I’m traveling this week, but Peter Ariz is holding it down at Greentree. He provided his thoughts from Tuesday’s practice on the CanesInSight Daily Podcast:
On TE Riley Williams: I noticed this at Pro Day. Will Mallory was out at Pro Day standing next to Riley Williams. Mallory is an NFL tight end. Williams was not dwarfing him, but he looked huge standing next to Mallory. You can just tell this is not your normal sophomore tight end. He had a nice deep ball reception in 7-on-7 work. I think he's a guy who can really stretch the field from that tight end spot, just like Elijah Arroyo can. I’m expecting a big, big jump from Riley Williams this season.
On LB Cameron “Bobby” Pruitt: This is a guy DMoney's been talking about a ton early on. He’s been running a lot with the ones and had a really nice rep in coverage against Chris Johnson. This wasn't a five-yard out or slant. This was a downfield pass in one-on-ones. Really nicely defended by Pruitt, got one hand on it and kind of tipped it to himself for an interception.
A linebacker could get exposed against a smaller, speedy back with a downfield pass like that. Really good job by him in coverage.
On DB coach Chevis Jackson: You can just see that intensity popping from him in practice. You can see him really getting into it with the guys. There’s only so much you can see, but he’s bringing the intensity 100 percent.
On CB Jadais Richard: He stood out to me. We’ve said it time and time again on the CanesInSight podcast that he has NFL interest because of his size and speed. Flashed last year, especially in the Florida State game. He has the length to match up with tight ends and had a nice play in coverage on Elijah Arroyo in 7-on-7 work.
On LB Adarius Hayes: He really stood out, physically, at the linebacker spot. I told a couple of people out there he looked like Thurston Armbrister in that #34 with his sheer size and length. You're talking about a guy who's legitimately 6’3.5, long arms and had a really nice hit on Chris Wheatley-Humphrey coming downhill in the hole. Kind of got things going early in the practice session. Adarius Hayes is really towering over some of the guys in the LB room.
On WR Ray Ray Joseph: He looks sturdy. He’s put on some good weight. Coming in as a freshman, there were huge expectations for him with his speed and his playmaking ability. But people need to realize that one, he hadn't been a pure receiver. He played a lot of running back in his career. And two, he just needed to put on some of that good weight.
We've talked a ton about Ny Carr and JoJo Trader, but do not forget about Ray Ray Joseph. He's a guy you can get the ball in a multitude of ways. He can hopefully be what Brashard Smith was at times for Miami last season.
