I can tell you that today was damned hot for the players. Because we got to watch the whole practice. Part of the deal was that we can't get into tremendous specifics, but there's a lot I learned today.
During the regular session, we saw Tyler White punt for the first time. And he cranked them. He was better than Nik Constantinou at his best. Hopefully, he'll be more consistent. Now, on Wednesday, I said they had a bunch of guys returning kicks and punts off the juggs machine. Not so today. The only returners were Moose Muhammad and Terry Bussey. I really, really like the idea of Bussey returning punts and kickoffs, so long as he catches them consistently and doesn't get drilled.
Moose did get drilled today. Twice. Flat out laid out. But he got up and kept going. To be honest, he is one of the most pleasant surprises of camp to this point. He's going at a speed I didn't think he had, and the effort is there all the time. He looked extremely good, in my opinion. We've seen him do some special things in games, but I think he's gone to a level above that.
On Tuesday, Collin Klein said Cyrus Allen had been impressive in camp. He's not a liar. Outside of Moose, I thought he was the most impressive receiver today. He made some really good catches against tight coverage and showed some really good moves. I also think he's not a finished product, and could get better as he gets more coaching.
Micah Tease is a guy some of you have been wondering about, and he had a really good day as well. The corners did a very good job in coverage for the most part, but he was one guy who was able to find more than a little room after making a cut against a defender. He also did a great job of awareness and staying inbounds on a couple of deep balls.
Marcel Reed has really improved as a passer and we know Jaylen Henderson can be effective, but Conner Weigman is just a cut above. His ability to make the right throw at the right time and put it on target is well ahead of the other guys. He's also got that really quick release, which I think people underrate. But there were several great mid-range to deep passes today that were 100% on target and you didn't even need to look to see who threw them. It was Weigman every time. Reed threw several really good ones, but Weigman's were very precise. I'm not saying he's consistent all the time, and he did have some down periods, but he's easily the most consistent and when he's on, look out.
We saw Weigman run today. He's fine.
With Donovan Green still recovering from his ACL injury, I would not be totally shocked -- maybe not even surprised -- if Theo Ohrstrom is the starting tight end. Baby Thor has always had plenty of athleticism, but now he seems like he's finally caught up with the pace of the game and his receiving skills are much improved. I always told you guys it would be two to three years for him to make the adjustment to the SEC, and well, here we are in year three.
There was all kinds of movement on the offensive line today, so I won't even try to break it all down. The only places where there was consistency was at left tackle and guard, and coach Elko has already talked about Trey Zuhn and Chase Bisontis and where they are in press conferences.
Hey, shocker: the defensive line was really good. I'm going to tell you right now, it is going to be extremely difficult to run on this football team (famous last words). They can rotate one group, bring in another group, substitute in to the second group (GABE DINDY SIGHTING) and still not give up anything on the ground. Anyone worrying about Shemar Turner against the run can stop. He was excellent today. One area where everyone seems to have improved is in their lower body strength. Offensive linemen come off the ball faster and with more pop, and defensive linemen have the ability to hold up and move. Neither's getting blown off the ball like we saw the last couple of seasons. And yes, that is an indictment of the old regime and the S&C program after Smitty left.
The running backs all had moments where they looked good, but Rueben Owens and Le'Veon Moss continue to be the standouts. But again, the S&C program has helped the backs. Moss, Owens and Amari Daniels all took big shots today that would have put them down or forced a turnover last year, but they stayed upright and held onto the football. Last year, if you hit Daniels or Owens high, they'd probably go down. Not so much this year. EJ Smith looks like I figured based on his Stanford numbers -- a guy who can run some, but is a more dangerous receiver out of the backfield.
If there was one group that really shocked me today, it was the corners. They were, overall, really good. Will Lee is a starter. I feel pretty good saying that. But BJ Mayes looked really good today, and he had really tight coverage most of the time. Jayvon Thomas seems to have improved a good bit from last year, though I'm going to say that I need to see it on the real field before I'm a convert. But the guy who really stood out today was Dezz Ricks. This is the guy who may have the most talent in what has become a vastly improved group, and he was impressive today. He got beat a few times, but unless you're a superstar, that happens. But he's got good size, great reaction time and can turn and run with just about anyone. All he needs is experience.
One thing that I liked a lot today was, when the offense was rolling at one point, Bryce Anderson got on the defense in a big way. That's some of the leadership this team has lacked the past couple of seasons, and it came from a member of the class of 2022, no less.
I've said this multiple times since the spring, but it really got reinforced today: if you're a freshman, don't count on playing unless you really, really earn it. The freshmen, with the exception of Bussey and possibly wideouts Ashton Bethel-Roman and Izaiah Williams, are in positions where they are dealing with a lot of experienced and talented players ahead of them on the depth chart and natural talent isn't enough to push them out. For the first time in a very long time, it seems like the freshman class will get the time they need to develop because they're not going to be pushed onto the field -- unless a severe spate of injuries occurs.
During the regular session, we saw Tyler White punt for the first time. And he cranked them. He was better than Nik Constantinou at his best. Hopefully, he'll be more consistent. Now, on Wednesday, I said they had a bunch of guys returning kicks and punts off the juggs machine. Not so today. The only returners were Moose Muhammad and Terry Bussey. I really, really like the idea of Bussey returning punts and kickoffs, so long as he catches them consistently and doesn't get drilled.
Moose did get drilled today. Twice. Flat out laid out. But he got up and kept going. To be honest, he is one of the most pleasant surprises of camp to this point. He's going at a speed I didn't think he had, and the effort is there all the time. He looked extremely good, in my opinion. We've seen him do some special things in games, but I think he's gone to a level above that.
On Tuesday, Collin Klein said Cyrus Allen had been impressive in camp. He's not a liar. Outside of Moose, I thought he was the most impressive receiver today. He made some really good catches against tight coverage and showed some really good moves. I also think he's not a finished product, and could get better as he gets more coaching.
Micah Tease is a guy some of you have been wondering about, and he had a really good day as well. The corners did a very good job in coverage for the most part, but he was one guy who was able to find more than a little room after making a cut against a defender. He also did a great job of awareness and staying inbounds on a couple of deep balls.
Marcel Reed has really improved as a passer and we know Jaylen Henderson can be effective, but Conner Weigman is just a cut above. His ability to make the right throw at the right time and put it on target is well ahead of the other guys. He's also got that really quick release, which I think people underrate. But there were several great mid-range to deep passes today that were 100% on target and you didn't even need to look to see who threw them. It was Weigman every time. Reed threw several really good ones, but Weigman's were very precise. I'm not saying he's consistent all the time, and he did have some down periods, but he's easily the most consistent and when he's on, look out.
We saw Weigman run today. He's fine.
With Donovan Green still recovering from his ACL injury, I would not be totally shocked -- maybe not even surprised -- if Theo Ohrstrom is the starting tight end. Baby Thor has always had plenty of athleticism, but now he seems like he's finally caught up with the pace of the game and his receiving skills are much improved. I always told you guys it would be two to three years for him to make the adjustment to the SEC, and well, here we are in year three.
There was all kinds of movement on the offensive line today, so I won't even try to break it all down. The only places where there was consistency was at left tackle and guard, and coach Elko has already talked about Trey Zuhn and Chase Bisontis and where they are in press conferences.
Hey, shocker: the defensive line was really good. I'm going to tell you right now, it is going to be extremely difficult to run on this football team (famous last words). They can rotate one group, bring in another group, substitute in to the second group (GABE DINDY SIGHTING) and still not give up anything on the ground. Anyone worrying about Shemar Turner against the run can stop. He was excellent today. One area where everyone seems to have improved is in their lower body strength. Offensive linemen come off the ball faster and with more pop, and defensive linemen have the ability to hold up and move. Neither's getting blown off the ball like we saw the last couple of seasons. And yes, that is an indictment of the old regime and the S&C program after Smitty left.
The running backs all had moments where they looked good, but Rueben Owens and Le'Veon Moss continue to be the standouts. But again, the S&C program has helped the backs. Moss, Owens and Amari Daniels all took big shots today that would have put them down or forced a turnover last year, but they stayed upright and held onto the football. Last year, if you hit Daniels or Owens high, they'd probably go down. Not so much this year. EJ Smith looks like I figured based on his Stanford numbers -- a guy who can run some, but is a more dangerous receiver out of the backfield.
If there was one group that really shocked me today, it was the corners. They were, overall, really good. Will Lee is a starter. I feel pretty good saying that. But BJ Mayes looked really good today, and he had really tight coverage most of the time. Jayvon Thomas seems to have improved a good bit from last year, though I'm going to say that I need to see it on the real field before I'm a convert. But the guy who really stood out today was Dezz Ricks. This is the guy who may have the most talent in what has become a vastly improved group, and he was impressive today. He got beat a few times, but unless you're a superstar, that happens. But he's got good size, great reaction time and can turn and run with just about anyone. All he needs is experience.
One thing that I liked a lot today was, when the offense was rolling at one point, Bryce Anderson got on the defense in a big way. That's some of the leadership this team has lacked the past couple of seasons, and it came from a member of the class of 2022, no less.
I've said this multiple times since the spring, but it really got reinforced today: if you're a freshman, don't count on playing unless you really, really earn it. The freshmen, with the exception of Bussey and possibly wideouts Ashton Bethel-Roman and Izaiah Williams, are in positions where they are dealing with a lot of experienced and talented players ahead of them on the depth chart and natural talent isn't enough to push them out. For the first time in a very long time, it seems like the freshman class will get the time they need to develop because they're not going to be pushed onto the field -- unless a severe spate of injuries occurs.
