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Insider Premium observations from first day of preseason camp...

Matt Carter

Diamond Wolf
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Aug 23, 2004
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Here are some observations from the first day of practice, broken down by position groups:

Quarterback: No surprises here as redshirt sophomore Devin Leary was backed up by second-year freshman Ben Finley. I think freshman Aaron McLaughlin has a gap to overcome to catch Finley for second-string. The big news is that Justin Williams' can confirm the velocity of Finley's throws, as an incomplete pass one-hopped the ground right into the you-know-where for poor Justin. We'll update Justin's status later in the day.

Running back: The headliners here are sophomore Zonovan Knight and junior Ricky Person Jr., but I also saw sophomore Jordan Houston continue to get some work at receiver, and he actually made a pretty impressive catch in one-on-ones at the goal line.

Wide receiver: New number for second year freshman Porter Rooks, who is now No. 4. I thought second-year freshman Anthony Smith looked good in the drills by the goal line, but the player who probably stood out the most for me overall among the young players was freshman Julian Gray, who really looks like he could challenge for some playing time. I also thought second-year freshman Jalen Coit did some good things.

I did not see freshman Micah Crowell out there. He missed the spring with an injury.

Tight end: Admittedly, I didn’t catch a big chance to see this group, but I will say the two recently arrived freshmen Cedric and Fredrick Seabrough looked bigger than I anticipated at their listed 6-foot-4, 215 pounds.

Offensive line: For today, the right side was redshirt junior Bryson Speas running first string at right tackle and redshirt sophomore Derrick Eason at right guard. Newcomer Chandler Zavala was taking second-string reps at left guard, but this is all subject to many changes during preseason camp. It appears that the true second string center is likely first-string left guard redshirt freshman Dylan McMahon.

Overall the group looked in excellent shape.

Defensive line: No surprises on the first string line with sophomore Savion Jackson, redshirt senior Daniel Joseph and redshirt freshman C.J. Clark. I did not see redshirt freshman Terrell Dawkins out there. He too missed the spring with an injury.

Redshirt freshman Joshua Harris looked in much better shape but second year freshman Davin Vann still had the edge on second-string nose tackle. Newcomer Zyun Reeves was also not seen out there. He missed the spring season of high school football with an injury.

Linebacker: Best-looking group on the field by a good margin. Second-string included sophomore Jaylon Scott and second-year freshman Devon Betty alongside redshirt junior Vi Jones. Third-string was former walk-on Seth Williams along with early enrollees Caden Fordham and Jordan Poole.

Side note: I thought sophomore Drake Thomas looked a little leaner.

Cornerback: The starters looked like redshirt freshman Shyheim Battle and redshirt junior Derrek Pitts Jr., but it should be noted that I saw senior Chris Ingram shadowing Battle in some drills. Ingram had an excellent pass breakup on a pass to Smith in the end zone, at which point head coach Dave Doeren was yelling at Ingram, “That had to feel good!” Ingram has missed almost two years with a knee injury, but I thought he looked good and moved around well.

Freshman Aydan White and junior Teshaun Smith were running second string. Sophomore Cecil Powell did not participate in practice. Second-year freshman Nehki Meredith and freshman Nate Evans were third line.

Safety: Redshirt sophomore Jakeen Harris had the early nod over redshirt senior Cyrus Fagan at strong safety, but I think that’s going to be a tight battle. Sophomore Rakeim Ashford was also second-string with redshirt freshman Khalid Martin and recent arrival redshirt sophomore Darius Edmundson on the third string.

One-time nickel Jalen Frazier is now at safety.

Nickel: The interesting battle will be between freshmen Joshua Pierre-Louis and Devan Boykin to be the backup to junior Tyler Baker-Williams.
 
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