Watched most of the scrimmage today...I'm sure someone will give a much more through breakdown (I was chasing my 3 year old around a lot!), but here are some thoughts:
1) QB's: Weber was easily the sharpest of the 3. He looked very relaxed and comfortable, making good reads and putting the ball in good spots on a line. Threw a couple really sharp out routes. Gray made a really nice run during the "live" portion of the scrimmage (they blew the whistle, but he would've scored). MG really does need to work on his reads, though. You can tell he gets locked-in on one guy and gets pretty antsy in the pocket when it starts to break down. He probably would've been sacked several times today if they allowed it. Alipate is HUGE and does have a good arm, although I think he has a really weird release point (really low...almost side-armish a couple times). All in all, I'd be SHOCKED if anyone other than Weber starts and/or takes the majority of the snaps.
2) Running game: The OL really struck me as much improved. The running game was sharp throughout the day & Deleon Eskridge actually looked darn good, making some really great reads/cuts on zone plays and picking up big chunks of yards on several occasions. You can see why the staff is so excited about Michel, btw--he's a beast and looks well put together. I wouldn't be surprised if he was getting reps by the end of the year. He looked agile at LT and was able to "scoop" an inside technique a couple times on zone running plays away from him. I didn't focus in on Olson much...hopefully someone else did and can report back. All in all, I'd be hugely surprised if the OL wasn't 5x improved this year...they looked a lot better/more fluid, especially in the running game.
3) Troy Stoudemire, Bryant Allen, and Eric Lair all caught multiple balls, a few of which were really nicely hauled-in. Allen left with an injury near the end of the scrimmage...looked like an ankle, the way he was limping off with the aid of two trainers. Hope he's OK! All in all, the receiving core has a TON of raw talent, but it's just that--raw. They need a ton of seasoning on things like route running and getting up the field after the catch (both Allen and Stoudemire lost YAC trying to make people miss). Tons of ability, though. I should add that Hayo Carpenter was running with the 1st unit for much of the day, and I just really wasn't impressed. I was excited as everyone else when he came in last year, but I really don't see him contributing. I remember one play in particular where Weber pretty badly underthrew a fade to the endzone. An athletic WR should have been able to leap at the highest point and at least try to knock it down, but Hayo got bodied out by the corner who almost picked it off...it was sad.
4) I didn't focus on the D as much, since I was really interested in the OL and running game. I'll say this much: the DL is absolutely HUGE. I was in Ames last week and watched ISU scrimmage from field-level, and their DL was extremely small compared to what we're running out there. I'll be interested to watch their development...
5) I'll say this much for Keanon Cooper: I absolutely love his upside, but he needs to get a LOT bigger if he's going to play in or around the box much this year. The staff had him playing near the line a lot (and coming on a ton of stunts) and he was getting abused consistently...just totally washed out in the running game. I wouldn't be surprised if he plays more like a safety as the year progresses...I really just think he's too small.
6) Tinsley didn't participate...I don't know if it's already been reported that he's injured or something, but he did sit out.
7) We missed two consecutive FG's of about 35 yards during the 2 min drill, after both the 1st and 2nd unit O's had driven the ball about 40 yards (quite nicely, btw...the 2nd unit was especially impressive, with Gray connecting to Stoudemire for about a 20 yard gain to get into FG range).
