'16 OH OT Tommy Kraemer (Notre Dame Signed NLI)

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koonja

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IrishLax said:
I think Elmer is very good in pass protection. I think if he wants to be he could play in the NFL for a long time. I think he isn't great at run blocking sometimes because he lacks the "nasty" of guys like ZMart. I think he has to make a conscious decision of whether he wants to dedicate himself to being great, or if his heart isn't in it. A lot of guys reach this fork in the road as upperclassmen and either flip the switch or fade away. I'm very interested to see which direction Elmer decides to go this offseason, because I promise you there are guys behind him that are hungry.
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Does that really matter though? When has BK shown that he'll sit a starter (multi year in Elmer's case) in lieu of a better player?
 
BobbyMac

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IrishLax said:
I think Elmer is very good in pass protection. I think if he wants to be he could play in the NFL for a long time. I think he isn't great at run blocking sometimes because he lacks the "nasty" of guys like ZMart. I think he has to make a conscious decision of whether he wants to dedicate himself to being great, or if his heart isn't in it. A lot of guys reach this fork in the road as upperclassmen and either flip the switch or fade away. I'm very interested to see which direction Elmer decides to go this offseason, because I promise you there are guys behind him that are hungry.
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I think how you just described him guarantees he will have a long NFL career. He will be that back up that's on a roster for 10 years. He might not have the nasty to be a starter on most teams (if no ones injured) but he does have the physical ability to swing from G to T if needed. When you see Steve in person it's easy to see he has a tackle's body. It hasn't worked out for him at ND but what's the number you'd put on him being a starter at LT or RT at the the other FBS schools next year? It's way up there.
 
Old Man Mike

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I couldn't agree less with some of these statements knocking Steve Elmer. The reason Coach got on him in his initial adjustment year of playing Guard was because he was TOO nasty and his emotions were getting him on the wrong block occasionally. I'll bet that the entire OLine would hoot at the thought of Elmer not being nasty enough. If Elmer has a weakness on run blocking, it's pulling and leading left --- usually difficult for a monster wading through monsters. I saw Steve OFTEN downfield looking to cream a second opponent and he and Nelson rushing to be the first in on the BushPush scrums. Meek and pleasant he ain't.

Everything I see about Tommy Kraemer feels to me like we're getting a great one. If he plays next year, I'll be stunned --- NO frosh OLinemen should play if you have 7 or 8 veterans anywhere near as good as we have. We have the equivalent of four starters returning [since both Nelson and Bars qualify in any reasonable minds] on an OLine rated one of the top 6 in the country, with only one open slot {Center} where Tommy isn't ideally suited and we have three other choices, one being five-star quality.

Bottomline: yay, TommyK and come on over and learn what you don't know from Coach Harry for a year, and let that monster body start heading towards your adult "destroyer" super-monster body-to-come.
 
ulukinatme

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IrishLax said:
I think Elmer is very good in pass protection. I think if he wants to be he could play in the NFL for a long time. I think he isn't great at run blocking sometimes because he lacks the "nasty" of guys like ZMart. I think he has to make a conscious decision of whether he wants to dedicate himself to being great, or if his heart isn't in it. A lot of guys reach this fork in the road as upperclassmen and either flip the switch or fade away. I'm very interested to see which direction Elmer decides to go this offseason, because I promise you there are guys behind him that are hungry.
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This was always the impression I got from him. Good pass protection guy, not enough attitude to move big bodies, he seems more like a gentleman in that regard. Maybe it's the glasses, I dunno. I'm definitely not a fan of OL having to get inserted into a lineup early due to depth issues, but you can't get around it. Sam Young had to play too early too. I often wonder if it actually stunts growth as a player. The experience is great, but instead of focusing on bulking up and honing your craft you're having to learn what defense you're facing that week and having to focus on the weekly game plan.
 
Domina Nostra

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Old Man Mike said:
I couldn't agree less with some of these statements knocking Steve Elmer. The reason Coach got on him in his initial adjustment year of playing Guard was because he was TOO nasty and his emotions were getting him on the wrong block occasionally. I'll bet that the entire OLine would hoot at the thought of Elmer not being nasty enough. If Elmer has a weakness on run blocking, it's pulling and leading left --- usually difficult for a monster wading through monsters. I saw Steve OFTEN downfield looking to cream a second opponent and he and Nelson rushing to be the first in on the BushPush scrums. Meek and pleasant he ain't.

Everything I see about Tommy Kraemer feels to me like we're getting a great one. If he plays next year, I'll be stunned --- NO frosh OLinemen should play if you have 7 or 8 veterans anywhere near as good as we have. We have the equivalent of four starters returning [since both Nelson and Bars qualify in any reasonable minds] on an OLine rated one of the top 6 in the country, with only one open slot {Center} where Tommy isn't ideally suited and we have three other choices, one being five-star quality.

Bottomline: yay, TommyK and come on over and learn what you don't know from Coach Harry for a year, and let that monster body start heading towards your adult "destroyer" super-monster body-to-come.
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Yeah, this is closer to my impression. He might not be Q Nelson, but he's pretty ferocious. He got lost at times going ot the second level, which made him look more passive than he is. There were a lot of guys playing through injuries at various points of the year (which is my real knock with Kelly--use your back-ups!), so I feel like it was easy to get the wrong impression about a lot of the OL. Martin looked pretty weak early in the year, but fnished very strong.
 
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Interesting. I always thought his biggest problem is slow feet that get him burned occasionally in pass pro by speedsters or adjusting to stunts and maybe late to engage next level in the run game. He seems willing in the run game to me.
 
Sherm Sticky

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IrishLax said:
I think Elmer is very good in pass protection. I think if he wants to be he could play in the NFL for a long time. I think he isn't great at run blocking sometimes because he lacks the "nasty" of guys like ZMart. I think he has to make a conscious decision of whether he wants to dedicate himself to being great, or if his heart isn't in it. A lot of guys reach this fork in the road as upperclassmen and either flip the switch or fade away. I'm very interested to see which direction Elmer decides to go this offseason, because I promise you there are guys behind him that are hungry.
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Agree. And you know John M has a nasty streak and could push him for PT this year.
 
IrishLax

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koonja said:
Does that really matter though? When has BK shown that he'll sit a starter (multi year in Elmer's case) in lieu of a better player?
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Golson for Zaire, Calabrese for Fox, Farley for Redfield, Cierre Wood for Jonas Gray, Carlisle for Hunter, need I go on? He's done it on the OL, too.
 
Crazy Balki

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I'm with Old Man Free Waterfall Mike Jr., Elmer never stood out as a docile blocker. Honestly, I thought his aggression and tenacity was his biggest strength. When he got onto somebody, it was all over. I think far and away Elmer's weakness is definitely his footwork, which has been pretty crappy. He showed moderate improvement, so at least, he could prove to be average in that regard, which would seriously improve his overall output.
 
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Bogtrotter07

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Hey, the only lineman rated higher than Kramer is Greg Little. Seeing both of them practice, I couldn't decide.

Neither one had the only problem Steve Elmer has; I haven't been around, so I wasn't able to chip in earlier this week.

I like the hypothesis that Steve Elmer's only problem is with his feet! Not that they aren't fast enough. His problem is they are not sure enough. And they aren't sure enough because he doesn't get his weight down lower under control.

It speaks to the shortcomings everyone has mentioned except those that said he is slow. Which he isn't, and that he isn't tough, angry or mean enough! I bet I could put together highlights to prove otherwise.

And to put it all together, sometimes on run plays he doesn't get low enough. He may look slow, squatty, awkward, like a pussifed dandy, and it does really affect his pulling.

But all those symptoms are occasional, and because of his real problem, getting his weight powerfully low.

Finally to come full circle, that is not a problem I have seen with Liam, Tommy or Parker this year!
 
Irishman77

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ISD talked about Kraemer taking over at RG when Elmer graduates. Nelson and Kraemer at G would be Holtz era ish... #groundandpound
 
BobbyMac

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Irishman77 said:
ISD talked about Kraemer taking over at RG when Elmer graduates. Nelson and Kraemer at G would be Holtz era ish... #groundandpound
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I'll bet Tommy's the starting RT his 2nd year. I have a feeling McG's going early from listening to some people in Arizona.
 
zelezo vlk

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NDCrusader said:
I'll bet Tommy's the starting RT his 2nd year. I have a feeling McG's going early from listening to some people in Arizona.
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By early do you mean with one year of eligibility left? I don't necessarily call that leaving early if he has his degree (which he should after 4 years)
 
BobbyMac

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zelezo vlk said:
By early do you mean with one year of eligibility left? I don't necessarily call that leaving early if he has his degree (which he should after 4 years)
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Yes. Foregoing his final year of eligibility in '17.
 
dublinirish

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Harry Hiestand will be in Cincinnati for a third in-home with five-star commit Tommy Kraemer later today.

<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Elder?src=hash">#Elder</a> <a href="https://t.co/h4k9njh2ol">pic.twitter.com/h4k9njh2ol</a></p>— Matt Freeman (@mattfreemanISD) <a href="https://twitter.com/mattfreemanISD/status/692711029835374593">January 28, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
zelezo vlk

zelezo vlk

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Already sent in his NLI.

I was really worried about this one.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
 
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