Okay all, here are my thoughts from today!
Saturday Thoughts:
- This was not a scrimmage in the traditional sense, it was more of a controlled situational practice with referees. No score was kept on the field, just timed periods.
- There were periods of ‘full field’ situations as well as multiple red-zone offense, ‘shadow’ offense and other situations
- There were only two running backs who played for the day and both looked very good. Freeman is so focused and you can see the difference in his play. He was definitely not a passive running back looking to the edge of the field on every play hoping for a big outside gain. He was taking what was there, lowering his shoulder when necessary and making plenty of yards after contact.
- Kani Benoit looked very good for the most part. He showed tremendous balance on multiple different carries. He is going to play well in reserve this season.
- Darren Carrington also looks extremely focused. He had some misses, but he looks like the Carrington from the end of the 2014 season.
- Jacob Breeland is by far the best tight end on the team. Cam McCormick got a couple of chances, but from what I saw, Ryan Bay is the number two tight end. Breeland made several fantastic plays including a tremendously perfect corner route for a touchdown pass from Justin Herbert.
- The offensive line looked very good. This was not a ‘split squad’ OL like we will likely see for the spring game, so there was a chance to see most of the group working together and they performed well, for the most part. Not a lot of ‘mental errors’ on the team. I think Okun looks like he added a lot of weight, but not sure how much of it is good weight and how much needs to be reworked.
- One offensive player who really, really stood out was Malik Lovette. He was everywhere. He made some drops, but you can really see that wide receiver is the position he belongs in. He is thicker than Nelson and, IMO, I thought he played better than Nelson. The trio of receivers were very good today.
- One player who I thought did not look great today was Dillon Mitchell. Too many drops and not really involved with the offense when he had a chance.
- Oh, you wanted to know about quarterbacks? Justin Herbert and everyone else. But he did start off with a very poorly thrown ball that was intercepted underneath by Arrion Springs. It was simply underthrown and Springs made a great play to catch the ball and turn it upfield. Early on Herbert looked shaky, but as the rest of the practice wore on his lead was clear.
- Jonsen looked very good, I was watching passing drills with both he and Burmeister throwing side-by-side and Jonsen’s ball was every bit as tight and strong on a line as Burmeister. He is a gifted runner and showed it on multiple occasions, but his ability to throw the ball is clearly improved since last season. He made plenty of very good throws including a couple of perfect passes to Lovette.
- Burmeister has a hitch in his delivery where he drops with the ball at his shoulders than does awind up where the ball drops to his hip before he brings it back up to the throwing position; that will create a lot of sacks, strips and headaches and is definitely an area for improvement. But when he does throw the ball, he has a very good looking ball; tons of zip and a very accurate passer, for the most part. He is also a gifted runner and it will be interesting to watch his development.
- Jim Leavitt tweeted out about the imperfections in the defense. The defense is not going to have a quick turn around, but you can see the effort at levels of the field.
- Thomas Graham. Folks, he is the real deal. He was up against Carrington most of the day and their battles were epic. On one play just before the half, on a long down-field throw, Carrington went up for the ball over Graham and looked like he was about to make a very good, acrobatic catch, as both players feet touched the ground, as Carrington was pullin the ball in, Graham flashed a hand through to knock the ball out. It was like that all day between the two. Carrington won several battles, but Graham went against one of the best Pac-12 receivers and more than held his own.
- The defensive line looked solid much of the day. “Fat Mac” (his nickname for himself, not mine!) is slimed down and played with Mondeaux and Elijah George and the trio looked very solid.
- Jalen Jelks looks like he will be very good this year. I thought he was the best looking DL on the day.
- Jelks played with Hunter Kampmoyer and Gary Baker.
- Troy Dye is playing a new position and sometimes his impact seems less, but on one particular play I watched closely as he moved other players around into perfect position before making a very good read where he scrubbed off a block and made the tackle along with Hotchkins.
- The linebackers are going to be okay, but they are definitely getting used to a new system and were out of position frequently.
- Mattrell McGraw is the most improved player on this defense and will get plenty of playing time.
- Brady Breeze made a text book tackle on Royce Freeman. Not a lot of the defensive backs did great against Royce, but Breeze made a great play with his pads into Freeman’s hips to drive him backward.
- I think there will be some good plays made by Bryson Young, Jimmie Swain and Justin Hollins this season. Once they fully understand this new defense and get unleashed, they will be very good.
- Joe Salave’a is crazy (in a good way). There is so much energy by these coaches it is crazy to watch them out there running up and down the field, but Salave'a stands out!
- One thing we talked about in the stands is the concept of “ABC (always be closing)’ with these coaches, but I changed it to “ABT – Always be teaching.” These coaches do not stop teaching. The music was on, but hardly blaring and the staff were working during and after each play to teach. Always teaching.
- Overall I would say the offense had a clear win on this day. This offense is not going to be what you saw at South Florida exactly – and I never thought it would. Taggart still comes from the Jack Harbaugh school of football which favors some straight up power football. That will find its way. In fact, on more than one play, I thought we were watching Stanford with Kevin Hogan out there, power option plays with Herbert, Jonsen and Burmeister.
- What Taggart will do is use some elements of the spread passing attack and combine it with a power running game and some good QB RPO’s and make a complete offense. He invented the South Florida offense because Quinton Flowers was not a great thrower, not because he wants to run the QB for 1500 yards.
- While Terry Wilson is a great runner, he would have been fourth strong this year. Difficult to blame him for leaving, he might never have seen the field at Oregon.
- We had dinner at Pit Stop afterward – if you like BBQ, this place is not bad. I had a brisket cheesesteak sandwich and Dale Newton had the brisket dinner plate. Both were good and very affordable. I had dinner and two beers for less than $20. It was a glorious day for football. The perfect spring day and I had a great day with Dale, KatoDuck, and my son who came over from Oregon City and joined me for dinner.
- All for now, will answer questions as I can!
