With all the focus on offense, some of the bright spots on defense are getting a bit overshadowed. I think a few players at least deserve a shout out.
1) CeCe Jefferson - Got increased PT last game, now getting essentially starter minutes, and was even more efficient with his minutes than the first game, which was already pretty impressive for a true frosh. This kid is on his way to becoming a star, not a lot of sacks yet but they'll be coming for sure.
2) Jarrad Davis - Had quite a sophomore slump last year, but is now a true emerging star. Big, strong, fast, and sure-tackling, he's got all the physical tools. Playing smarter now too, really needed him to step it up with Anzalone out, and he did just that.
3) Justus Reed - Didn't show up on the stats sheet, but drew a holding penalty on the first play, and collapsed the line on a run to his side, allowing for a TFL. Did pretty well again in back-up role, got into the game a bit earlier this time, think he may retain his role in the rotation.
I also think that Jeremi Powell has been playing solid ball, he took on blockers surprisingly well, his weight room gains are really showing. Marcell Harris was improving as well, laid a BIG hit on Isiah Johnson (?), took on blockers well at the line, and made solid tackles. Jordan Sherit continues to demonstrate impressive sideline-to-sideline speed, catching up to the ECU back-up QB allowing Jarrad Davis to make the big hit that basically took him out of the game (though the fumble was reversed). Joey Ivie put up monster stats last game (6 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 QB hurry), and though he didn't look quite as impressive as his stat line, he did seem to play with some much needed aggression yesterday. Hope he can keep it up. Heck, Caleb's playing with more discipline too, our front 7 just looks a lot more solid than we expected.
1) CeCe Jefferson - Got increased PT last game, now getting essentially starter minutes, and was even more efficient with his minutes than the first game, which was already pretty impressive for a true frosh. This kid is on his way to becoming a star, not a lot of sacks yet but they'll be coming for sure.
2) Jarrad Davis - Had quite a sophomore slump last year, but is now a true emerging star. Big, strong, fast, and sure-tackling, he's got all the physical tools. Playing smarter now too, really needed him to step it up with Anzalone out, and he did just that.
3) Justus Reed - Didn't show up on the stats sheet, but drew a holding penalty on the first play, and collapsed the line on a run to his side, allowing for a TFL. Did pretty well again in back-up role, got into the game a bit earlier this time, think he may retain his role in the rotation.
I also think that Jeremi Powell has been playing solid ball, he took on blockers surprisingly well, his weight room gains are really showing. Marcell Harris was improving as well, laid a BIG hit on Isiah Johnson (?), took on blockers well at the line, and made solid tackles. Jordan Sherit continues to demonstrate impressive sideline-to-sideline speed, catching up to the ECU back-up QB allowing Jarrad Davis to make the big hit that basically took him out of the game (though the fumble was reversed). Joey Ivie put up monster stats last game (6 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 QB hurry), and though he didn't look quite as impressive as his stat line, he did seem to play with some much needed aggression yesterday. Hope he can keep it up. Heck, Caleb's playing with more discipline too, our front 7 just looks a lot more solid than we expected.
