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position changes confirmed - Printable Version

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position changes confirmed - donkey687 - 06-14-2017

I received an email newsletter from Stanford yesterday with more clarity on position changes.  I know Alfieri move has been discussed on this board but previous statements seemed to make it sound more like a trial, and it now sounds permanent.  I wasn't aware of the Buncom switch.  He was playing well at CB but is clearly behind Meeks and Holder so this must be a move like the Alfieri move to get our best players on the field.  The Buncom move may not be a good sign for Ben Edwards, but I like the philosophy of getting our best players on the field. I think linebacker will be our most improved position with Alfieri holding down a spot on the middle, and I would love to see Buncom on the field at least in nickel if not every down.

From email newsletter: Two defensive players of note have switched positions. Joey Alfieri is moving full-time to inside linebacker after playing outside linebacker his first three years on The Farm. Frank Buncom is also moving inside, now a free safety after his previous tenure at cornerback.

Re: position changes confirmed - ChicagoCard - 06-14-2017

Any word on Casey Tucker, whether he'll be a guard or tackle?

Re: position changes confirmed - Hulk01 - 06-14-2017

We have an acute safety shortage looming after next season: No more Reid, Edwards, Simmons or Franklin.  Before this move of Buncom there, the only other safeties on our roster were Pryts and Head.  The coaches' concern with our safety numbers likely figured in their decision, and may have driven it.

Re: position changes confirmed - pcgoode - 06-14-2017

Won't Edwards likely be back for 2018? He is in his third year of eligibility in 2017, and I'm not sure he has demonstrated enough on tape to be drafted at this point.

Re: position changes confirmed - TrumpCard - 06-14-2017

The simplest explanation is usually the right one:

Buncom's skills are better suited to safety.  He was a jack of all trades in high school, even playing a lot of linebacker as a senior.  He got some chances to play CB for Stanford and did not shine, so I'm excited to see him try FS. 

 

Re: position changes confirmed - donkey687 - 06-14-2017

(06-14-2017, 05:50 PM)TrumpCard link Wrote:The simplest explanation is usually the right one:

Buncom's skills are better suited to safety.  He was a jack of all trades in high school, even playing a lot of linebacker as a senior.  He got some chances to play CB for Stanford and did not shine, so I'm excited to see him try FS. 

Interesting take as I thought the reviews on him as corner were pretty favorable when he was pressed into action after Holder went down. He seemed to surpass or get better reviews than two more experienced CBs in the playing rotation (Murphy and Alexander).

Re: position changes confirmed - TrumpCard - 06-14-2017

(06-14-2017, 06:24 PM)donkey687 link Wrote:[quote author=TrumpCard link=topic=16982.msg194791#msg194791 date=1497487856]
The simplest explanation is usually the right one:

Buncom's skills are better suited to safety.  He was a jack of all trades in high school, even playing a lot of linebacker as a senior.  He got some chances to play CB for Stanford and did not shine, so I'm excited to see him try FS. 

Interesting take as I thought the reviews on him as corner were pretty favorable when he was pressed into action after Holder went down. He seemed to surpass or get better reviews than two more experienced CBs in the playing rotation (Murphy and Alexander).
[/quote]

Buncom initially got a lot of reps when Holder went down, but those reps diminished over time.  Buncom got virtually no reps in the Sun Bowl until Meeks went down on the last drive of Q4.  I am not an expert in evaluation, but I've read accounts elsewhere from folks who thought Buncom did not look good in the few reps he got in the Sun Bowl. 

Re: position changes confirmed - ColoradoTree - 06-16-2017

(06-14-2017, 10:45 AM)donkey687 link Wrote:I would love to see Buncom on the field at least in nickel if not every down.

This is the key for me, and why a formal position change might not be that meaningful for the current season.  Whether a corner plays nickel or a safety does, it's somewhat immaterial, since the role is the same.  Buncom's experience at both positions would seem to be helpful in playing nickel. 

(06-14-2017, 03:59 PM)Hulk01 link Wrote:We have an acute safety shortage looming after next season: No more Reid, Edwards, Simmons or Franklin.  Before this move of Buncom there, the only other safeties on our roster were Pryts and Head.  The coaches' concern with our safety numbers likely figured in their decision, and may have driven it.

pcgoode made this point regarding Edwards, but each of those guys actually has eligiblity remaining after this coming season, as this will only be Edwards and Reid's third seasons on the Farm, and Simmons and Franklin had redshirt years that would allow them to play in 2018 if they're invited back.  Is it so certain that all of those guys would be gone? 

Also, when did Treyjohn Butler become a strong safety?  I must have missed that, but that's what the roster says.  I know there's always been positional flexibility there (he played some safety his senior year of high school in addition to corner, but Shaw said he was a corner when he came in, though he also noted all of the DB signees' flexibility, and Butler was a hybrid CB/S listing on the roster last year), but I didn't recall that he'd fully transitioned to safety, let alone strong safety.  In any event, he's another name in the mix. 

Looking at the current roster, we have 7 guys at safety (Simmons, Buncom, Edwards, Pryts, and Franklin at FS, and Butler and Reid at SS) and 7 at corner (Antoine, Murphy, Alexander, Holder, Eboh, Meeks, and walk-on J.J. Parson).  With this year's recruiting class, each group adds one guy to get to 8 for the season (Adebo at CB, Head at S).  Of that group, only Alexander's eligibility expires at the end of this coming season, though certainly some guys at both CB and S could elect to leave early.Â