Gilbert Brown/Gravy Jackson/Justin Harrell - Comparisons?

[CaptainKickass]

Hey all - haven't been around for a while, Life has it's twists and turns dontcha know? I've been wondering about this for a while and just found the time to post.

Some of you have extreme knowledge and participatory experience regarding college careers, hopefully you can shed some practical and factual light.

I'm wondering how Gilbert, Gravy, and Justin compare to each other in their collegiate performances as well as strength, size and other measurables like mobility etc.

It's obviously way too early to compare pro, but feel free to speculate on similarities and differences.

I personally see Justin as an attempt by management, to have or develop the same type of player as Gilbert and Gravy.

It's the offseason, so let's speculate and opine.

The Captain

[HarveyWallbangers]

Harrell has the athleticism to be more than just a run plugger. I have read that he's more similar to John Henderson of Jacksonville. Ryan Pickett is more of our Grady Jackson/Gilbert Brown type of player.

[The Leaper]

Actually, Gilbert had tremendous athleticism when he was younger...far more than Pickett. Despite his enormous size, that boy could move.

Gilbert just ate himself out of the league. His athletic ability waned because he didn't eat right. Guys his size will lose stamina and athletic ability fast if they do not keep to a strict diet and workout schedule.

I still love him though...he was a hell of a player for 3-4 years.

[KYPack]

Harrell has the athleticism to be more than just a run plugger. I have read that he's more similar to John Henderson of Jacksonville. Ryan Pickett is more of our Grady Jackson/Gilbert Brown type of player.

Harv knows his line play.

The young Gilbert Brown and Gravy were two great 3 technique DT's. Brawlers and maulers with consistent push and the sack every once and awhile. Both good players that gave you that stop all the time and 100% effort types.

Pickett gives good effort, but his pass rush is negligible. Still, he plays hard and upgraded the position.

I can't say I knew that much about Harrell until this weekend. The 'ol KY spent last weekend at the lake on the Tenn/KY border drinking, water-skiing, etc. I was relaxing on the couch when the TV had a UTenn preview on. They are Packer serious about their football down there. This feature was on the Tennessee DLine. The announcer went on & on about what a loss the Harrell injury was last season. They ran a Harrell highlight package & it was a mind-blower. This guy destroys the OL in front of him. He consistently stuffs the run. But he has jets. He has all the DT pass rushing moves. He can bull rush, spin, swim, the whole bit. They had the DT that will play that spot on the show and the guy went on & on about what a great player Harrell was and how he hoped to play at about 70% of Harrell's ability.

The announcer agreed and they ran 2-3 minutes more of Harrell blowing people up. He's quick & all, but he has all the moves. He reminded me of a Klecko type guy. 100% effort all game long. The sacks he had were 3 & 4th quarter, when the guy in front of him was beat to shit.

Usually, teams don't say much about a guy who was hurt early in the season, but they were reverent about Harrell.

That was college, this is the NFL. But the kid had some serious ability. Hope he learns and stays healthy. We could have a player on our hands.

[red]

i've heard a lot about how great of a pass rusher harrell is

but the guy only had 4 sacks total for his college career

and 308 isn't very big for a run stuffer

i'm not sure what the hell he is, other then always injured

[4and12to12and4]

i've heard a lot about how great of a pass rusher harrell is

but the guy only had 4 sacks total for his college career

and 308 isn't very big for a run stuffer

i'm not sure what the hell he is, other then always injured

I think it's funny how we think that 308 isn't big anymore. God, I remember when if you had a couple of 300 lbers. on you're line, you had a gigantic line. 280 was considered on the large size. Now you have to weigh 350 lbs. to be a great run stopper. Wow.

[KYPack]

i've heard a lot about how great of a pass rusher harrell is

but the guy only had 4 sacks total for his college career

and 308 isn't very big for a run stuffer

i'm not sure what the hell he is, other then always injured

Guy is a DT. Other than Sapp. most DT's don't have gaudy sack numbers.
One of the plays in the highlight package was a triple team. The guard and center tried to double Harrel. He split 'em. The fullback was shaded to his side in pick-up. Harrell discarded him in a blur. The QB read the pass rush and discarded the ball. No sack, but no play, either. He was an impressive college player.

That said, torn biceps, triceps, and quads take a looong time to heal. Harrell might not be able to get an NFL workout in the weight room til late in the season. I've seen college stars go on their ass in the NFL. Harrell could be a flop, fer sure.

I don't think so, but yeah, it could happen.

[RashanGary]

Harrell is a very young man. His odds of healing fully and quickly are much better than even a 28 year old like Walker when he went down.


KY, I got the same impressions from UT people that you did when watching that show or whatever it was. Anyone who watched him play gushed about how dominate he was. If you watch the highlight film, you see a guy who sheds OG's like they were RB's. He's definitly an imposing, physical football player. Watch the Omobe Okoye film and you see a guy who sort of fell into plays with hustle. Harrell flat out made the plays with physical dominance in his.

One of the things that impressed me most about Harrell was how he was in great shape after being out for a year. Many players, esspecially big players like Harrell, can't stay in shape even when they are playing football for 6 mos of the year. He did it with an injury, that is a credit to his work ethic and dedication. There is certainly a lot to like about Harrell.

[PackerBlues]

The number one reason to have guys like Gilbert, Grady, and justin, is to take up space in the middle......to stuff the run. Lets face it, there was not a team that the Packers played against last year that had a care in the world when it came to running up the middle on us. If justin can do what people expect him to do, our defense can do nothing but improve.

Gilbert Brown was more than that for most of his career with the Packers, before injury set in. Gilbert was famous for chasing guys down, sideline to sideline, and he actually had some wheels. For a guy of his size, he could really move.


Grady Jackson........I dunno, I never liked him enough to give him much credit for anything other than being a large run stopper. The guys mouth was always getting him in trouble, and I just never expected him to last.


If anyone knows of any good video links to see Justin in action, please post them, it would be greatly appreciated. Also, thinking about Gilby, If anyone has links to videos of his better playing days, he was always fun to watch too.

[cpk1994]

The number one reason to have guys like Gilbert, Grady, and justin, is to take up space in the middle......to stuff the run. Lets face it, there was not a team that the Packers played against last year that had a care in the world when it came to running up the middle on us. If justin can do what people expect him to do, our defense can do nothing but improve.

Gilbert Brown was more than that for most of his career with the Packers, before injury set in. Gilbert was famous for chasing guys down, sideline to sideline, and he actually had some wheels. For a guy of his size, he could really move.


Grady Jackson........I dunno, I never liked him enough to give him much credit for anything other than being a large run stopper. The guys mouth was always getting him in trouble, and I just never expected him to last.


If anyone knows of any good video links to see Justin in action, please post them, it would be greatly appreciated. Also, thinking about Gilby, If anyone has links to videos of his better playing days, he was always fun to watch too.

Fritz Shurmur even dropped Gilbert back into coverage at times. Fritz once jokingly said that "Every time I drop Gilbert into coverage, someone wants to give me a senility check".

[Merlin]

i've heard a lot about how great of a pass rusher harrell is

but the guy only had 4 sacks total for his college career

and 308 isn't very big for a run stuffer

i'm not sure what the hell he is, other then always injured

Ah, don't let the stats or reality of his college career fool you. He is the second coming, or at least 3t thinks so. Sad part is, a lot of people here think he is too.

I like the potential he has, but he is not first round material, not even if he was healthy, which has never been very often.

[HarveyWallbangers]

i've heard a lot about how great of a pass rusher harrell is

but the guy only had 4 sacks total for his college career

and 308 isn't very big for a run stuffer

i'm not sure what the hell he is, other then always injured

Ah, don't let the stats or reality of his college career fool you. He is the second coming, or at least 3t thinks so. Sad part is, a lot of people here think he is too.

I like the potential he has, but he is not first round material, not even if he was healthy, which has never been very often.

What a genius.

[Bretsky]

I'm willing to give Harrell every chance; if he turns out to be dominant then this pick was the right one. I just hope it isn't the beginning of the end for Corey Williams as a Packer