Practice Report

[MtownJacket]

Originally Posted by cyptomcat

I think he got recruited to play in the secondary out of high school, so I can see him as a safety.

I'm sure he could do well there, but he hasn't thought about defense for a while and is too talented with the ball in his hands. I want to see him run the ball for us.

[GTWannaBee]

Originally Posted by MtownJacket

...and is too talented with the ball in his hands.

Problem is the ball comes out of his hands too often. I never feel comfortable when he's at the helm because he loses the ball too often. Maybe switching to AB/BB would help cut that out some though since he can focus on running/blocking and not on whether or not to pitch/hand off the ball.

[BarrelORum]

Originally Posted by cyptomcat

I think he got recruited to play in the secondary out of high school, so I can see him as a safety.

He was recruited as a QB first AB second.

[cyptomcat]

Originally Posted by BarrelORum

He was recruited as a QB first AB second.

I didn't mean Tech, but others. Thanks for the info though.

[Legal Jacket]

Originally Posted by GTWannaBee

Problem is the ball comes out of his hands too often. I never feel comfortable when he's at the helm because he loses the ball too often. Maybe switching to AB/BB would help cut that out some though since he can focus on running/blocking and not on whether or not to pitch/hand off the ball.

Most of his problem with ball control is QB-C exchange. I don't have any particular ball control concerns if he is running downfield with the ball.

[Legal Jacket]

Originally Posted by Jerry the Jacket

I think we would be better off focusing on getting Lee ready to play and letting Washington be our primary backup QB. That is what he really is. Days is a good athlete and should be able to find a place to play either at A Back or perhaps on defense. I know Coach Johnson will play the guy that gives us the best chance to win. It just looks to me like Vad is that guy.

Tell us how you really feel Jerry. You had the same opinion last year when VL was clearly not ready to play D1 football. Don't get me wrong, he looked pretty good throwing the ball, but I don't know how you can say VL looks like the guy who gives us the best chance to win when he's not able to run large chunks of the offense. He may ultimately be the starter, but he's got a very long way to go and a lot of hard work to do between now and then.

I'm also not sure how you can say that what TW "really is" is our backup. He's a proven starter at this point. We've already got a QB who led us to an 8 win season in his first year starting. He set a school QB rushing record against Clemson. Is he a stud? No.

But I don't think Lee is either at this point. Again, don't get me wrong, he looks like one of the most talented QBs we've had in a while. He may end up beating out TW. But he's still a RS-FR, and he'll have to improve a good bit to earn the starting job. CPJ himself said after practice that VL has had difficulty at times wrapping his head around the offense. Same thing as last year - its amazing how you can be certain that Vad "is that guy" having seen him run 4-5 offensive series, particularly when the head coach disagrees with you.

Vad will likely get plenty of drives to play and get some pretty valuable experience this year, but I think he's going to have to make some serious strides before he starts. I may change my mind, particularly after the spring game, but his stellar arm is not enough imo to make up for his lack of comfort in the offense / ability to be a game manager.

[BlackJacket]

I haven't had the chance to weigh in my thoughts after watching practice this weekend, so here you go.

Offense:

• Lots of fumbles. From QB-C exchanges to WRs running after the catch and QB scrambles. Guys gotta hold onto the ball better, but this isn't new for our team, and it usually improves as the Spring goes on.
• Tevin led a good opening series and played decently. I know people don't get excited to watch him play, but he knows this offense the best, and I think everyone can see that.
• Vad struggled when he was with the 2nd team offense at the beginning but as he moved in with the first team guys, he played much more comfortable. Made some good throws, as previously noted, and had some good scrambles. No QB ever went down for a slide to avoid getting hit, but Vad and Synjyn, were both breaking lots of arm tackles.
• Synjyn struggled a lot. He hit some good passes, but also had some bad ones that put receivers in danger of taking big hits. He runs at the first sign of any pressure from the pass rush and doesn't keep his eyes downfield. I think he'll probably stay at QB this season, but look for a position change next Spring.
• WRs didn't play that well, but caught most of the short/intermediate passes. The few drops that they had were bombs downfield. Thos bombs were mostly on the money too, either from Vad or Synjyn.
• B-backs ran strong and busted a few long runs. Sims and Perkins looked the best, with Sims busting a couple 20 yard runs.
• A-backs looked pretty bad blocking-wise. They all have speed but can't get outta the backfield without blocking. Had a couple TD's come from them on rocket tosses near the goaline. Vad ran for the other two offensive TD's.
• O-line was inconsistant. On play, they move the defense and open huge lanes, the next, the B-back is getting hit hard at the mesh. Injuries are probably not helping them here.
• Back-up QB's and backs all got at least a series too, with Andrews looking the best, then Byerly, then Dickey.
• Pistol formation ran for at least 3 series toward the end of the scrimmage. Vad looked extremely comfortable in this. Perhaps he was as comfortable running this as Tevin is running the flexbone. This is where Vad made a great deep throw, that was dropped, then the next play, ran a speed option, broke a tackle on the sideline, and took it to the house. If Tevin is the starter, I think it'd be silly not to incorporate either Vad or Justin Thomas into our offense using this formation. It worked really well.
• Overall, we ran well and passing looked improved. Hardly any chances for turnovers from interceptions, but tons of balls on the ground. Overal, the offense looked pretty good considering who's not participating this spring.

Defense:

• Secondary didn't look too good. I only recall a couple pass breakups, one on a horrible read from Vad that should have been intercepted by Jamal Golden. Got burned deep a lot, but offense missed some of those opportunities.
• Linebackers played well at times, but couldn't wrap up well on QB scrambles or A-backs running after the catch.
• D-line only had a couple sacks, but forced our QBs to move outta the pocket many times during the scrimmage. As mentioned, the ends played much better than whoever was at NT. Also, I know it was mentioned that they moved back to a one gap assignment, but it didn't appear that way during the plays I was looking for it.
• Overall, they struggled against the run and pass today. Couldn't contain the QB or force a throw away, and many of the fumbles were not their doing.

Special teams:

• Made all our extra points, against no opposition however. Also, David Sims was the holder on half of those PATs. Perhaps some tricks may be in our future from this?
• Field goal attempts were either 1/2 or 1/3 in terms of makes/attempts. Only tried some midrange field goals, nothing that long.
• Kickoffs included Godhigh, Attaochu and other guys blocking for the return men of Bostic and Zenon. A few good returns here, including one that could've been a TD if the refs/coaches didn't stop the play. Balls went to the 10 or 5 yard line kickoff distance-wise.
• Punts were a mixed bag because obviously guys weren't going full speed. Kickoffs weren't at full speed either, but it was more obvious during this portion. Another possible TD return was blown dead here too.
• Overall, returning looked improved, kicking looked the same as last year, and coverage was about the same as last year. The new coach was very involved and enthusiastic about this part of practice and he seems to have incorporated more starters into his plays than I remember seeing last year.

Miscellaneous:

• A few pushing and shoving matches throughout the day, but none bigger than the Sweeting-Greene matchup. Jeff ripped Rod's helmet off blocking on the play, then it ran over past the whistle and ended with Rod slamming Jeff and them needing to be separated by the refs and sent to the sideline to cool down. This was an interesting thing to see from our top guys at their respective positions and hopefully this energy can fuel improvement and good competition this spring and not distract/divide them.

[GTLiebs]

Originally Posted by BlackJacket

Special teams:

• Kickoffs included Godhigh, Attaochu and other guys blocking for the return men of Bostic and Zenon. A few good returns here, including one that could've been a TD if the refs/coaches didn't stop the play. Balls went to the 10 or 5 yard line kickoff distance-wise.

Were they kicking from the 25 or the 20?

[BlackJacket]

Originally Posted by GTLiebs

Were they kicking from the 25 or the 20?

The 35 I believe. I'm pretty sure they told the kickers not to kick for touchbacks however. Practice time is too limited...

[00Burdell]

Question for those in attendance - When Vad and Days were in at QB, how fancy was the defense? Did the secondary play pretty much straight up vanilla or were they disguising coverages? I'm just interested in how 'easy' or 'hard' they were making it for VL and SD in terms of the pre-snap reads.

I'm also wondering, since CPJ has given Walkoski the entire roster to pick from, if Justin Thomas will get a look as a kick returner? If he's as fast as advertised, I can see a difficult decision as to whether to red-shirt him or use him on special teams. Way too early for serious discussion but this is one of the things on my checklist for when the freshmen suit up later this year.