First and foremost, you just have to be impressed with the choreography of the entire event. They truly maximize the entire session down to the second, including the special teams portion where they simulate two kickoff coverages and returns in the span of about 30 to 45 seconds. I think the only segment that I didn't see get too much practice was Aguayo, but when he did he shined hitting 10 straight field goals from each hashmark culminating in a 50+ yarder that probably would have been good from 60+. Safe to say, he is already in NFL form.
I liked what I saw from every QB, even 21 who isn't listed on the roster. Francois(12), the ball whistles out of his hand. Very impressive for just having got off of the crutches. 10(SMAG) and 6(EG) both put the ball in good spots, but more often than 10, 6 put the ball in the best position for his guy to turn upfield after catching it. That could be huge considering the wealth of talent we have at the skill positions.
As far as the RBs go, I was amazed by Patrick(9) size and agility. He is just as big as LOS. Pender looked good, but I was very impressed by Vickers(26). He could really be our most versatile back with Cook out of the fold.
The OL was getting worked as usual by Trickett. I LOVED the board drills, which unfortunately lead to Casher getting twisted up. He was visibly upset, but he was putting weight on it as he walked away, so hopefully it isn't a tear of anything that would keep him out a while. Everyone got into these things, and the OL didn't disappoint. Robbins(52) really cleaned up some guys. I didn't see a sore spot amongst the OL the whole day, which might be the easiest thing to say since there are so many. I am excited to see how early this group can gel so we can settle on a rotation.
The WRs, I haven't felt this giddy about a group in a long time. And oddly enough, it all starts with a True Frosh, Mr Campbell(11). He can absolutely take the lid off the top of a defense. Its effortless for him getting down the field and any pass that isn't too far is probably his for the taking. Problem is, its hard to out throw him with those gazelle like strides. That's a really good problem to have. Another guy who caught my eye was 18(Tate), who snags the ball out of the air like a mitt catching a baseball. A pass on the mark to him is going to require a perfect tackle by the defender if he is taking a slant or square in, because he turns his hips upfield so well after making the catch, just amazing for a 6-5 guy. Whitfield(8) looks spry again, and I'm hopeful he is in the rotation from the outset. One thing I saw in the 11 on 11 sets they simulated was a lot of motion by the receiver into the backfield that could possibly take a handoff. That intrigues me with some of the guys we have lining up at the position. It'll be very difficult for the defense to handle a triple option that way, which can also turn into a pass to the receiver who motions. All the incumbents looked good, very good actually. The last thing I'll say about this group is that Murray(80) is going to push whoever is ahead of him in the rotation in a hurry. I didn't see a misstep from him when I was watching, and he doesn't appear to be doing that number a disservice by wearing it so far. Hope he has a similar impact as his predecessor as a true freshman.
The TE position lost a great one, but man was it evident that 88 is a more dynamic athlete than O'Leary. He looks like a receiver while making the catch and after the catch, which I think gives us some potential with some fly routes down the seam to use him. He made a couple of catches that I thought were going to be overthrows that brought for involuntary "WOWS" from anyone who caught sight of them. Izzo is huge, and they got after him in the board drills a bit. He still did well, even though Northrup and Smith got into it a bit with him. Good stuff there, but I see him making a bigger impact near the line of scrimmage.
Now for the defense, I would be shocked if Josh Sweat isn't suited up to start the year. He looked strong and agile and I didn't see them say he couldn't do anything. Very impressed. As mentioned before, Casher went down and I hope its only going to be a short time he is out because I liked how he was moving out there. I didn't focus on this segment a lot but he was flying through his drills when I did. It was really hard to gauge too much about the defensive line in practice but some other guys that I thought looked ready were Christmas, Nnadi and Jones, although he got pretty agitated during board drills when he got pancaked by Robbins.
The backers look very healthy, especially Smith, who I see poised to have a big year. I know one of the physicians who works closely with the team and he said that 24 was hurt most of last year with various ailments. I'm hopeful that he will get an opportunity to return to his 2013 form where he really provided a sideline to sideline hunter for us. Pugh(16) and Hoskins(18) also had some good moments.
For the DBs, I was skeptical about taking Ramsey out of the star position, but man he owns his side of the field. If he can always man up against the opposition's best receiver, then we'll be capable of doing some exotic things this year. I did see some indications that Lawing is already impacting our disguises pre-snap. Without getting too much into it, we were doing some things that I've seen the gators doing for several years now and it makes me excited for how it can lead to some turnovers and plays in the backfield. Since the DBs are our greatest strength, I could see us returning to the type of year we had in 2013 in that regard. Hunter(1) looks very, very healthy. He and Whitfield had something happen on a deep pass and Jimbo got pissed, I think at Hunter, for being too aggressive. Not sure if anyone else saw that. I was disappointed that McFadden couldn't practice, but hopefully that hamstring gets healthy for the start of the season.
All in all I was enthusiastic leaving the practice. For it to be only the 4th one and to see that much good, it left me thinking that the talent reservoir is really deep and is creating the right environment for us to succeed this year. A 10 win season seems like the bottom of reasonable expectations, in my opinion, hopefully we see that come to fruition. Go Noles
I liked what I saw from every QB, even 21 who isn't listed on the roster. Francois(12), the ball whistles out of his hand. Very impressive for just having got off of the crutches. 10(SMAG) and 6(EG) both put the ball in good spots, but more often than 10, 6 put the ball in the best position for his guy to turn upfield after catching it. That could be huge considering the wealth of talent we have at the skill positions.
As far as the RBs go, I was amazed by Patrick(9) size and agility. He is just as big as LOS. Pender looked good, but I was very impressed by Vickers(26). He could really be our most versatile back with Cook out of the fold.
The OL was getting worked as usual by Trickett. I LOVED the board drills, which unfortunately lead to Casher getting twisted up. He was visibly upset, but he was putting weight on it as he walked away, so hopefully it isn't a tear of anything that would keep him out a while. Everyone got into these things, and the OL didn't disappoint. Robbins(52) really cleaned up some guys. I didn't see a sore spot amongst the OL the whole day, which might be the easiest thing to say since there are so many. I am excited to see how early this group can gel so we can settle on a rotation.
The WRs, I haven't felt this giddy about a group in a long time. And oddly enough, it all starts with a True Frosh, Mr Campbell(11). He can absolutely take the lid off the top of a defense. Its effortless for him getting down the field and any pass that isn't too far is probably his for the taking. Problem is, its hard to out throw him with those gazelle like strides. That's a really good problem to have. Another guy who caught my eye was 18(Tate), who snags the ball out of the air like a mitt catching a baseball. A pass on the mark to him is going to require a perfect tackle by the defender if he is taking a slant or square in, because he turns his hips upfield so well after making the catch, just amazing for a 6-5 guy. Whitfield(8) looks spry again, and I'm hopeful he is in the rotation from the outset. One thing I saw in the 11 on 11 sets they simulated was a lot of motion by the receiver into the backfield that could possibly take a handoff. That intrigues me with some of the guys we have lining up at the position. It'll be very difficult for the defense to handle a triple option that way, which can also turn into a pass to the receiver who motions. All the incumbents looked good, very good actually. The last thing I'll say about this group is that Murray(80) is going to push whoever is ahead of him in the rotation in a hurry. I didn't see a misstep from him when I was watching, and he doesn't appear to be doing that number a disservice by wearing it so far. Hope he has a similar impact as his predecessor as a true freshman.
The TE position lost a great one, but man was it evident that 88 is a more dynamic athlete than O'Leary. He looks like a receiver while making the catch and after the catch, which I think gives us some potential with some fly routes down the seam to use him. He made a couple of catches that I thought were going to be overthrows that brought for involuntary "WOWS" from anyone who caught sight of them. Izzo is huge, and they got after him in the board drills a bit. He still did well, even though Northrup and Smith got into it a bit with him. Good stuff there, but I see him making a bigger impact near the line of scrimmage.
Now for the defense, I would be shocked if Josh Sweat isn't suited up to start the year. He looked strong and agile and I didn't see them say he couldn't do anything. Very impressed. As mentioned before, Casher went down and I hope its only going to be a short time he is out because I liked how he was moving out there. I didn't focus on this segment a lot but he was flying through his drills when I did. It was really hard to gauge too much about the defensive line in practice but some other guys that I thought looked ready were Christmas, Nnadi and Jones, although he got pretty agitated during board drills when he got pancaked by Robbins.
The backers look very healthy, especially Smith, who I see poised to have a big year. I know one of the physicians who works closely with the team and he said that 24 was hurt most of last year with various ailments. I'm hopeful that he will get an opportunity to return to his 2013 form where he really provided a sideline to sideline hunter for us. Pugh(16) and Hoskins(18) also had some good moments.
For the DBs, I was skeptical about taking Ramsey out of the star position, but man he owns his side of the field. If he can always man up against the opposition's best receiver, then we'll be capable of doing some exotic things this year. I did see some indications that Lawing is already impacting our disguises pre-snap. Without getting too much into it, we were doing some things that I've seen the gators doing for several years now and it makes me excited for how it can lead to some turnovers and plays in the backfield. Since the DBs are our greatest strength, I could see us returning to the type of year we had in 2013 in that regard. Hunter(1) looks very, very healthy. He and Whitfield had something happen on a deep pass and Jimbo got pissed, I think at Hunter, for being too aggressive. Not sure if anyone else saw that. I was disappointed that McFadden couldn't practice, but hopefully that hamstring gets healthy for the start of the season.
All in all I was enthusiastic leaving the practice. For it to be only the 4th one and to see that much good, it left me thinking that the talent reservoir is really deep and is creating the right environment for us to succeed this year. A 10 win season seems like the bottom of reasonable expectations, in my opinion, hopefully we see that come to fruition. Go Noles
