Practice observations - Monday 8/10/15

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diefirma

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Just a few observations

Both Leidner and Streveler looked better in their passing skills. Most of the passes were on target, and the ones that weren't were generally caught by the WRs. There were a few clunkers by each QB and a few where it was obvious the WR and QB were running different plays but overall - better. Croft is a very, very good passer. Won't play this year and probably not next but the QB of the future. We will a average B10 passing team this year - no longer at the bottom of the B10.

Seems to be lots of receivers with good hands. Gibson, Carter, Holland, Jones, Anyanwu, Still, Wolitarsky, Wozniak, Scarver and Lingen are some of the receivers I saw make good catches. In my mind, (but not necessarily Coach Kill's) Carter, Holland, Jones and Wolitarsky are locks to be in the first string rotation. Now that I think about it I didn't see KJ Maye but I could have missed him.

Running backs look good. Nugget will be the big horse this year with Smith and Edwards right behind. Edwards is noticeably bigger this fall but still looks very fast. He is big enough that they can run him into the line instead of just on jet-sweeps. I thought Brooks and Johannesson showed good potential but guessing both will red shirt this year.

Pass coverage was good with the 1s but the receivers are fighting for the ball - something we didn't always see in the past. Even when the receivers were well covered, if the ball was delivered to the receiver/cover guy combination, the receiver would fight for the ball and perhaps come down with it 1/3 to 1/2 of the time - much better than 1/100 in the past.

Overall my impression was of a very good team. Good, tough running attack, good enough passing to keep the defense honest and a very good, tough, fast defense.
 

KJ Maye sat out today due to dehydration. Based on your report and others it does sound like the top 5 WR's will be Maye, Woli, Jones, Holland, and Carter in no particular order. Thanks for sharing!
 

Thanks for doing these, guys. Awesome and a much appreciated "inside look."
 

Earlier in the passing drills when all of the QBs were throwing I thought Perra was the most accurate.
As far as arms go, Streveler looks fine for very open receivers up to about 15 yds down field, after that not so much.
I have been to Goph practices sine Coach Kill has been here and today was the best collective throwing, receiving, coverage I have seen in one practice. Relatively few throws that were uncatchable, and there were some very good contested receptions in good coverage.
It is also the most athletic ability I have seen at WR by a lot.
We have walk-ons more talented athletically than most scholarship receivers were when CKILL got here. Of course we had walk-ons more talented than the scholarship players then too, but we now have real athletes on scholarship, fun to watch.
Last point for me, I still think when Rashad Still is a little older he is going to be a nightmare for CBs, he could be fast, tall and have really good ball skills.
 

corcoran1 said:
I have been to Goph practices sine Coach Kill has been here and today was the best collective throwing, receiving, coverage I have seen in one practice. Relatively few throws that were uncatchable, and there were some very good contested receptions in good coverage.
It is also the most athletic ability I have seen at WR by a lot.
We have walk-ons more talented athletically than most scholarship receivers were when CKILL got here. Of course we had walk-ons more talented than the scholarship players then too, but we now have real athletes on scholarship, fun to watch.
Last point for me, I still think when Rashad Still is a little older he is going to be a nightmare for CBs, he could be fast, tall and have really good ball skills.
Click to expand...
Several have made positive observations about our passing game today, which is more like what I expected than the gloomy "pick six" posts from the first couple of days. It will take a while for our passing threats to develop, but JK isn't one to just blow smoke and he's been pretty positive in his comments about our receiving talent. Thanks for the post.
 


jaymil said:
KJ Maye sat out today due to dehydration. Based on your report and others it does sound like the top 5 WR's will be Maye, Woli, Jones, Holland, and Carter in no particular order. Thanks for sharing!
Click to expand...

I like EC, but he has to beat out KJ and I don't see that. I think Gentry has to be added to that list as he will be our stretch the field guy, IMO. I wouldn't be surprised if Gant pushes Woli out of that list at some point this year. Word on him is that he is raw, but perhaps the most athletic of all our WRs.
 

I always preface my reports by saying that the sight lines aren't always the greatest, but here's what I saw:

1st team OL:

LT- Foster Bush
LG- Jon Christenson
C- Brian Bobek
RG- Josh Campion
RT- Jonah Pirsig

2nd team OL:

LT- Quinn Oselund
LG- Joe Bjorklund
C- Tyler Moore
RG- Connor Mayes
RT- Alex Mayes

3rd Team Ol:

LT- Quinn Oselund
LG- Isaac Hayes
C- Matt Leidner
RG- Ted Steiber (I think? It was hard to see, but I thought it was #66?)
RT- Alex Mayes

1st Team DL:

DE- Thieran Cochran
DT- Scott Ekpe
DT- Steve Richardson
DE- Hank Ekpe

2nd Team DL:

DE- Alex Keith
DT- Andrew Stelter
DT- Shoob Timms (Ndondo-Lay also played, but Timms played a lot more than I can ever recall in the past. He will definitely be in the rotation if he keeps this up.)
DE- Julien Kafo

Random thoughts:

- A lot of cramping today. Saw several guys laying on their backs getting stretched out mid-practice.

- Leidner looked good passing.

- Streveler had some moments & he is a threat to take it to the house every time he keeps the ball. He would have gone for long gains a couple times today if it was a live.

- Perra looks fluid & poised.

- Demry has the look of a quality QB. Smooth, poised, athletic, good arm. He'll red shirt, but the future is bright at QB.

- Rodrick is the lead pony. He would have broken a long run today if it was live. You really don't get to see his best until it's all live.

- Berkley Edwards looks noticeably bigger in the upper body. Kill mentioned him going down too easy last year when contact was made, so I feel like the work should have gone into his legs instead of the upper body, but he also battled a shoulder injury all season so maybe this is exactly what the staff wanted?

- Duke maybe a nice catch on a low ball along the fall sideline. He'll do fine as the TE this year.

- Wozniak looks a lot smoother & less like a stick man. He should contribute this year.

- Noah Scarver will get some play as well.

- Wolitarsky made some really tough catches with Murray & BBC on him like a glove. He'll be a fan favorite by seasons end. My .02

- Rashad Still & Hunter Register both look like they'll be nice additions. Still had an acrobatic catch on a deep ball that wowed people.

- It won't take long for people to stop complaining about Jeff Jones being moved to WR. He had a deep gainer that would have been 6 as he caught it right in stride and would have been off to the races. He had another, less noticeable one where he swung out of the backfield, deked to the sideline, which Jalen Myrick absolutely bit on. If the ball had been on target he would have been gone for a long gain. JJ's just got something electric about him. I can see why they want to get him the ball in space.

- Trying to block Steve Richardson is a nightmare.

- Scott Ekpe is back to 100%.

- Hank Ekpe continues to roll.

- All the LB's were what we thought they were.

- Ray Buford will play at CB. He's already got the size, athleticism, etc. Not only will; he not red shirt, he will play some meaningful snaps imo. That gets him ready to go the following year as the #3 or 4 CB behind Myrick & James.

- KiAnte Hardin will play at CB. Again, not only will he not red shirt, but he will play meaningful snaps imo to have him ready, along with Buford to back up Myrick & James next season. He was lined up inside of BBC all day & BBC was basically his persona coach. My favorite line from BBC to Hardin was "You fast as hell, but you still gotta stay at home bra!"

- Jalen Myrick had a nice pick in the team portion. Was talking smack non-stop to Rashad Still who he was guarding much of the day. "Oh man, that would have been 6!." referring to the interception & return he would have had against Still if the ball was thrown his way. Just generally razzing the Freshman all day.

- As I said during Spring Practice, Charlie Rogers will step right in and be as good as any Safety we've had over the past 4-5 years. He's a seamless transition from Ced Thompson & Derrick Wells. I just wish he would put some clothes on, lol! (He pulls his short legs way up to his crotch so they're short- shorts & also pulls his shirt up to expose his stomach and back.).

- Rough day for Craig James. By my count he was beat deep 5 times today. Seemed like every reciever on the team got a long one on him today.

- At Safety we'll need two Freshmen to play to act as experienced back-ups next season behind Rogers & Duke McGhee. Dior Johnson looks to be one of those guys. Like Ray Buford at CB, he already looks like he belongs out there & it's just a matter of figuring out the assignments.

- A safe bet that Jacob Huff will be the other Freshman Safety, as he's getting plenty of reps and will be an impact player on special teams.

- Zo Craighton got some snaps at Safety, but didn't do anything of note.

- All in all, it was a great day for football, but it was hard to gather much info since I was looking down at my roster every 3 seconds to check out player numbers.
 

Costa Rican Gopher - are you sure you didn't record the practice then go home and use the play, pause and reverse buttons to get this assessment. Color me impressed with your detailed assessment of today's practice and I appreciate it very much. Some people can see the big picture when they watch football, I just follow the ball and worry if my beer is getting empty.
Lots of good things in your observations. I am very excited to see what kind of havoc Richardson can create with Boykin and how crazy all Woz is compared to some linebackers he will be going against. I can't imagine they would use him much as a blocking TE but more a go into the middle and stand there quick slant type of a guy.
 

Great!

Costa Rican Gopher said:
I always preface my reports by saying that the sight lines aren't always the greatest, but here's what I saw:

1st team OL:

LT- Foster Bush
LG- Jon Christenson
C- Brian Bobek
RG- Josh Campion
RT- Jonah Pirsig

2nd team OL:

LT- Quinn Oselund
LG- Joe Bjorklund
C- Tyler Moore
RG- Connor Mayes
RT- Alex Mayes

3rd Team Ol:

LT- Quinn Oselund
LG- Isaac Hayes
C- Matt Leidner
RG- Ted Steiber (I think? It was hard to see, but I thought it was #66?)
RT- Alex Mayes

1st Team DL:

DE- Thieran Cochran
DT- Scott Ekpe
DT- Steve Richardson
DE- Hank Ekpe

2nd Team DL:

DE- Alex Keith
DT- Andrew Stelter
DT- Shoob Timms (Ndondo-Lay also played, but Timms played a lot more than I can ever recall in the past. He will definitely be in the rotation if he keeps this up.)
DE- Julien Kafo

Random thoughts:

- A lot of cramping today. Saw several guys laying on their backs getting stretched out mid-practice.

- Leidner looked good passing.

- Streveler had some moments & he is a threat to take it to the house every time he keeps the ball. He would have gone for long gains a couple times today if it was a live.

- Perra looks fluid & poised.

- Demry has the look of a quality QB. Smooth, poised, athletic, good arm. He'll red shirt, but the future is bright at QB.

- Rodrick is the lead pony. He would have broken a long run today if it was live. You really don't get to see his best until it's all live.

- Berkley Edwards looks noticeably bigger in the upper body. Kill mentioned him going down too easy last year when contact was made, so I feel like the work should have gone into his legs instead of the upper body, but he also battled a shoulder injury all season so maybe this is exactly what the staff wanted?

- Duke maybe a nice catch on a low ball along the fall sideline. He'll do fine as the TE this year.

- Wozniak looks a lot smoother & less like a stick man. He should contribute this year.

- Noah Scarver will get some play as well.

- Wolitarsky made some really tough catches with Murray & BBC on him like a glove. He'll be a fan favorite by seasons end. My .02

- Rashad Still & Hunter Register both look like they'll be nice additions. Still had an acrobatic catch on a deep ball that wowed people.

- It won't take long for people to stop complaining about Jeff Jones being moved to WR. He had a deep gainer that would have been 6 as he caught it right in stride and would have been off to the races. He had another, less noticeable one where he swung out of the backfield, deked to the sideline, which Jalen Myrick absolutely bit on. If the ball had been on target he would have been gone for a long gain. JJ's just got something electric about him. I can see why they want to get him the ball in space.

- Trying to block Steve Richardson is a nightmare.

- Scott Ekpe is back to 100%.

- Hank Ekpe continues to roll.

- All the LB's were what we thought they were.

- Ray Buford will play at CB. He's already got the size, athleticism, etc. Not only will; he not red shirt, he will play some meaningful snaps imo. That gets him ready to go the following year as the #3 or 4 CB behind Myrick & James.

- KiAnte Hardin will play at CB. Again, not only will he not red shirt, but he will play meaningful snaps imo to have him ready, along with Buford to back up Myrick & James next season. He was lined up inside of BBC all day & BBC was basically his persona coach. My favorite line from BBC to Hardin was "You fast as hell, but you still gotta stay at home bra!"

- Jalen Myrick had a nice pick in the team portion. Was talking smack non-stop to Rashad Still who he was guarding much of the day. "Oh man, that would have been 6!." referring to the interception & return he would have had against Still if the ball was thrown his way. Just generally razzing the Freshman all day.

- As I said during Spring Practice, Charlie Rogers will step right in and be as good as any Safety we've had over the past 4-5 years. He's a seamless transition from Ced Thompson & Derrick Wells. I just wish he would put some clothes on, lol! (He pulls his short legs way up to his crotch so they're short- shorts & also pulls his shirt up to expose his stomach and back.).

- Rough day for Craig James. By my count he was beat deep 5 times today. Seemed like every reciever on the team got a long one on him today.

- At Safety we'll need two Freshmen to play to act as experienced back-ups next season behind Rogers & Duke McGhee. Dior Johnson looks to be one of those guys. Like Ray Buford at CB, he already looks like he belongs out there & it's just a matter of figuring out the assignments.

- A safe bet that Jacob Huff will be the other Freshman Safety, as he's getting plenty of reps and will be an impact player on special teams.

- Zo Craighton got some snaps at Safety, but didn't do anything of note.

- All in all, it was a great day for football, but it was hard to gather much info since I was looking down at my roster every 3 seconds to check out player numbers.
Click to expand...

Great info...much appreciated!
 



diefirma said:
Just a few observations

Both Leidner and Streveler looked better in their passing skills. Most of the passes were on target, and the ones that weren't were generally caught by the WRs. There were a few clunkers by each QB and a few where it was obvious the WR and QB were running different plays but overall - better. Croft is a very, very good passer. Won't play this year and probably not next but the QB of the future. We will a average B10 passing team this year - no longer at the bottom of the B10.

Seems to be lots of receivers with good hands. Gibson, Carter, Holland, Jones, Anyanwu, Still, Wolitarsky, Wozniak, Scarver and Lingen are some of the receivers I saw make good catches. In my mind, (but not necessarily Coach Kill's) Carter, Holland, Jones and Wolitarsky are locks to be in the first string rotation. Now that I think about it I didn't see KJ Maye but I could have missed him.

Running backs look good. Nugget will be the big horse this year with Smith and Edwards right behind. Edwards is noticeably bigger this fall but still looks very fast. He is big enough that they can run him into the line instead of just on jet-sweeps. I thought Brooks and Johannesson showed good potential but guessing both will red shirt this year.

Pass coverage was good with the 1s but the receivers are fighting for the ball - something we didn't always see in the past. Even when the receivers were well covered, if the ball was delivered to the receiver/cover guy combination, the receiver would fight for the ball and perhaps come down with it 1/3 to 1/2 of the time - much better than 1/100 in the past.

Overall my impression was of a very good team. Good, tough running attack, good enough passing to keep the defense honest and a very good, tough, fast defense.
Click to expand...

Great info! Much appreciated! Point I like the best is receivers battling for catches! It literally seemed that did happen 1 of 100 times previously. That will be a huge help to the cause. Nice to hear about Croft looking good. I think Mitch is going to be fine, especially if we can throw some short passes to help his percentage and confidence...bubble screens to Jeff Jones would be awesome.
 

corcoran1 said:
Earlier in the passing drills when all of the QBs were throwing I thought Perra was the most accurate.
As far as arms go, Streveler looks fine for very open receivers up to about 15 yds down field, after that not so much.
I have been to Goph practices sine Coach Kill has been here and today was the best collective throwing, receiving, coverage I have seen in one practice. Relatively few throws that were uncatchable, and there were some very good contested receptions in good coverage.
It is also the most athletic ability I have seen at WR by a lot.
We have walk-ons more talented athletically than most scholarship receivers were when CKILL got here. Of course we had walk-ons more talented than the scholarship players then too, but we now have real athletes on scholarship, fun to watch.
Last point for me, I still think when Rashad Still is a little older he is going to be a nightmare for CBs, he could be fast, tall and have really good ball skills.
Click to expand...

Great info! Much appreciated!
 

Thanks CRG, great re-cap. Looking forward to coming out to practice this Friday.
 




Thanks very much for the in-person recaps, they are greatly appreciated.
 


Thanks, everyone, for your observations.
 



I have always respected your insights, CRG. But this is really impressive. I was trying to imagine me at the practice with my head in the roster and trying to grasp half of what was going on. You nailed it!!!! DL may have a rival for Holer of the year.
 

swgopherdog said:
Elmore? Thought he would be in the mix.

Go Gophers
Click to expand...

My bad Elmore, not Kafo is the 2nd team DE. He was in there as you'd expect. Didn't do a whole bunch to get noticed, but he did knock down a pass. Solid all round practice. Learning, gaining experience, getting better. Also, I omitted Gary Moore at DT as well. Another young guy who didn't do anything spectacular today, but got lots of reps & continues to get better. These guys are future stars, but good enough to provide quality depth right now.
 

diefirma said:
Just a few observations

Both Leidner and Streveler looked better in their passing skills. Most of the passes were on target, and the ones that weren't were generally caught by the WRs. There were a few clunkers by each QB and a few where it was obvious the WR and QB were running different plays but overall - better. Croft is a very, very good passer. Won't play this year and probably not next but the QB of the future. We will a average B10 passing team this year - no longer at the bottom of the B10.

Seems to be lots of receivers with good hands. Gibson, Carter, Holland, Jones, Anyanwu, Still, Wolitarsky, Wozniak, Scarver and Lingen are some of the receivers I saw make good catches. In my mind, (but not necessarily Coach Kill's) Carter, Holland, Jones and Wolitarsky are locks to be in the first string rotation. Now that I think about it I didn't see KJ Maye but I could have missed him.

Running backs look good. Nugget will be the big horse this year with Smith and Edwards right behind. Edwards is noticeably bigger this fall but still looks very fast. He is big enough that they can run him into the line instead of just on jet-sweeps. I thought Brooks and Johannesson showed good potential but guessing both will red shirt this year.

Pass coverage was good with the 1s but the receivers are fighting for the ball - something we didn't always see in the past. Even when the receivers were well covered, if the ball was delivered to the receiver/cover guy combination, the receiver would fight for the ball and perhaps come down with it 1/3 to 1/2 of the time - much better than 1/100 in the past.

Overall my impression was of a very good team. Good, tough running attack, good enough passing to keep the defense honest and a very good, tough, fast defense.
Click to expand...

Great points Diefirma! To echo your sentiments:

- The QB's all looked solid & there really wasn't a bad play by any of them all day.

- These WR's are absolutely fighting for the ball a lot more & also have a lot more athleticism to go up and get it. KJ Maye/Wolitarsky/Jones are my guess as the three starters, with Eric Carter & Melvin Holland seeing a lot of time. Then again, Gentry didn't practice today so he may be the best of the bunch for all I know?

- I thought James Johannesson & Shannon Brooks both looked sharp for newbies as well. Sadly the only thing I saw of Femi-Cole was him getting absolutely hammered once in the hole. Wanna say it was Poock who crushed him, but that could be wrong?
 

Fermi-Cole got in late just making the opening of camp, so he's way behind, there's a good chance he redshirts for that reason. I would expect that by the middle of camp he'll have learned enough that we'll get glimpses of his potential.
 


Spoofin said:
Great post CRG. Thanks.
Click to expand...
A couple other observations 1) Ekpe @defensive end was by Bush with ease all morning 2)Croft has a very quick release and seems intent on moving the pocket looking for other options before pulling it down to run. 3) Nondo Lay got injured and was replaced by Timms @d tackle, it looked like something right leg based. 4) With Maye on the sidelines Leidner was going to Wolitarsky quite a bit with success 5) Think Poock will eventually overtake Williams @mike, looked good today. 6) Carter surprised me @receiver, adjusted well to ball in the air and was aggressive at going for the ball.
 

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