We had an open practice today so we saw a little bit more than we normally would, though it wasn't anything earth-shattering. A lot of players didn't take part today, I think largely due to them being held out. That group included Luke Matthews, Myles Jones, Tarian Lee, Aaron Hansford, Earnest Crownover and Caleb Chapman. Fernando Garza, Blake Smith, Grayson Reed and Demond Demas were out with injuries. I didn't see Braedon Mowry, so I don't know what's up with him. One thing that I really liked was seeing guys like Reed and Bart Clement out there with playsheets, like they were preparing to coach when they graduate.
McKinnley Jackson was out there, but obviously not suited up. But he was running, the width of the field, in the north end zone. A lot.
Haynes King took nearly all the snaps with the first team. The ones up front today were Jahmir Johnson at left tackle, Aki Ogunbiyi at left guard, Matthew Wykoff at center, Layden Robinson at right guard and Kenyon Green at right tackle. The wideouts were Chase Lane, Ainias Smith and Hezekiah Jones. Baylor Cupp was the tight end -- Jalen Wydermyer was out there, but took part in maybe 1/4 of the practice. He wasn't hurt, they were just resting him. Isaiah Spiller was the back.
The twos were led by Zach Calzada and their group largely (there was some rotating) consisted of Deuce Fatheree at left tackle, Josh Bankhead at left guard, Smart Chibuzo at center, Jordan Moko at right guard and Blake Trainor at right tackle. Devon Achane was the back. The wideouts rotated, but Jalen Preston, Kenyon Jackson and Moose Muhammad were out there a lot. Jackson was replaced frequently by Yulkeith Brown. Max Wright was at tight end.
On defense, the 1s were Tyree Johnson at one end, DeMarvin Leal and Jayden Peevy inside and Micheal Clemons at the other end. Edgerrin Cooper and Andre White were the linebackers. Antonio Johnson was at nickel, with Brian George and Jaylon Jones at corner. Leon O'Neal and Demani Richardson were the safeties.
The second team did some rotating up front, but it was mostly Donell Harris and Fadil Diggs at the end spots and Adarious Jones and RJ Orebo in the middle. Isaiah Raikes was another guy not out there, and we didn't see much of Dallas Walker at all. Antonio Doyle and Chris Russell were the linebackers, with Erick Young at Nickel. Brian Williams and Keldrick Carper were the safeties, with Tyreek Chappell and Deuce Harmon at corner.
A few observations:
The third back job, without Crownover in there, seems open. LJ Johnson, Darvon Hubbard and Deondre Jackson all got looks. Johnson looks like he's still getting acclimated, with King having to point a few things out to him here and there.
King looked better, though both he and Calzada had good and bad moments. Overall, King was more accurate and got rid of the ball quicker. His release is a lot faster than it used to be. He was even more accurate on deep balls, which was a shock. But he also threw some really bad passes including an absolute duck that was picked off by Jardin Gilbert. Calzada still tends to throw the ball at max velocity no matter if its a 15-yard out or a 5-yard cross -- except the deep ball. There, he takes some zip off and tries to place the ball, and it was an up and down proposition today. But anyway, King took virtually all the 1st team snaps.
Moose Muhammad had a fantastic day. He made a great one-handed catch for a touchdown on a pass from King with Antonio Johnson in very tight coverage. He made another nice catch later in the 11-on-11 period.
Devin Price also looked good, though most of his time was with the 2s and 3s. But he's physical and made some nice plays.
Ainias Smith just moves at a different speed than everyone else. He just explodes out of the blocks and cuts so sharply.
I also liked what I saw out of Yulkeith Brown. He may end up being an absolute steal.
Moko is very physical and extremely strong, but also very raw. But he's also a force of nature.
Jaylon Jones is playing at another level from everyone else. George and Tyreek Chappell both looked really good, but Jones was really physical and right on top of the receivers.
There's a group that they have that they call "Jumbo" that has Tunmise Adeleye at end, Shemar Turner and Albert Regis at tackle and a rotation of whoever else at the other end. Adeleye and Turner are about the same size, but it looks like Adeleye will largely be an end and Turner a tackle. That's how they were working in groups today.
Eli Stowers is definitely a tight end for the foreseeable future. Zach Daniel, who started at Hawaii before transferring and walking on, is working with the 3s and is pretty solid. Stowers definitely has the zip to contribute at tight end and looks good catching the football.
I never got off the Baylor Cupp bandwagon and sure won't after today. He looked really good and seemed to have no lower body problems, as he made a sharp cut to juke a defensive back and get wide open for a big play in 11-on-11. He and Wydermyer could be really dangerous this season.
It really doesn't mean much, but that was a very crisp practice for their third of the fall. And as you'd expect, Jimbo was involved with virtually every part of it, especially on offense. And if you're a starter or a star, God help you because he was on your butt if there was the slightest mistake. He's definitely not looking for egos on this team. He's looking for excellence.
McKinnley Jackson was out there, but obviously not suited up. But he was running, the width of the field, in the north end zone. A lot.
Haynes King took nearly all the snaps with the first team. The ones up front today were Jahmir Johnson at left tackle, Aki Ogunbiyi at left guard, Matthew Wykoff at center, Layden Robinson at right guard and Kenyon Green at right tackle. The wideouts were Chase Lane, Ainias Smith and Hezekiah Jones. Baylor Cupp was the tight end -- Jalen Wydermyer was out there, but took part in maybe 1/4 of the practice. He wasn't hurt, they were just resting him. Isaiah Spiller was the back.
The twos were led by Zach Calzada and their group largely (there was some rotating) consisted of Deuce Fatheree at left tackle, Josh Bankhead at left guard, Smart Chibuzo at center, Jordan Moko at right guard and Blake Trainor at right tackle. Devon Achane was the back. The wideouts rotated, but Jalen Preston, Kenyon Jackson and Moose Muhammad were out there a lot. Jackson was replaced frequently by Yulkeith Brown. Max Wright was at tight end.
On defense, the 1s were Tyree Johnson at one end, DeMarvin Leal and Jayden Peevy inside and Micheal Clemons at the other end. Edgerrin Cooper and Andre White were the linebackers. Antonio Johnson was at nickel, with Brian George and Jaylon Jones at corner. Leon O'Neal and Demani Richardson were the safeties.
The second team did some rotating up front, but it was mostly Donell Harris and Fadil Diggs at the end spots and Adarious Jones and RJ Orebo in the middle. Isaiah Raikes was another guy not out there, and we didn't see much of Dallas Walker at all. Antonio Doyle and Chris Russell were the linebackers, with Erick Young at Nickel. Brian Williams and Keldrick Carper were the safeties, with Tyreek Chappell and Deuce Harmon at corner.
A few observations:
The third back job, without Crownover in there, seems open. LJ Johnson, Darvon Hubbard and Deondre Jackson all got looks. Johnson looks like he's still getting acclimated, with King having to point a few things out to him here and there.
King looked better, though both he and Calzada had good and bad moments. Overall, King was more accurate and got rid of the ball quicker. His release is a lot faster than it used to be. He was even more accurate on deep balls, which was a shock. But he also threw some really bad passes including an absolute duck that was picked off by Jardin Gilbert. Calzada still tends to throw the ball at max velocity no matter if its a 15-yard out or a 5-yard cross -- except the deep ball. There, he takes some zip off and tries to place the ball, and it was an up and down proposition today. But anyway, King took virtually all the 1st team snaps.
Moose Muhammad had a fantastic day. He made a great one-handed catch for a touchdown on a pass from King with Antonio Johnson in very tight coverage. He made another nice catch later in the 11-on-11 period.
Devin Price also looked good, though most of his time was with the 2s and 3s. But he's physical and made some nice plays.
Ainias Smith just moves at a different speed than everyone else. He just explodes out of the blocks and cuts so sharply.
I also liked what I saw out of Yulkeith Brown. He may end up being an absolute steal.
Moko is very physical and extremely strong, but also very raw. But he's also a force of nature.
Jaylon Jones is playing at another level from everyone else. George and Tyreek Chappell both looked really good, but Jones was really physical and right on top of the receivers.
There's a group that they have that they call "Jumbo" that has Tunmise Adeleye at end, Shemar Turner and Albert Regis at tackle and a rotation of whoever else at the other end. Adeleye and Turner are about the same size, but it looks like Adeleye will largely be an end and Turner a tackle. That's how they were working in groups today.
Eli Stowers is definitely a tight end for the foreseeable future. Zach Daniel, who started at Hawaii before transferring and walking on, is working with the 3s and is pretty solid. Stowers definitely has the zip to contribute at tight end and looks good catching the football.
I never got off the Baylor Cupp bandwagon and sure won't after today. He looked really good and seemed to have no lower body problems, as he made a sharp cut to juke a defensive back and get wide open for a big play in 11-on-11. He and Wydermyer could be really dangerous this season.
It really doesn't mean much, but that was a very crisp practice for their third of the fall. And as you'd expect, Jimbo was involved with virtually every part of it, especially on offense. And if you're a starter or a star, God help you because he was on your butt if there was the slightest mistake. He's definitely not looking for egos on this team. He's looking for excellence.
