Fall Scrimmage

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Based on today Mortell should be our starting punter. Harbison will be a major force before he is done here. Nelson seemed to outplay Leidner today. I dont know how they can take Wettstein out of being our placekicker as he doesnt seem to make mistakes and is consistent. Both he and Hawthorne were putting the kickoffs well into the end zone. Kill read the riot act to the first string OL after a series of penalties. I am probably more excited with our array of wide receivers than anything --if the OL can just give the QB time--or having talented WR wont make any difference.
 

Note: I know, my spelling of names is not correct, but here is some things that I noticed today.

QB: Gray looked good, he is a big guy. Someone mentioned he reminded them of Daunte Culpepper, I totally agree, big and mobile. Shortell looked decent, its still early in fall. Nelson looked solid, but he was going up against a lot of freshman and new guys who were playing D at the time. Liedner is a project, still early.

RB: Gillium is the most trusted back, made a few solid plays (ran over a tackler). Doesn't do anything amazing, but seems dependable, runs hard. Cobb looked the best, made some good cuts, was the quickest cutting back other than Maye. Kirkwood didn't even notice him in there, I know he was but he didn't stick out. Maye looks like the shifty change of pace scat back that kill likes. Cuts quickly, can make guys miss. He is needed in the offense, looks like he can make a contribution this year even. Roderick Williams is a big solid back, he is a load. No one else like him on at running back. I don't think he will play this year, but next he will be a load. Wright needs some polish, he has some skill but has yet to be consistent.

WR: The two freshman were in on a lot of plays, looked good. Issiac F. looked solid, but won't be spectacular for us this year( at least is capable of a deep ball here and there). Jones missed a grab that he should have had. Overall looked at decent, and add in Tuffs it makes for a ok WR core. Not great, but not horrible.

TE: Goodger looked solid, I didn't see Rabe at all. Plesk is a big boy, needs to slim down a bit, but he should be at least a good blocker.

DL: Hageman was disruptive, not constantly, but probably 75% of the time. I did't notice any other impressive plays by the big guys in the middle.

DE: A lot of movement from these guys. Amufuela made some nice plays, and Keith looks big for a freshman, since he was supposed to be a thin type recruit.

LB: Beal = good if can stay health. I really liked the movement of L. Edwards and Manuel. Both can run. They seem to be just as agile as Cooper. If they develop those two could really make some plays this year. Nothing noticeable other than that for me. Grant played a lot, but of course he did since Rallis was out. Nick Rallis looks big, hopefully he can start to move better, he looked a little flat footed with his new weight.

CB: I didn't see Carter on the field, I saw him on the sideline though, was confused. Broddy is smallish, next year he will be able to make an impact, not seeing this year. Shabazz mad a few nice plays, I didn't notice the other TX juco.



Overall it was just a scrimmage, and still very early in the fall practice time frame. These guys just put on pads what, 3 days ago. We can't take much out of this in my opinion. Really I think a early scrimmage like this shows the team how unready they are, and once the realize this they will come out that much harder starting next week for practice. Good to see any other of you out there today, it was a beautiful day. Oh, and I sure hope they can figure the punter situation out.
 

I think Coop just has his position so wrapped up that they want to see what guys like Manual can do running with the 1's. I'd bet a finger Cooper is the starter on opening night.

Gopherprof said:
I don't get the Keanon Cooper thing at all.

I remember when Kill was hired how a few Northern Illinois fans mildly criticized him for constantly messing with the depth chart, often benching guys who had started for numerous seasons in favor of a pet project he was working on. We saw a little of that last year, but it was totally justifiable considering how crappy almost everyone played. I'd be pretty shocked if Cooper isn't starting this year.

Also, thanks for the write-ups. Very helpful for those of us that didn't make it.
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Costa Rican Gopher said:
I think Coop just has his position so wrapped up that they want to see what guys like Manual can do running with the 1's. I'd bet a finger Cooper is the starter on opening night.
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That seems about right. Cooper will start - keep your finger.
 



I probably saw the final 2/3rds of the scrimmage. I agree with a lot of what the other guys have said. At the point I arrived Gray was running the offense.
He did look very good. I saw him on a couple of drives. In my opinion, Nelson was clearly the #2. Shortell followed Nelson and Leidner followed Shortell.
As someone said, I thought Shortell was shaky. I have never seen Nelson play prior to today. I thought he was very impressive! He calmly put air under the long TD because the receiver was wide open. A lot of guys try to throw this in stride and overthrow it leaving you with nothing. The pass to McDonald was unimprovable. Perfect timing, perfect location, perfect touch. I liked his presence. He did throw a bad interception.

Maye is exciting. I'm sure he'll play. It was fun! The scary part, the offense looked too good! The defense has to get better.
 

60's Guy said:
It was fun! The scary part, the offense looked too good! The defense has to get better.
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That is the problem when you scrimmage against yourself. If the offense does well were they that good or was the defense that bad? Vice versa when the defense does well was the defense that good or was the offense that bad? We won't really know the answer until after the UNLV game.
 

The buzz around Maye reminds me a lot of the buzz around James White at UW when he was a true freshman. That was the year he passes Ball in the fall and became the #2 behind Clay. Hopefully this is the Sam kind of hype.
 

badgergopher said:
The buzz around Maye reminds me a lot of the buzz around James White at UW when he was a true freshman. That was the year he passes Ball in the fall and became the #2 behind Clay. Hopefully this is the Sam kind of hype.
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UW......blah blah blah.....blah blah...........blah
 





I agree with what most have said. Beal, McDonald, Maye, Goodger, Harbison, Cobb, Nelson, Gray, Mortelli, Moultan, Wells, Campion all stood out. The D line didn't stand out because the O line was playing so well. Fruchte made a nice catch on the TD that might have been dropped last year. McDonald had poor form on his block and it looked like he had his bell rung but after some work on the sideline he was back in there. He made 2 very good catches.

The improvement from the spring game is amazing. I'm thinking at least 6 wins. WHat is hard to realize is the qbs can't really run in controlled scrimmages and that will be a big part of Gray's game obviously.
 

I went last year to a few practices but this was my first this year. Gray was leaps and bounds better than last year. Gray's accuracy was the main difference in my opinion. Last year he threw high over the middle a lot, threw looping balls into coverage, etc. This year he threw balls where only the receiver could get it. They weren't always right between the numbers, but they were smart throws that showed how good of a quarterback he can be.

I was also excited by Phillip Nelson. His first possession he threw a 60 yard TD which was more of a product of busted coverage. But beyond that, he seemed much more accurate with his throws than Shortell. I think we should redshirt Nelson anyway.
 



A question on punting.. I saw Orseske kick once during practice, otherwise he was just standing around. Is he basically out of the race for punting? His 1 punt went about 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage..
 

KrisHumphries said:
A question on punting.. I saw Orseske kick once during practice, otherwise he was just standing around. Is he basically out of the race for punting? His 1 punt went about 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage..
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Something is obviously going on there but I doubt the coaches are going to discuss it with us. I suspect they are waiting to see if he will put himself back into the race. But who knows? He may even have a slight injury.
 

Gopherprof said:
I don't get the Keanon Cooper thing at all.

I remember when Kill was hired how a few Northern Illinois fans mildly criticized him for constantly messing with the depth chart, often benching guys who had started for numerous seasons in favor of a pet project he was working on. We saw a little of that last year, but it was totally justifiable considering how crappy almost everyone played. I'd be pretty shocked if Cooper isn't starting this year.

Also, thanks for the write-ups. Very helpful for those of us that didn't make it.
Click to expand...

I don't think the same units were on the field in the same configurations more than a couple of series. My buddy and I noticed that there were quite liberal substitutions in all of the platoons--but maybe one or two players at a time.

We are three weeks from the opener. The coaching staff wants to sub guys in now to see how they perform. You don't have your "first-teamers" in there every play every day for a month from day one. Your "starting line-ups" will gel about August 23rd.
 

Killjoy said:
Something is obviously going on there but I doubt the coaches are going to discuss it with us. I suspect they are waiting to see if he will put himself back into the race. But who knows? He may even have a slight injury.
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That was my observation as well. I think he had maybe two kicks, while Mortell, Schwerman, and Eldred had at least a half-dozen each. Also, you may have noticed that the O-line didn't block on any punts. The d was supposed to rush full speed but not block the kick. The is all part of the "de-sensitizing" that you need to do with kickers. If one of the above kicks better that Orseske, they will be the punter. I'd rather have four than one.
 

"Gray will be All-Big Ten, at least 2nd team, possibly 1st team.."

This would require the team at least winning 5 or more conference games which is not happening. Denard Robinson, Braxton Miller and Taylor Martinez all will be considered before Gray. Gray will have a tough time making the 4th team let alone "...at least 2nd team..."
 

scools12 said:
"Gray will be All-Big Ten, at least 2nd team, possibly 1st team.."

This would require the team at least winning 5 or more conference games which is not happening. Denard Robinson, Braxton Miller and Taylor Martinez all will be considered before Gray. Gray will have a tough time making the 4th team let alone "...at least 2nd team..."
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Such optimism ..
 

Keep in mind open pactices are just that open....that includes to folks visiting from Nevada. Also, I hear Brandon Beal if he hasn't already, may be pushing hard for a starting spot in the line-up.
 

Sportsfan24 said:
Keep in mind open pactices are just that open....that includes to folks visiting from Nevada. Also, I hear Brandon Beal if he hasn't already, may be pushing hard for a starting spot in the line-up.
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This is good news. To me he looked like the best defensive player on the field Friday but I wonder if that moves Rallis back to OLB.
 

Sportsfan24 said:
Keep in mind open pactices are just that open....that includes to folks visiting from Nevada. Also, I hear Brandon Beal if he hasn't already, may be pushing hard for a starting spot in the line-up.
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I hear he might even beat out Brendan Beal for a spot on the roster!
 

60's Guy said:
In my opinion, Nelson was clearly the #2. Shortell followed Nelson and Leidner followed Shortell.
As someone said, I thought Shortell was shaky. I have never seen Nelson play prior to today. I thought he was very impressive! He calmly put air under the long TD because the receiver was wide open. A lot of guys try to throw this in stride and overthrow it leaving you with nothing. The pass to McDonald was unimprovable. Perfect timing, perfect location, perfect touch. I liked his presence. He did throw a bad interception.
Click to expand...
I really hope Nelson doesn't see the field this year, I look forward to 4 full years from him.
 

Orseske will not be the punter

KrisHumphries said:
A question on punting.. I saw Orseske kick once during practice, otherwise he was just standing around. Is he basically out of the race for punting? His 1 punt went about 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage..
Click to expand...

I think Orseske lost his job for this year during last year. I forget which game it was but during one he had two punts back to back that maybe covered 20 yards total for both of them. This coaching staff wants consistent play from all players but especially the punter. Orseske hasn't shown that the last two seasons
 

scools12 said:
"Gray will be All-Big Ten, at least 2nd team, possibly 1st team.."

This would require the team at least winning 5 or more conference games which is not happening. Denard Robinson, Braxton Miller and Taylor Martinez all will be considered before Gray. Gray will have a tough time making the 4th team let alone "...at least 2nd team..."
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Weber made 2nd team all-conference once. How many conference games did we win that year?
 

scools12 said:
"Gray will be All-Big Ten, at least 2nd team, possibly 1st team.."

This would require the team at least winning 5 or more conference games which is not happening. Denard Robinson, Braxton Miller and Taylor Martinez all will be considered before Gray. Gray will have a tough time making the 4th team let alone "...at least 2nd team..."
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That would be embarrassing for the B1G to do that to the heisman winner...lol
 

I believe we have real football team. Finally. A torturous conference schedule, but a real football team to compete. It has been a while.
 

scools12 said:
"Gray will be All-Big Ten, at least 2nd team, possibly 1st team.."

This would require the team at least winning 5 or more conference games which is not happening. Denard Robinson, Braxton Miller and Taylor Martinez all will be considered before Gray. Gray will have a tough time making the 4th team let alone "...at least 2nd team..."
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Adam Weber 2008 2nd team all Big Ten. 3-5 in conference.
 

diehard said:
I believe we have real football team. Finally. A torturous conference schedule, but a real football team to compete. It has been a while.
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I agree... We don't know how the season will play out. But I know that at some point, maybe several, the team is going lay it down big time & make a statement.
Come off the top rope and...
BAM!

Book it.
It's gonna be awesome.
 

The O line is going to be a force for years to come. Good talent meets great coaching will be exciting to watch. Can't wait for the O's, Pirsig, Hayes, Bjorkland line. They will be special. Throw in McDonald and Harbison on the outside with Nelson chucking it.... My concern is getting enough quality guys to field a competent D (see Mason).
 

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