Other than the injury news and getting a first look at some players, nothing too exciting happened during SDSU’s first practice on Tuesday night.
They did one period of 1v1s and two periods on 7v7s but most of practice was position work, a lot of offense/defense only periods and a little bit of special teams coverages units.
Starting with the quarterbacks, it was pretty clear that Chris Laviano got the majority of the reps as the No. 2 QB. For those of you who haven’t seen him, you might be a little surprised with his size. He’s big, but not long and built more like Ryan Katz was a couple of seasons ago. He’s just a little bit taller than Christian Chapman but he definitely has a stronger, bulkier build.
His arm strength is legit. He didn’t air it out too much on day 1 but you’ll definitely be seeing people mentioning his “zip” on the ball on short to intermediate throws.
SDSU worked almost exclusively on play action passes during offense only periods and Chapman and Laviano are clearly the best throwers on the run at this point. Chapman’s passes are always tight spirals that the receivers can make a play on while Laviano’s accuracy is a little bit rattly and tougher to handle.
I really liked seeing how both of them put an emphasis on getting the ball out quickly too. Chapman’s release does seem a little more quicker and sudden once he makes a decision and the ball really rips out of his hand. Laviano’s throwing motion is more forced but it works well for him. His passes have more of a downward motion to them since his arm is strong enough to get the ball far without needing much air underneath them.
Ryan Agnew has improved since last fall thanks to his reps this past spring but his accuracy issues in the 20 yards and shorter range continue to be his main issue. He throws a very pretty deep ball when necessary but his completion rate on short to intermediate throws still leaves a lot to be desired.
It’s going to take time to get used to Quest Truxton’s new No. 8 jersey but you’ll definitely be seeing him make a lot of plays this year if the pass protection holds up. Truxton started fall right where he left off last spring by being the best receiver out there. He caught every catchable pass thrown his way and he was the best receiver at getting separation. He’s a hard cutter and his head fakes really help him out on double moves. He gave CB Ron Smith a very hard time on Monday but I’m looking forward to seeing him matchup more with Kam Kelly moving forward.
I feel pretty similar about Fred Trevillion in terms of his spring-to-fall camp development. He’s still a little more inconsistent than you’d like, but when he’s at his best, he’s definitely a top-three receiver on this team. By that I mean when he’s running his route at full speed, concentrating on the ball, extending his arms and then making moves after the catch, Trevillion’s one of the most exciting players to watch. There are too many plays where he lapses in one of those aforementioned areas. If he plays at his highest level during the season he will definitely contribute.
Tim Wilson and Isaiah Macklin are going to get compared a lot during their careers since they’re the same grad year and are both known as the tall guys SDSU hyped up. Wilson continues to look like the more overall complete player with good speed while Macklin’s more of a wild card and sort of a one dimensional player at this point. Macklin is extremely good at making catches deep down the field because he uses his body to screen off smaller DBs so well. This is what exactly what Rocky wants to keep the defense from playing eight man fronts so I think he’ll overlook Macklin’s hands if it means getting him on to stretch the field.
Wilson on the other hand is more of a quick twicth player that can make catches in short field spaces and his hands are more consistent.
The freshman that stood out on day one was Isaiah Richardson. He’s built much better than I thought with the potential to grow into an Ezell Ruffin type of body. He’s an extremely smooth runner and his hands, body control and catching radius really caught my eye. I can see why Hunkier Cooper took a chance on him when a lot of Pac-12 schools backed off due to a broken bone in his leg. He doesn’t look like he has an injury history at all and will be one freshman to track moving forward.
Two new walkon receivers that stood out were (85) Chaz Collins and (83) Alex Wilson. Collins is a Lloyd Mills type of quick receiver while Wilson was just a flat out load to cover at times. He looks like a walk-on still based off my first impression and will definitely help the scout team out this year.
Continuing with the skill guys, Kameron Kelly had an amazing day one. First off, he made it clear that he’s the vocal leader on this team. He got everyone focused when the defense went out for its first reps during 7v7s and gave instruction to teammates when he was on the sidelines. Kelly also made a lot of plays on passes, including one pick and a handful of breakups. He has terrific top end speed and he’s looking like he will be the playmaker that this young secondary absolutely needs.
I also noticed that he’s at his best when he’s playing off coverage at this point, but I think that’s just natural for him since he moved over from safety.
If you were going to ask which corner looks the most like Damontae Kazee, I’d point to Kyree Woods. He’s in a good spot as the No. 3 corner and he deserves it. His technique is on point and he’s very patient when it comes to letting the receivers run toward him. He’s able to do it well because he trusts his breaking speed enough to make a last second play on the ball once the receiver makes his cut.
Another DB who had a strong showing was safety Dwayne Parchment. He has always been a great athlete but his ball skills were lacking. Like Kelly, he broke up a ton of passes and looking comfortable making his reactions to routes and picking up receivers in his zone. I think he will become a legitimate challenger for Trenton Thompson’s starting spot. At the very least, he’ll play a big role in the rotation with Liam Cabrera.
CB Jeff Clay has moved over from safety and he’s also a work in progress. He’s a great athlete but you can tell he’s learning how to explode off his breaks a bit quicker. Right now he’s very hesitant and freezes a little.
Another walkon that made some eye opening plays was CB Adison Umrarong. Fast and physical.
I played close attention to safety Dwayne Johnson to see if his man to man skills improved at all and during his first rep of 1v1s, TE Darryl Richardson ran past him up the seam for an easy completion over the top. It’s still a work in progress with Johnson, even though he’s a solid tackler against the run. It’s also worth noting that Richardson had a very strong first day.
Edge rushers Jay Henderson and Randy Ricks continue to look like the most impressive frames on the team. They looked pretty smooth opening up their hips and getting into coverage too … but only up until they had to turn up the field and sprint it out with the quicker tight ends. They’re top end speed is the only thing lacking but that won’t be a big deal since they’ll mainly be rushing the passer when they’re on the field.
TE Kahale Warring just had an OK day but he’s definitely the fastest at his position, especially when he reaches that second gear. He burned Parker Baldwin on a crossing route (Baldwin recovered and made a play on the ball but only because Agnew threw it behind him).
Parker Houston has added a lot of good weight on him while Nick Bawden looks like he’s in fantastic shape. His speed has DEFINITELY improved too. Wouldn’t be surprised if Chapman gets it to him in the flat more often this year if he has space.
Some of the offensive line lineups I spotted yesterday (from left to right)
Tyler Roemer, Daishawn Dixon, Keith Ismael, Antonio Rosales, Joe Salcedo.
Tyler Roemer, Daishawn Dixon, Keith Ismael, Antonio Rosales, Ryan Pope.
Kyle Spalding, Dominic Gudino, Nick Gerhard, Garrison Young, Douglas Tucker
Derrick Achayo, Dominic O’Brien Garrison Young, Ladji Bagayoko, Desmond Bessent
Derrick Achayo, Garrison young, Dominic Gudino, Ladji Bagayoko, Desmond Bessent
Kyle Spalding, Zach Thomas, Dominic Gudino, Garrison Young, Joe Salcedo
As you can see, Mike Schmidt is trying to get players to get experience all over the line. This won’t really get settled into the last few practices of camp, most likely.
The biggest surprise was seeing Daishawn Dixon with the first team though, considering his struggles in the spring. He actually moved much better on Day 1 but I want to see how he holds up.
You should also take comfort in the fact that Antonio Rosales has really taken lead of the OL. He never seemed like an outspoken guy but I caught him giving advice to the young guys and even sprinting from drill to drill at times.
I'll try to get more of an idea of the depth chart spots with the RB group and LBs today.