Today was the first opportunity for me to see this team in pads and they didn’t disappoint. Practice was full of heavy hitting and high energy led by Tyler King, Coach Dallas Baker, Marquis Couch, Chris Jackson, and Jaquan Yulee.
Tyler King was the star of the day breaking off big runs and the best play of the day. King took an inside handoff, cut back across the grain, and sprinted to what would have been a 65-yard touchdown. King was in mid-season form and although I think Knox is still 1A...King is not far behind as 1B.
Defensively, Yulee led a stout defense. The defense held strong in number of short-yardage plays and Co-DC J.C. Price let the offense know about it. We’re also starting to see the wrinkles that newly hired Co-DC Brad Lambert is installing. In conversations I had following practice, the players and coaches seem to be adapting very well and are excited about the direction in which the defense is heading.
The quarterbacks struggled today I thought. Marshall’s secondary is miles ahead of the receiving corps right now and with injuries and limited reps in place the defensive line is ahead of the offensive line. With guys like Levi Brown, Alex Mollette, and Josh Ball missing from team action, the rotation is a little unsettled, but I think we’ll be perfectly fine this fall. The tackle quartet of Tarik Adams, Will Ulmer, Dalton Tucker, and Ball is really exciting. Speaking of Ball, today was my first time seeing him, and he’s a mountain of a man. If we’ve ever had an lineman that looked like an NFL prospect, it’s Ball for sure. Coach Holliday said that he expect Ball to be back next week so it’ll be good to see him in live action.
Back to the offense, it seems like year number two of Coach Cramsey’s offense may bring a little more variety. We saw a number of variations in WR sets as well as mixing the running backs into the passing game more. King’s versatility will be a weapon.
Besides King’s big play, the offense’s best play of that came off the arm of Isaiah Green and hands of Obi Obialo. In the red-zone portion of practice, Obialo ran a perfect “sluggo” route and hauled in a Green’s pass in the corner of the end-zone behind the coverage of Kereon Merrell. Another player that flashed offensively today was red-short sophomore WR Naquan Renalds. Renalds had a big-time catch in the 7-on-7 portion of practice. He elevated and snagged the ball out the air over top the defender. Doc referenced Renalds as a player they need to continue to develop.
The competition for the starting kicker may be heating up. Fresno State transfer Shane Ciucci has made an impression on the coaching staff and may push Justin Rohrwasser this fall.
One position that I continue to gain confidence in is the defensive line. I really like the makeup of both the exterior and interior parts of this position. I think Darius Hodge is set for a huge season. Once Esaias Carpenter gets on campus, the rotation should setup very nicely.
That’s all for now really.
Tyler King was the star of the day breaking off big runs and the best play of the day. King took an inside handoff, cut back across the grain, and sprinted to what would have been a 65-yard touchdown. King was in mid-season form and although I think Knox is still 1A...King is not far behind as 1B.
Defensively, Yulee led a stout defense. The defense held strong in number of short-yardage plays and Co-DC J.C. Price let the offense know about it. We’re also starting to see the wrinkles that newly hired Co-DC Brad Lambert is installing. In conversations I had following practice, the players and coaches seem to be adapting very well and are excited about the direction in which the defense is heading.
The quarterbacks struggled today I thought. Marshall’s secondary is miles ahead of the receiving corps right now and with injuries and limited reps in place the defensive line is ahead of the offensive line. With guys like Levi Brown, Alex Mollette, and Josh Ball missing from team action, the rotation is a little unsettled, but I think we’ll be perfectly fine this fall. The tackle quartet of Tarik Adams, Will Ulmer, Dalton Tucker, and Ball is really exciting. Speaking of Ball, today was my first time seeing him, and he’s a mountain of a man. If we’ve ever had an lineman that looked like an NFL prospect, it’s Ball for sure. Coach Holliday said that he expect Ball to be back next week so it’ll be good to see him in live action.
Back to the offense, it seems like year number two of Coach Cramsey’s offense may bring a little more variety. We saw a number of variations in WR sets as well as mixing the running backs into the passing game more. King’s versatility will be a weapon.
Besides King’s big play, the offense’s best play of that came off the arm of Isaiah Green and hands of Obi Obialo. In the red-zone portion of practice, Obialo ran a perfect “sluggo” route and hauled in a Green’s pass in the corner of the end-zone behind the coverage of Kereon Merrell. Another player that flashed offensively today was red-short sophomore WR Naquan Renalds. Renalds had a big-time catch in the 7-on-7 portion of practice. He elevated and snagged the ball out the air over top the defender. Doc referenced Renalds as a player they need to continue to develop.
The competition for the starting kicker may be heating up. Fresno State transfer Shane Ciucci has made an impression on the coaching staff and may push Justin Rohrwasser this fall.
One position that I continue to gain confidence in is the defensive line. I really like the makeup of both the exterior and interior parts of this position. I think Darius Hodge is set for a huge season. Once Esaias Carpenter gets on campus, the rotation should setup very nicely.
That’s all for now really.
