Two quick things to keep in mind before getting into my observations:
1. Several key offensive weapons missed the game with injury: senior running back Matt Dayes, sophomore RB Reggie Gallaspy, junior TE/FB Jaylen Samuels, junior OG Tony Adams and redshirt sophomore OT Will Richardson (not hurt, but not in school this semester, supposed to return in the summer).
2. According to the box score we were given, the weather was 51 degrees (presumably at kickoff) with wind gusts from 17 to 34 m.p.h., so it’s not hyperbole when you keep hearing the wind being talked about (or hear it in our postgame interviews).
On to my observations:
• First, the scheme from what we saw: there’s still some pre-snap motion and jet sweeps (although they’re a little different), but I feel like it’s a more vertical offense. The side-to-side stuff we saw was more like quick bubble screens and the shovel passes. Play action and rollouts, no huddling that I recall off the top of my head.
• Not much to say about the white offense — they were mostly the deep reserves and walk-ons, and they didn’t get much of a chance to show a lot. They were overpowered up front and finished with minus-two yards of total offense against the No. 1 defense. Their best plays were their first two — an 11-yard completion to redshirt freshman WR Brian Sessoms from walk-on QB Woody Cornwell, followed by an eight-yard run from redshirt frosh RB Johnny Frasier (who might have only spent that first drive on white). They netted negative yards from there with a long gain of seven.
• All eyes were on the quarterbacks, and they did not disappoint. Redshirt sophomore Jalan McClendon started six of six with some really sharp passes. The big play on the first drive was a 34-yarder to senior Bra’Lon Cherry into a really stiff wind. I think it got caught a little in the gusts and ended up being underthrown a little bit, but I doubt most college quarterbacks could even get the ball to go that far into the wind. It basically went that far in the air.
He finished 13 of 18 (72.2 percent and there was at least one drop I can recall) for 120 yards and a touchdown. McClendon played the first and third quarters, Based on my count, he quarterbacked 6.5 drives (the seventh was at the end of the third quarter and they moved the chains as time expired on third down, but then they opened the fourth quarter with a change of possession, presumably a “punt” occurred) and led a pair of touchdown drives. One drive in the first was stopped by a fumble by walk-on Brady Bodine. Two of McClendon’s drives were three-and-outs, but both of those came in the third quarter, when I think most of what was around him were back-ups and walk-ons.
One final thing that pops off the stat sheet with McClendon, who isn’t exactly known for being mobile (although I think he’s similar mobility-wise to last year’s starter, Jacoby Brissett) — zero sacks. The first TD was on a play action rollout that he threw to redshirt sophomore Maurice Trowell, he looked good throwing on the run too...that might be a part of the offense this year, moving the QB.
• Redshirt freshman Jakobi Meyers was also impressive, and he adds a ground element with his legs. He finished 12-of-20 passing (60.0 percent) for 117 yards and a touchdown; he also rushed 10 times for 40 yards and a score. However, the most impressive thing is he quarterbacked six drives (not counting a second-quarter possession that started with 22 seconds left), which resulted in four touchdowns and a field goal. For a kid in his first spring game and missed a lot of time last year due to injury, that is awesome.
No slight to Meyers’ arm — because I thought it was pretty good — but I was most impressed with his legs. He’s extremely quick; a few times, I thought he was certain to be sacked and he turned on the jets and escaped. Matt mentions it in postgame reflections, but I agree — his rushing numbers might have been better if it wasn’t touch on the QBs. They tagged him, but I don’t know for certain if they were in position to tackle him at the end of a few.
I think we’re in for a quarterback battle that goes down to the wire, and Doeren has mentioned it before but I could definitely see them having a few plays for both no matter who wins it.
• I kicked around doing a top-five offensive players in the game (there wasn't much separation between 2-4 or 5), but I’m pretty sure sophomore RB Nyheim Hines would lead it off. He rushed nine times for 72 yards and a score, and also had a nine-yard catch. He lined up mostly at RB, so it will be interesting to see what they do with him when Dayes and Gallaspy are back (plus Johnny Frasier). Dayes can line up in the slot or backfield (or out wide, or as a wing back) … I’m just saying there’s a lot of possibilities with his versatility.
He showed his speed with a 42-yard run that I mentioned earlier had a fake reverse with it. I think it was going to be a big play regardless, though. Right after the Airius Moore pick, he had another nice 12-yard run where he got to the edge quickly. Three straight runs gained the remaining five yards for the score. Not much else to say about a guy playing out of position and averaged eight yards a carry.
• Like I said earlier, redshirt frosh RB Johnny Frasier played for both teams, but he wasn’t on the white team long. Still, his eight-yard rush to start his day was encouraging given how overmatched his squad was in the trenches (which showed on the next play, when he lost four).
After switching teams, he rushed 15 times for 62 yards (4.1-yard average) and two scores. The play of the day might have been his 32-yard touchdown run where Frasier stutter steps to beat James Smith-Williams (who looked like he had him in the backfield but might not have touched him), breaks an arm tackle from Riley Nicholson at the line of scrimmage, runs through a pair of defensive backs and then carries Niles Clark into the end zone.
Frasier just has an impressive size and speed combination. I talked to him after the game and I think he definitely looks slimmer than when he arrived, but his arms and legs are still huge. He had one run where he only gained one yard, but it took three defenders ganging up on him to stop him there.
• A few young receivers stood out: redshirt sophomore Maurice Trowell was targeted quite a bit and finished with six catches for 37 yards and a touchdown. I think McClendon has said before that Trowell is who he has the best chemistry with and it shows — I thought he looked that way quite a bit.
Classmate Stephen Louis was really good, maybe the best receiver in the game. He notched five catches for a game-high 64 yards (12.8-yard average). I thought I remembered that he had a nice run today, but the box score does not agree (must have been Trowell). I remember being impressed with the 6-2, 215-pounder at the open practice his freshman year and it looks like he’s healthy after sitting out last year and ready to make an impact now. I think he’s got a very high ceiling.
Senior Bra’Lon Cherry very quietly had three catches for 49 yards. He caught the 34-yarder from McClendon going into the wind, so he made a nice adjustment on that with a DB right there.
Fifth-year senior walk-on TE Clark Eyers also had three catches for 36 yards and a TD that happened as I was walking down to do interviews at the end of the game so I'm looking forward to seeing the video of that.
• The red team OL (from left to right): redshirt freshman Emanuel McGirt, redshirt sophomore Coult Culler, redshirt sophomore Garrett Bradbury, redshirt senior Bryce Kennedy and redshirt sophomore Tyler Jones. They had a few false starts today, but opened some nice holes. Only gave up two sacks despite missing two of their most experienced blockers (Adams and Richardson) and paved the way for 207 yards rushing, although I think that should be expected given the rosters.
I believe there were only 11 OL dressed for the game so given the no huddle and lack of TV timeouts, they all certainly got a heck of a workout today. It seemed like they handled the increased tempo, given those other factors, well.
• The red (first-team) offense committed six penalties for 44 yards (11 total in the game for 74 yards) and fumbled twice, losing it once (same thing happened for the white, who also threw three picks).
1. Several key offensive weapons missed the game with injury: senior running back Matt Dayes, sophomore RB Reggie Gallaspy, junior TE/FB Jaylen Samuels, junior OG Tony Adams and redshirt sophomore OT Will Richardson (not hurt, but not in school this semester, supposed to return in the summer).
2. According to the box score we were given, the weather was 51 degrees (presumably at kickoff) with wind gusts from 17 to 34 m.p.h., so it’s not hyperbole when you keep hearing the wind being talked about (or hear it in our postgame interviews).
On to my observations:
• First, the scheme from what we saw: there’s still some pre-snap motion and jet sweeps (although they’re a little different), but I feel like it’s a more vertical offense. The side-to-side stuff we saw was more like quick bubble screens and the shovel passes. Play action and rollouts, no huddling that I recall off the top of my head.
• Not much to say about the white offense — they were mostly the deep reserves and walk-ons, and they didn’t get much of a chance to show a lot. They were overpowered up front and finished with minus-two yards of total offense against the No. 1 defense. Their best plays were their first two — an 11-yard completion to redshirt freshman WR Brian Sessoms from walk-on QB Woody Cornwell, followed by an eight-yard run from redshirt frosh RB Johnny Frasier (who might have only spent that first drive on white). They netted negative yards from there with a long gain of seven.
• All eyes were on the quarterbacks, and they did not disappoint. Redshirt sophomore Jalan McClendon started six of six with some really sharp passes. The big play on the first drive was a 34-yarder to senior Bra’Lon Cherry into a really stiff wind. I think it got caught a little in the gusts and ended up being underthrown a little bit, but I doubt most college quarterbacks could even get the ball to go that far into the wind. It basically went that far in the air.
He finished 13 of 18 (72.2 percent and there was at least one drop I can recall) for 120 yards and a touchdown. McClendon played the first and third quarters, Based on my count, he quarterbacked 6.5 drives (the seventh was at the end of the third quarter and they moved the chains as time expired on third down, but then they opened the fourth quarter with a change of possession, presumably a “punt” occurred) and led a pair of touchdown drives. One drive in the first was stopped by a fumble by walk-on Brady Bodine. Two of McClendon’s drives were three-and-outs, but both of those came in the third quarter, when I think most of what was around him were back-ups and walk-ons.
One final thing that pops off the stat sheet with McClendon, who isn’t exactly known for being mobile (although I think he’s similar mobility-wise to last year’s starter, Jacoby Brissett) — zero sacks. The first TD was on a play action rollout that he threw to redshirt sophomore Maurice Trowell, he looked good throwing on the run too...that might be a part of the offense this year, moving the QB.
• Redshirt freshman Jakobi Meyers was also impressive, and he adds a ground element with his legs. He finished 12-of-20 passing (60.0 percent) for 117 yards and a touchdown; he also rushed 10 times for 40 yards and a score. However, the most impressive thing is he quarterbacked six drives (not counting a second-quarter possession that started with 22 seconds left), which resulted in four touchdowns and a field goal. For a kid in his first spring game and missed a lot of time last year due to injury, that is awesome.
No slight to Meyers’ arm — because I thought it was pretty good — but I was most impressed with his legs. He’s extremely quick; a few times, I thought he was certain to be sacked and he turned on the jets and escaped. Matt mentions it in postgame reflections, but I agree — his rushing numbers might have been better if it wasn’t touch on the QBs. They tagged him, but I don’t know for certain if they were in position to tackle him at the end of a few.
I think we’re in for a quarterback battle that goes down to the wire, and Doeren has mentioned it before but I could definitely see them having a few plays for both no matter who wins it.
• I kicked around doing a top-five offensive players in the game (there wasn't much separation between 2-4 or 5), but I’m pretty sure sophomore RB Nyheim Hines would lead it off. He rushed nine times for 72 yards and a score, and also had a nine-yard catch. He lined up mostly at RB, so it will be interesting to see what they do with him when Dayes and Gallaspy are back (plus Johnny Frasier). Dayes can line up in the slot or backfield (or out wide, or as a wing back) … I’m just saying there’s a lot of possibilities with his versatility.
He showed his speed with a 42-yard run that I mentioned earlier had a fake reverse with it. I think it was going to be a big play regardless, though. Right after the Airius Moore pick, he had another nice 12-yard run where he got to the edge quickly. Three straight runs gained the remaining five yards for the score. Not much else to say about a guy playing out of position and averaged eight yards a carry.
• Like I said earlier, redshirt frosh RB Johnny Frasier played for both teams, but he wasn’t on the white team long. Still, his eight-yard rush to start his day was encouraging given how overmatched his squad was in the trenches (which showed on the next play, when he lost four).
After switching teams, he rushed 15 times for 62 yards (4.1-yard average) and two scores. The play of the day might have been his 32-yard touchdown run where Frasier stutter steps to beat James Smith-Williams (who looked like he had him in the backfield but might not have touched him), breaks an arm tackle from Riley Nicholson at the line of scrimmage, runs through a pair of defensive backs and then carries Niles Clark into the end zone.
Frasier just has an impressive size and speed combination. I talked to him after the game and I think he definitely looks slimmer than when he arrived, but his arms and legs are still huge. He had one run where he only gained one yard, but it took three defenders ganging up on him to stop him there.
• A few young receivers stood out: redshirt sophomore Maurice Trowell was targeted quite a bit and finished with six catches for 37 yards and a touchdown. I think McClendon has said before that Trowell is who he has the best chemistry with and it shows — I thought he looked that way quite a bit.
Classmate Stephen Louis was really good, maybe the best receiver in the game. He notched five catches for a game-high 64 yards (12.8-yard average). I thought I remembered that he had a nice run today, but the box score does not agree (must have been Trowell). I remember being impressed with the 6-2, 215-pounder at the open practice his freshman year and it looks like he’s healthy after sitting out last year and ready to make an impact now. I think he’s got a very high ceiling.
Senior Bra’Lon Cherry very quietly had three catches for 49 yards. He caught the 34-yarder from McClendon going into the wind, so he made a nice adjustment on that with a DB right there.
Fifth-year senior walk-on TE Clark Eyers also had three catches for 36 yards and a TD that happened as I was walking down to do interviews at the end of the game so I'm looking forward to seeing the video of that.
• The red team OL (from left to right): redshirt freshman Emanuel McGirt, redshirt sophomore Coult Culler, redshirt sophomore Garrett Bradbury, redshirt senior Bryce Kennedy and redshirt sophomore Tyler Jones. They had a few false starts today, but opened some nice holes. Only gave up two sacks despite missing two of their most experienced blockers (Adams and Richardson) and paved the way for 207 yards rushing, although I think that should be expected given the rosters.
I believe there were only 11 OL dressed for the game so given the no huddle and lack of TV timeouts, they all certainly got a heck of a workout today. It seemed like they handled the increased tempo, given those other factors, well.
• The red (first-team) offense committed six penalties for 44 yards (11 total in the game for 74 yards) and fumbled twice, losing it once (same thing happened for the white, who also threw three picks).
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