Post by jimbeav on Apr 14, 2018 18:04:47 GMT -8
Overall observations:
* Was a little disappointed to see that all offensive snaps were from the shotgun, with the RB offset to the side of the QB (ala read option), with a clap to signal for the snap. Looked waaaay too much like last year for my liking. I'm probably just triggered by anything that remotely resembles last year (including a 3-4 defense), and I was really hoping to see at least a smidgen of a single-back pro set under center. But I guess this is what college football looks like nowadays. Sure wish we would differentiate ourselves more from the crowd, given the pro-set backgrounds we have on this staff.
* I didn't see any QB runs from the read option (again, much like last year with Luton). The read option appears to be used just as a play action fake, but I thought it was more effective than we've seen in the past. There were two times my eyes were fooled by the fake handoff and I followed the runner, only to see the ball thrown from the backfield. That's a good sign. Also, the handoff's seemed to happen with the RB's having a bit more head of steam, whereas last year it seemed like Nall would often start running with the ball from a dead stop.
* The group has had exactly 6 practices under the new staff, and it shows. In the ~40 minutes of live scrimmaging, we didn't hit on any intermediate-long pass plays until the last couple mini-drives (all drives started 30-40 yards out from the endzone).
* I watched the practice with Dave86 and Fishbeav, who both used to post on PO.net back in the day. Fishbeav used to coach the OL in middle school and high school, and he liked what he saw overall from the OL. Said that they were getting off the ball much quicker and much more aggressively than last year. We were all in agreement that Michalczik is probably the best hire of Smitty's staff.
* The run-game looked pretty good overall, however the defense stayed very vanilla. In theory, we should be able to do all sorts of shunting and deception in our defensive sets, but there wasn't any of that today. It was hard to judge the defense today (and I found myself more interested in the offensive production anyway). Every time I looked up a defender's number on the roster, seemed like it was always a freshman or sophomore who I had never heard of.
* I didn't think any QB's were particularly impressive today, but they weren't completely inept either. There's talent and ability there, but let's face it, we just don't have star power here like we've been accustomed to in the past. I don't see anything from Luton that would separate him much from Colletto, but it's not like Colletto blew the doors off either. Luton probably gets the nod based on experience alone at this point.
Individual player observations:
* Redshirt freshman WR Champ Flemings #16 is probably going to get a lot buzz, and for good reason. Mainly because it's almost comical seeing what looks like a middle-schooler out there running around (5'5" 137lbs). But the dude has QUICKS. Normally on a fly sweep, you keep running no matter what; if you stop, you're dead. But he can pull it off. Stopped on a dime and made a cut for a decent gain and left some defenders de-cleated. But if he's going to get snaps, he's got to improve on catching the ball. Had two long throws thrown his way that he could have had, but he failed to make the play. They weren't simple by any means; both were catches in coverage as he's falling to the ground. But the ball hit his hands, and he'll need to develop that playmaker attitude. But he's fun to watch. Let's hope he has a career similar to James Rodgers...
* True Freshman CB DeShon Wilson #3 made several great defensive tackles. I don't know what his coverage skills are like (somebody in our group said they saw him get beat on one long play), but he had some big hits and overall just showed some solid fundamental tackling.
* Early on in the scrimmage, one number that I saw in on several tackles in a row was #51, Redshirt Sophomore Inside LB Luke Leonnig. I have never heard of him, but he stuck out to me as being in on quite a few plays, whether tackling a runner for a short gain or pressuring the QB. Might be a name to keep an eye out for in the future.
* Sophomore RB Tyler Calvin #23 got a lot of snaps at RB, and was effective, though not terribly explosive. It's looking like he'll be the primary backup behind Pierce. Pierce only had a few runs that I saw, but one was about a 12-yard TD run up the middle. I suspect the coaches don't need to see much more from Pierce.
* Redshirt Sophomore RB Christian Wallace #29 looked very smooth as a running back. He had better be, with how tall he is. The roster says he's 6'1", but he looked taller than that to me; I'd guess more like 6'3" (I can see how it would be hard to play CB with his body type). And he poses a striking figure with his Steven-Jackson-like hair. In non-tackling 11-on-11 drills he had a nice run up the middle and was basically untouched, which is obviously great blocking, but I also credit how hard he hit the hole and got to top-speed quickly. In the live scrimmage he had a couple nice runs to the outside, and also caught a pass out of the backfield. The downside is that he had the lone fumble on the day, from a very hard hit from a defender which unfortunately I did not get the number of. So he's obviously still a work in progress, but overall I liked what I saw.
* Redshirt Freshman WR Kolby Taylor #5 looked VERY promising. Had two TD catches, one each from Luton and Colletto, and also a 2-point conversion catch. No idea who this kid is, but he was probably the top scorer on the day.
* Sophomore WR Isiah Hodgins #17 hurt his shoulder, and the conjecture is that he may have separated it. He went down and later was seen on the sideline with an icepack on his shoulder.
* Junior DT Elu Aydon #99 needs to have a monster year, but his weight (380lbs) is obviously a concern. During the drills, we were actually talking about how he seemed to have pretty good feet and moves well for a guy his size, but during the live scrimmage we watched him on some run plays and he seemed to get beat every time we focused on him. My overall impression that our run game looked decent today does not bode well for our future D-line performance. Let's hope that our OL is better than many might expect.
* We appear to have only one punter on our roster, Redshirt Sophomore Alex Bland #38. And all his kicks were rugby style, which bugs me (again, shades of the last 3 years). From what I saw during drills, he could get the ball either high, or far, but not necessarily both at the same time. Let's hope he continues to improve and we continue looking to add depth there from a promising walk-on punter or two.
* FG kicking overall looked good. All the kicking during live scrimmaging was done by Junior PK Jordan Choukair #46, and I believe he was perfect on the day. Good to see, and hopefully he's set to improve from what I thought was a mediocre year last year.
That's about all I can remember. I don't usually watch practices, so my eyes aren't trained on what to watch (I just follow the ball like when I watch a game). I won't be able to make the Spring game, so hopefully this gives some folks some names to look out for as you watch their next public appearance...
GO BEAVS!
* Was a little disappointed to see that all offensive snaps were from the shotgun, with the RB offset to the side of the QB (ala read option), with a clap to signal for the snap. Looked waaaay too much like last year for my liking. I'm probably just triggered by anything that remotely resembles last year (including a 3-4 defense), and I was really hoping to see at least a smidgen of a single-back pro set under center. But I guess this is what college football looks like nowadays. Sure wish we would differentiate ourselves more from the crowd, given the pro-set backgrounds we have on this staff.
* I didn't see any QB runs from the read option (again, much like last year with Luton). The read option appears to be used just as a play action fake, but I thought it was more effective than we've seen in the past. There were two times my eyes were fooled by the fake handoff and I followed the runner, only to see the ball thrown from the backfield. That's a good sign. Also, the handoff's seemed to happen with the RB's having a bit more head of steam, whereas last year it seemed like Nall would often start running with the ball from a dead stop.
* The group has had exactly 6 practices under the new staff, and it shows. In the ~40 minutes of live scrimmaging, we didn't hit on any intermediate-long pass plays until the last couple mini-drives (all drives started 30-40 yards out from the endzone).
* I watched the practice with Dave86 and Fishbeav, who both used to post on PO.net back in the day. Fishbeav used to coach the OL in middle school and high school, and he liked what he saw overall from the OL. Said that they were getting off the ball much quicker and much more aggressively than last year. We were all in agreement that Michalczik is probably the best hire of Smitty's staff.
* The run-game looked pretty good overall, however the defense stayed very vanilla. In theory, we should be able to do all sorts of shunting and deception in our defensive sets, but there wasn't any of that today. It was hard to judge the defense today (and I found myself more interested in the offensive production anyway). Every time I looked up a defender's number on the roster, seemed like it was always a freshman or sophomore who I had never heard of.
* I didn't think any QB's were particularly impressive today, but they weren't completely inept either. There's talent and ability there, but let's face it, we just don't have star power here like we've been accustomed to in the past. I don't see anything from Luton that would separate him much from Colletto, but it's not like Colletto blew the doors off either. Luton probably gets the nod based on experience alone at this point.
Individual player observations:
* Redshirt freshman WR Champ Flemings #16 is probably going to get a lot buzz, and for good reason. Mainly because it's almost comical seeing what looks like a middle-schooler out there running around (5'5" 137lbs). But the dude has QUICKS. Normally on a fly sweep, you keep running no matter what; if you stop, you're dead. But he can pull it off. Stopped on a dime and made a cut for a decent gain and left some defenders de-cleated. But if he's going to get snaps, he's got to improve on catching the ball. Had two long throws thrown his way that he could have had, but he failed to make the play. They weren't simple by any means; both were catches in coverage as he's falling to the ground. But the ball hit his hands, and he'll need to develop that playmaker attitude. But he's fun to watch. Let's hope he has a career similar to James Rodgers...
* True Freshman CB DeShon Wilson #3 made several great defensive tackles. I don't know what his coverage skills are like (somebody in our group said they saw him get beat on one long play), but he had some big hits and overall just showed some solid fundamental tackling.
* Early on in the scrimmage, one number that I saw in on several tackles in a row was #51, Redshirt Sophomore Inside LB Luke Leonnig. I have never heard of him, but he stuck out to me as being in on quite a few plays, whether tackling a runner for a short gain or pressuring the QB. Might be a name to keep an eye out for in the future.
* Sophomore RB Tyler Calvin #23 got a lot of snaps at RB, and was effective, though not terribly explosive. It's looking like he'll be the primary backup behind Pierce. Pierce only had a few runs that I saw, but one was about a 12-yard TD run up the middle. I suspect the coaches don't need to see much more from Pierce.
* Redshirt Sophomore RB Christian Wallace #29 looked very smooth as a running back. He had better be, with how tall he is. The roster says he's 6'1", but he looked taller than that to me; I'd guess more like 6'3" (I can see how it would be hard to play CB with his body type). And he poses a striking figure with his Steven-Jackson-like hair. In non-tackling 11-on-11 drills he had a nice run up the middle and was basically untouched, which is obviously great blocking, but I also credit how hard he hit the hole and got to top-speed quickly. In the live scrimmage he had a couple nice runs to the outside, and also caught a pass out of the backfield. The downside is that he had the lone fumble on the day, from a very hard hit from a defender which unfortunately I did not get the number of. So he's obviously still a work in progress, but overall I liked what I saw.
* Redshirt Freshman WR Kolby Taylor #5 looked VERY promising. Had two TD catches, one each from Luton and Colletto, and also a 2-point conversion catch. No idea who this kid is, but he was probably the top scorer on the day.
* Sophomore WR Isiah Hodgins #17 hurt his shoulder, and the conjecture is that he may have separated it. He went down and later was seen on the sideline with an icepack on his shoulder.
* Junior DT Elu Aydon #99 needs to have a monster year, but his weight (380lbs) is obviously a concern. During the drills, we were actually talking about how he seemed to have pretty good feet and moves well for a guy his size, but during the live scrimmage we watched him on some run plays and he seemed to get beat every time we focused on him. My overall impression that our run game looked decent today does not bode well for our future D-line performance. Let's hope that our OL is better than many might expect.
* We appear to have only one punter on our roster, Redshirt Sophomore Alex Bland #38. And all his kicks were rugby style, which bugs me (again, shades of the last 3 years). From what I saw during drills, he could get the ball either high, or far, but not necessarily both at the same time. Let's hope he continues to improve and we continue looking to add depth there from a promising walk-on punter or two.
* FG kicking overall looked good. All the kicking during live scrimmaging was done by Junior PK Jordan Choukair #46, and I believe he was perfect on the day. Good to see, and hopefully he's set to improve from what I thought was a mediocre year last year.
That's about all I can remember. I don't usually watch practices, so my eyes aren't trained on what to watch (I just follow the ball like when I watch a game). I won't be able to make the Spring game, so hopefully this gives some folks some names to look out for as you watch their next public appearance...
GO BEAVS!