Saturday marked the half-way point of spring ball, and we’re beginning to see the younger players turn the corner. “We have a lot of guys competing for jobs. Today, I noticed Owen Porter, Talik Keaton, and Ty Terrell and when you notice them it means they’re doing something good I guess,” head coach Doc Holliday stated.
Speaking of that trio, Porter and Keaton both had outstanding days in my opinion. Porter really flashed in the team portion of practice making three different plays that were equally impressive. Firing off the edge, he beat the tackle and dragged down the ball carrier from behind for a one-yard gain.
On the other side of the ball, Keaton made the play of the day. Running with the first-team offense, Keaton hauled in a 50-yard touchdown from Green. In very tight coverage by Stephen Gilmore, Green threw up a “50/50” ball and Keaton went over top of Gilmore to secure the ball and made a move on his way to the end-zone. It was legit. Keaton continues to impress this spring.
Another player that’s really forged ahead this spring has been red-shirt sophomore Devin Miller. Miller doesn’t to anything too flashy, but is just a really solid football player. At 6-3, 236 pounds, Miller possesses enough athleticism to make plays in space as well as being a force around the line of scrimmage. Miller flashed some of that athleticism on Saturday when he rolled off the line of scrimmage and found himself behind the defense for a 43-yard catch and run. I’m not taking anything away from Armani Levias or Xavier Gaines because I think they’re 1A and 1B at this point, but Miller’s development has been a really nice surprise.
One position that’s been heavily discussed this spring has been linebacker. As others have reported, Darius Hodge is getting his fair share of reps at the “Mike” position. One can attribute Hodge’s move to the depth of his former position as well as the lack of depth at his new position. With guys like Ty Tyler, Marquis Couch, Koby Cumblerlander, Sam Burton, Jamare Edwards, Owen Porter, and TJ Johnson getting reps at defensive end, it allows the staff to take advantage of Hodge’s versatility and background as a former high school linebacker. Hodge’s “see ball, attack ball” playing style could be very destructive at the second level as long as he maintains his assignments. It will be interesting to see where Hodge ends up in the long run.
The two-headed monster of Brenden Knox and Tyler King continues to be an embarrassment of riches. Together, they’re as good of a combo as we’ve had under Doc. Knox’s ability to gain yardage through contact remains to be his biggest strength. The guy just never seems to fall backwards. I said last week that King seemed to be in mid-season form and that didn’t change this week. Once he squares his shoulder to the line of scrimmage, he’s absolutely off to the races. On one play yesterday, freshman quarterback Grant Wells made a nice read on an inside handoff and King did the rest. Basically at full-speed once he hit the line of scrimmage, King burst through for a 21-yard gain. It happened so fast that the defenders couldn’t hardly react before King was on top of them. Also, King looks like he’s about five pounds heavier this spring. He’s every bit of the 190 pounds he’s listed at on the roster.
Speaking of Wells, I thought he looked the best I’ve seen him this spring. He hit red-shirt sophomore Naquan Renalds on a 50-yard catch and run score. Renalds made the catch around the 20 yard-line and proceeded to make two really nice cuts on his way to the end-zone. Wells’ most impressive throw of the day I thought was an incomplete pass though. He showed plenty of arm strength when he uncorked a ball around 65 yards in the air on what would’ve been a really well thrown ball, but the receiver gave up on the play. I’d imagine the receiver was as shocked as I was to see Wells rip off that kind of arm strength.
Justin Rohrwasser won the kicking battle today going perfect on the day with makes from
35, 40, and 35 yards. Shane Ciucci was 2/3 with his only miss sailing wide left from 35 yards out.
Jaylon McClain-Sapp has his usual “spirited” practice today. He walked the walk today intercepting an Alex Thomson thrown pass.
Note: We previously reported that three-star LB Jeremy Smith would not be part of spring ball, but that has changed. Whatever was keeping Smith off the field has subsided and he was in full pads yesterday wearing #42.
Speaking of that trio, Porter and Keaton both had outstanding days in my opinion. Porter really flashed in the team portion of practice making three different plays that were equally impressive. Firing off the edge, he beat the tackle and dragged down the ball carrier from behind for a one-yard gain.
On the other side of the ball, Keaton made the play of the day. Running with the first-team offense, Keaton hauled in a 50-yard touchdown from Green. In very tight coverage by Stephen Gilmore, Green threw up a “50/50” ball and Keaton went over top of Gilmore to secure the ball and made a move on his way to the end-zone. It was legit. Keaton continues to impress this spring.
Another player that’s really forged ahead this spring has been red-shirt sophomore Devin Miller. Miller doesn’t to anything too flashy, but is just a really solid football player. At 6-3, 236 pounds, Miller possesses enough athleticism to make plays in space as well as being a force around the line of scrimmage. Miller flashed some of that athleticism on Saturday when he rolled off the line of scrimmage and found himself behind the defense for a 43-yard catch and run. I’m not taking anything away from Armani Levias or Xavier Gaines because I think they’re 1A and 1B at this point, but Miller’s development has been a really nice surprise.
One position that’s been heavily discussed this spring has been linebacker. As others have reported, Darius Hodge is getting his fair share of reps at the “Mike” position. One can attribute Hodge’s move to the depth of his former position as well as the lack of depth at his new position. With guys like Ty Tyler, Marquis Couch, Koby Cumblerlander, Sam Burton, Jamare Edwards, Owen Porter, and TJ Johnson getting reps at defensive end, it allows the staff to take advantage of Hodge’s versatility and background as a former high school linebacker. Hodge’s “see ball, attack ball” playing style could be very destructive at the second level as long as he maintains his assignments. It will be interesting to see where Hodge ends up in the long run.
The two-headed monster of Brenden Knox and Tyler King continues to be an embarrassment of riches. Together, they’re as good of a combo as we’ve had under Doc. Knox’s ability to gain yardage through contact remains to be his biggest strength. The guy just never seems to fall backwards. I said last week that King seemed to be in mid-season form and that didn’t change this week. Once he squares his shoulder to the line of scrimmage, he’s absolutely off to the races. On one play yesterday, freshman quarterback Grant Wells made a nice read on an inside handoff and King did the rest. Basically at full-speed once he hit the line of scrimmage, King burst through for a 21-yard gain. It happened so fast that the defenders couldn’t hardly react before King was on top of them. Also, King looks like he’s about five pounds heavier this spring. He’s every bit of the 190 pounds he’s listed at on the roster.
Speaking of Wells, I thought he looked the best I’ve seen him this spring. He hit red-shirt sophomore Naquan Renalds on a 50-yard catch and run score. Renalds made the catch around the 20 yard-line and proceeded to make two really nice cuts on his way to the end-zone. Wells’ most impressive throw of the day I thought was an incomplete pass though. He showed plenty of arm strength when he uncorked a ball around 65 yards in the air on what would’ve been a really well thrown ball, but the receiver gave up on the play. I’d imagine the receiver was as shocked as I was to see Wells rip off that kind of arm strength.
Justin Rohrwasser won the kicking battle today going perfect on the day with makes from
35, 40, and 35 yards. Shane Ciucci was 2/3 with his only miss sailing wide left from 35 yards out.
Jaylon McClain-Sapp has his usual “spirited” practice today. He walked the walk today intercepting an Alex Thomson thrown pass.
Note: We previously reported that three-star LB Jeremy Smith would not be part of spring ball, but that has changed. Whatever was keeping Smith off the field has subsided and he was in full pads yesterday wearing #42.
