Mike Hinton
During a conversation with a fan yesterday about our defensive line, that fan suddenly came up with a simple idea to deal with any questions about Columbia's front four: make it a front three!
Perhaps if Columbia leaned on its experienced and talented linebackers a little more in a 3-4 defense, the fact that the Lions are less experienced and proven at the defensive end position wouldn't matter as much. It's an intriguing thought.
I'm a lot more bullish on the returning interior linemen led by junior Dominic Perkovic, junior Lord Hyeamang, and junior Connor Heeb shouldering the load inside while we find another linebacker to join our three returning starters Keith Brady, Gianmarco Rea, and Christian Conway and button up the ends that way.
Before we take that step, there are good potential options at the traditional DE slots. I heard very good things about sophomore Mike Hinton coming out of high school, and now he's added enough good weight to possibly make a serious impact. Towering junior Alexander Holme looks like Jack Lambert to me and could be a nice presence at DE. If they can break through in training camp, then the 4-3 will probably still make more sense.
But if one of last year's good backup linebackers steps up his game, perhaps it's just easier math to deal with filling one hole as opposed to two.
1 comment:
I say stay with the 4/3. It won't be hard to find good DEs on this team, and Heeb can play there as well as inside.
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