Didn't Kelly say during a PC a few weeks ago that they are comfortable with Hayes at the 5 tech, and they weren't looking to slide him inside?
Is Javon McKinley really the 9th receiver out of 10 scholarship receivers right now? Is he going to redshirt his sophomore year? Is he hurt?
He did, and it was clear they have no plans on sliding him to a 3 tech. Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. If teams are steamrolling through the interior, Hayes will be taking reps a 3 tech with a smile on his face.
I actually like the move putting the freshman at 2nd string. Everyone who attended practice noticed Hinish has a unique motor. Literally going so hard he throws up. If there is a fine line in skill level, I'll take a high motor young kid at DT. He'll win more battles than he loses if he puts out like that on every play. The message to the defensive line should be clear this season - none of you are great (aside from Daelin maybe), 100% effort is the person who plays and keep Nyle's clean.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Putting decals on the game helmets today. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ARA?src=hash">#ARA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoIrish?src=hash">#GoIrish</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BestHelmetsInTheGame?src=hash">#BestHelmetsInTheGame</a> <a href="https://t.co/i6rR7oVYL7">pic.twitter.com/i6rR7oVYL7</a></p>— Adam Myers (@adam_nd_myers) <a href="https://twitter.com/adam_nd_myers/status/902533064311623681">August 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Yeah, they're 3 stars turned 3 star apparently. Juniors in the system and get beat out by a couple of kids who could buy cigarettes starting last week.
If we're bringing in 5-star freshman DT's this would be more ideal, but we're bringing in guys that need time. This is really concerning, and I feel bad for Nyles because he's going to have a tougher time doing his job when we're playing 18 year olds right in front of his face.
Like Sampson tweeted, DT is a man's position.
The texture work on those helmets. So nice.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The fact two freshmen beat out two juniors at defensive tackle is ��. That's a man's position. <a href="https://t.co/4SA58f94Hx">pic.twitter.com/4SA58f94Hx</a></p>— Irish Illustrated (@PeteSampson_) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteSampson_/status/902539268807118854">August 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Kelly seemed almost incapable of containing his excitement to see this team perform.
I remember him saying things like, "I can't wait to see this team play" prior to the USF debacle. Let's hope he's correct in this assessment.
He's been a head coach for another 6 years since then, hopefully that's sharpened his ability to accurately assess what he's seeing in fall camp.