My Open Practice Observation
"I was there. I usually go every year and post some type of observation. I honestly wasn't impressed by too much, but maybe I just wasn't as excited because I was so worried about the weather.
However, I don't think people understand how dynamic Nyqwan Murray really looked. He made great coverage look like no coverage and absolutely embarrassed a couple people. I've heard rumblings but I was shocked to see it with my own eyes. I know Kermit may be faster but Murray is the best WR and it isn't even close. JJ Consentino won't be on campus next year. It's no surprise that why Jimbo is taking two QBs this cycle.
I'm not sure if Matthew Thomas' lean frame will hold up, but he will remind some people of Telvin his year. I'm not sure what to think of Levonta yet. I personally don't like his frame. I feel as if he packed on muscle too quickly and he seems a little stiff. The staff basically holds him away from the 2s and lets him wait for an opportunity to run with the ones. I was right in the sense that he may have to make a little adjustment to playing man to man in college since he played so much zone in high school. He did have nice coverage on a double moved by Bobo, but didn't make a play on the ball. Don't be terribly surprised if Levonta never ends up on the outside. Obviously that also depends on the other options we have. He won't start against Ole Miss unless there is an injury but I can see him in dime situations. I also feel like he's a playmaker, so today's practice wasn't the greatest forum for him.
Wasn't impressed with Aguayo's leg strength. He was having trouble from 40-45 yards getting it there. Tyler's leg is stronger but wasn't all that accurate.
Mark it down: It may take 2 years but Kyle Meyers will be a player! Murray was the #1 player that flashed(for guys I wasn't looking for) to me and Kyle Meyers was definitely #2. He's much longer than Levonta and he had very solid coverage in 1 on 1s. I'm not sold on Becker yet, but he did recover well on a couple plays and fought through hands to break up the pass. The problem is that he was beat. He's going to have to show that he can play off-man coverage down the line. I'm not sure who coach Kelly is trying to fool, but Marcus Lewis is better than Tarvarus McFadden. I'm not saying Tarvarus is bad, but Tarvarus knows, Marcus knows, Kelly knows and all of the other players know that Marcus Lewis is better at this stage. His confidence is just on a different level. He did well in 1 on 1s but he didn't face much competition. Hey both were abused by Murray. Lewis will be starting by game 3 at the latest but they both will play.
Derrick Nnadi may be gone after this year. It'd be a no brainer if he was 6'2.5 or 6'3. He just looks like a grown man now. I didn't get to watch the defensive line much, so I can't tell you much about the D ends. We still can't run the ball when it matters. The freshmen OL will be as good as a Trickett OL can be. I'm not sure when, but Landon Dickerson will play this year.
Jacques Patrick didn't really flash to me, but I feel like I know exactly what he is. He's hard to stop if he gets started. He just has to have a lane to get started. Ermon Lane is definitely falling behind. We better hope that Auden Tate is good as advertised, because we will be trotting out a bunch of little guys at WR this year. The light hasn't came on for George Campbell yet. I doubt doubt him being good with the ball in his hands. I'm just not convinced that we can depend on him to make tough plays at WR on a consistent basis. I mentioned it above, but Pigg Harrison was nowhere to be found today. I'm really surprised that nobody asked Jimbo about it. Would've loved to see Travis and Tate today. The WR core did not look very deep today. Keith Gavin's size is good as advertised, but lack separation may be an issue and he dropped some passes today.
Malik Henry may not have looked like Peyton Manning today, but I promise there is not a snow ball chance in h*ll that Jimbo plays Consentino if something happens to Francois. You had to be there to understand. FRANCOIS.
I love all of my NOLE faithful, but it's not happening this year. Not saying it's impossible, but I can't see it. Pray for Dalvin to stay extra healthy, pray for the OL to actually run block and pray that Francois can be dynamic with his legs because we will see a healthy dose of sacks and interceptions this year. We actually didn't throw all that many last year during the regular season, but I definitely could see double digits. Less than 2:1 TD to INT ration. Honestly, it should be expected though. He is a redshirt freshman, but there were too many times today/spring game when he couldn't find anywhere to go with the ball. He also has a problem with putting too much air under some of his throws. Specifically the corner route, which was picked by Nate Andrews in the spring game and today against Marcus Lewis. Another one was almost picked. I do think he is better than Maguire though and can stretch the field more. His release is so much quicker and he puts plenty on zip on the ball. His balls are very catchable and rate a perfect 10 on the spiral chart. He's just isn't anywhere near the same class as Jameis. I know. I know. He doesn't have to be Jameis. He doesn't, but Jimbo is going to throw the ball if he has Uncle Rico behind center. Hopefully he uses the 2009 EJ offense or the 2008 Ponder offense where we see a ton of bootlegs and rollouts.
I really didn't expect to put his much. I really wish I'd had a chance to focus more on the trenches or the linebackers. Without seeing anything today, I think Emmett Rice will play and play well this year. I've been waiting on Mavin Saunders to blow up, and he made a nice catch today, but I think he'll be overshadowed by Izzo. Wouldn't be surprised to see Ryan Green eat up some of Patrick's carries. I don't think Levonta Taylor will be our starting PR either. Oh yea, Derwin James was running and cutting hard on that foot while doing individual work. He's ready."
But there's no way someone who is not a Warchant Mod can gather this much info from one open practice..
"I was there. I usually go every year and post some type of observation. I honestly wasn't impressed by too much, but maybe I just wasn't as excited because I was so worried about the weather.
However, I don't think people understand how dynamic Nyqwan Murray really looked. He made great coverage look like no coverage and absolutely embarrassed a couple people. I've heard rumblings but I was shocked to see it with my own eyes. I know Kermit may be faster but Murray is the best WR and it isn't even close. JJ Consentino won't be on campus next year. It's no surprise that why Jimbo is taking two QBs this cycle.
I'm not sure if Matthew Thomas' lean frame will hold up, but he will remind some people of Telvin his year. I'm not sure what to think of Levonta yet. I personally don't like his frame. I feel as if he packed on muscle too quickly and he seems a little stiff. The staff basically holds him away from the 2s and lets him wait for an opportunity to run with the ones. I was right in the sense that he may have to make a little adjustment to playing man to man in college since he played so much zone in high school. He did have nice coverage on a double moved by Bobo, but didn't make a play on the ball. Don't be terribly surprised if Levonta never ends up on the outside. Obviously that also depends on the other options we have. He won't start against Ole Miss unless there is an injury but I can see him in dime situations. I also feel like he's a playmaker, so today's practice wasn't the greatest forum for him.
Wasn't impressed with Aguayo's leg strength. He was having trouble from 40-45 yards getting it there. Tyler's leg is stronger but wasn't all that accurate.
Mark it down: It may take 2 years but Kyle Meyers will be a player! Murray was the #1 player that flashed(for guys I wasn't looking for) to me and Kyle Meyers was definitely #2. He's much longer than Levonta and he had very solid coverage in 1 on 1s. I'm not sold on Becker yet, but he did recover well on a couple plays and fought through hands to break up the pass. The problem is that he was beat. He's going to have to show that he can play off-man coverage down the line. I'm not sure who coach Kelly is trying to fool, but Marcus Lewis is better than Tarvarus McFadden. I'm not saying Tarvarus is bad, but Tarvarus knows, Marcus knows, Kelly knows and all of the other players know that Marcus Lewis is better at this stage. His confidence is just on a different level. He did well in 1 on 1s but he didn't face much competition. Hey both were abused by Murray. Lewis will be starting by game 3 at the latest but they both will play.
Derrick Nnadi may be gone after this year. It'd be a no brainer if he was 6'2.5 or 6'3. He just looks like a grown man now. I didn't get to watch the defensive line much, so I can't tell you much about the D ends. We still can't run the ball when it matters. The freshmen OL will be as good as a Trickett OL can be. I'm not sure when, but Landon Dickerson will play this year.
Jacques Patrick didn't really flash to me, but I feel like I know exactly what he is. He's hard to stop if he gets started. He just has to have a lane to get started. Ermon Lane is definitely falling behind. We better hope that Auden Tate is good as advertised, because we will be trotting out a bunch of little guys at WR this year. The light hasn't came on for George Campbell yet. I doubt doubt him being good with the ball in his hands. I'm just not convinced that we can depend on him to make tough plays at WR on a consistent basis. I mentioned it above, but Pigg Harrison was nowhere to be found today. I'm really surprised that nobody asked Jimbo about it. Would've loved to see Travis and Tate today. The WR core did not look very deep today. Keith Gavin's size is good as advertised, but lack separation may be an issue and he dropped some passes today.
Malik Henry may not have looked like Peyton Manning today, but I promise there is not a snow ball chance in h*ll that Jimbo plays Consentino if something happens to Francois. You had to be there to understand. FRANCOIS.
I love all of my NOLE faithful, but it's not happening this year. Not saying it's impossible, but I can't see it. Pray for Dalvin to stay extra healthy, pray for the OL to actually run block and pray that Francois can be dynamic with his legs because we will see a healthy dose of sacks and interceptions this year. We actually didn't throw all that many last year during the regular season, but I definitely could see double digits. Less than 2:1 TD to INT ration. Honestly, it should be expected though. He is a redshirt freshman, but there were too many times today/spring game when he couldn't find anywhere to go with the ball. He also has a problem with putting too much air under some of his throws. Specifically the corner route, which was picked by Nate Andrews in the spring game and today against Marcus Lewis. Another one was almost picked. I do think he is better than Maguire though and can stretch the field more. His release is so much quicker and he puts plenty on zip on the ball. His balls are very catchable and rate a perfect 10 on the spiral chart. He's just isn't anywhere near the same class as Jameis. I know. I know. He doesn't have to be Jameis. He doesn't, but Jimbo is going to throw the ball if he has Uncle Rico behind center. Hopefully he uses the 2009 EJ offense or the 2008 Ponder offense where we see a ton of bootlegs and rollouts.
I really didn't expect to put his much. I really wish I'd had a chance to focus more on the trenches or the linebackers. Without seeing anything today, I think Emmett Rice will play and play well this year. I've been waiting on Mavin Saunders to blow up, and he made a nice catch today, but I think he'll be overshadowed by Izzo. Wouldn't be surprised to see Ryan Green eat up some of Patrick's carries. I don't think Levonta Taylor will be our starting PR either. Oh yea, Derwin James was running and cutting hard on that foot while doing individual work. He's ready."
But there's no way someone who is not a Warchant Mod can gather this much info from one open practice..
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