“Now that I’m at defensive tackle, I’ve gotten more sacks than I did at defensive end,” Irving said. “I’m liking that.”
David Irving to DT
- Thread starter Rhoadhoused
- Start date
This is exactly what I was thinking when I first saw that Irving was moving to DT. I still believe he will play both but needs the work at DT as he already knows what he is doing at DE.
I don't recall anyone going too nuts on predictions for the kid, we were just, as fans, excited for his potential. I remember Rhoads saying he was the recruit he was most excited about out of that class, so of course fans were going to follow his lead. He was also pressed into action a year before he really should have out of necessity and has been injured for 2 straight springs. Give the kid a break, we don't have any idea why this move is made but its most likely, as others have said, to cross train him to build up our DT depth in case he needs to slide over.
As far as his height, the Jacksonville Jaguars had a pretty good DT tandem a few years ago with Marcus Stroud and John Henderson. 6'6 and 6'7 respectively and both probowlers.
If he is finding ways to get to the QB from DT, that is fantastic. I've always wondered if he was the kind of lineman who should just occupy space on the line and get his hands up to disrupt passing lanes (and get an occasional Pick 6). Further, he seemed like he was always aggressive in following the play and helping make stops out on the perimeter, but not really having a big presence on the run from the line. It sounds now like he is finding his comfort zone on the line. Getting pressure on the QB from a huge guy like him coming up the middle will be wonderfully disruptive, even if he only gets his hands up while getting closer to the QB.
Guys - I interviewed Rhoads, Irving and Shane B. Just got them transcribed. Starting to write about this right now. Sit tight.
Maybe I am the only one, but I love the move. He may struggle some in run defense but he is quicker than most DT so that could be a plus for him and allow him to be disruptive and I like the idea of someone his size getting in passing lanes. He could be disruptive doing that alone and this gives us a more athletic team on the field when he is at DT. At DE he too often got pushed upfield behind the QB and was not able to get in passing lanes.
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
Not the only one. I really like it and watching him play de you could conclude this: 1) he isn't quick enough 2) those tackles can't move that dude.
I don't know what it says about the other positions but I think he will no doubt be a better dt than de.
Interested to read the story. I like what Irving brings to the field. His biggest weakness (IMO) is he seems slower than others to react and get off the ball. Hope that's gotten better for him.
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
I agree with you, but he's gotta gain a pound a day from now to the opener to even stand a chance against Big 12 O-Lines
I've heard good things here and there about those guys. One specific thing was that they had kind of planned on moving Meyers inside but he was too good out there. He's a guy that could be a 280 lb SDE and still be able to move. I like what this signals about the current DEs but I'm not sure it's a great sign for Irving. I only remember one guy that long playing inside in a long time and that was Alan Branch who had about 50 lbs and a different body than Irving.
That's definitely his biggest physical weakness and I just don't see how that's going to be hidden by moving inside. He will have less space to work with against guys lower than him. This will be interesting.
I'm actually with him. That's only one player out of really large pool of guys we have played.
