A little late with our last installment, the D-line.
Smoke is in the air, there are fires everywhere, and it’s finally starting to get a little cooler at night again. That can only mean one thing. Fall camp is just around the corner. The players report this weekend and (closed) practices get underway next week. As we round out the position discussions we’re finishing with what I believe is the best top to bottom unit on the team, the defensive line. Why do I say that? The Griz return 7 players on the D-line with extensive playing time. Each spot is stacked with experience and good depth and they’ve got RS frosh that are coming in which looked great in spring ball as well.
And guess what? As good as this D-line is, it has just 1 senior in the whole group. This squad is going to be good for years.
Defensive Line: Zach Wagenmann, Tyrone Holmes, Tonga Takai, Alex Bienemann, Caleb Kidder, Trevor Rehm, Jesse Ginn, Derek Crittenden, Ryan Johnson, Zach Peevey, Bo Harris.
Projected Depth
DE: Wagenmann (Jr), Peevey (RS-Fr) OR Crittenden (Soph)
DT: Takai (Jr), Rehm (Jr), Ginn (Soph)
DT: Bienemann (Sr), Kidder (Soph), Harris (RS-Fr)
DE: Holmes (Soph), Crittenden (Soph) OR Johnson (RS-Fr)
Strengths / Weaknesses
Zach Wagenmann – Wags has been raking in the pre-season accolades coming of a rock solid breakout year in 2012. Wags is a fast pass rusher that gives slower tackles major fits. I’m told he’s added a bit more upper body size this off-season so far as well. When it’s a pass-rush situation he’s one of the best in the Big Sky getting to the QB. The area I’m hoping to see improved this year is his rush defense. That was shaky at times last season, I saw a little too much confusion or missed opportunities when the ball was run towards Wags.
Tyrone Holmes – Holmes caught a lot of people’s attention when he showed up as a true freshman in fall camp and just wrecked every single tackle he went up against. Now with a full year under his belt the starting spot is his. Another very fast rusher Holmes uses great speed and athleticism to beat blockers. Obviously he’ll need to avoid a sophomore slump and much like Wags clean up his run defense. Holmes has people buzzing he could break all sorts of Big Sky records in years to come. Time will tell.
Tonga Takai – Last year was a huge step for Tonga. He had a solid season and followed up with a good spring camp (that I saw) as well. He’s a work horse in the middle, can break double teams, and forces a lot of runners to go in different directions. Last season he would sometimes fade back a bit, I’ve talked about consistency for him as an ongoing need for improvement – if spring camp was a good indicator he’s getting even better at playing at a top level all of the time.
Alex Bienemann – Not totally sure why but Alex was sunk in depth for a lot of the spring, rumor was some attitude conflicts with the head coach. However anyone that thinks Alex won’t start is kidding themselves. He’s our most versatile and experienced lineman. I’m not sure if he’s missed a start for years. A strong and passionate guy that is a good pass rusher and can shove aside inexperienced interior linemen with ease. Based on last season the one thing I hope we see from Alex is more sideline leadership. It’s been well documented on egriz some videos and scenes of him getting in Delaney’s face after a few games. Alex is the leader of this group and they’ll be looking to him for composure this season.
Caleb Kidder – Get ready Big Sky conference! Kidder had a great spring camp getting after the QB and his run defense is solid. He’s maybe the quickest of the DTs (and the lightest). He’s very fast out of his stance and from what I saw in spring camp he’s got great strength to move blockers back. Expect to see Caleb come in for Takai or Bienemann a lot in passing situations. I’d guess his size/weight isn’t quite there yet to get a lot of reps playing run defense.
Trevor Rehm – Another guy who had a good spring camp. Rehm is just a little larger than Kidder, however what I noticed from him was that he is a little more like your usual D-tackle. Strong and physical in the middle, not as quick on his feet as the D-ends, but close. His size will limit a few reps, I’d guess, but he’s a guy that played good time last year and did tally up 1.5 sacks (just as many as Kidder did). Another great option to use on passing plays.
Jesse Ginn – Has the long awaited arrival of Ginn finally occurred? Jesse had yet another quiet spring in the scrimmages I saw until the very last scrimmage where he absolutely tore it up. He was moving the O-line back, had a few sacks, had a pass deflection, and maybe one of the harder hits in all of the scrimmages I’d seen in the fall. Hopefully this carries over as he’s going to be needed to support our tackles quite a bit this year.
Bo Harris – Didn’t have the spring camp he was hoping for when he was pulled over and accused of a DUI shortly after the spring game in Ronan. I think he sat out the rest of camp. Bo is another one of our D-tackles who is under 270 so I’ll be watching for him this fall to see how he’s progressed.
Zach Peevey – Zach was one of a few breakout players in spring camp. He had a very good spring game with some pressures and a sack. Going from looking/playing like a true freshman last fall camp to the improvements I saw this spring suggests a bright future for him. He’s a big dude, I think our heaviest D-end. Look for him to get some spot duty this year. Footwork and agility need to keep improving, had some issues with screens, mis-direction, and draw plays.
Ryan Johnson – Ryan was the other guy that really caught my attention in spring camp. I recall a batted pass and interception as well as a forced fumble in one scrimmage alone. Johnson’s progression mirrors Peevey’s – big strides. Ryan had a few batted passes across all three scrimmages, he seems to have a good knack to timing his jumps when the QB is passing. Needs to just keep improving, I don’t recall much from him in the 1st scrimmage, hopefully he can find a good level to play consistently.
Derek Crittenden – I’m trying to remember if he played in the last scrimmage. I recall a good start to spring camp with a few sacks and some early write-ups but I’m not sure if he closed out camp or not. Crittenden had some hopes to make a few impressions last season but didn’t really break through. He’s a balanced player that I’ve seen so far, not too flashy as a pass rusher but a solid player. He’ll be rotating in with Peevey and Johnson this year to give Wags and Holmes some rest.
Smoke is in the air, there are fires everywhere, and it’s finally starting to get a little cooler at night again. That can only mean one thing. Fall camp is just around the corner. The players report this weekend and (closed) practices get underway next week. As we round out the position discussions we’re finishing with what I believe is the best top to bottom unit on the team, the defensive line. Why do I say that? The Griz return 7 players on the D-line with extensive playing time. Each spot is stacked with experience and good depth and they’ve got RS frosh that are coming in which looked great in spring ball as well.
And guess what? As good as this D-line is, it has just 1 senior in the whole group. This squad is going to be good for years.
Defensive Line: Zach Wagenmann, Tyrone Holmes, Tonga Takai, Alex Bienemann, Caleb Kidder, Trevor Rehm, Jesse Ginn, Derek Crittenden, Ryan Johnson, Zach Peevey, Bo Harris.
Projected Depth
DE: Wagenmann (Jr), Peevey (RS-Fr) OR Crittenden (Soph)
DT: Takai (Jr), Rehm (Jr), Ginn (Soph)
DT: Bienemann (Sr), Kidder (Soph), Harris (RS-Fr)
DE: Holmes (Soph), Crittenden (Soph) OR Johnson (RS-Fr)
Strengths / Weaknesses
Zach Wagenmann – Wags has been raking in the pre-season accolades coming of a rock solid breakout year in 2012. Wags is a fast pass rusher that gives slower tackles major fits. I’m told he’s added a bit more upper body size this off-season so far as well. When it’s a pass-rush situation he’s one of the best in the Big Sky getting to the QB. The area I’m hoping to see improved this year is his rush defense. That was shaky at times last season, I saw a little too much confusion or missed opportunities when the ball was run towards Wags.
Tyrone Holmes – Holmes caught a lot of people’s attention when he showed up as a true freshman in fall camp and just wrecked every single tackle he went up against. Now with a full year under his belt the starting spot is his. Another very fast rusher Holmes uses great speed and athleticism to beat blockers. Obviously he’ll need to avoid a sophomore slump and much like Wags clean up his run defense. Holmes has people buzzing he could break all sorts of Big Sky records in years to come. Time will tell.
Tonga Takai – Last year was a huge step for Tonga. He had a solid season and followed up with a good spring camp (that I saw) as well. He’s a work horse in the middle, can break double teams, and forces a lot of runners to go in different directions. Last season he would sometimes fade back a bit, I’ve talked about consistency for him as an ongoing need for improvement – if spring camp was a good indicator he’s getting even better at playing at a top level all of the time.
Alex Bienemann – Not totally sure why but Alex was sunk in depth for a lot of the spring, rumor was some attitude conflicts with the head coach. However anyone that thinks Alex won’t start is kidding themselves. He’s our most versatile and experienced lineman. I’m not sure if he’s missed a start for years. A strong and passionate guy that is a good pass rusher and can shove aside inexperienced interior linemen with ease. Based on last season the one thing I hope we see from Alex is more sideline leadership. It’s been well documented on egriz some videos and scenes of him getting in Delaney’s face after a few games. Alex is the leader of this group and they’ll be looking to him for composure this season.
Caleb Kidder – Get ready Big Sky conference! Kidder had a great spring camp getting after the QB and his run defense is solid. He’s maybe the quickest of the DTs (and the lightest). He’s very fast out of his stance and from what I saw in spring camp he’s got great strength to move blockers back. Expect to see Caleb come in for Takai or Bienemann a lot in passing situations. I’d guess his size/weight isn’t quite there yet to get a lot of reps playing run defense.
Trevor Rehm – Another guy who had a good spring camp. Rehm is just a little larger than Kidder, however what I noticed from him was that he is a little more like your usual D-tackle. Strong and physical in the middle, not as quick on his feet as the D-ends, but close. His size will limit a few reps, I’d guess, but he’s a guy that played good time last year and did tally up 1.5 sacks (just as many as Kidder did). Another great option to use on passing plays.
Jesse Ginn – Has the long awaited arrival of Ginn finally occurred? Jesse had yet another quiet spring in the scrimmages I saw until the very last scrimmage where he absolutely tore it up. He was moving the O-line back, had a few sacks, had a pass deflection, and maybe one of the harder hits in all of the scrimmages I’d seen in the fall. Hopefully this carries over as he’s going to be needed to support our tackles quite a bit this year.
Bo Harris – Didn’t have the spring camp he was hoping for when he was pulled over and accused of a DUI shortly after the spring game in Ronan. I think he sat out the rest of camp. Bo is another one of our D-tackles who is under 270 so I’ll be watching for him this fall to see how he’s progressed.
Zach Peevey – Zach was one of a few breakout players in spring camp. He had a very good spring game with some pressures and a sack. Going from looking/playing like a true freshman last fall camp to the improvements I saw this spring suggests a bright future for him. He’s a big dude, I think our heaviest D-end. Look for him to get some spot duty this year. Footwork and agility need to keep improving, had some issues with screens, mis-direction, and draw plays.
Ryan Johnson – Ryan was the other guy that really caught my attention in spring camp. I recall a batted pass and interception as well as a forced fumble in one scrimmage alone. Johnson’s progression mirrors Peevey’s – big strides. Ryan had a few batted passes across all three scrimmages, he seems to have a good knack to timing his jumps when the QB is passing. Needs to just keep improving, I don’t recall much from him in the 1st scrimmage, hopefully he can find a good level to play consistently.
Derek Crittenden – I’m trying to remember if he played in the last scrimmage. I recall a good start to spring camp with a few sacks and some early write-ups but I’m not sure if he closed out camp or not. Crittenden had some hopes to make a few impressions last season but didn’t really break through. He’s a balanced player that I’ve seen so far, not too flashy as a pass rusher but a solid player. He’ll be rotating in with Peevey and Johnson this year to give Wags and Holmes some rest.
ray:
Do you think he'll get his jock wet this year?? :egriz:
