Practice Observations - March 21

[JasonB]

Hey everyone, I was finally able to make it out to a Spring Practice this morning and wanted to share some thoughts....

- Jennings has really improved his deep ball. The ball absolutely launches off his hand and his deep pass is much more catchable than it was last year. That is a major step up for him. Great arm strength, shows a lot of athleticism in the pocket and is comfortable running in zone read looks. Very strong leadership skills. In the scrimmage session at the end, had a really nice seam pass to RJ he threw on a rope 20 yards downfield and led RJ perfectly so he took it to the house.
- Luster is night and day from last year. Massive improvement. Really good arm, good accuracy, looks much more comfortable with the offense both throwing the ball and running the ball. Huge leap for him. Legit QB, it is amazing how good this staff is at evaluating QBs.
- Aaronson is clearly behind the others, as expected going through his first spring practice. Trying to work on his touch on lobs to the outside.
- Didn't watch RBs too much, but Camar made a great fingertip grab in drills over his shoulder and B Smith had the one explosive run of the day. His speed is legit - faster than Rooster.
- Osborne and Clark are way more physical at the point of attack than we have had before. Running game is still a work in progress - Anderson can be a little hit and miss at the other guard position. I think Anderson is fine in the second team and is going to do fine in pass protection, but is inconsistent in run blocking. They run a lot of drills where they will chip the lineman and then move to the second level, but you don't see it a lot in practice out on the field. Consistency and lack of explosive plays was a major concern last year in the running game. I think our consistency will improve with the stronger point of attack, but I'd like to see more explosives and getting out to the second level.
- Clark is in shape and it is great to see.
- Byrd and PJ are good tackles with better athleticism and mobility, but they aren't as consistent as White and Bryant were. It is to be expected with younger players as the develop the experience, but Byrd in particular will miss a block at times, which is an instant disaster against our really good defensive line. Plenty of time to clean it up before the season, and the size/athleticism/potential is there. But as we go into Fall Camp something to keep an eye on is the consistency at tackle.
- With Sparks and Parr out for the spring, I kind of thought the second OL would get destroyed, but they actually held their own, and sprung the long run for B Smith. Woods is a guy who really looks the part. His snapping isn't always consistent, and he needs to work on it. But he is the next really good lineman. But excellent frame, good size, carries the weight well and clearly spends time in the weight room.
- At receiver, I would say there are several players stepping up. Daniels looks like an absolute pro out of the slot. Brinson made a couple of really nice plays, including an OBJ phenomenal one handed stretch as far as you can catch in the corner of the endzone for a touchdown in redzone drills.
- Another receiver really taking a step forward is Carroll. He has size and speed, has really filled out since the fall, and has great balance that allows him to cut well. Really nice hands. Luster fired a back shoulder pass to him on the right that he was able to come back for and make a low sliding catch. He stands out as a guy who might be taking a big step and push for time in the fall. Hudson, Romello, and Daniels were probably the best three out there today, but I might say Carroll was 4th.
- RJ looks great as usual. Adam Moore is a beast. For as big as that dude is, his first three steps after catching a ball or off the line are exceptionally quick. We are going to need to find ways to take advantage of both of them.
- The size and strength of our defensive tackles is as advertised. We might not have that shifty penetration guy like Chapman, but it is going to be really tough to run on us up the middle. It is really hard to bump and jump to the next level when the guy you bump doesn't move.
- At DE, Harvey looks a little skinnier than I thought he would, but he adds a ton of speed and athleticism on the outside. Turbo looks great there as well. On the other side, Roberts is his dominating self. I also like how they are getting creative with Cam and how he lines up. Lots of weapons to choose from across the DL. Abor showed up by slapping the ball out of Lusters hands on a scramble.
- The first three LBs look great. Kilgore is going to be amazing. They are still trying to find out who that fourth guy is going to be. Medlock and Burns look fine, but don't necessarily stand out. I think the guy who might surprise and step up is Mayazono. He has more size than last year, moves around really well, and hunts for the ball. I wouldn't be surprised to see him out there a lot more.
- At corner, Rogers is fast, has good top end speed, improved positioning. He still doesn't have that quick hip movement.
- Smoke and Deuce I think are the best on the team. Smoke has continued his improvement that we saw from last season. This was my first time seeing Deuce and he has fluidity, athleticism, and a quick burst of acceleration that you just can't teach.
- AJ Davis has taken a step forward, but still makes some mental errors - he got caught running around another corner and ended up trailing his WR by several steps. Most plays he does just fine, but the mistakes are ones that cost you 6 points.
- The guy that caught my eye and really surprised me is Knox. He is coming up to speed fast. His speed and acceleration are both excellent. He is still working on positioning, but he flashes really strong. And his hip flip is very good, allowing him to change directions very well. My bold prediction is that his becomes the third best corner in fall camp (dependent, of course, on if we bring in a transfer). I think this is his best position, it is going to stick, and he is going to contribute very positively there.
- At nickel, Sanders and Crossley are the starters there. Crossley is becoming more vocal in a leadership role, not just trash talking, which is great to see.
- Chambers is really interesting. He has great length, and you can see him flash - he had a nice back peddle, and then acceleration to break up an out route that he should have intercepted. He had another play later where he stepped in front of the slot receiver over the middle, made the INT and took it to the house. So he is starting to flash a lot more. That said, in some of the individual cover drills, he gets off balance and juked out of his shoes and it is an easy six points the other way. It will be interesting to see if he continues to develop and becomes our starting nickel next year, or if the coverage inconsistencies force him back to one of the other safety spots.
- The safety room is great. NWO had a redzone rep where he absolutely blanketed Bailey 1v1 and then stepped in front for the INT. Moses had a one handed interception.

- Overall, I don't expect a dropoff from our defense at all. The DL and safety group in particular are very ready for the ACC. I think our WR room is going to be a lot better next year. The bigger question is whether or not our offensive line can take the next step and drive a power running game. Ultimately, I think that is the difference between a 5-7/6-6 campaign and a team that is at 8 or 9 wins and towards the top of the standings.

[redpony]

jason- thanks for the analysis- great to have you back.

[PerunaPunch]

Indeed! Thank you Jason!!

[dalpony]

Thank you Jason B

[ShorePony]

Great report. Thanks!

[PNW_Stang]

Who is the second string tackle other than the ND transfer?

[JasonB]

I think they had Sean Scott out there the other day. Huge need in the portal.