My impressions from watching the first spring practice today:
-We only got to see the first 30 minutes of practice and it was mostly only basic drills being shown in the viewing portion today. The last 10 minutes or so were competitive 1-on-1’s; no pads, just helmets. The plan is for practice to be fully open for media tomorrow, so should get a better read on things then.
-At QB, N’Kosi Perry and D’Eriq King switched off on first team reps. Perry led the day with the ones in warmups, but King started with the ones in competitive 7-on-7 play. They were followed by Tate Martell, Peyton Matocha, and Tyler Van Dyke in that order.
-Perry continues to show the best deep ball, and I found King to be the most accurate of the group; however, the Houston transfer had some bad luck on two dropped passes when going to walk-on WR Connor Byrne. From what I saw, Van Dyke seemed to favor WR Mark Pope and he went to him a few times on the day for quick completions. Van Dyke showed a strong arm with some zip today and looked every bit of his listed 6-4 216, and I wouldn't be surprised if he was actually bigger.
-LB Avery Huff is going to be a problem once he figures it out at this level. He’s put on some nice mass and seems to have kept most of his speed/athleticism.
-DE Quincy Roche is a listed 6-4 235 and looks it; he is very quick but he probably needs to put on another 5-10 pounds or so if he’s going to hold up against the run every down in the ACC and at the next level. DE Jahfari Harvey continues to develop his body and he was very agile in drills chasing down the ballcarrier to the boundary. DT Nesta Silvera looked a step quicker as well.
-OL was on the complete opposite side of the field from where the media was stationed, so it was hard to tell who was working where and in what order.
-Freshmen DE Chantz Williams and WR Michael Redding were out there, but were limited participants, as both sported casts on their wrists. S Bubba Bolden (ankle) was spotted doing work on the side. TE’s Brevin Jordan (foot) and Michael Irvin II (unknown) were absent, along with LB’s Tirek Austin-Cave (shoulder), Sam Brooks (shoulder), Corey Flagg (knee), and BJ Jennings (hip), RB Don Chaney (shoulder), and OL Navaughn Donaldson (knee).
-2021 4-star OL Michael McLaughlin was one recruit I spotted at practice. Former Canes KJ Osborn and Sheldrick Redwine were at practice as well.
Notable 1-on-1’s
-WR Jeremiah Payton made multiple plays, including an over the shoulder catch in the corner of the endzone.
-WR Dee Wiggins got a step on CB Te’Cory Couch on a quick slant and Martell put it right on the money; Wiggins did the rest and outraced Couch to the endzone.
-S Amari Carter closed quickly and skied to break up a pass intended for TE Will Mallory.
-CB Christian Williams established strong positioning and routed Payton out of bounds on one rep to blow up the play.
-WR Xavier Restrepo made a play on a quick out route, beating his man easily to the sidelines for a short grab.
First Team Offense (7v7, no OL)
QB – D’Eriq King
RB – Cam Harris
WR – Mark Pope
WR – Dee Wiggins
Slot – Mike Harley
TE - Will Mallory
Full First Team Defense to open practice
DE – Gregory Rousseau
DE – Quincy Roche
DT – Jon Ford
DT – Nesta Silvera
MIKE- Zach McCloud
WILL- Ryan Ragone
STRK – Gilbert Frierson
CB – Al Blades
CB - DJ Ivey
S - Gurvan Hall
S – Amari Carter
-We only got to see the first 30 minutes of practice and it was mostly only basic drills being shown in the viewing portion today. The last 10 minutes or so were competitive 1-on-1’s; no pads, just helmets. The plan is for practice to be fully open for media tomorrow, so should get a better read on things then.
-At QB, N’Kosi Perry and D’Eriq King switched off on first team reps. Perry led the day with the ones in warmups, but King started with the ones in competitive 7-on-7 play. They were followed by Tate Martell, Peyton Matocha, and Tyler Van Dyke in that order.
-Perry continues to show the best deep ball, and I found King to be the most accurate of the group; however, the Houston transfer had some bad luck on two dropped passes when going to walk-on WR Connor Byrne. From what I saw, Van Dyke seemed to favor WR Mark Pope and he went to him a few times on the day for quick completions. Van Dyke showed a strong arm with some zip today and looked every bit of his listed 6-4 216, and I wouldn't be surprised if he was actually bigger.
-LB Avery Huff is going to be a problem once he figures it out at this level. He’s put on some nice mass and seems to have kept most of his speed/athleticism.
-DE Quincy Roche is a listed 6-4 235 and looks it; he is very quick but he probably needs to put on another 5-10 pounds or so if he’s going to hold up against the run every down in the ACC and at the next level. DE Jahfari Harvey continues to develop his body and he was very agile in drills chasing down the ballcarrier to the boundary. DT Nesta Silvera looked a step quicker as well.
-OL was on the complete opposite side of the field from where the media was stationed, so it was hard to tell who was working where and in what order.
-Freshmen DE Chantz Williams and WR Michael Redding were out there, but were limited participants, as both sported casts on their wrists. S Bubba Bolden (ankle) was spotted doing work on the side. TE’s Brevin Jordan (foot) and Michael Irvin II (unknown) were absent, along with LB’s Tirek Austin-Cave (shoulder), Sam Brooks (shoulder), Corey Flagg (knee), and BJ Jennings (hip), RB Don Chaney (shoulder), and OL Navaughn Donaldson (knee).
-2021 4-star OL Michael McLaughlin was one recruit I spotted at practice. Former Canes KJ Osborn and Sheldrick Redwine were at practice as well.
Notable 1-on-1’s
-WR Jeremiah Payton made multiple plays, including an over the shoulder catch in the corner of the endzone.
-WR Dee Wiggins got a step on CB Te’Cory Couch on a quick slant and Martell put it right on the money; Wiggins did the rest and outraced Couch to the endzone.
-S Amari Carter closed quickly and skied to break up a pass intended for TE Will Mallory.
-CB Christian Williams established strong positioning and routed Payton out of bounds on one rep to blow up the play.
-WR Xavier Restrepo made a play on a quick out route, beating his man easily to the sidelines for a short grab.
First Team Offense (7v7, no OL)
QB – D’Eriq King
RB – Cam Harris
WR – Mark Pope
WR – Dee Wiggins
Slot – Mike Harley
TE - Will Mallory
Full First Team Defense to open practice
DE – Gregory Rousseau
DE – Quincy Roche
DT – Jon Ford
DT – Nesta Silvera
MIKE- Zach McCloud
WILL- Ryan Ragone
STRK – Gilbert Frierson
CB – Al Blades
CB - DJ Ivey
S - Gurvan Hall
S – Amari Carter
