Keanu Neal, Matt Elam, or Major Wright?

[GatorBart]

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

Black made the sweet pick on Bradford - 4:10 mark of this video, music sucks so sound off is good.

 

[NavetG8r]

I love em all. They're all Gators.

 

[rockinchair]

Black made the sweet pick on Bradford - 4:10 mark of this video, music sucks so sound off is good.

Holy hell that was awesome to watch.

Good days those were.

 

[Alagator]

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

 

[Ancient Reptile]

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.

Wright's hit on OU receiver helped shape the game.

 

[gatormandan]

That was a "major" hit for sure....

 

[Swamp Donkey]

1. Biggest hitter?

2. Worst in coverage?

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

1. Best hitter: Louis Oliver and Reggie Nelson
2. Worst coverage: Kevin Jackson followed by Marcus Maye.
3. Dumb 15 yard penalty? Chris Thompson and anyone on Chimp's defense

 

[rogdochar]

Gave you a like. In fact, that was a major hit, all wright .

 

[Gatorbait25]

1. Best hitter: Louis Oliver and Reggie Nelson
2. Worst coverage: Kevin Jackson followed by Marcus Maye.
3. Dumb 15 yard penalty? Chris Thompson and anyone on Chimp's defense

Think you meant Kyle. Cory Bailey would give him a run for his money in that department.
Jackson was poor in coverage, but his open field tackling was even worse. Not so good for
the last line of defense.

 

[GatorJ]

1. Best hitter: Louis Oliver and Reggie Nelson
2. Worst coverage: Kevin Jackson followed by Marcus Maye.
3. Dumb 15 yard penalty? Chris Thompson and anyone on Chimp's defense

Think you meant Kyle. Cory Bailey would give him a run for his money in that department.
Jackson was poor in coverage, but his open field tackling was even worse. Not so good for
the last line of defense.

Nobody was worse than Kyle Jackson. Except Wondy Pierre Louis.

And yes, I know that Wondy is a CB.

 

[AlexDaGator]

Well Hell, if we're going to open this up to all the DBs to ever play for us...

Biggest hitter was the Eraser Reggie Nelson. Best free safety to ever wear the Orange and Blue (and yes, I know all about Louis Oliver).

Nelson was key to that 2006 National Championship team in that because of his range he was basically able to play both safety spots himself and allow Tony Joiner to play as a 4th linebacker. We used to make the joke that 2/3 of the Earth's surface was covered by water, the rest was covered by Reggie Nelson. Nelson was a ferocious hitter because of his timing. He wasn't as big as Louis Oliver but his timing was just uncanny. Early in games, he would bait a QB. He would play off the receiver, look disinterested, then burst into his break the instant the QB made up his mind to throw to the "open" receiver. Nelson arrived the same time as the ball and either intercepted it, or delivered a crushing blow resulting in an incompletion or fumble (and alligator arms for that receiver for the rest of the game). On my all-time UF defensive team, Reggie Nelson is the starting Free Safety and Louis Oliver is moved to Strong Safety. And I'm a big Louis Oliver fan. Nelson got robbed of the Thorpe Award following that '06 season. Absolutely robbed. I don't think he gets enough credit from Gator fans because of his short career but he was the best FS we ever had.

I want to give a shout out to Ahmad Black as the best tackler. Major Wright was the big hitter and Black was a smaller dude. We all assumed Black should play FS and Wright SS. Coaches were right and we were wrong. Ahmad Black was the best form tackler I've ever seen. Perfect. Every time. Wanna teach proper tackling technique? Show video of Ahmad Black. That dude got every ounce out of his talent. Loved him. He tackled dudes a lot bigger and a lot faster than him and he did it over and over again. Coach's dream, always in the right position, always the right form.

On the other side of the coin, Kyle Jackson was a physical specimen. Great speed, looked great running out of the tunnel, never took the right angle in his life. Dude was the king of bad angles. He'd be right there, in perfect position to make a tackle, and he'd take a bad angle on the ball carrier and it was 6 for the bad guys. Over and over and over again. Wondy Pierre-Louis was another physical specimen. Ran like a gazelle. Amazingly gifted athlete. But he didn't know how to play CB. Neither did Joe Haden (another gifted athlete) in 2007. I remember them running stride for stride with the receivers in perfect position. No ball awareness. It's like they thought it was a footrace or something. The ball would come in and they wouldn't make any play on it. Receiver sticks out his arms and catches it with no opposition. Whereas Haden learned how to play CB and became an elite CB, poor Wondy never figured it out. He was a solid contributor on special teams though.

Some other names you may want to consider (since we're expanding) include Jarvis Williams (a corner for us, a safety in the NFL with the Dolphins), Fred Weary, Lito Sheppard, Janoris Jenkins, and VHIII.

Alex.

 

[rogdochar]

Alex, there's rats in the attic again. But your dad won't call the exterminator. He says
it's personal this time. What's all that noise? You taking a Zumba class?

 

[GatorBart]

Well Hell, if we're going to open this up to all the DBs to ever play for us...

Biggest hitter was the Eraser Reggie Nelson. Best free safety to ever wear the Orange and Blue (and yes, I know all about Louis Oliver).

Nelson was key to that 2006 National Championship team in that because of his range he was basically able to play both safety spots himself and allow Tony Joiner to play as a 4th linebacker. We used to make the joke that 2/3 of the Earth's surface was covered by water, the rest was covered by Reggie Nelson. Nelson was a ferocious hitter because of his timing. He wasn't as big as Louis Oliver but his timing was just uncanny. Early in games, he would bait a QB. He would play off the receiver, look disinterested, then burst into his break the instant the QB made up his mind to throw to the "open" receiver. Nelson arrived the same time as the ball and either intercepted it, or delivered a crushing blow resulting in an incompletion or fumble (and alligator arms for that receiver for the rest of the game). On my all-time UF defensive team, Reggie Nelson is the starting Free Safety and Louis Oliver is moved to Strong Safety. And I'm a big Louis Oliver fan. Nelson got robbed of the Thorpe Award following that '06 season. Absolutely robbed. I don't think he gets enough credit from Gator fans because of his short career but he was the best FS we ever had.

I want to give a shout out to Ahmad Black as the best tackler. Major Wright was the big hitter and Black was a smaller dude. We all assumed Black should play FS and Wright SS. Coaches were right and we were wrong. Ahmad Black was the best form tackler I've ever seen. Perfect. Every time. Wanna teach proper tackling technique? Show video of Ahmad Black. That dude got every ounce out of his talent. Loved him. He tackled dudes a lot bigger and a lot faster than him and he did it over and over again. Coach's dream, always in the right position, always the right form.

On the other side of the coin, Kyle Jackson was a physical specimen. Great speed, looked great running out of the tunnel, never took the right angle in his life. Dude was the king of bad angles. He'd be right there, in perfect position to make a tackle, and he'd take a bad angle on the ball carrier and it was 6 for the bad guys. Over and over and over again. Wondy Pierre-Louis was another physical specimen. Ran like a gazelle. Amazingly gifted athlete. But he didn't know how to play CB. Neither did Joe Haden (another gifted athlete) in 2007. I remember them running stride for stride with the receivers in perfect position. No ball awareness. It's like they thought it was a footrace or something. The ball would come in and they wouldn't make any play on it. Receiver sticks out his arms and catches it with no opposition. Whereas Haden learned how to play CB and became an elite CB, poor Wondy never figured it out. He was a solid contributor on special teams though.

Some other names you may want to consider (since we're expanding) include Jarvis Williams (a corner for us, a safety in the NFL with the Dolphins), Fred Weary, Lito Sheppard, Janoris Jenkins, and VHIII.

Alex.

Black is up there with my all time favorite Gators. Was always right where the ball was, weather it be run or pass. Smart player. Great Gator!

 

[78]

Corners and free safeties are coverage people. Your strong safety is essentially a small linebacker and responsible for filling gaps. Occasionally you get a safety who can deliver the big hit and cover, but it's more the exception than the rule. Oliver was probably the best we ever had at the position as well as the biggest hitter.

 

[Gatorphan]

Corners and free safeties are coverage people. Your strong safety is essentially a small linebacker and responsible for filling gaps. Occasionally you get a safety who can deliver the big hit and cover, but it's more the exception than the rule. Oliver was probably the best we ever had at the position as well as the biggest hitter.

I would agree. I also think Steve Tannen, 1969 All-American, was right up there.

 

[78]

I would agree. I also think Steve Tannen, 1969 All-American, was right up there.

That was before my time. Remember him as a Jet.