Here are some notes from today’s practice (August 5th)
Black Shirts- Shayon Green, Denzel Perryman, Darius Smith, Eddie Johnson, Thomas Finnie, Vaughn Telemaque, Olsen Pierre, Brandon McGee, Kacy Rodgers, Ramon Buchanon
-With the absence of Seantrel Henderson, Ereck Flowers took almost every snap with the 1st team at RT, with Jon Feliciano at guard.
-There has been some speculation about whether Davon Johnson was playing WR or CB, but he is at WR.
-The four in the mix for punt returns are Dorsett, Dallas Crawford, Duke, and Vernon Davis.
-Dallas Crawford looks slimmed down and was showing great burst. He was working a lot out of the backfield.
-Olsen Pierre looks to have added a lot of weight and finally looks like a DT.
-Malcolm Lewis was the most impressive freshman receiver out there. He is physically ready and is at his perfect playing weight already. He did not drop a single pass and shows great quickness. He will be on the field this year.
-The most impressive receiver out there was Phillip Dorsett. Not only is he the fastest receiver by far, but also shows great reliability. He added a lot of weight in the offseason and did not lose any speed.
-Duke was working a lot with the first team. He will be used in a variety of ways that we haven’t seen a Canes running back be used in a while.
-Danny Dillard definitely looks the part. He is HUGE and was showing good hands out of the backfield. Lined up a variety of ways, not just as a RB.
-Asante Cleveland was working with the ones, not Clive Walford. Walford was inconsistent catching the football.
-Tracy Howard and Larry Hope are the top two freshman corners right now on the depth chart. Howard worked sparingly with the ones and lived up to his billing. He blanketed receivers all day long and there was only one catch made on him on an underneath route.
11-on-11 Notes
-Finnie and Hurns were matched up on the outside and Williams made a nice throw on a go route to Hurns, but it was good coverage by Finnie and Hurns wasn’t able to make the play.
-Malcolm Lewis beat Antonio Crawford on two plays in a row, but Crawford had good coverage both times. One of them was a catch and the other was missed by Morris.
-Tyriq McCord lined up in a variety of ways as expected. His long arms and speed will get him on the field early.
-Larry Hope looked great coverage-wise, he should surprise people. Good size
-There was one play where Robert Lockhart ran a go route against Nate Dortch and a Lockhart made a nice grab over him for a TD. It was a perfectly thrown ball by Morris.
-Kendal Thompkins beat Hope deep once and Morris hit him with another absolutely perfect deep ball for a TD.
-Jelani Hamilton was in the rotation for the DL and looked big.
-Deon Bush and Rayshawn Jenkins were both working with the second unit a lot, more that Andrew Swasey, who is listed ahead of them on the depth chart.
-Raphael Kirby looks big and made a few nice plays in the backfield.
-Interesting Note: Danny Isidora was actually playing LT with the 3rd group.
-Ramon Buchanon showed showed some nice burst after recovering from a knee injury. Look for him to be used in a multitude of ways.
Overall Thoughts
-There were some drops by the receivers and tight ends, which was concerning, but that should improve with reps.
-Morris is the heavy favorite over Williams right now, which shouldn’t be a surprise. Morris looks like he has totally regained his arm strength after his injury, but was a little off accuracy-wise. That is another thing that should improve with reps.
-I’m very impressed with the freshman receivers. I don’t see a flaw in Malcolm Lewis’ game and he should step in right away. Herb Waters also looked bigger from when I had last seen him. He looks to be near 185-190.
-The team got a lot of work in today and it was very up-tempo.
-Two guys who didn’t see the field much were Ladarius Gunter and Nate Dortch. Dortch isn’t as much of a surprise as Gunter.
-Jalen Grimble wasn't out there a whole lot either
Black Shirts- Shayon Green, Denzel Perryman, Darius Smith, Eddie Johnson, Thomas Finnie, Vaughn Telemaque, Olsen Pierre, Brandon McGee, Kacy Rodgers, Ramon Buchanon
-With the absence of Seantrel Henderson, Ereck Flowers took almost every snap with the 1st team at RT, with Jon Feliciano at guard.
-There has been some speculation about whether Davon Johnson was playing WR or CB, but he is at WR.
-The four in the mix for punt returns are Dorsett, Dallas Crawford, Duke, and Vernon Davis.
-Dallas Crawford looks slimmed down and was showing great burst. He was working a lot out of the backfield.
-Olsen Pierre looks to have added a lot of weight and finally looks like a DT.
-Malcolm Lewis was the most impressive freshman receiver out there. He is physically ready and is at his perfect playing weight already. He did not drop a single pass and shows great quickness. He will be on the field this year.
-The most impressive receiver out there was Phillip Dorsett. Not only is he the fastest receiver by far, but also shows great reliability. He added a lot of weight in the offseason and did not lose any speed.
-Duke was working a lot with the first team. He will be used in a variety of ways that we haven’t seen a Canes running back be used in a while.
-Danny Dillard definitely looks the part. He is HUGE and was showing good hands out of the backfield. Lined up a variety of ways, not just as a RB.
-Asante Cleveland was working with the ones, not Clive Walford. Walford was inconsistent catching the football.
-Tracy Howard and Larry Hope are the top two freshman corners right now on the depth chart. Howard worked sparingly with the ones and lived up to his billing. He blanketed receivers all day long and there was only one catch made on him on an underneath route.
11-on-11 Notes
-Finnie and Hurns were matched up on the outside and Williams made a nice throw on a go route to Hurns, but it was good coverage by Finnie and Hurns wasn’t able to make the play.
-Malcolm Lewis beat Antonio Crawford on two plays in a row, but Crawford had good coverage both times. One of them was a catch and the other was missed by Morris.
-Tyriq McCord lined up in a variety of ways as expected. His long arms and speed will get him on the field early.
-Larry Hope looked great coverage-wise, he should surprise people. Good size
-There was one play where Robert Lockhart ran a go route against Nate Dortch and a Lockhart made a nice grab over him for a TD. It was a perfectly thrown ball by Morris.
-Kendal Thompkins beat Hope deep once and Morris hit him with another absolutely perfect deep ball for a TD.
-Jelani Hamilton was in the rotation for the DL and looked big.
-Deon Bush and Rayshawn Jenkins were both working with the second unit a lot, more that Andrew Swasey, who is listed ahead of them on the depth chart.
-Raphael Kirby looks big and made a few nice plays in the backfield.
-Interesting Note: Danny Isidora was actually playing LT with the 3rd group.
-Ramon Buchanon showed showed some nice burst after recovering from a knee injury. Look for him to be used in a multitude of ways.
Overall Thoughts
-There were some drops by the receivers and tight ends, which was concerning, but that should improve with reps.
-Morris is the heavy favorite over Williams right now, which shouldn’t be a surprise. Morris looks like he has totally regained his arm strength after his injury, but was a little off accuracy-wise. That is another thing that should improve with reps.
-I’m very impressed with the freshman receivers. I don’t see a flaw in Malcolm Lewis’ game and he should step in right away. Herb Waters also looked bigger from when I had last seen him. He looks to be near 185-190.
-The team got a lot of work in today and it was very up-tempo.
-Two guys who didn’t see the field much were Ladarius Gunter and Nate Dortch. Dortch isn’t as much of a surprise as Gunter.
-Jalen Grimble wasn't out there a whole lot either
