defensive packages to combat the teams they played against. This led to a mentality in recruiting. If you watch current Big10, Big12, Pac-10 defenses when they play OOC games against SEC opponents really there isn't much of a difference. The problem is that they are typically getting outcoached. I would hope so judging by the amount they pay their coaches across the conference in the SEC.

If you look at their OOC schedule against the teams in these conferences it isn't all that impressive.

Florida vs Michigan L 41-35

Georgia vs. Oklahoma State W 35-14

Arkansas vs. No. 6 Missouri L 38-7

Auburn vs. Kansas State W 23-13

Tennessee vs. No. 18 Wisconsin W 21-17

Tennessee vs. No. 12 California L 45-31

LSU vs. No. 1 Ohio State W 38-24

Alabama vs. Colorado W 30-24

5-3 with 3 games decided by less than a touchdown. And in games of evenly matched opponents really only 1 blowout and that's the title game. What you don't understand is that offensive schemes are evolving and the days of low scores are beginning to fade. Only 2 of those matches had a combined score under 40 points. The reason people were giving the SEC so much credit on speed was the fact that they adopted a lot of the progressive offensive schemes before the rest of the nation. This made them change their defensive schemes to deal with these evolving offenses and develop a faster paced game. The times of Ron Dayne and the bruisers at Minnesota are gone. Times have changed and you will see less parity in college football next season. Hell, look at how good an old-timer from the Big 10 did working the defense at Nebraska recently. We did Wisconsin a favor by allowing them to bring in a new DC to get things up to date. All told, OSU wasn't a worthy team of the NC game and Michigan wasn't a worthy team to face Florida so the only real good matchup I see from last season was Tennessee - Wisconsin which came down to the wire. SEC just got a boatload more hype and publicity and its what's on people's minds. With new coordinators all over the place you will see more great games and more contender programs which were off the map before now a la Missouri. It's all upside for CFB so I'm a happy man.

 

[father5]

And I thought chasing chickens was only a Philly thing!

No sir, that's CHOKING chickens!!!

 

[chamrocck]

The more I read on this kid, the more I like his potential.

 

[Ohio Pete]

More hyperbole from ESPN:

Pelini's pedigree helps steer top Florida defensive talent to Lincoln

Based on current skill, DeAndre Byrd (Tallahassee, Fla./Lincoln) may be the No. 3 corner in the Sunshine State, but in terms of pure upside -- he is arguably No. 1. A match made in heaven in our eyes; the 5-foot-11 cover-corner with great closing burst will be groomed by one of the most respected defensive minds in all of football: Bo Pelini.
Byrd will already bring a fluid pedal, sound anticipation skills and a strong knowledge of zone concepts he acquired from Lincoln High School to Nebraska, but it's the continued polish he will receive under Pelini and his great room for physical development that gets both Byrd and Scouts Inc. excited about this commitment.

"[Coach Pelini] reminds me of Coach Rice, my head coach at Lincoln," Byrd said. "I connected with Coach Pelini last year when I went up to LSU for a visit with my teammate T.J. Bryant (Tallahassee, Fla./Lincoln). To be able to go to a school with a head coach similar to mine was important for me."

Aside from liking Pelini's personality and demeanor, ESPN's No. 17-rated corner is excited to receive the tutelage of one of the better defensive teachers in college football.

"Coach Pelini loves corners and is a great defensive coach," Byrd said. "He uses [corners] a lot, sometimes up to six (in certain packages). I think I can learn a lot from him on [coverage] technique and tackling."

Byrd said Pelini talked about early playing time, particularly in some of the Cornhuskers' dime and nickel personal packages. But most importantly, the first-year Nebraska coach sees him as an eventual shutdown corner, similar to the vision he had for Byrd's former teammate Bryant (who ended up signing with USC).

Thus far, elite players like Bryant--ESPN's No. 2-rated corner in 2008--have been difficult to recruit for Pelini. In his defense, the state itself has been dry on talent in recent years and its neighboring states have not offered much in terms of great quality either. The pickup of the talented Florida corner is significant for Nebraska's future defense but maybe more instrumental for the program from a recruiting standpoint.

 

[Danimal]

After Green I'd say this is the second-biggest pick-up of our class thus-far. Aggressive as hell with huge upside, plus he seems majorly stoked t be here. Bo and Marvin could do big things with this guy.

 

[Axl_sued_me]

Anybody worried that Bobby Bowden or even Urban Meyers could come knocking on his door?

 

[BigRedfxtoy]

I hope they do and I hope his response is:

Sorry guys, I'm gonna be a Husker where people in general make other people better. Where a work ethic and culture still exists that devlopes young adults to be good hearted and succeed in life.

:koolaid2:

 

[Axl_sued_me]

Haha, I always find the term "florida speed' funny. What's that mean exactly? If you're born in Florida are you given a special certificate saying you are now part of the fastest state in the nation? What makes the kids in Florida faster? Intersting.

It's about talent level.

Practicing and playing against kids who are faster, stronger and bigger everyday makes kids work harder. They don't just roll over and decide they have talent. Most actually work their butts off in the weight room.

Kids from places like Florida have gone up against unbelievable talent from a younger age. You can call it more about population density or whatever you like, but the 'Florida speed' is not some fallacy.

It's pretty easy to notice that 'SEC' (southern) speed when you watch a guy with SEC and ACC players, then compare it to a B12.

Anyone remember when Darren McFadden got ran down from behind in the Arkansas Wisconsin bowl game? Yeah, I'm not buying it.

Watch the DB vs WR battles at the Nike camps and you will see. One camp is in TX and the other is in Florida.

 

[Deafy1289]

Haha, I always find the term "florida speed' funny. What's that mean exactly? If you're born in Florida are you given a special certificate saying you are now part of the fastest state in the nation? What makes the kids in Florida faster? Intersting.

It's about talent level.

Practicing and playing against kids who are faster, stronger and bigger everyday makes kids work harder. They don't just roll over and decide they have talent. Most actually work their butts off in the weight room.

Kids from places like Florida have gone up against unbelievable talent from a younger age. You can call it more about population density or whatever you like, but the 'Florida speed' is not some fallacy.

It's pretty easy to notice that 'SEC' (southern) speed when you watch a guy with SEC and ACC players, then compare it to a B12.

Anyone remember when Darren McFadden got ran down from behind in the Arkansas Wisconsin bowl game? Yeah, I'm not buying it.

Watch the DB vs WR battles at the Nike camps and you will see. One camp is in TX and the other is in Florida.

The tape in the Florida one is bad and makes them look faster watch the Gainesville video and the TCU video on the internet and its pretty much the same.

 

[Axl_sued_me]

I hope they do and I hope his response is:

Sorry guys, I'm gonna be a Husker where people in general make other people better. Where a work ethic and culture still exists that devlopes young adults to be good hearted and succeed in life.

:koolaid2:

....or he could save LOTS of gas money, and play football in his backyard, in front of his friends and family.

 

[Back In Black]

he is taking a visit on 11/7/2008

 

[Ohio Pete]

Per another thread:

DeAndre Byrd was on Big Red Wrap-Up last night and he said all he needs to do to qualify is pass his last semester of school and he would be ready for Lincoln

 

[Ohio Pete]

Rivals profile says visiting 1/9