JT Gray moved to safety

[ShotgunDawg]

if I'm not mistaken, this seems like an interesting development.

Seems like this is done with an eye towards next season

Brandon Walker ‏@BWonStateBeat 2m2 minutes ago Starkville, MS
Freshman JT Gray says he's been moved from linebacker to safety.

[defiantdog]

He'll be our tony conner

[Todd4State]

I wonder if this is for the bowl only or if it's permanent?

[ShotgunDawg]

I wonder if this is for the bowl only or if it's permanent?

My guess is that it's a way to get more depth at safety after seeing what happened in the Egg Bowl, however, if he does well, then we would be dumb to move him. Again, I think Jamal is a complete badass, and maybe he'll start there, but it's nice to know that we are developing other legitimate options.

After seeing Peters in the MS/AL all star game though, I pretty sure he could start for us

[bulldawg28]

He's a safety too small for a LB.

[maroonmania]

My only concern is how good is he in coverage? Collins really seems to stick his safeties in one on one coverage a lot against opposing wideouts. Moreso than a lot of other DCs do.

[CadaverDawg]

Based on what I heard, He was going to be a Matt Wells LB type, but with our depth at LB and our lack of talent at Safety, it is probably a necessity that we put him back there. I love the move. Especially with B Brown, R Brown, G Green, Z Jackson, D Harris, T Jung, etc, expected to be in the LB rotation. Gray is obviously talented and needs to be on the field....Safety is a position where he can make an immediate impact and help the team.

[Todd4State]

My only concern is how good is he in coverage? Collins really seems to stick his safeties in one on one coverage a lot against opposing wideouts. Moreso than a lot of other DCs do.

Not as bad as Evans and Coman.

[bulldawg28]

Not as bad as Evans and Coman.

Or Hughes

[msstate7]

I hope he plays in the bowl game. I think we got better as a football team with this move

[ShotgunDawg]

I hope he plays in the bowl game. I think we got better as a football team with this move

Agree, he is one of our best 11 players on the defensive side. He needs to be on the field, provided he can play safety

[Coach34]

Anybody thinking Peters is going to start next year before Game 5 or 6 at the very earliest hasnt been watching us play the last 5 years

[msstate7]

Anybody thinking Peters is going to start next year before Game 5 or 6 at the very earliest hasnt been watching us play the last 5 years

Starting 1b right off the bat

[thf24]

I like it. I like the idea of Gray and Bryant back there together, and it'll be hard to keep Peters off the field next year as well. But, knowing our staff's tendencies, we'll no doubt continue to get a good dose of Coman and Evans as well. I do think Coman will be solid with more experience though.

[msstate7]

Gray is listed at 6' 196 lbs. Has he gained weight since the beginning of the year trying to bulk up for lb? If he's still 196, that's good size for safety

[Thick]

I would move JT to safety permanently, because Peters is going to get bigger like LBer size. If he can maintain his quickness and speed he might be the hybrid. Or it could be the flip of both, Peters a big ass safety, and Gray as the hybrid. Regardless, I think both are very capable, it's just a matter of physical and mental growth from here on out.

[Todd4State]

Anybody thinking Peters is going to start next year before Game 5 or 6 at the very earliest hasnt been watching us play the last 5 years

Right after Deontay Evans gets burned for Auburn's game winning TD.

[Todd4State]

I like it. I like the idea of Gray and Bryant back there together, and it'll be hard to keep Peters off the field next year as well. But, knowing our staff's tendencies, we'll no doubt continue to get a good dose of Coman and Evans as well. I do think Coman will be solid with more experience though.

Coman has some hard tackles at times. I would actually be more inclined to move him to LB. He really belongs on special teams though.

[Todd4State]

Or Hughes

Hughes isn't great in coverage, but at least he provides good leadership.

[gravedigger]

Permanent. Call it an educated hunch

[Covercorner2]

I'm not sure why everyone thinks Peters (and even Gray) is going to end up as a LB permanently. You can play safety at above 200 pounds. There's a reason they are both bad asses: they are very athletic at that size...

[CadaverDawg]

I'm not sure why everyone thinks Peters (and even Gray) is going to end up as a LB permanently. You can play safety at above 200 pounds. There's a reason they are both bad asses: they are very athletic at that size...

Totally agree. Has anyone seen Jalen Ramsey? Peters seems to be headed to that size. I would much rather leave him at Safety and have a bad ass safety, than to put him at LB because "his size is more of a linebacker" and end up with an average linebacker.

We're loaded at Linebacker...put Peters at Safety and then turn him loose and watch him wreak havoc.

[MSUDawg4Life]

Totally agree. Has anyone seen Jalen Ramsey? Peters seems to be headed to that size. I would much rather leave him at Safety and have a bad ass safety, than to put him at LB because "his size is more of a linebacker" and end up with an average linebacker.

We're loaded at Linebacker...put Peters at Safety and then turn him loose and watch him wreak havoc.

I agree. Peters at safety along with the LBs we'll have ... nasty.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Totally agree. Has anyone seen Jalen Ramsey? Peters seems to be headed to that size. I would much rather leave him at Safety and have a bad ass safety, than to put him at LB because "his size is more of a linebacker" and end up with an average linebacker.

We're loaded at Linebacker...put Peters at Safety and then turn him loose and watch him wreak havoc.

I think Peters can stay at safety but he's bigger than Ramsey is right now. Ramsey is 205lbs & Peters is 210-215lbs. That's the reason the OLB talk happens. A kid with his frame who's never been in a real weight room the potential is there to blow up. I think Peters could handle 225-230lbs & still play safety but it just depends on how big he gets.

[bulldawg28]

Hughes isn't great in coverage, but at least he provides good leadership.

True leadership is with your play not talking.

[Covercorner2]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kam_Chancellor

[bulldawg28]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kam_Chancellor

This is what I'm taking about. Safety is the only position on the defense we don't have true SEC players there. We've got these pint sized midgets or low football IQ guys. Play the young guys that are/will make plays. I'm sick of watching our corners having no help and can't be aggressive the way their capable of due to no help over top.

[Homedawg]

Totally agree. Has anyone seen Jalen Ramsey? Peters seems to be headed to that size. I would much rather leave him at Safety and have a bad ass safety, than to put him at LB because "his size is more of a linebacker" and end up with an average linebacker.

We're loaded at Linebacker...put Peters at Safety and then turn him loose and watch him wreak havoc.

The question I have with this is, are we really loaded at lb next year? Brown, brown, Jackson, Harris who has still never played lb at this point in his life, green, who is a cheeseburger away from de, and who else? Green might hold his weight, I hope so, he's bigger than McKinney was after 4 years by a lot, but even so, we won't be deep there next year at all. But I'm not opposed to any moves that help so don't misconstrue that I'm against gray moving, just sayin lb is no longer a deep spot at this point.

[CadaverDawg]

The question I have with this is, are we really loaded at lb next year? Brown, brown, Jackson, Harris who has still never played lb at this point in his life, green, who is a cheeseburger away from de, and who else? Green might hold his weight, I hope so, he's bigger than McKinney was after 4 years by a lot, but even so, we won't be deep there next year at all. But I'm not opposed to any moves that help so don't misconstrue that I'm against gray moving, just sayin lb is no longer a deep spot at this point.

That is 6 linebackers plus Jung. Most teams don't rotate 2 full groups of linebackers like we do. If we need more than 7 linebackers, we need to rethink the way we play defense. That being said, with our 1B shit, you may just be right.

[engie]

Yeah, Peters is alredy bigger than Ramsey and has a frame to be alot bigger. Surprising because Ramsey is such a monster on the field...

[Homedawg]

That's 5 and I'm counting Harris in the 5. But I forgot about Jung, good point. Thanks for reminder on him.

[Todd4State]

Totally agree. Has anyone seen Jalen Ramsey? Peters seems to be headed to that size. I would much rather leave him at Safety and have a bad ass safety, than to put him at LB because "his size is more of a linebacker" and end up with an average linebacker.

We're loaded at Linebacker...put Peters at Safety and then turn him loose and watch him wreak havoc.

I agree with you. Here's what some people fail to remember or realize.

1. Football players are getting bigger and bigger. Calvin Johnson is 6'5" 230. Ten years ago, everyone would have put him at tight end. Kam Chancellor is another example. Ten years ago, he's a linebacker. Andrew Luck is 6'5" 240. Ten years ago, he would have been given the label of having "weight concerns". A guy like Jimmy Graham 10 years ago would have been fattened up into an OT.

2. The S&C and athletic training is getting better and better as well. That's why these players are not only getting bigger- they're becoming more and more athletic than ever.

Because of the way training is nowadays, we can bulk a guy like a JT Gray up and move him to LB if we want to, or we can keep him where he is. We can't automatically assume that a guy like Peters is going to "grow" into an OLB. He can add weight and still probably play safety very well and may actually become even more athletic than he is depending on how hard he works.

The culture of football and the way things are going is part of the reason why Dan is so successful finding diamonds in the rough all the time. A player just needs to have the height and athleticism. The coaches take care of the fundamentals part and the S&C coach takes care of the physical part.

[Todd4State]

True leadership is with your play not talking.

There's different kinds of leadership. Getting people in the right spot and motivating them is something that shouldn't be overlooked.

[bulldawg28]

There's different kinds of leadership. Getting people in the right spot and motivating them is something that shouldn't be overlooked.

I agree somewhat but that's mainly the coaches job.

[msstate7]

So when jt gray has a great game against GT, how mad will you be we didn't play him at safety earlier?

[Political Hack]

Permanent. Call it an educated hunch

it's been in the cards for a while. I kept bringing him up when we're talking about the S's hoping he'd get moved. Glad they went ahead and did it. Great call IMO. We could be a lot more talented there next years very quickly.

[notoriousdog]

I LOVE this move. Hopefully he plays a lot against GT.