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Spring practice observations at the midpoint

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Jimmy Johnson would have turned Jamal Carter into a Jessie Armstead type player! But I understand the need at Safety...

Just hoping J. Carter doesn't end up like Ray Ray Armstrong...

Most definitely talented, but can be tricked in the secondary by a crafty QB. Get this guy Ed Reed's phone # please!!!
 
S:

For the people asking about Rayshawn. The injury was a serious one and back injuries can linger. DMoney mentioned to me before that Rayshawn needs to get in shape too. Long way to go.


What you said on Carter, basically what I've been harping on for some time now. Inconsistent in his tackling form and not disciplined in his assignment.

Always felt he needed a redshirt year when he got here. His mental game and technique have not matched with his physical and athletic talent yet. Which is sad cause it's year 3 for him.

He hasn't built off the solid spring he had last season. It upsets me cause he has a lot of athleticism and tools to be a great safety and it's not clicking. I'll reserve final judgement until the season but that doesn't sound good.

Dallas as I've mentioned before. A step too slow to play safety. Think he would be the ideal and perfect special teams type of player. He's always been very good on special teams in his time here.

Jaquan making a splash already doesn't surprise me. Been tooting the horn about watching him for the last few years.

Deon I've been expecting a solid senior year.



CB: At corner. Nice surprise in Mayes there. Let's see if he continues. Nice on Artie, hope he makes that jump this year. Howard and Corn going to battle up until fall ball. Need Howard to rebound. IMO I would expect M. Jackson to be that freshman to play corner early as I feel Redwine and Henley are still a bit more raw.

I actually lean more towards Howard is the better pure cover guy but I like how phsyical Corn is. I think Corn would flourish if we put him at the nickel.



LB: I've been hearing a lot of good things about Young this offseason. Grace just makes **** happen. Promising on Gayot. Anything on Owens? I think Kirby will be solid but not DP level. Perry is like some had mentioned, needed weight. Hope they just use McCord situationally, he's always had a knack of making big key plays.



DT: I might be underestimating Wyche a bit. Has Wyche passed up Jenkins due to more experience? Sounds good on Moten. Kamalu?

DE: Need Chad and AQM to play big this year. Has Hamilton showed any signs yet? Agree on Harris, nothing really sticks out but he does a lot lf things well. Hope DJack gets in the two deep.

OL: Agreed on the OL. If Gadbois can't get it together, I think St. Louis going to have to be ready to step in.

TE: I've been expecting Stan to take a big step this year. More well rounded TE than Walford. Might get crucified for saying that here but Stan can do it all. I've always been mentioning that Herndon would be a good Hback. Njoku sounds like he could be a nice flex down the line. Washington a lil raw coming in, I expected him to be #2 coming in but I'll temper myself on that.

WR: Mentioned in another post it think a week or few days ago that a big key would be for Coley to rebound and for Scott to stay healthy and with his head on straight. I'm still skeptical on Lewis till this day since the injury. IMO he's lost speed and wiggle that he had when I saw him at Miramar but I expect him to get his PT. I expect Berrios to be our slot for the next 3 years, could break some reception records if he takes a jump in his game and becomes more consistent.

Waters, I would have as a starter if Coley or Scott trip up again. Even if he doesn't start I believe he will get some good PT regardless.


RB: I just want someone to emerge and step up. I feel it's Yearby and some feel it's Gus.

QB: Brad just needs to build off that freshman season but more, with even more poise and confidence.
 
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Coley about to blow up and make the vertical plays that went to Dorsett last year.
 
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bigsonnyu said:
Jimmy Johnson would have turned Jamal Carter into a Jessie Armstead type player! But I understand the need at Safety...

Just hoping J. Carter doesn't end up like Ray Ray Armstrong...

Most definitely talented, but can be tricked in the secondary by a crafty QB. Get this guy Ed Reed's phone # please!!!
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If anything that would be a success. Ray Ray was an All-ACC selection as a sophomore.
 
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DMoney said:
dogcane said:
Where is Jenkins? Is he healthy?
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Still injured.
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****. Not good. For you to say Jaquan Johnson could start next to Bush, possibly, doesn't make me happy. JCarter needs to get his head out of his a$$ and get goin! Smh. Maybe Sol was right...Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane. Hearing that RJenkins is still hurt isn't good either. He will be useless this year. Will take him a whole year to get back to normal. Maybe thats a good thing for our 2016 S depth.

I like that the light might have come on for Wyche. Great news!

Was hoping that Kirby would be that thumper! Smh. Looks like we gotta wait for Shaq to get here before we see that "Perryman/Sharpton/Vilma" kind of physicality at the position. Great to hear Grace is stepping up.

Great to hear about CThomas and AQM. Both should be HUNGRY. They wasted a year.

If the light comes on for Artie..watch out! He will be gone after this year. Hope Ryan Mayes proves me wrong because he could be starting next year if Artie realizes his full potential this year.

Great writeup Dmoney!
 
I'm on a mobile so can't search. Could someone look up some observations from last year's practices, so we can compare the results to the optimism (if they were optimistic).
 
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DMoney said:
cane since birth said:
anything you saw with maybe being more aggressive in the play calling or did you see more patty cake stuff?
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To answer you and Marco's question, I can't go too in-depth on scheme stuff. I'll just say we are still multiple :smile:
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So that translates to...on more than one occasion one or both of AQM and Chad Thomas were seen dropping into coverage.

Same ****...different year...same ****** coaching staff.
 
MarcoD70 said:
DMoney said:
cane since birth said:
anything you saw with maybe being more aggressive in the play calling or did you see more patty cake stuff?
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To answer you and Marco's question, I can't go too in-depth on scheme stuff. I'll just say we are still multiple :smile:
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Interesting that maybe there is a desire to keep the scheme info vague and not really reveal too much. hmmmmm
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Well, that's not sporting of Grolden. After last year's steamroll season, we should be fair to our opponents.

DANGER: if we continue destroying the competition, we might get absorbed into the NFL. Oh my!
 
Surprised people aren't more giddy about Kaaya improving. I don't think people really understand how hard it is for a true freshman to walk off the street and earn the starting job at QB, and keep it. He's going to be more than special for us, and will get to the point where he will carry us to wins. He wasn't at that point last year, but he very well could be this year. A full offseason, and season under his belt, will make him a much better QB going into next season.
 
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DMONEY/GROLDEN COJOINED

SLURPATHON MARATHON

DMoney said:
Below are my position-by-position thoughts from the first half of spring practice. Big picture, any success this season hinges on two things: keeping Brad Kaaya healthy and putting this talented DL in a position to disrupt and make plays.

QB- Brad Kaaya has picked up where he left off and then some. Simply put, I've never seen a Miami QB with his type of accuracy and ball placement. He also has Dorsey-type anticipation, but with more arm strength. I expect the team to win more games than last year, and Kaaya is the reason. Malik Rosier has improved but is still too erratic with his accuracy. Vinny Testaverde, Jr. has some pure passing ability, especially for a walk-on. If he really drills down on the mental side he may have a future as a quality back-up.

RB- Gus Edwards is running with a lot of confidence. Defenders are bouncing off of him and he is showing some unique footwork and explosion for a 235-pound back. If the season started tomorrow, he'd be the guy and we'd be in good shape. Joe Yearby is right behind him, and is very strong in the passing game. He will always make the first guy miss in space. Trayone Gray missed a couple practices due to academics and (while improved) still has issues with ball security. He shows major flashes as a running back, though, and is also good in the receiving game. He needs a strong finish and good summer, because he has the pure speed we need in the backfield.

WR- Rashawn Scott and Stacy Coley are separating themselves as the top guys. Braxton Berrios and Malcolm Lewis bring consistency in the slot. Herb Waters is a guy who I'd like to see come back strong after spring break. One way to get him going is giving him the end-arounds and screens that Coley has gotten the past two years. Darrell Langham needs to do a better job separating and Tyre Brady needs to improve his hands. If Lawrence Cager comes to camp ready to play he has a chance to break in as the #6 guy.

TE- This group has young talent. Standish Dobard had a strong scrimmage and is very powerful as a blocker and after the catch. He's missed a few practices, which has allowed Chris Herndon to shine as one of Kaaya's favorite targets. He is steady at H-back. David Njoku still needs a year to get stronger and more physical but he has the most upside as a pass-catcher in the group. He makes contested catches and runs like a deer. Jerome Washington is definitely a physical specimen. Huge, long-armed and very explosive for his size. He's not a natural pass-catcher but has improved with each practice. Maybe he's Richard Gordon, but I'd like to see him get a few snaps on defense for evaluation purposes.

OL- This group will need contributions from true freshmen. Nick Linder, Kc McDermott, Trevor Darling and Danny Isidora are locks to start, but beyond that is anyone's guess. Kehoe likes to rotate guys, but I don't think he will have the opportunity this year. We really could've used Denver Kirkland, Reginald Bain and A'lique Terry.

DL- Most talented group we've had in a while. Al-Quadin Muhammad and Chad Thomas look like you'd expect them to look- explosive, powerful and unstoppable 1-on-1. Mike Wyche has been the story of the spring. He really could've used spring last year, and now he looks like a different player than we saw during the season. He's slimmed down and become more explosive and occasionally dominant. Calvin Heurtelou will need to come back from injury strong if he wants to keep his starting job. Anthony Moten is also making strides and is the quickest interior DL we've had off the snap in a while. These guys are often going against sub-par OL, but you're starting to see why they were highly recruited players. We need to put them in a position to utilize their athletic gifts.

LB- Perryman's physical presence is missed here. This is a fast group that is capable in coverage but lacks thump outside of Juwan Young. Jermaine Grace is the best LB in the group and has been a steady playmaker. Marques Gayot plays very similar to Grace. The move to WLB was a good one for him. Charles Perry still needs to gain some weight before contributing, although his speed is evident. I've never loved Tyriq McCord at SAM (too stiff), but he has been solid throughout spring and continues to make big plays as he has done throughout his career.

S- Thin position. Deon Bush is the top guy after a bounce-back junior season. Jamal Carter is still too inconsistent with his tackling and recognition. Dallas Crawford has size and speed issues but can make plays, including a diving interception yesterday. I love Jaquan Johnson. His physical tools were a question as a recruit, but he looks extremely quick and explosive in short areas. I think he starts next to Bush.

CB- Strong at the top. Artie Burns has been arguably the best defensive player in camp and looks primed for a leap. Corn Elder is probably the best pure cover guy. Tracy Howard has missed the last couple practices but is a good, reliable cover man. Antonio Crawford's departure really hurts depth here. However, Ryan Mayes (a guy I've been critical of) is off to a great start. His length is an asset, and he moves like a corner. He returned a fumble for a TD yesterday and is playing with confidence. Nonetheless, this is a position where you will see a true freshman or two contribute.
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What do people expect from camp report despite the recruiting woes and losses there's still a lot of high quality talent on this team.
 
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