I fell asleep as soon as got back home and didn't even skim through my video once yet (I usually double check jersey numbers to make sure I'm not mixing up who I'm talking about in my observations) but I still got a lot of takeaways from it.
-First off, scout team work is now officially in the works. It was pretty obvious when a lot of the walkons lined up in a 4-3 defense and the offense ran a lot of no fullback, 3 WR sets on the opposite side of the field. I can't comment much about those periods for obvious reasons but here are the general notes.
-This was the best offensive day in a long time, and Jimmy Walker in particular had his best practice in an even longer time. The top three QBs were very consistent completing intermediate-to-medium throws, arguably the the toughest type of passes, and the wide receivers were good enough.
-Walker had his best day but Agnew and Chapman have pretty much solidified their spots and I still don’t see anything changing. Agnew had a good day but he again got ahead of himself at times and threw some really errant deep balls that Morgan sort of scolded him about. He just throws too many easy picks that are extremely unneccesary.
-At RB, walkon Tyler Wormhoudt continues to look like the complete package. He runs very hard, he’s pretty reactive and can make sudden cuts in the open field and his hands have been very dependable. He’s definitely the 4th back waiting to crack into the rotation until Stamps makes a return.
-It’s still hard to tell who will get the starting nod at FB. All of the guys in the mix have been getting time with every unit - with Dakota Turner getting a lot of time with the first team today - but all have proven to be very good athletes who can get physical. I like them all as pass blockers, too, but Horton is obviously looking for the best lead blocker out of the bunch. Bawden and Lessard have been relatively consistent and Turner has put himself right into the running, which is amazing considering how quick a turnaround it has been for him. He still lines up at the wrong spot at times (albeit, it’s hard to tell if he’s being told to motion before the snap or if he’s just out of position, which is likely the case considering his experience) but his skillset and attitude fits the role very well.
-WR Quest Truxton had a very strong practice and continues to make a case to break into the rotation with Favreau/Judge. Truxton is starting to get open more and is catching it with his hands more often, along with making a little more plays here and there after the catch. Definitely looking worthy of that late scholarship this summer.
-Mikah Holder did have one or two bad drops again today but I still wouldn’t be worried.
-There was one scary moment during punt return drills where walkon WR Mark Ellis accidentally ran into Truxton for a blindside hit. He got up eventually, while Adam Hall laughed and said “that ought to get some hair on your chest won’t it?” Truxton continued to impress even after that happened.
-Eric Judge had one of his better practices again and played mostly with the first-team over Favreau today. Judge was catching and holding onto deeper passes over the middle of the field (his biggest weakness).
Injury updates:
-Sergio Phillips didn’t practice much but was out with the training staff (neck)
-Christian Cumberlander has a mild concussion and protocol is that he needs a couple days off, doing mostly off the field drills on his own. Today was one of those days for him so he needs to get cleared by the staff next week.
-Chase Jasmin’s hamstring flared up and he left the field very early on during practice and spent the rest of it stretching it out and then doing upper body workouts with a strength assistant.
-Kwayde Miller attended practice and was in pads but didn’t take any reps.
-SDSU is taking advantage of Miller’s time off to build depth, and we saw a lot of movement once again throughout practice.
-Roemer, Ismael, Gerhard, Dixon and Achayo looked like the second team but nearly all of them were thrown in with the first team and one point or another too.
-Gerhard in particular got a lot of practice time at guard AND left tackle. And he had his best day at tackle so far in my opinion. He’s very good at maintaining his blocks during running plays but he’s still struggling with his quickness and reactions at tackle. Just like yesterday, he was pulled from center immediately after giving up a quick sack. Flores stepped in for him. Still, it looks like Gerhard is right in the mix to be either the team’s backup center (Krum is right there with him) and/or third offensive tackle (with Roemer).
-Ismael and Dixon are looking like they’re solely competing for the third guard spot as Rosales has pretty much locked in his starting spot. Ismael still needs time to work on his pulling (turning the corner and running at full speed) but he’s still really strong for his age and looks like a quality, pound-for-pound interior lineman.
-At DL, Noble Hall is looking like he may start depending on Phillips’ neck and Sam Tai will be the second stringer behind him. Gardner was with the third team a lot (with Melifonwu and Cheatum) and he hasn’t shown much improvement as camp has gone on.
-Junior college walk on Temerick Harper was getting some reps with the second unit between Tezino and Dunn. He has solid size and I really like his agility. Very good run stopper through and through.
-At corner, I think Babiash will start week one. Vaughn really struggled on his breaks and he’s still limping every hard every now and then. It was good to see him back on the field but he’s clearly not at 100 percent.
-Lomax had a nice interception on Chapman just before running out bounds today. He’s not a guy that’s going to rack up a bunch of picks in my opinion but he’s primed to rack up some numbers regardless this year. Danny Gonzales really seems to trust his instincts and let’s him basically make decisions on his own back there. His feel for the play going on in front of him and how he naturally reacts to it is almost always the right decision.
-Smith and Montgomery were the backup CBs
-The second team safety unit has remained Kam Kelly, Parker Baldwin and Jeff Clay. Clay had one of his best overall practices of camp. He kept his hands up when passes came his way in man coverage, he didn’t get beat over the top, and he made a lot of stops when he moved up into the box and accelerated into the backfield. Very little hesitation = very positive sign.
-I was planning to save this for a big fall camp recap notebook but I figured I’d throw out the names of freshman who I anticipate playing this year now:
OG Keith Ismael (on drives)
TE/H-back Parker Houston (on drives)
DB Dwayne Johnson (on special teams)
DB Trenton Thompson (on special teams)
And the biggest surprises / biggest risers this season will be:
-Trey Lomax (that’s assuming a lot of fans forgot about him)
-Jay Henderson (pass rushing/ quickness)
-Antonio Rosales (he’ll make highlight blocks every single game)
-Keith Ismael (he’s going to be ready at some point)
-Darryl Richardson (route running/highlight catches)
-Kahale Warring (usage out of the slot)
-Quest Truxton (really turned it on as of late)
-Juwan Washington (on end arounds and kick returns)
-First off, scout team work is now officially in the works. It was pretty obvious when a lot of the walkons lined up in a 4-3 defense and the offense ran a lot of no fullback, 3 WR sets on the opposite side of the field. I can't comment much about those periods for obvious reasons but here are the general notes.
-This was the best offensive day in a long time, and Jimmy Walker in particular had his best practice in an even longer time. The top three QBs were very consistent completing intermediate-to-medium throws, arguably the the toughest type of passes, and the wide receivers were good enough.
-Walker had his best day but Agnew and Chapman have pretty much solidified their spots and I still don’t see anything changing. Agnew had a good day but he again got ahead of himself at times and threw some really errant deep balls that Morgan sort of scolded him about. He just throws too many easy picks that are extremely unneccesary.
-At RB, walkon Tyler Wormhoudt continues to look like the complete package. He runs very hard, he’s pretty reactive and can make sudden cuts in the open field and his hands have been very dependable. He’s definitely the 4th back waiting to crack into the rotation until Stamps makes a return.
-It’s still hard to tell who will get the starting nod at FB. All of the guys in the mix have been getting time with every unit - with Dakota Turner getting a lot of time with the first team today - but all have proven to be very good athletes who can get physical. I like them all as pass blockers, too, but Horton is obviously looking for the best lead blocker out of the bunch. Bawden and Lessard have been relatively consistent and Turner has put himself right into the running, which is amazing considering how quick a turnaround it has been for him. He still lines up at the wrong spot at times (albeit, it’s hard to tell if he’s being told to motion before the snap or if he’s just out of position, which is likely the case considering his experience) but his skillset and attitude fits the role very well.
-WR Quest Truxton had a very strong practice and continues to make a case to break into the rotation with Favreau/Judge. Truxton is starting to get open more and is catching it with his hands more often, along with making a little more plays here and there after the catch. Definitely looking worthy of that late scholarship this summer.
-Mikah Holder did have one or two bad drops again today but I still wouldn’t be worried.
-There was one scary moment during punt return drills where walkon WR Mark Ellis accidentally ran into Truxton for a blindside hit. He got up eventually, while Adam Hall laughed and said “that ought to get some hair on your chest won’t it?” Truxton continued to impress even after that happened.
-Eric Judge had one of his better practices again and played mostly with the first-team over Favreau today. Judge was catching and holding onto deeper passes over the middle of the field (his biggest weakness).
Injury updates:
-Sergio Phillips didn’t practice much but was out with the training staff (neck)
-Christian Cumberlander has a mild concussion and protocol is that he needs a couple days off, doing mostly off the field drills on his own. Today was one of those days for him so he needs to get cleared by the staff next week.
-Chase Jasmin’s hamstring flared up and he left the field very early on during practice and spent the rest of it stretching it out and then doing upper body workouts with a strength assistant.
-Kwayde Miller attended practice and was in pads but didn’t take any reps.
-SDSU is taking advantage of Miller’s time off to build depth, and we saw a lot of movement once again throughout practice.
-Roemer, Ismael, Gerhard, Dixon and Achayo looked like the second team but nearly all of them were thrown in with the first team and one point or another too.
-Gerhard in particular got a lot of practice time at guard AND left tackle. And he had his best day at tackle so far in my opinion. He’s very good at maintaining his blocks during running plays but he’s still struggling with his quickness and reactions at tackle. Just like yesterday, he was pulled from center immediately after giving up a quick sack. Flores stepped in for him. Still, it looks like Gerhard is right in the mix to be either the team’s backup center (Krum is right there with him) and/or third offensive tackle (with Roemer).
-Ismael and Dixon are looking like they’re solely competing for the third guard spot as Rosales has pretty much locked in his starting spot. Ismael still needs time to work on his pulling (turning the corner and running at full speed) but he’s still really strong for his age and looks like a quality, pound-for-pound interior lineman.
-At DL, Noble Hall is looking like he may start depending on Phillips’ neck and Sam Tai will be the second stringer behind him. Gardner was with the third team a lot (with Melifonwu and Cheatum) and he hasn’t shown much improvement as camp has gone on.
-Junior college walk on Temerick Harper was getting some reps with the second unit between Tezino and Dunn. He has solid size and I really like his agility. Very good run stopper through and through.
-At corner, I think Babiash will start week one. Vaughn really struggled on his breaks and he’s still limping every hard every now and then. It was good to see him back on the field but he’s clearly not at 100 percent.
-Lomax had a nice interception on Chapman just before running out bounds today. He’s not a guy that’s going to rack up a bunch of picks in my opinion but he’s primed to rack up some numbers regardless this year. Danny Gonzales really seems to trust his instincts and let’s him basically make decisions on his own back there. His feel for the play going on in front of him and how he naturally reacts to it is almost always the right decision.
-Smith and Montgomery were the backup CBs
-The second team safety unit has remained Kam Kelly, Parker Baldwin and Jeff Clay. Clay had one of his best overall practices of camp. He kept his hands up when passes came his way in man coverage, he didn’t get beat over the top, and he made a lot of stops when he moved up into the box and accelerated into the backfield. Very little hesitation = very positive sign.
-I was planning to save this for a big fall camp recap notebook but I figured I’d throw out the names of freshman who I anticipate playing this year now:
OG Keith Ismael (on drives)
TE/H-back Parker Houston (on drives)
DB Dwayne Johnson (on special teams)
DB Trenton Thompson (on special teams)
And the biggest surprises / biggest risers this season will be:
-Trey Lomax (that’s assuming a lot of fans forgot about him)
-Jay Henderson (pass rushing/ quickness)
-Antonio Rosales (he’ll make highlight blocks every single game)
-Keith Ismael (he’s going to be ready at some point)
-Darryl Richardson (route running/highlight catches)
-Kahale Warring (usage out of the slot)
-Quest Truxton (really turned it on as of late)
-Juwan Washington (on end arounds and kick returns)
