Tyrie Cleveland should move to FS. Prove me wrong.

AlexDaGator

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We all remember Tyrie catching the bomb from Franks to gut the Vols.

He also had that 98 yard TD from Appleby against LSU where he shrugged off a would-be tackler.

He certainly looked like a potential All-American WR--Big, strong, fast. Heck, he looked like an NFL receiver.

We thought he was going to be the next great Gator WR.

Last year, I was salivating at the thought of defenses having to pick their poison between doubling Callaway or Cleveland. We might have even come up with a cheesy-ass nickname for the duo like "C&C TD Factory"

Welp...dude can do it all, except catch the damn ball. He's had so many drops this season it's infuriating. He's always had problems catching the ball. This isn't something new or an aberration. The problem is, he isn't getting better at catching the ball.

Plus, we have Swain, Jefferson, Grimes, and Hammond at WR and while none are as blessed physically as Cleveland, they all have better hands.

Cleveland has been a beast as a gunner on punt coverage. He's got the size at 6'2" 205, he's long and rangy, and he's fast. He's built like a typical NFL Free Safety.

Would he make a better FS than a WR? Would we be better with him at FS than WR? Does he stand a better chance of making it in the NFL as a FS than a WR?



Alex.
 

gatorev12

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I see where you're going with that; but any such change would have needed to come in the offseason not halfway through our schedule (absent a dire emergency).
 

NVGator

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That’s actually not a bad idea, Alex. I’ve been thinking he’s doing a great job of tackling and hitting hard on punt coverage. Haven’t heard his name called much. We could use the help on the defensive side. I like it.

And, no one will ever prove you wrong on anything or anytime. You know this. I know this. We all know this.
 

stephenPE

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I finally decided on :law:s real talent. The come back. He is flawless usually. Understated and laser like. What can I say, he is the retort savant.
 

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gatorfan81

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I think him being a wide receiver with his capability makes it easier for other wr to get open most of the time he is the one that is doubled or help comes over the top
 

BMF

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The question is:

Is he a "failed WR"? If not, I think we should keep him where he is.

If Franks can get his completion % up we'll start seeing these WR's have better numbers. Right now our "leading" WR's will probably have around 30-something catches, which is pretty weak (when compared to programs that are pass happy). Franks had 11 completions last week (and Krull had one...to Franks). I'd like to see him get his completion percentage up and start connecting on 18 or so passes. Then WR's like Cleveland can show his value as a receiver....not being discussed as a potential DB.

If any of our WR's needs to move over it's Wells.
 

t-gator

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Sorry I gotta disagree. He was hurt for most of last year, before he was playing pretty solid. Now, we have Grimes, Jefferson and Swain has emerged so the ball is being spread out. He had a really nice catch against Tennessee. I think he's an NFL wr.
 

Spurdog98

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I think that would be a great idea for him professionally as well. We had a kid that played WR (cant think of his name at he moment) and the skins made a corner out of him and he's taken to it well. Had Tebow made the change to TE he'd be on track for the hall of fame IMO.
 

TheDouglas78

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I think that would be a great idea for him professionally as well. We had a kid that played WR (cant think of his name at he moment) and the skins made a corner out of him and he's taken to it well. Had Tebow made the change to TE he'd be on track for the hall of fame IMO.

Dunbar
 

BMF

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I think that would be a great idea for him professionally as well. We had a kid that played WR (cant think of his name at he moment) and the skins made a corner out of him and he's taken to it well. Had Tebow made the change to TE he'd be on track for the hall of fame IMO.

Quintin Dunbar....and that's literally an NFL "success story". It's so rare that everyone brings it up because there are literally NO other examples of it. It's like saying "he's the next Percy" - ummmm, no he's not. Cleveland is a WR. Period.
 

Spurdog98

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Quintin Dunbar....and that's literally an NFL "success story". It's so rare that everyone brings it up because there are literally NO other examples of it. It's like saying "he's the next Percy" - ummmm, no he's not. Cleveland is a WR. Period.
Huh? How is it like saying he's the next Percy Harvin? How about Hines Ward? I could research it but to say there are literally NO other ex?
 

BMF

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Huh? How is it like saying he's the next Percy Harvin?

Not Cleveland, just the saying itself (every time we get a smaller/shifty WR somebody calls him "the next Percy"). So, in this case you referenced the one example of a WR moving to DB in the NFL and having success. It's just so rare, but people think it can happen w/ anybody. The only other O to D player that had success that I can think of at that level is Scott Frost. And he was out of the league in, what 3 years? Edit: add Eli Williams, who made the move from RB to CB (while still in college). But, to the point, it's very rare....and at this point he's still a valuable WR on this team.
 
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5-Star Finger

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Cleveland has been a beast as a gunner on punt coverage. He's got the size at 6'2" 205, he's long and rangy, and he's fast. He's built like a typical NFL Free Safety.

And that, kids, is how with one post you enable a Donkey....

At the risk of never hearing the end of it from him - yeah, this is not a terrible idea.
 

AlexDaGator

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Lots of guys that played RB, QB, or WR in high school became college DBs.

Shea Showers came to UF as a WR. We moved him to FS and he became a major contributor to our 1996 National Championship team. When Teako Brown got knocked out, Showers started and played well.

Elijah Williams was a RB and played most of his UF career at RB (his middle name is Elgebra, like Algebra but with an E). He was our leading rusher in '95 and '96. In 1997, his senior year, it became apparent that Fred Taylor was clearly our best back and we needed to feed him the ball. We needed help at Cornerback. Eli made the move and played CB in 1997. He was solid.

Cris Collinsworth came to UF as a QB. Kadarius Toney came to UF as a QB. Trey Burton came to UF as a QB. Nat Moore played RB at UF and WR for the Dolphins.

I do agree that this isn't a change you make mid-season unless it is an emergency but I think the guy might he a better FS than WR.


Alex.
 

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