I didn't even know there was a family barbecue today. I just came by to watch practice. I get there, and there's hundreds of people on the field and I'm like
Few notes...
*Couch is really coming into his own. He's by far our most technically sound DB. His press man skills are awesome. Spoke to his dad for a while. Let's just say, everybody is glad that Manny is gone. With these new coaches, Couch can now play his game. He's comfortable and feeling rejuvenated. Look for a solid season.
*Chaminade boys looked good today. Haye is starting to make a few plays and Thad was toting the rock hard today. Second practice in a row that I've seen solid performances from these two.
*Steele went with some 3 Safety looks with Blades, Huff and Tae playing deep. Huff got his pic while playing middle deep third.
*X murders people in one-on-ones. He be cooking Blades a$$ especially. He had a case of the dropsies today though. (in scrimmage period) Killed DB's to get open but then let a couple go through his hands.
*Ladson is not a guy IMO. He did make a nice contested catch today but other than that, he leaves a lot to be desired at times.
*Keontra had a nice interception. I love his game.
*Avantae is just a plain stud. He sticks out to me.
*Some of us have been saying it for a while, and a few of y'all don't want to hear it, but James Williams is not a deep Safety.
Steele is using him properly though (IMO). I saw him near the LOS a lot today, covering TE's. He's a good player, but he has to be utilized correctly. He needs to be moved around.
*Dare I say it, but Arroyo might be an early round draft pick at TE. He's a **** stud and really stands out.
*Defense got a lot of pressure on the QB's today. It also looked like Steele may have put in some new wrinkles within the last week. Anytime a new coordinator arrives, you have to spoon feed the players.
*A lot of people around Greentree think that Jacurri and Skinner are going to be special. They stick out for sure. We got some young pups on this team (Brown, Skinner, Moss) who I'm really excited about. I can't wait to see their development.
*I actually spoke to an assistant coach about this, but one of the things that struck me is how bare we are on the front-7 in terms of talent. I don't know WTF Manny was doing, but more than half of those kids don't even look the part. They don't even look like someone you'd want walking off the bus when you're about to play an ACC component. So many of them are either too short, too stumpy, too fat, too skinny, too stiff, etc. That stuck out to quite a few people I spoke to today.
*My last point is why I want us to calm our expectations. We still need a couple recruiting classes to even look like a Miami team on OL, DL, LB and CB.
*You know the culture here is special when you have legends like Bain and Ed Reed wearing aprons and serving barbecue. I literally had the greatest Safety of all-time serve me barbecue chicken today and I stood 2 feet next to Alonzo Highsmith while I ate it. If I wasn't such a fat a$s I would have framed that piece of chicken instead of inhaling it.
*I spoke to more UM coaches in the past week than I did in 4 years under Manny. And the more I go around Greentree, the more stories I hear about that pompous cornball. Good riddance.
