Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Vanderbilt defensive line still looking good despite losing Kadri for good and Stone for the time being

So Chris Low is bemoaning our situation at defensive line, and that was even before he heard Theron Kadri had quit the team.

I'm not worried.

Sure, Steven Stone is out for six weeks or so, and that hurts. And Kadri is gone, and maybe that smarts a little too. But consider the timing: Stone breaks his foot, the coaches start giving all the reps to the guys who'll be in the rotation, and Kadri, who perhaps considered himself to be in line to replace Stone, quits the team.

We don't know why Kadri quit, except for personal reasons, though Johnson said he gave him some information he asked for and then Kadri made the decision to leave.

I think all along Tim Fugger was going to spell Stone and start opposite Broderick Stewart. And we've got redshirt junior Teriall Brannon, who outplayed Kadri last season, and Johnell Thomas, a redshirt freshman who was an absolute beast in the spring. Oh, and Johnson mentioned last night that redshirt freshman Josh Jelesky is looking good too.

And let's not forget that a defensive line also consists of tackles, of which we return the three-man rotation — senior Greg Billinger, redshirt junior Adam Smotherman and redshirt sophomore T.J. Greenstone — that played the entire season, as well as four talented redshirt freshmen — Rob Lohr, Taylor Loftley, Colt Nichter and John Burrow.

So I'm not worried, and Chris Low shouldn't be either.

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