Hi folks, like many of you, I have been salivating for the season to start. Yesterday wasn't an ideal performance, but there was still some good flashes and hopefully if things gel and players come together a bit more this could be a special year, with hopefully a 5-0 start that gets us some national attention going into the UGA game. I know many of your watch the games closer or with a more discerning football eye than I do, and I wanted to hear your thoughts on a few things I've noticed before and after the game.
1. Saw that Keeshawn Silver graded out well (~70), and I was impressed with him an athletic specimen. There were a few plays that resulted in pressures or run disruptions where I saw him manhandle and literally toss aside his blocker. Looks that the man really does have 5* talent, just need to stay consistent and dialed in. Overall was really happy with how the D-Line is coming along. Seeing 6 or so guys rotate through consistently, all of them displaying some athletic "juice" at different points was very inspiring.
2. Does it look like we might get anything from our big transfers from the state of Ohio? In reference to Darrion Henry-Young and JQ Hardaway. Saw they both got a bunch of snaps, 18 & 30 respectively, but still didn't really see anything that stood out to me which PFF ratings also seem to corroborate. Hoping they can become solid depth at some point. Jantez Dunn also got zero snaps. Hurt or another non-factor like Luke Fulton from last year?
3. Was sad to see so few snaps for Ramon Jefferson and Jordan Dingle. But is it correct that Ramon was just cleared a week or two ago and Jordan has been banged up all camp? So is this mostly guys being eased in?
4. While I have no qualms about McClain being another option for passing downs, do we really think he is going to remain the 2nd option at RB? It has been years now and I have never seen anything special from him as a runner, neither speed or shiftiness, he definitely doesn't have power. If Davis needs a spell and with Wright lost for the year, I really hope that Jefferson and Sumo-Karngbaye show us something. It makes sense they didn't see much action in the first game as I think Stoops has to play the 1s a good amount to get them to gel. (The new realities of the Portal Era for everyone I think) I am fairly certain that EKU and Akron are going to be much more obvious "warm-up" games than Ball State was. Not much to say about our man Ray as he was great. An exciting, shifty running style with a little less size and a little more speed than CROD, and now that he is running behind a better line than at Vandy, some good things should happen.
5. Was really hoping today would be the day we saw Izayah Cummings start to look like his old self, but still no flashes yet. There was only one TE reception all day, but with Leary supposedly being excellent at reads, I hope we will see them involved much more when it matters. Want to see some catches like the '21 UT game or that awesome play Cohen used to dial up with Cummings as the lead block on end-around sweeps.
6. First real action for Noah Matthews, Tyresee Fearby, and Ty Brant (who I am excited about). Hopefully some of these guys will flash and become players. Sad to see that Luke Fulton has not been able become a part of the rotation after a year or two in the program. Highly rated but hasn't made a splash at either school he's been at so far. Martez Thrower looks a little bigger this year and is finally starting to get solid backup minutes, hopefully that means he is coming along and becoming more trusted. Was surprised at how little Daveren Rayner played given the nature of the blowout. He might be another guy who sees his snaps go way up in weeks 2 and 3.
7. At WR, Porter and Brown-Stephens were out there a bit for us, hopefully they get chances to catch balls from Leary or Sheron in week 2. Brandon White as well, who I did not see at all.
8. At this point is it safe to say that Jordan Robinson is no longer a threat to break into the rotation at DB? 2nd year with the program and has only seen minor action. Him and Dunn both had no snaps it seems. Still has a few years left, it would be good to know if he can provide depth or not. Was hoping he's be another Lonnie Johnson or Chris Westry. In hindsight, I guess it makes you see how special those guys were.
9. I wonder what Coach Stoops and Coach White think about the new clock rules? I feel like Coach Stoops would lead towards those being an advantage for us, given the already grindy playstyle we play, but conversely there is a risk in having less time to come from behind and we are not a team adept at fast starts to begin with. I do feel better running two minute drills with someone like Leary as our QB long term.
10. From what I could see, Marques Cox looked the part all day, I'm not an expert on run blocking, but did see him have his fair share of easy wins (takedowns, pushing guys completely out of the play) in pass pro. Ford got 10 snaps (grade same as Flax ~58) and Tanner Bowles got zero. The new starting five need time to gel, but hopefully those two can prove to be real rotation guys in weeks two and three.
11. Seems like a silly thing to be worried about, but is there any concern that Barion Brown hasn't come along much as a receiver after the off-season? Last year it was easy to write off his lack of ball skills, inability to make people miss on screens, and fighting for/adjusting to balls in the air to being a freshman. But a year later and I don't see much improvement. He is an amazing returner and his pure talent makes him valuable as a receiver, but I am not seeing much of an improvement in Barion Brown the football player. Maybe he was just that raw last year and it will take more time, but I was very unimpressed by how lifeless he looked on his long ball opportunities, while also being confused about why we don't try move crossing or out patterns with him instead. Can he not get off the line or run routes well?
12. I'm not worried about the lack of backup QB appearances in week 1, honestly the time is needed for Leary and the current starters, with many new faces amongst the starters in key roles. I will be concerned if we don't jump all over EKU and Akron in the 1st half of those games, allowing Sheron and Wade to get their chances to throw to all the young receivers and get some reps in the 3rd and 4th quarters. This is finally the time the schedule lines up well for this.
Would love to hear what you saw when watching some of these folks in week 1!
Thanks.
1. Saw that Keeshawn Silver graded out well (~70), and I was impressed with him an athletic specimen. There were a few plays that resulted in pressures or run disruptions where I saw him manhandle and literally toss aside his blocker. Looks that the man really does have 5* talent, just need to stay consistent and dialed in. Overall was really happy with how the D-Line is coming along. Seeing 6 or so guys rotate through consistently, all of them displaying some athletic "juice" at different points was very inspiring.
2. Does it look like we might get anything from our big transfers from the state of Ohio? In reference to Darrion Henry-Young and JQ Hardaway. Saw they both got a bunch of snaps, 18 & 30 respectively, but still didn't really see anything that stood out to me which PFF ratings also seem to corroborate. Hoping they can become solid depth at some point. Jantez Dunn also got zero snaps. Hurt or another non-factor like Luke Fulton from last year?
3. Was sad to see so few snaps for Ramon Jefferson and Jordan Dingle. But is it correct that Ramon was just cleared a week or two ago and Jordan has been banged up all camp? So is this mostly guys being eased in?
4. While I have no qualms about McClain being another option for passing downs, do we really think he is going to remain the 2nd option at RB? It has been years now and I have never seen anything special from him as a runner, neither speed or shiftiness, he definitely doesn't have power. If Davis needs a spell and with Wright lost for the year, I really hope that Jefferson and Sumo-Karngbaye show us something. It makes sense they didn't see much action in the first game as I think Stoops has to play the 1s a good amount to get them to gel. (The new realities of the Portal Era for everyone I think) I am fairly certain that EKU and Akron are going to be much more obvious "warm-up" games than Ball State was. Not much to say about our man Ray as he was great. An exciting, shifty running style with a little less size and a little more speed than CROD, and now that he is running behind a better line than at Vandy, some good things should happen.
5. Was really hoping today would be the day we saw Izayah Cummings start to look like his old self, but still no flashes yet. There was only one TE reception all day, but with Leary supposedly being excellent at reads, I hope we will see them involved much more when it matters. Want to see some catches like the '21 UT game or that awesome play Cohen used to dial up with Cummings as the lead block on end-around sweeps.
6. First real action for Noah Matthews, Tyresee Fearby, and Ty Brant (who I am excited about). Hopefully some of these guys will flash and become players. Sad to see that Luke Fulton has not been able become a part of the rotation after a year or two in the program. Highly rated but hasn't made a splash at either school he's been at so far. Martez Thrower looks a little bigger this year and is finally starting to get solid backup minutes, hopefully that means he is coming along and becoming more trusted. Was surprised at how little Daveren Rayner played given the nature of the blowout. He might be another guy who sees his snaps go way up in weeks 2 and 3.
7. At WR, Porter and Brown-Stephens were out there a bit for us, hopefully they get chances to catch balls from Leary or Sheron in week 2. Brandon White as well, who I did not see at all.
8. At this point is it safe to say that Jordan Robinson is no longer a threat to break into the rotation at DB? 2nd year with the program and has only seen minor action. Him and Dunn both had no snaps it seems. Still has a few years left, it would be good to know if he can provide depth or not. Was hoping he's be another Lonnie Johnson or Chris Westry. In hindsight, I guess it makes you see how special those guys were.
9. I wonder what Coach Stoops and Coach White think about the new clock rules? I feel like Coach Stoops would lead towards those being an advantage for us, given the already grindy playstyle we play, but conversely there is a risk in having less time to come from behind and we are not a team adept at fast starts to begin with. I do feel better running two minute drills with someone like Leary as our QB long term.
10. From what I could see, Marques Cox looked the part all day, I'm not an expert on run blocking, but did see him have his fair share of easy wins (takedowns, pushing guys completely out of the play) in pass pro. Ford got 10 snaps (grade same as Flax ~58) and Tanner Bowles got zero. The new starting five need time to gel, but hopefully those two can prove to be real rotation guys in weeks two and three.
11. Seems like a silly thing to be worried about, but is there any concern that Barion Brown hasn't come along much as a receiver after the off-season? Last year it was easy to write off his lack of ball skills, inability to make people miss on screens, and fighting for/adjusting to balls in the air to being a freshman. But a year later and I don't see much improvement. He is an amazing returner and his pure talent makes him valuable as a receiver, but I am not seeing much of an improvement in Barion Brown the football player. Maybe he was just that raw last year and it will take more time, but I was very unimpressed by how lifeless he looked on his long ball opportunities, while also being confused about why we don't try move crossing or out patterns with him instead. Can he not get off the line or run routes well?
12. I'm not worried about the lack of backup QB appearances in week 1, honestly the time is needed for Leary and the current starters, with many new faces amongst the starters in key roles. I will be concerned if we don't jump all over EKU and Akron in the 1st half of those games, allowing Sheron and Wade to get their chances to throw to all the young receivers and get some reps in the 3rd and 4th quarters. This is finally the time the schedule lines up well for this.
Would love to hear what you saw when watching some of these folks in week 1!
Thanks.
