740 had Coach Klieman on today

[tony]

Not much there for the non-casual Bison fan but here's the link:

http://www.740thefan.com/page.php?page_id=82

(http://www.740thefan.com/page.php?page_id=82)What I remember:

Golf talk got the most air time
Talked about Esley Thorton (c'mon, fellas, let him grow into this role - is it because of the Bismarck audience that he gets talked about more than any starter?) That said, Coach Klieman made it sound like Esley was going to be learning to play all the LB positions.
Big battle is at CB - they'll all play, it's just a matter of picking a starter, they're not as big as Williams or Martin.
Said that they were challenging Marcus Williams to be a better tackler... thought that was odd because he made huge strides between 2011 and 2012 - especially stringing plays out and fighting off blockers, but I bet Williams accepts that challenge.

[BisonNation11]

Not much there for the non-casual Bison fan but here's the link:

http://www.740thefan.com/page.php?page_id=82

(http://www.740thefan.com/page.php?page_id=82)What I remember:

Golf talk got the most air time
Talked about Esley Thorton (c'mon, fellas, let him grow into this role - is it because of the Bismarck audience that he gets talked about more than any starter?) That said, Coach Klieman made it sound like Esley was going to be learning to play all the LB positions.
Big battle is at CB - they'll all play, it's just a matter of picking a starter, they're not as big as Williams or Martin.
Said that they were challenging Marcus Williams to be a better tackler... thought that was odd because he made huge strides between 2011 and 2012 - especially stringing plays out and fighting off blockers, but I bet Williams accepts that challenge.


I was literally typing this out under the Spring Practice thread and thought I'd better check to make sure no one else has posted it.

Regarding MW's tackling, I'm betting they want him to wrap up and tackle more as opposed to hitting with the side of his shoulder and hoping for the best. Turn him into more of an Andre Martin tackler that's more physical, especially with his size. Jack makes Esley seem like a God among men ALL the time, but it's still impressive what he's been able to do. I'm hoping whoever does get the nod opposite of MW also plays physical like Andre. With Heagle back and Dudzik waiting to pop someone on a deep ball, an aggressive corner would make running east to west virtually impossible. Odd that he never mentioned anyone at LB other than Esley (not that he had much of a chance to). Was hoping to hear his take on MJ and his development.

A little bonus tidbit. He did say the offense was throwing in some new wrinkles and the one thing he did mention was using both Brock and Wentz on the field together. Not that I want to see that type of play early in the season, but with Brock's ability to run and Carson's arm, it could make for some very interesting plays.

[ndsubison1]

Not much there for the non-casual Bison fan but here's the link:

http://www.740thefan.com/page.php?page_id=82

(http://www.740thefan.com/page.php?page_id=82)What I remember:

Golf talk got the most air time
Talked about Esley Thorton (c'mon, fellas, let him grow into this role - is it because of the Bismarck audience that he gets talked about more than any starter?) That said, Coach Klieman made it sound like Esley was going to be learning to play all the LB positions.
Big battle is at CB - they'll all play, it's just a matter of picking a starter, they're not as big as Williams or Martin.
Said that they were challenging Marcus Williams to be a better tackler... thought that was odd because he made huge strides between 2011 and 2012 - especially stringing plays out and fighting off blockers, but I bet Williams accepts that challenge.


i see a good battle bwteen pierre, cj smith and champion. many will think pierre has the edge and he might, but i think cj smith eventually wins it, unless shepherd is somehow moved back. any chance of that? or will he stay at safety for depth reasons?

[ndsubison1]

Not much there for the non-casual Bison fan but here's the link:

http://www.740thefan.com/page.php?page_id=82

(http://www.740thefan.com/page.php?page_id=82)What I remember:

Golf talk got the most air time
Talked about Esley Thorton (c'mon, fellas, let him grow into this role - is it because of the Bismarck audience that he gets talked about more than any starter?) That said, Coach Klieman made it sound like Esley was going to be learning to play all the LB positions.
Big battle is at CB - they'll all play, it's just a matter of picking a starter, they're not as big as Williams or Martin.
Said that they were challenging Marcus Williams to be a better tackler... thought that was odd because he made huge strides between 2011 and 2012 - especially stringing plays out and fighting off blockers, but I bet Williams accepts that challenge.


williams has defintely improved his tackling since frosh-soph years but all nfl scouts will tell you his one weakness is tackling

[BadlandsBison]

i see a good battle bwteen pierre, cj smith and champion. many will think pierre has the edge and he might, but i think cj smith eventually wins it, unless shepherd is somehow moved back. any chance of that? or will he stay at safety for depth reasons?

Shepherd is a reliable tackler for how small he is. Seems like he saw a lot of action at nickle-back, I would guess he first backup for safety.

[EndZoneQB]

Shepherd is a reliable tackler for how small he is. Seems like he saw a lot of action at nickle-back, I would guess he first backup for safety.

What a HUGE pickup Shepherd has been on the back end of our defense. I kinda blew it off when he transferred here from UNO but I had to give the coaches the benefit of the doubt to find the "right" guy. Either way, I'm glad to have that guy on the team.

[BadlandsBison]

What a HUGE pickup Shepherd has been on the back end of our defense. I kinda blew it off when he transferred here from UNO but I had to give the coaches the benefit of the doubt to find the "right" guy. Either way, I'm glad to have that guy on the team.

Little guy from UNO, but a big surprise. Guys like him make our defense execute so well

[reformedUNDfan]

Little guy from UNO, but a big surprise. Guys like him make our defense execute so well

gobison lists him at 5-10 181, which is about average for the CB's on roster

[BadlandsBison]

gobison lists him at 5-10 181, which is about average for the CB's on roster

Average guy, average surprise.

[IBleedYellow]

Marcus frustrates me with his tackling. Last year one of Georgia Southern's TDs may have been stopped if he wraps the guy up instead of bumps him.

Then again, he's the back to back champion and I'm just a fan.

[BisonNeil]

Said that they were challenging Marcus Williams to be a better tackler... thought that was odd because he made huge strides between 2011 and 2012 - especially stringing plays out and fighting off blockers, but I bet Williams accepts that challenge.
[/LIST]

Glad to hear it, that was one of the things I said I would like to see worked on and improved this spring for the football team.

They also need to improve his coverage on fly patterns. He lacks the ability to turn around and see the ball without losing his balance. The result is he usually gives up a completion because he doesn't know where the ball is. SHSU obviously saw that weakness in MWill in the tape and they exploited it in the first half of the natty. That weakness, along with his poor tackling, could keep him out of the early rounds of next years draft unless they improve dramatically this season.

[HerdBot]

Glad to hear it, that was one of the things I said I would like to see worked on and improved this spring for the football team.

They also need to improve his coverage on fly patterns. He lacks the ability to turn around and see the ball without losing his balance. The result is he usually gives up a completion because he doesn't know where the ball is. SHSU obviously saw that weakness in MWill in the tape and they exploited it in the first half of the natty. That weakness, along with his poor tackling, could keep him out of the early rounds of next years draft unless they improve dramatically this season.

Exactly... GSA game he flat out tripped in the final drive and Sam Houston picked on him for a while but in all fairness he had a spectacular second half . But if he wants to be an early draft pick he needs to work on those things before next year