They moved to full pads on Friday and will go in shells today, thus I trekked over a day early.
I only got to stay for 3/4 of the practice so missed some of the vital scrimmage sets.
I'm always impressed with the crispness and pace of Dykes practices. Almost zero standing around and the tempo is high. We spent quite a bit of the practice on the field getting very up close and personal on several drills including the DL/OL 1:1s (which are really toughness and power drills as the OL is not trying to block and the DL is not trying to get off the block).
This was the first Fall Camp practice in 15 years where I didn't see a bunch of kids having to work with the ropes, running the stadium, pounding tires, etc. By far the healthiest group to this point in a camp I've seen. That said, we had some folks sitting out - Drew and Hawkins for example with a group in full pads that they were being careful with - Lasco, Piatt, McClure, Kearney, Saffle, etc. However, that last group was doing drills and going hard, clearly not far away from full contact.
We're at the point in camp where kids legs are tired and this was obvious to me with the true freshman. Uluave was the most impressive - really impressed by his size, power and agility. Hawkins sat out and to my eye Singleton, Psalms, Rambo, Strickland and Noa looked a little flat in terms of quickness and speed. Very normal given past camps I've seen. Was impressed with Noa's size (taller and more filled out than I expected), his footwork (by far the best route runner of all the young WRs (including Hansen, Austin, etc). Noa carries himself well and is poised and confident. Both Rambo and Turner did flash for me. Turner moves really well and didn't need to be told something twice. He can cover folks as a safety. Rambo's long and instinctual. Fast read and react player. Blew a coverage that led to a TD in 7's and over ran a run play in the scrimmage buy your eye can't help go to him. Did not see McCrary on the field and Howard is clearly blueshirting as he was in civilian clothes watching from the stands (He needs to gain some weight, looked closer to 220lbs).
In general, the OL looked better than I expected. They flipped Moore and Farley at tackles. I was told some of this had to do with Aaron Cochran being more comfortable at LT and some of it had to see how Farley and Moore did given Moore's shoulder injury. I thought the group was relatively solid. Saw a false start on Farley and a missed assignment from Semisi but otherwise few mental errors. Jalil didn't get any scrimmage snaps that I saw which likely contributed to this evaluation but in my view the OL > DL yesterday. Watched Moore, Farley, Johnson and Cochran closely. Thought Farley held his own, good screen blocker on run plays and while he got beat once during the scrimmage, his pass protection was pretty solid. Moore looked comfortable at RT, looks stronger in run blocking and was solid in pass pro (though he also gave up a sack). Cochran played with the 2's but was IMO our top tackle yesterday. Engulfed folks on run plays and was frankly too big to get around in pass protection. Would have liked to see him more with the 1's. His technique did not look as good as Farley or Moore, he relies more on his LONG arms and for someone his size, quick feet. Didn't see him get beat once. Johnson struggled (at least when I was watching as I read Dykes' praise of him post practice) in 1:1's, run drills and the scrimmage. His balance didn't look good in pass pro (got caught leaning) and looked a little small/not as powerful in 1:1s against the DL.
Net net, count me more sanguine on the OL than I was prior. Flip side is that I was less impressed with our DL than I had hoped to be. Good news is that we have a lot of bodies and competition was fierce. Also really liked the intensity of this group. Looney pops with his lateral quickness and power yet he's not huge and Uluave beat him a couple of times. During the drills phase where OL and DL went at each other as full units, Jalil and Looney were CLEARLY the class of the line. Drop off behind them felt material. Manley, Mekari, Davis flashed at DT but were inconsistent. We miss Trevor Kelly. During the scrimmage, the run play holes from the 1's OL were consistently big. DE plays was meh. Liked how Barr and Johnson looked. Barr is smaller (which may be a concern on run plays) but he was tough to block on passing downs. Johnson has real burst and some long arms to get around the edge. Kragen did not have a great day when I was watching. Looked great in drills but less so when they lined up. I like the cut of the jib of Devante Wilson and Zeandae Johnson. Wilson looks lean and moves athletically. Plays with some swagger. I think he'll be solid. Johnson is bigger than expected and he looks like a naturally strong kid that can move. All that said, this group does not ooze explosiveness or athleticism and I didn't see any 260-270lbs DEs that can play both run and pass.
I will see that the defensive coaches push our kids. Lots of intensity from Tate and Kaufman. Clearly have high expectations and are not afraid to get on kids when they don't meet that bar. In the secondary, Albert can play, no doubt about it. Pit bull style, good in press coverage, not afraid to stick his nose in the play and looked confident. Psalms looks like he will be a player yet he did not look as confident as White, Allensworth and Albert. Coleman and Allensworth made nice plays during the scrimmage but not as good in drills IMO. Rubenzer played with the 1's, "pretty good" is my view. He's got presence out there, communicates well and he plays his ass off. Pretty good quickness. He's not super big nor fast and I don't think the defense scheme is second nature to him yet. Brown does not look his listed 200lbs, closer to 185/190lbs. He's quick and athletic but still looks a bit lost. McClure is going to be ready for Grambling. Piatt is a week or two behind him.
LBs are the leaders of the D. Tons of depth, looked athletic and set the pace. Nickerson is a LOT bigger. Jefferson and Barton look like they have NFL bodies already. We missed Kearney in 7's, he's by far our best coverage LB. Anoi got screamed at for mental mistakes twice. Our DL not holding up the OL impacted our LBs as the OL was at the 2nd level quite a bit.
Goff had a solid day, nothing spectacular. Didn't miss any easy ones, would have liked to see more accuracy on crossing routes and flares to get WR/RBs in stride. Forest was up and down. Gap between he and Goff is material. Based on one day, he feels a year away from not causing me a heart attack if he has to play. Hope Goff stays healthy. To be clear, he was FAR better than past backups like Mansion, Ayoob, etc.
Thought Enwere looked solid. Powell can catch the ball and break tackles, Watson looks quicker, Muhammed always surprises me with his physicality. None of them looked special to my eye yesterday. Lawler had the catch of the day, I thought Harris looked very good. Austin Aaron is very big. Only drop I saw was by Hansen on a screen and he was ripped for it. Plenty of bodies at WR. Saw a few solid blocks from the group which I don't remember seeing last year.
Overall, I didn't get the sense that the team has taken a HUGE step forward. DBs are clearly faster and more athletic, OL was not a disaster yet pass rush looks like a concern as does talented depth on the DL. We had the feeling of a team that was a bit of a sandwich. Some top tier players as seniors and 4th year juniors than some good young 1st/2nd year talent with not a lot between. Big difference in how yoked the older players were versus the younger kids. We have some real men now on the field with our older players. A little frustrating that our more athletic players are the newcomers. Future looks bright though.
Some random player notes:
Bowers: Great feet, quick release, not a huge arm. Reminds me of a young Kevin Riley
Rockett: He's going to play quite a bit IMO. Very quick and fast, strong player who looked consistent
McMorris: 5'10" best case but 300lbs. Weapon at FB and on short yardage DL play
Patrick Mekari: Grabbed my eye just like Ooms did last year. Bright future
Ooms: Needs 10-15lbs more. Still gets overpowered at times but he's got a great first punch and solid technique
Palmer: I think he's a year away but he has a bright future IMO as a DT
Willis: super yoked, McClure like. Very fast. Looked pretty darn good out there
I only got to stay for 3/4 of the practice so missed some of the vital scrimmage sets.
I'm always impressed with the crispness and pace of Dykes practices. Almost zero standing around and the tempo is high. We spent quite a bit of the practice on the field getting very up close and personal on several drills including the DL/OL 1:1s (which are really toughness and power drills as the OL is not trying to block and the DL is not trying to get off the block).
This was the first Fall Camp practice in 15 years where I didn't see a bunch of kids having to work with the ropes, running the stadium, pounding tires, etc. By far the healthiest group to this point in a camp I've seen. That said, we had some folks sitting out - Drew and Hawkins for example with a group in full pads that they were being careful with - Lasco, Piatt, McClure, Kearney, Saffle, etc. However, that last group was doing drills and going hard, clearly not far away from full contact.
We're at the point in camp where kids legs are tired and this was obvious to me with the true freshman. Uluave was the most impressive - really impressed by his size, power and agility. Hawkins sat out and to my eye Singleton, Psalms, Rambo, Strickland and Noa looked a little flat in terms of quickness and speed. Very normal given past camps I've seen. Was impressed with Noa's size (taller and more filled out than I expected), his footwork (by far the best route runner of all the young WRs (including Hansen, Austin, etc). Noa carries himself well and is poised and confident. Both Rambo and Turner did flash for me. Turner moves really well and didn't need to be told something twice. He can cover folks as a safety. Rambo's long and instinctual. Fast read and react player. Blew a coverage that led to a TD in 7's and over ran a run play in the scrimmage buy your eye can't help go to him. Did not see McCrary on the field and Howard is clearly blueshirting as he was in civilian clothes watching from the stands (He needs to gain some weight, looked closer to 220lbs).
In general, the OL looked better than I expected. They flipped Moore and Farley at tackles. I was told some of this had to do with Aaron Cochran being more comfortable at LT and some of it had to see how Farley and Moore did given Moore's shoulder injury. I thought the group was relatively solid. Saw a false start on Farley and a missed assignment from Semisi but otherwise few mental errors. Jalil didn't get any scrimmage snaps that I saw which likely contributed to this evaluation but in my view the OL > DL yesterday. Watched Moore, Farley, Johnson and Cochran closely. Thought Farley held his own, good screen blocker on run plays and while he got beat once during the scrimmage, his pass protection was pretty solid. Moore looked comfortable at RT, looks stronger in run blocking and was solid in pass pro (though he also gave up a sack). Cochran played with the 2's but was IMO our top tackle yesterday. Engulfed folks on run plays and was frankly too big to get around in pass protection. Would have liked to see him more with the 1's. His technique did not look as good as Farley or Moore, he relies more on his LONG arms and for someone his size, quick feet. Didn't see him get beat once. Johnson struggled (at least when I was watching as I read Dykes' praise of him post practice) in 1:1's, run drills and the scrimmage. His balance didn't look good in pass pro (got caught leaning) and looked a little small/not as powerful in 1:1s against the DL.
Net net, count me more sanguine on the OL than I was prior. Flip side is that I was less impressed with our DL than I had hoped to be. Good news is that we have a lot of bodies and competition was fierce. Also really liked the intensity of this group. Looney pops with his lateral quickness and power yet he's not huge and Uluave beat him a couple of times. During the drills phase where OL and DL went at each other as full units, Jalil and Looney were CLEARLY the class of the line. Drop off behind them felt material. Manley, Mekari, Davis flashed at DT but were inconsistent. We miss Trevor Kelly. During the scrimmage, the run play holes from the 1's OL were consistently big. DE plays was meh. Liked how Barr and Johnson looked. Barr is smaller (which may be a concern on run plays) but he was tough to block on passing downs. Johnson has real burst and some long arms to get around the edge. Kragen did not have a great day when I was watching. Looked great in drills but less so when they lined up. I like the cut of the jib of Devante Wilson and Zeandae Johnson. Wilson looks lean and moves athletically. Plays with some swagger. I think he'll be solid. Johnson is bigger than expected and he looks like a naturally strong kid that can move. All that said, this group does not ooze explosiveness or athleticism and I didn't see any 260-270lbs DEs that can play both run and pass.
I will see that the defensive coaches push our kids. Lots of intensity from Tate and Kaufman. Clearly have high expectations and are not afraid to get on kids when they don't meet that bar. In the secondary, Albert can play, no doubt about it. Pit bull style, good in press coverage, not afraid to stick his nose in the play and looked confident. Psalms looks like he will be a player yet he did not look as confident as White, Allensworth and Albert. Coleman and Allensworth made nice plays during the scrimmage but not as good in drills IMO. Rubenzer played with the 1's, "pretty good" is my view. He's got presence out there, communicates well and he plays his ass off. Pretty good quickness. He's not super big nor fast and I don't think the defense scheme is second nature to him yet. Brown does not look his listed 200lbs, closer to 185/190lbs. He's quick and athletic but still looks a bit lost. McClure is going to be ready for Grambling. Piatt is a week or two behind him.
LBs are the leaders of the D. Tons of depth, looked athletic and set the pace. Nickerson is a LOT bigger. Jefferson and Barton look like they have NFL bodies already. We missed Kearney in 7's, he's by far our best coverage LB. Anoi got screamed at for mental mistakes twice. Our DL not holding up the OL impacted our LBs as the OL was at the 2nd level quite a bit.
Goff had a solid day, nothing spectacular. Didn't miss any easy ones, would have liked to see more accuracy on crossing routes and flares to get WR/RBs in stride. Forest was up and down. Gap between he and Goff is material. Based on one day, he feels a year away from not causing me a heart attack if he has to play. Hope Goff stays healthy. To be clear, he was FAR better than past backups like Mansion, Ayoob, etc.
Thought Enwere looked solid. Powell can catch the ball and break tackles, Watson looks quicker, Muhammed always surprises me with his physicality. None of them looked special to my eye yesterday. Lawler had the catch of the day, I thought Harris looked very good. Austin Aaron is very big. Only drop I saw was by Hansen on a screen and he was ripped for it. Plenty of bodies at WR. Saw a few solid blocks from the group which I don't remember seeing last year.
Overall, I didn't get the sense that the team has taken a HUGE step forward. DBs are clearly faster and more athletic, OL was not a disaster yet pass rush looks like a concern as does talented depth on the DL. We had the feeling of a team that was a bit of a sandwich. Some top tier players as seniors and 4th year juniors than some good young 1st/2nd year talent with not a lot between. Big difference in how yoked the older players were versus the younger kids. We have some real men now on the field with our older players. A little frustrating that our more athletic players are the newcomers. Future looks bright though.
Some random player notes:
Bowers: Great feet, quick release, not a huge arm. Reminds me of a young Kevin Riley
Rockett: He's going to play quite a bit IMO. Very quick and fast, strong player who looked consistent
McMorris: 5'10" best case but 300lbs. Weapon at FB and on short yardage DL play
Patrick Mekari: Grabbed my eye just like Ooms did last year. Bright future
Ooms: Needs 10-15lbs more. Still gets overpowered at times but he's got a great first punch and solid technique
Palmer: I think he's a year away but he has a bright future IMO as a DT
Willis: super yoked, McClure like. Very fast. Looked pretty darn good out there
