How about that big hit made by D Verpaele??

[Bull Matrix]

I have to bring this up because the poor young kid was taking alot of heat from alot of you on this board. I believe alot of the young players are starting to come around which is always a good thing. The defense woke up big time in that second half. They never gave in to UAB when it was near the goal line. I think those turnovers really brought confidence back to our defense. I cant say how big that interseption by Gipson was to give us the 11 point lead. From there on, our defense just dominated one of the top offenses in the nation. I am proud of this young team, and I give alot of credit to the coaching staff for getting them ready. GO BULLS!!!

[Rabbi Bull]

definetly a monster hit, finally glad to see him getting some good hits and not missing tackles, like he did in the first few games, give this defense some tim and you will see a defense similar to what we had last year

[S p e n c e]

Deja vu from last year on that play.

[Jake_Ryan]

That was a great hit, but . . .  

he still has much to improve on.  He continues to over run plays and not force action back to the inside frequently.  Some criticism of Verpaele in the past as been unfair because the kid is a true Freshman.  He will make mistakes while he learns the game.  I'm not trying to be too critical of him because I know there is a learning curve, just pointing out some things I've noticed.

My real question is why weren't Smith or Warren ready to take over at SS when Jones went down?

[USFPhil]

I believe a lot of the freshmen on Defense are STARTING to come around which is very encouraging for next year since I think the Defense was going to be the biggest question mark.

[Apis Bull]

That was a nice hit, but I think Verpaele still has a long way to go.  I'm certainly hoping he gets there.

[Jim Johnson]

What about picking up a fumble in the end zone and running it to the six - instead of recognizing where he was and just falling on it for a touchback?

It was a play of agression, but a freshman mistake.

He will be a GREAT player over the next four years... but he is learning.

--

As for that hit - it was good, but realize that Chavez dropped the ball before Verpaele hit him.   I bet it still felt good for him.

[Velcro]

What about picking up a fumble in the end zone and running it to the six - instead of recognizing where he was and just falling on it for a touchback?

It was a play of agression, but a freshman mistake.

He will be a GREAT player over the next four years... but he is learning.

--

As for that hit - it was good, but realize that Chavez dropped the ball before Verpaele hit him.   I bet it still felt good for him.

The player may have heard footsteps, but the hit should help Danny with confidence.  It lets him know that even if he is beat, he can still cause a drop.  Didn't danny have a decent hit on a receiver earlier in the game?  That may have helped intimidate their receiver on that play... i don't recall though.

[bulldad]

Wasn't he also the one who let the receiver get behind him on that 1st TD that was called back?

[Apis Bull]

What about picking up a fumble in the end zone and running it to the six - instead of recognizing where he was and just falling on it for a touchback?

It was a play of agression, but a freshman mistake.

He will be a GREAT player over the next four years... but he is learning.

--

As for that hit - it was good, but realize that Chavez dropped the ball before Verpaele hit him.   I bet it still felt good for him.

Fortunately, that didn't hurt us.  I don't have too much of a problem with that, because, like you said, it had to do with being agressive.