Keanu Neal, Matt Elam, or Major Wright?

[AlexDaGator]

1. Biggest hitter?

Keanu Neal
Matt Elam
Major Wright



2. Worst in coverage?

Keanu Neal
Matt Elam
Major Wright



3. Most LIkely to get a really dumb 15 yd penalty?

Keanu Neal
Matt Elam
Major Wright




Alex.

 

[AlexDaGator]

They were all big hitters, who was the best?

None were GREAT in coverage.

Neal could have gotten tossed for targeting in half our games this year. Elam had a temper and often came in late. Wright was the same, but the rules were easier on the DBs when he played.



I'll say Elam was the biggest hitter, Neal was the worse in coverage, and Elam was most likely to get a dumb PF call against him.


Alex.

 

[Gatorphan]

1. Wright
2. Neal
3. Elam

Neal is not in the category of the other two in terms of quality.

 

[ATXGator]

1. Biggest hitter?

Keanu Neal
Matt Elam
Major Wright



2. Worst in coverage?

Keanu Neal
Matt Elam
Major Wright



3. Most LIkely to get a really dumb 15 yd penalty?

Keanu Neal
Matt Elam
Major Wright




Alex.

1. Lawrence Wright -

Really just wanted an excuse to post that.

 

[TheDouglas78]

1. Elam, not a great coverage guy, but always seem to end up around the ball his senior year
2. Neal, Neal plays coverage like a linebacker, not a safety
3. It's hard to say, because "Targeting" wasn't around for either Wright or Elam. Neal always seemed to be around a targeting call in 2014. But Elam would get a questionable penality more than any other before the "targeting" rule.

 

[GatorJB]

1. Wright
2. Neal
3. Elam

Neal is not in the category of the other two in terms of quality.

I agree with this.

 

[GatorJ]

I'm really confused about all these anti-Gator threads. 2 of these 3 guys were great Gator safeties. and one of them had potential.

Wright had a few game altering hits and he struck fear in receivers. Neal had some massive hits in the secondary this year and completely blew plays up in the backfield.

Elam was a great safety here. There's a reason he was a first round pick. Both Elam and Wright are still in the NFL.

I would say that (in general) if you have a career in the NFL, you don't suck.

I feel like I'm on a Nole board…

 

[I Have No Friends :(]

Biggest hitter was Wright. I wouldn't turn down any of them to play SS on my team. Joey Kent is still looking for his mouthpiece to this day.

 

[Gatorphan]

Biggest hitter was Louis Oliver

 

[I Have No Friends :(]

Biggest hitter was Louis Oliver

My favorite Gator growing up. Dad bought me a poster of the B-2 Bombers (Louis Oliver and Jarvis Williams) when they both played for the Dolphins.

 

[FireFoley]

All 3 were horrendous in college as true safetys in zone coverage or in man coverage at the safety spot. All 3 were awful at route recognition and had little to no ball skills. However Elam was an excellent cover guy when ask to play the nickel in the slot. Elam also was a decent open field tackler although his form was questionable. Being a big hitter at safety is no longer a strength b/c more times than not it just ends up being a 15 yd penalty. Yes Wright and Elam are still in the NFL but neither has had more than a below average career and have exhibited the same lack of ball skills and route recognition they exhibited in college. I don't see a great career for Neal in the NFL as I always thought he should have been a LB in college. But hopefully Wright and Elam have been smart with the money they have earned and I hope Neal too will be smart about the money while he can get it.

 

[rockinchair]

Loved watching them all play.

Wright's hit against OU on the first possession of the MNC is still one of my all time plays.

Elam seemed to lack the most discipline with penalties.

Though another one of my all time Gator plays is Elam putting OBJ "to sleep" on a punt return in The Swamp in 2012.

 

[Gulfstream]

1. Wright
2. Neal
3. Elam

Neal is not in the category of the other two in terms of quality.

^This

 

[rogdochar]

Left out of the coverage equation is "how many drops occurred due to hearing footsteps
due to slamming hit earlier?"

 

[AlexDaGator]

I'm really confused about all these anti-Gator threads. 2 of these 3 guys were great Gator safeties. and one of them had potential.

Wright had a few game altering hits and he struck fear in receivers. Neal had some massive hits in the secondary this year and completely blew plays up in the backfield.

Elam was a great safety here. There's a reason he was a first round pick. Both Elam and Wright are still in the NFL.

I would say that (in general) if you have a career in the NFL, you don't suck.

I feel like I'm on a Nole board…

Sorry if you got that impression J but my intent wasn't to bash these guys at all. To the contrary, all three played hard for the University of Florida. Elam was one of our 2 best players on defense and was the emotional heart and soul of that defense that carried us to the one good season we had under Muschamp. Wright was a fierce hitter and his play in the MNC against Oklahoma set the stage for what that defense did to "the greatest offense in the history of college football". Last year, Neal's big hits brought energy to our D and intimidation to our opposition.

I created the thread because these guys all had 3 things in common--fierce hitters, some deficiencies in pass coverage, and they all played right up to the edge of the rules.

I didn't include guys like Reggie Nelson (who was also a fierce hitter) because he was also fantastic in pass coverage. Make sense?

Alex.

 

[TheDouglas78]

I'm really confused about all these anti-Gator threads. 2 of these 3 guys were great Gator safeties. and one of them had potential.

Wright had a few game altering hits and he struck fear in receivers. Neal had some massive hits in the secondary this year and completely blew plays up in the backfield.

Elam was a great safety here. There's a reason he was a first round pick. Both Elam and Wright are still in the NFL.

I would say that (in general) if you have a career in the NFL, you don't suck.

I feel like I'm on a Nole board…

I didn't feel it was a negative thread, especially consider two of these guys are Gator HOF's. They were all similar playing styles. Honesty, when you talking about Elam, L. Wright or M. Wright those are good memories. Just found it to be a good discussion in the dead period before NSD.

 

[LighthouseGator]

Biggest hitter? My avatar says it all:

<==========================

All three were very good to excellent safeties for UF, especially when up in the box. I thought Elam was the most versatile and had the most talent. He was always around the ball. Injuries limited his upside at the pro level, otherwise I thought he could be an all-pro type safety.

Regardless, I'd take all three back as Gators in a heartbeat.

 

[Alagator]

Loved watching them all play.

Wright's hit against OU on the first possession of the MNC is still one of my all time plays.

Elam seemed to lack the most discipline with penalties.

Though another one of my all time Gator plays is Elam putting OBJ "to sleep" on a punt return in The Swamp in 2012.

Huh? I thought that hit was made by Ahmad Black...

 

[WobbleGator]

Huh? I thought that hit was made by Ahmad Black...

You thought wrong.

 

[GatorBart]

I'm really confused about all these anti-Gator threads. 2 of these 3 guys were great Gator safeties. and one of them had potential.

Wright had a few game altering hits and he struck fear in receivers. Neal had some massive hits in the secondary this year and completely blew plays up in the backfield.

Elam was a great safety here. There's a reason he was a first round pick. Both Elam and Wright are still in the NFL.

I would say that (in general) if you have a career in the NFL, you don't suck.

I feel like I'm on a Nole board…

Silly mod, this is not a negative thread ..............................TREX hasn't even showed up yet.
And Phan got it right.