The difference between an evening practice and a morning practice, temperature-wise, is noticeable. It's also really bleeping humid today.
We got about 45 minutes, so I was able to roam around a little bit and watch both the offense and defense. The defensive line, in particular, was right in front of me for a while and got a long look. The media wasn't alone; I counted scouts from the Panthers, Saints, Patriots, Texans, Vikings and Bucs at practice, and I probably missed a few.
In case you didn't already believe it, Nic Scourton is a physical freak. He's got excellent lateral movement and tremendous hops. They did a drill today where you blocked down on a pad, like you're trying to get away from a cut block, then jump up and deflect a pass. I don't know exactly how far up Scourton got, but it was enough to make you take notice.
Another guy who is tremendously athletic is Rylan Kennedy. He can jump out of the building. With his improved lower body strength, I can see him having a better burst off the snap and being someone, like Cashius Howell, who is used in pass rush situations. Keeping in mind that he's only been playing football for a couple of years makes his progression all the more impressive.
Shemar Stewart has added an element of power to his game that people may not realize yet. He was always big, but now he's bringing some serious pop when he hits the sleds.
Today was the first day I really got a glimpse of UCF transfer Josh Celiscar, and he's just what the doctor ordered in terms of being a guy with some size who can be a factor at defensive end. Even though nobody's going to say so, I think they've know who they're going to have in the two-plus deep. You can see guys starting to separate themselves, and it's not a coincidence Jay Bateman brought up Scourton, Stewart, Shemar Turner, DJ Hicks, Kennedy, Howell, Albert Regis, Celiscar and Rodas Johnson yesterday.
Looking at the linebackers, I think they're getting close to having their crew there too. But one thing that stood out today was how quick the reaction time of Taurean York is. In drills, he's moving before the word "go" is even finished. I guess they call that a quick twitch, but it's faster than quick. It's elite.
Daymion Sanford has looked good and I think Solomon DeShields and Scooby Williams would round out their two-deep if they went at it tomorrow, but one guy who has consistently impressed me is true freshman Jordan Lockhart. He needs to get a little bit stronger, but he has all the physical talents a linebacker needs. He's aggressive, quick and fundamentally sound.
With the corners, I think Terry Bussey and Dezz Ricks are making an impact, even if I don't think they're ready to play big minutes yet. That is a big, physical group and very different from last year (sorry, Mike). Even though I still think Will Lee is a starter and BJ Mayes and Donovan Saunders will get the first looks on the other side (spitballing here), Jayvon Thomas must be having a good summer. He gets a lot of attaboys in practice.
We got to see some punt and kick return drills early on today. I'm not going to tell you who was returning them because it was basically all the wideouts and running backs and a couple of defensive backs. Not exactly what you would call "narrowed down".
At tight end, Tre Watson continues to flash. I think he's the guy at that position right now as Donovan Green continues to get back to 100%. New transfer Shane Calhoun from East Carolina could be a factor as well. I've liked what I've seen from him the last couple of days.
At receiver, I'll just focus on two guys: Moose Muhammad and Cyrus Allen. Moose looks so different this summer compared to previous years, as he's going all out all the time. He looks faster, his routes more refined and he just looks more with it in general. Collin Klein had big praise for Allen yesterday, so I gave him another look today. I've been on his bandwagon since he transferred in, and he had it going today. He's just a very fluid runner who has excellent change of direction. It's hard to watch drills and be like, "that guy's elusive", but that though has gotten into more than just the back of my mind when it comes to Allen.
We got about 45 minutes, so I was able to roam around a little bit and watch both the offense and defense. The defensive line, in particular, was right in front of me for a while and got a long look. The media wasn't alone; I counted scouts from the Panthers, Saints, Patriots, Texans, Vikings and Bucs at practice, and I probably missed a few.
In case you didn't already believe it, Nic Scourton is a physical freak. He's got excellent lateral movement and tremendous hops. They did a drill today where you blocked down on a pad, like you're trying to get away from a cut block, then jump up and deflect a pass. I don't know exactly how far up Scourton got, but it was enough to make you take notice.
Another guy who is tremendously athletic is Rylan Kennedy. He can jump out of the building. With his improved lower body strength, I can see him having a better burst off the snap and being someone, like Cashius Howell, who is used in pass rush situations. Keeping in mind that he's only been playing football for a couple of years makes his progression all the more impressive.
Shemar Stewart has added an element of power to his game that people may not realize yet. He was always big, but now he's bringing some serious pop when he hits the sleds.
Today was the first day I really got a glimpse of UCF transfer Josh Celiscar, and he's just what the doctor ordered in terms of being a guy with some size who can be a factor at defensive end. Even though nobody's going to say so, I think they've know who they're going to have in the two-plus deep. You can see guys starting to separate themselves, and it's not a coincidence Jay Bateman brought up Scourton, Stewart, Shemar Turner, DJ Hicks, Kennedy, Howell, Albert Regis, Celiscar and Rodas Johnson yesterday.
Looking at the linebackers, I think they're getting close to having their crew there too. But one thing that stood out today was how quick the reaction time of Taurean York is. In drills, he's moving before the word "go" is even finished. I guess they call that a quick twitch, but it's faster than quick. It's elite.
Daymion Sanford has looked good and I think Solomon DeShields and Scooby Williams would round out their two-deep if they went at it tomorrow, but one guy who has consistently impressed me is true freshman Jordan Lockhart. He needs to get a little bit stronger, but he has all the physical talents a linebacker needs. He's aggressive, quick and fundamentally sound.
With the corners, I think Terry Bussey and Dezz Ricks are making an impact, even if I don't think they're ready to play big minutes yet. That is a big, physical group and very different from last year (sorry, Mike). Even though I still think Will Lee is a starter and BJ Mayes and Donovan Saunders will get the first looks on the other side (spitballing here), Jayvon Thomas must be having a good summer. He gets a lot of attaboys in practice.
We got to see some punt and kick return drills early on today. I'm not going to tell you who was returning them because it was basically all the wideouts and running backs and a couple of defensive backs. Not exactly what you would call "narrowed down".
At tight end, Tre Watson continues to flash. I think he's the guy at that position right now as Donovan Green continues to get back to 100%. New transfer Shane Calhoun from East Carolina could be a factor as well. I've liked what I've seen from him the last couple of days.
At receiver, I'll just focus on two guys: Moose Muhammad and Cyrus Allen. Moose looks so different this summer compared to previous years, as he's going all out all the time. He looks faster, his routes more refined and he just looks more with it in general. Collin Klein had big praise for Allen yesterday, so I gave him another look today. I've been on his bandwagon since he transferred in, and he had it going today. He's just a very fluid runner who has excellent change of direction. It's hard to watch drills and be like, "that guy's elusive", but that though has gotten into more than just the back of my mind when it comes to Allen.
