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Sidelines
Kalani Simpson
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From ’tweener to Mad Stork
AS I was watching the Boise State game on TV, watching him make the fourth, fifth, sixth of his 10 tackles, you know who Karl Noa reminded me of? Kila Kamakawiwo'ole. Exactly. It was like watching the same guy all over again.
Tall. Skinny. Rangy. Can run. They're like mirror images when they put on the pads.
But more so than that: Their histories are identical. A tall, skinny, rangy, running guy coming out of nowhere, making plays, becoming a star.
They have the same story. They were 'tweeners, bounced back and forth between linebacker and the line. Too skinny. Too tall. They didn't quite fit in anywhere. Great athletes, sure. But 'tweeners. Too this. Not enough that. Too light for the line. Looked like basketball players at linebacker. As prospects, they just didn't seem to make sense in that scheme.
And so, for years, they bounced. They sat. They were quiet. We waited. We almost forgot about them. Convinced ourselves they couldn't play. They were permanently out of place.
Then -- who would have known?
In this new 3-4 they finally found a home.
Turns out, in Jerry Glanville's defense, outside linebacker is a perfect spot for tall, skinny, rangy guys who can run.
What a pleasant surprise. Twice now.
Kila had been quiet his entire career. Sure, he started at end as a junior -- on one of the worst defenses in school history. But he was quiet. Still a 'tweener who didn't quite fit the mold. Still a guy who was playing out of position and (sometimes) over his head. Heading into his senior season he was nowhere to be found on the preseason two-deeps. At any position.
And then his senior season started. New scheme. They put him at outside linebacker, what the hell. And he was ... incredible.
It was a miracle.
He was perfect for it. A perfect fit. After all those years of being a 'tweener he was exactly what was needed in the new 3-4.
Glanville loved him. Told him the crowd would be cheering his name ("1! ... 1! ... 1! ... 1!").
He had a great senior season. He had one of those senior seasons you remember for the rest of your life.
Wow, it was fun to watch. Now here comes Noa, looking just like him.
Under the old defensive system, we might not have heard their names. system, we might not have heard their names. Now, in the new scheme, the tall, skinny, rangy guys go from undersized ends to Ted Hendricks linebackers. Mad Storks.
'Tweeners no more.
Travis LaBoy, in his recent now-infamous Star-Bulletin column, was right. This stuff matters. He wouldn't have been the same player in this current system. He might be the guy who might not quite fit.
(Though he'd still make plays. LaBoy was physically that good. I loved that Glanville said he had no idea who LaBoy was. Uh-huh. Of course. Sure. LaBoy was a great player who could be a pain in the okole to coach -- which can be the most grating kind for coaches because they're so good you end up playing them anyway. I'm sure his name has come up. Who is Travis LaBoy? Well, remember the play at Boise State where C.J. Allen-Jones almost caught Ian Johnson behind the line? There's a reason you almost make that play. That reason is, it's impossible to get there that fast. It's an "L.T." play. Who is Travis LaBoy? He's the guy who makes that play.)
LaBoy is right. Some guys flourish in certain systems, get lost in others. They say so-and-so is a system guy? Everybody's a system guy. Football is all about matchups, about getting guys in the right place at the right time, utilizing their strengths. And some strengths don't fit as well in some schemes.
For example, an option quarterback in a West Coast scheme is ... well, it's the vonAppen offense.
In the old defensive system we might not have heard these guys' names.
Instead, Kamakawiwo'ole came out of nowhere to excel in the new 3-4 last season. At last he was a perfect fit. A Mad Stork. A star.
In his senior season, his was a feel-good story.
Now, Noa, right behind him. A similar image. Ten tackles. The latest fairy tale?
On the first day of camp, Glanville said this: "You just never know. Until they play for you, you never really know what you have. Everything. If everybody was as good as you thought they were going to be there would be nobody playing second team."
Well, Noa would. But not now. He got in the game. Turns out he does have a position after all. Mad Stork.
A 'tweener finds a home.
It sounds like the title of a children's book.