Official Post-Spring Game Analysis

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doctor j

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stayed for about 30 to 40 minutes of the spring game and thought #59 looked good and was disappointed that Parish didn't play (wasn't present?).
 

59 is Joey Balthazor a walk-on RS Soph from sconnie. Parish sat out due to injury.
 

Some quick thoughts about the scrimmage

1) Gray looked good running the ball, not so good throwing.
2) Alipate looked good throwing the ball, not so good running.
3) O and D lines looked average. I did not see much D line penetration, and I did not see the O line blow open holes.
4) The D lineman who impressed me the most was Stommes.
5) The O will have to score a lot of points as the D will give up a lot of points.
6) Marcus Jones looked good and Rabe looked pretty good.
7) Hawthorn (kicker) looked good.
8) No punts.
9) No RB really impressed me but I did not see any gaping holes.
10) No LB really impressed me.
11) Carter looked ok, Stoudamire made a big hit. The DB are a concern.
12) Chase Haviland looked pretty good as he made a couple of plays.
 

Hawthorne made a 50 yarder that had another 7-8 yards on it, easy. He was a bright spot.

Alipate was indeed impressive throwing the ball. Lots of variables here, but if you were watching this team and these players for the first time, I think a few of his throws would have made you take notice.
 

Spring game - Kill is everywhere

I did not get to practice this fall, but the reports coming out of practice about the hands on nature of coach Kill seem to be spot on. He was everywhere during the spring "game" today, including being up in the grill of his own coaches on at least one occasion. He coaches HARD - more like a young coach trying to earn his keep - which I guess he is coming into the Big TEN.

Go Gophers.
 


Just an observation on Spring Practice.

If he runs as hard a camp in the fall in regards to hitting we're going to have alot of guys wearing red shirts due to injury. I believe there were about 10 players out today. I had the opportunity to catch Brewster's practices at St.John and at Bierman. The hitting wasn't nearly as intense. Maybe in Brewster's case it wasn't enough. In Kills case, it might be overkill. I realize he want to see who wants to "play" and who doesn't. He will have an additional 30 some players this fall and maybe he will scale down the physical end of it. It will be interesting to hear how he runs his fall practices because they won't be open to the public.
 

Kirkwood was lying on the ground after he fumbled like he was hurt, but Kill wasn't buying it. He ran right over there and pulled him up. I also noticed Kill sprint to the sidelines a couple of times and give somebody an earful.
 

Alipate should stand next to......

Jonathon Ragoo. It makes him look svelte. Has Ragoo taken over for the World's Largest Gopher? My program indicated he is close to 4 bills. He looked all of that. Still, he moved pretty well.
 

One of the plays that stood out to me was Alipate dodging and dinking what seemed to be 3-4 rushers (probably was more like 2-3), running to the flats and tossing it away instead of forcing it. What impressed me besides the smart move not forcing it was his pocket presence and ability to move around. Granted, he was wearing a yellow shirt so the rushers weren't gunning for his life like they would have in a real game.. but still.. I was impressed considering how almost everyone here as written him off as a slug.

Another memorable plays was the 2nd of the day I think with Gray making a huge run.

I disagree with #2 from the OP.. Alipate looked good (not great) throwing, but his running what caught my eye. Again, I know the defenders are merely bartaggin' the QBs so probably not going 100% when it comes to them, but he looked better than I expected. Too bad Parish didn't play, I would have loved to compare the two. After today, though, from this fan's standpoint, I'd say Moses gets the #2 spot. Again, just from what I've seen today.

Kirkland (or is it Kirkwood? lol) looked pretty impressive. I know he dropped the rock but he seemed to be the RB that kept his motor going (like a mini-Spann).

Hawthorne looked great. I know it was only a few FGs, but that 50 yarder blew my mind. I couldn't believe they were lining up the FG unit from that far away.. I can't remember a single time during a game I've seen the Gophs line up the FG unit at that distance. And he nailed it.
 



I wish a mod would condense all the post-spring game/scrimmage threads into one..
 

Northern Illinois basically had no injuries due to strength and conditioning program and my guess practices aren't any more intense here than when he coached division 2 ball. A lot of guys were out today but bet if this were the fall they would be playing.
 

Formo said:
Hawthorne looked great. I know it was only a few FGs, but that 50 yarder blew my mind. I couldn't believe they were lining up the FG unit from that far away.. I can't remember a single time during a game I've seen the Gophs line up the FG unit at that distance. And he nailed it.
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I hope it translates to gameday. Ellestad hit a 55 yarder in last year's spring game with plenty of leg. We all know how that ended.
 

I also though Apilate looked more mobile than I thought he would, he evaded the rush well enough.

I thought Gray's arm looked pretty good all in all, remember these wideouts he probably never had reps with much at all untill recently with his first 3 or so options being out.

Also on D Royston looks healthy, he at least made a few plays, a great sign for a guy who has been out for so long

Carter made some good hits in run support, good to see from a guy who is known more for cover skills
 



Players hate spring ball because there are no games. It's just practice for the sake of practice (I know, that's the point).

But my point is, if there's no game on the line (no pressure to win) then what incentive to the players have to "tough it out", so to say? Heck, if anything, any little injury is just an excuse to avoid having to go through another practice. Yes, I realize it's all about getting better and the true players should want to be out there getting better. I'm just saying, they're human too. Unless you've been through it, you don't really know what's it's like.


I find it incredibly short-sighted that the NCAA doesn't allow a "spring exhibition season". Think about how amazing this would be: you're allowed 12 practices, 1 in-house scrimmage and then 2 exhibition "games" under whatever rules both teams agree to. You could go as far as playing "live" except the QB, or scripted players or whatever. Don't you think 20-30k fans would show up to watch the Gophers 1st and 2nd teams scrimmage Iowa, Iowa State or Wisconsin's 1st and 2nd teams? And then the players would have something to practice for, something to look forward to and a reason to fight through injuries to stay on the field.

Just a dream...maybe one day?
 

thanks for the analysis guys. seems like a hard hitting spring. between may 1 and august 1 is when players are made.
 

I was impressed by Stommes, Hawthorne, Alipate, and Kirkwood.

Gray's accuracy concerned me. I think Gray would have looked better if McKnight, Lair, and Green played

Marcus Jones underwhelmed me, as did John Rabe and Beal.
 

I was really unimpressed with Beal. He tends to catch blocks, I thought Gray was looking to run, drop back and within 2 sec. run. Today,and today only I thought Alipate was the # 1 QB. He threw, ran and read things much better than I expected. And to Bison, as for incentive in the spring, the players know very vividly what is at stake, whether it's scrimmage or game. It's here where positions are won and lost,and if they need a game to be motivated, they are the players that will not be counted on.
 

BisonGopher said:
Players hate spring ball because there are no games. It's just practice for the sake of practice (I know, that's the point).

But my point is, if there's no game on the line (no pressure to win) then what incentive to the players have to "tough it out", so to say? Heck, if anything, any little injury is just an excuse to avoid having to go through another practice. Yes, I realize it's all about getting better and the true players should want to be out there getting better. I'm just saying, they're human too. Unless you've been through it, you don't really know what's it's like.


I find it incredibly short-sighted that the NCAA doesn't allow a "spring exhibition season". Think about how amazing this would be: you're allowed 12 practices, 1 in-house scrimmage and then 2 exhibition "games" under whatever rules both teams agree to. You could go as far as playing "live" except the QB, or scripted players or whatever. Don't you think 20-30k fans would show up to watch the Gophers 1st and 2nd teams scrimmage Iowa, Iowa State or Wisconsin's 1st and 2nd teams? And then the players would have something to practice for, something to look forward to and a reason to fight through injuries to stay on the field.

Just a dream...maybe one day?
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Love this! Great concept. Keep it to the schools nearby so it doesn't turn into a major expense for schools. Gate receipts could help foot the bill. It would whet the public's appetite for college football during a time of the year when we're really jones'n for it!

Go Gophers!
 

Rouser4eVA said:
Love this! Great concept. Keep it to the schools nearby so it doesn't turn into a major expense for schools. Gate receipts could help foot the bill. It would whet the public's appetite for college football during a time of the year when we're really jones'n for it!

Go Gophers!
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wow, critical audience audience!
The d line has improved a lot the last two weeks. Still an issue at DE but they have improved as well. The DTs are pretty good. If Gjere gets healthy and his backup, Ferguson gets in shape the oline can be at least decent, and should improve through the season.
The Dbacks should not be bad. Vereen and Stoudermire are pretty good at CB, Royston is solid and a hitter. If someone can learn the other safety position, they will be all right. The defense' success will depend to some degree on the DEs improving a lot between now and October, or moving Coop or Tinsley to DE on passing plays, or some other way to scheme around the personnel limitations.
We will have to do something to limit the weakness at WR, I don't know if that means moving Lair to WR, but they have months to fill that hole somehow. It is a problem as was obvious today, and we are unlikely to get a recruit to make a deference this year if Gardener can't do it.
 

BisonGopher said:
Players hate spring ball because there are no games. It's just practice for the sake of practice (I know, that's the point).

But my point is, if there's no game on the line (no pressure to win) then what incentive to the players have to "tough it out", so to say? Heck, if anything, any little injury is just an excuse to avoid having to go through another practice. Yes, I realize it's all about getting better and the true players should want to be out there getting better. I'm just saying, they're human too. Unless you've been through it, you don't really know what's it's like.


I find it incredibly short-sighted that the NCAA doesn't allow a "spring exhibition season". Think about how amazing this would be: you're allowed 12 practices, 1 in-house scrimmage and then 2 exhibition "games" under whatever rules both teams agree to. You could go as far as playing "live" except the QB, or scripted players or whatever. Don't you think 20-30k fans would show up to watch the Gophers 1st and 2nd teams scrimmage Iowa, Iowa State or Wisconsin's 1st and 2nd teams? And then the players would have something to practice for, something to look forward to and a reason to fight through injuries to stay on the field.

Just a dream...maybe one day?
Click to expand...

Volleyball does it, the NCAA should be able to make it work with football.
 


The 12th Man said:
With the money involved and the potential for injury, football is a different animal. Apples and oranges.
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Good point, 12. The next thing we know some people will compare the talent and work put forth by the football team with the talent and work put forth by the underwater bowling team.
 

Ski U Mah Gopher said:
Volleyball does it, the NCAA should be able to make it work with football.
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The difference is that in volleyball they can't clock somebody after the whistle. No football coach is going to allow his star player to get tackled by somebody else's player in spring football. Stoudemire could have killed Marcus Jones on a play today. You don't do that to your own team mates. Ain't EVER happening in football...
 

Vanilla spring Practice...nothing really to see. They intentionally ran it that way. Hardly anything of being an indicator as to how the team will play this fall.
 

back in the 50s the spring game was against the alumni and we saw stars like Nagurski and Nomellini play the varsity in a real game.
 


Halsey Hall said:
back in the 50s the spring game was against the alumni and we saw stars like Nagurski and Nomellini play the varsity in a real game.
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Reminds me a little of when the college All-Stars used to play the NFL Champion in a game following the season. Now there is an idea that is never coming back... but how cool would it have been to see one of those games?
 

highwayman said:
The difference is that in volleyball they can't clock somebody after the whistle. No football coach is going to allow his star player to get tackled by somebody else's player in spring football. Stoudemire could have killed Marcus Jones on a play today. You don't do that to your own team mates. Ain't EVER happening in football...
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How about soccer? That's a contact sports, slide tackles, blown out knees, etc.

Don't the soccer coaches have the same incentive to hold out their star players out of fear they'll be injuried in the spring exhibition season?


I know, I know - soccer isn't football. Nothing is. But since this is just a fan message board anyway - why the heck wouldn't you be supportive of getting to see the team scrimmage other teams? That's what you want to see as a fan - real competition.
 

littlebigboy said:
I was really unimpressed with Beal. He tends to catch blocks, I thought Gray was looking to run, drop back and within 2 sec. run. Today,and today only I thought Alipate was the # 1 QB. He threw, ran and read things much better than I expected. And to Bison, as for incentive in the spring, the players know very vividly what is at stake, whether it's scrimmage or game. It's here where positions are won and lost,and if they need a game to be motivated, they are the players that will not be counted on.
Click to expand...

im going to disagree i thought beal looked good. he looked like a guy that was assisting the dline by plugging running lanes and he was bviously tough to move. i saw several times where beal filled and stood up the olineman and others filled gaps to make a tackle. but again the offense and defense were not showing much. not sure if they opened the playbook at all.

alipate looked very good throwing the ball with the exception of that "duck" he threw on the west sideline(still completed). and for how big he is, he looked awesome running the ball-from what many of you anti-alipate characters say about his weight i was expecting a kid that couldnt move at all with a bucket of kfc attached to his hip.

gray as always was a freak running the ball. im still uncomfortable with him throwing the ball-could be because im really uncomfortable with the guys that need to catch it. i am praying he pushes this team to keep working hard all summer!

during autographs i was really surprised with hageman. he signed my boys autographs and asked them if they wanted to take a picture. from comments i have heard that he is a "thug" and a "troublemaker" i came away very impressed and my kids are torn between hageman and cooper for who their favorite player is.

all in all it was a very positive experience other than the weather. im hoping for a big season so next year we have 20k for the spring game.
 

lakesgopher said:
during autographs i was really surprised with hageman. he signed my boys autographs and asked them if they wanted to take a picture. from comments i have heard that he is a "thug" and a "troublemaker" i came away very impressed and my kids are torn between hageman and cooper for who their favorite player is.
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I was impressed with the on the field stuff after the scrimmage. The players I saw were very accomdating and polite. There was a little confusion about how to get down on the field - recruits entrance vs. general public ... but overall it was a nice way to end the day and the players represented themselves well imo.
 

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