Palmetto Proving Grounds

Turner already knows that's the plan for him.

I think it's easier to sell these big framed guys on becoming DTs much more so than OLs. A lot of them already know they are destined for DT when they sign, anyway. Not really a matter of growing some of them into DTs...rather a matter of they are going to out-grow DE/LB, anyway, & they know it and the coaches know it & did from the get-go. Yet, because they played DE (or LB) in H.S. & are listed that way by recruiting/scouting services, many fans think that they are simply DE "washouts" & we need tackles so we try to grow them into that role. A 255-260 Lb. youngster with the right frame who is dedicated in the weight room & follows the right diet can easily be 285-290 or more by the time he's a RS soph which is about when an SEC DT should begin to figure in the rotation. I know this goes back quite a ways, but Roy Hart , the NG that anchored that '87 defense (& allowed Joe Lee Dunn to do so many diff. things), arrived at Carolina at 6'0" 240 Lbs. Even then, elite DTs/NGs were already at least 280 Lbs. When I saw his height & weight on the signee list, I thought, "Boy...this dude's kinda short for a DE...guess this is why Georgia didn't take him & we had to 'settle' for him"!!. Roy turned out to be an outstanding interior DL & had a nice career in the NFL!!

I'd rather have them at DE.

Exactly. Guys like Melvin are very, very rare.

I want my DTs to eat up space and free up the DEs and OLBs.

Its a way schools get speed and athleticism on the field. To think we are the only ones doing it is wrong. HS CBs move to S, Safety to Olb, Olbs to MLBs, MLBs to DE and DEs to DT. Its been going on as long as college football has. It happens everywhere in every class. Granted we still need to recruit big HS DTs but two of the best SEC DL, Ingram and LSUs Brockers, were HS LBs.

Melvin Ingram was a DE.

Yes, he was a TE in HS and ,unlike Melvin, was actually a DT in college.

DT's since 2004. Not counting 2012 since they have not hit the field.

Recruited at DT: Marque Hall, Matt Raysor, Lemuel Jeanpierre, Jarriel King, Kenrick Ellis, Joel Reaves, Olufemi Ajiboye, Donte'e Nicholls, Jonathan Williams, Kenny Davis, Byron Jerideau, Kelcy Quarles, J.T. Surratt,

4 SEC DT's: Hall, Ellis(if he had stayed around), Ajiboye, Kelcy Quarles
Jerideau needs to play more, too early on Dixon, Dukes and Green

Recruited as LB or DE: Nathan Pepper, Melvin Ingram, Travian Robertson, Aldrick Fordham
3 SEC DT's: Peppers, Ingram and Robertson
Fordham has played a lot but not what I would call and SEC DT.

I think it takes both for us to have a decent defensive line. True high school DT's that can become legit SEC DT's are just a very rare animal. Though we recruited 13 DT's (not counting Dixon, Dukes and Green) there are only 4 that I would say were legit SEC DT's.

Out of the 4 that were converted from DE or LB we have 3 legit SEC DT's. I quess really 2 since Melvin was never a true DT. But all 4 have contributed at DT.

Melvin was a QB & RB.....

I didn't miss the point he was in no way a DT. He was a DE. If Clowney moves inside a few plays a game are you going to call him a DT?

Melvin Ingram and Travian Robertson disagree