On today’s Sports Huddle, Tracy Claeys gave a recap of yesterday’s scrimmage and this year’s spring drills.
1) Sid asked for Tracy’s assessment of yesterday’s final scrimmage:
“Hardest part, not very deep on the offensive line,” Claeys replied. “Overall, (we) put an emphasis on running the ball (point of attack) – that part I was pleased.”
Passing turnovers was a big disappointment, according to Claeys.
Claeys went on to say that the Gophers are “better defensively,” which was a challenge for the offense. He allowed the defense to run without restraint in yesterday’s scrimmage.
2) Sid asked for Tracy’s appraisal of running back James Johannesson:
In the first part of his response, Claeys said Johannesson initially wanted to run to the outside when he arrived on campus; however, “he’s gotten better running up the middle.”
An area that Johannesson needs to work on - “pass protection needs work.”
3) Sid then asked about redshirt sophomore running back Rodney Smith:
Claeys quickly replied, “Smith and Shannon had good days (yesterday’s scrimmage),” and “running backs are not a problem.” Tracy was emphatic in his positive comments about the Gophers running backs.
Staying on the offensive side of the ball, Tracy Claeys was disappointed in the passing game, “receivers need to catch the ball better!” Responding to another question later in the show, Claeys said, “A lot of the balls should have been caught!”
4) Sid asked for surprises in player personnel in the scrimmage:
On offense, he mentioned the play of James Johannesson and redshirt freshman tight end Colton Beebe, as having stood out in the final scrimmage. He likes Colton's pass catching abilities.
Claeys sounded very pleased and upbeat with the defense. Specific defensive players mentioned in his comments to Sid’s query were defensive back Ray Buford and freshman linebacker Thomas Barber.
“I feel good where we’re at,” Claeys said in his final remark to Sid’s question.
5) Sid asked about mid-year arrivals to the football team:
Claeys cited two players: Thomas Barber and Seth Green. Tracy Claeys sounded pleased with their progress, especially after having had only fourteen days of college practices.
6) Dave Mona’s first question was related to the kicking game and the place kicking of redshirt sophomore Emmit Carpenter:
“Emmit did a nice job . . . spent a lot of time (during spring drills) on special teams – we’ve made some changes,” Claeys answered. Claeys said Ryan Santoso will be focusing on punting and probably long field goals. Apparently short field goal kicking duties may be handled by Emmit Carpenter.
7) Sid asked about the scrimmage and being different from most scrimmages that people see at the end of spring drills – first team offense and defense against second team units:
Wanting to have a competitive scrimmage, “we split up the teams . . . tried to keep it close as we could (team/player competition) . . . threw the ball a lot . . . a lot of the balls should have been caught . . . main goals (scrimmage) let the kids have fun and come out without any injuries,” Claeys said.
8) Dave Mona turned the questioning to recruiting:
“We’ll go in Monday morning to review Saturday’s scrimmage . . . next seven weeks it’s all recruiting.”
Claeys bemoaned the fact that head coaches cannot go on the road recruiting in the spring. He said he enjoyed being on the road for evaluation of prospects.
The evaluation of film is important, however, on-site evaluation is very important, according to Claeys, especially in the south where they hold spring drills.
9) Dave Mona asked the final question, which was also recruiting-related; the allotted number for next year’s recruiting class:
Claeys said there’s always a few players who decide to leave the program after the conclusion of spring drills. He expects to sign 17-18 recruits for the 2017 class. Ideally, they’d like to sign 18-21 players, annually.
Go Gophers!!
1) Sid asked for Tracy’s assessment of yesterday’s final scrimmage:
“Hardest part, not very deep on the offensive line,” Claeys replied. “Overall, (we) put an emphasis on running the ball (point of attack) – that part I was pleased.”
Passing turnovers was a big disappointment, according to Claeys.
Claeys went on to say that the Gophers are “better defensively,” which was a challenge for the offense. He allowed the defense to run without restraint in yesterday’s scrimmage.
2) Sid asked for Tracy’s appraisal of running back James Johannesson:
In the first part of his response, Claeys said Johannesson initially wanted to run to the outside when he arrived on campus; however, “he’s gotten better running up the middle.”
An area that Johannesson needs to work on - “pass protection needs work.”
3) Sid then asked about redshirt sophomore running back Rodney Smith:
Claeys quickly replied, “Smith and Shannon had good days (yesterday’s scrimmage),” and “running backs are not a problem.” Tracy was emphatic in his positive comments about the Gophers running backs.
Staying on the offensive side of the ball, Tracy Claeys was disappointed in the passing game, “receivers need to catch the ball better!” Responding to another question later in the show, Claeys said, “A lot of the balls should have been caught!”
4) Sid asked for surprises in player personnel in the scrimmage:
On offense, he mentioned the play of James Johannesson and redshirt freshman tight end Colton Beebe, as having stood out in the final scrimmage. He likes Colton's pass catching abilities.
Claeys sounded very pleased and upbeat with the defense. Specific defensive players mentioned in his comments to Sid’s query were defensive back Ray Buford and freshman linebacker Thomas Barber.
“I feel good where we’re at,” Claeys said in his final remark to Sid’s question.
5) Sid asked about mid-year arrivals to the football team:
Claeys cited two players: Thomas Barber and Seth Green. Tracy Claeys sounded pleased with their progress, especially after having had only fourteen days of college practices.
6) Dave Mona’s first question was related to the kicking game and the place kicking of redshirt sophomore Emmit Carpenter:
“Emmit did a nice job . . . spent a lot of time (during spring drills) on special teams – we’ve made some changes,” Claeys answered. Claeys said Ryan Santoso will be focusing on punting and probably long field goals. Apparently short field goal kicking duties may be handled by Emmit Carpenter.
7) Sid asked about the scrimmage and being different from most scrimmages that people see at the end of spring drills – first team offense and defense against second team units:
Wanting to have a competitive scrimmage, “we split up the teams . . . tried to keep it close as we could (team/player competition) . . . threw the ball a lot . . . a lot of the balls should have been caught . . . main goals (scrimmage) let the kids have fun and come out without any injuries,” Claeys said.
8) Dave Mona turned the questioning to recruiting:
“We’ll go in Monday morning to review Saturday’s scrimmage . . . next seven weeks it’s all recruiting.”
Claeys bemoaned the fact that head coaches cannot go on the road recruiting in the spring. He said he enjoyed being on the road for evaluation of prospects.
The evaluation of film is important, however, on-site evaluation is very important, according to Claeys, especially in the south where they hold spring drills.
9) Dave Mona asked the final question, which was also recruiting-related; the allotted number for next year’s recruiting class:
Claeys said there’s always a few players who decide to leave the program after the conclusion of spring drills. He expects to sign 17-18 recruits for the 2017 class. Ideally, they’d like to sign 18-21 players, annually.
Go Gophers!!
