Not being retained. New coach for New Mexico.

I know its rare for a freshman to come in and play center but check out Guidino.

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starting to hear SDSU has better chance than initially thought. Oregon is still favorite but MSU/SDSU are legitimate options

Good report on the front six. I really enjoyed reading it. Can't wait until fall for them to show their stuff as reported. From your report it looks like we will be ready to take on our out of conference schedule, at least with our defense. As for now, I will now start looking at last years games to keep me occupied with football.

The Chula Vista running back who was committed to SDSU out of high school but had to take the two-year JuCo route at Arizona Western College (Yuma) tweeted out that he got an offer from Arizona today. I would assume SDSU would honor his scholarship if his academics are in order during the fall semester but the fact that he noted U of A as his "first offer" makes me think he wants to start the recruiting process over again.

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UNLV basketball may be taking a bit of a hit, as three players have decided to transfer.
Jalen Poyser was a true sophomore, last year, starting 21 games as a guard and averaging 10.4 points per game (2.7 rpg & 2.6 apg) and was a four star recruit out of high school.
Forward Troy Baxter, Jr. and guard Zion Morgan were true freshmen, that saw considerable action during this last year.
http://www.unlvrebels.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/032917aaa.html

Hi Ruben,

Is there an active list of 5th year transfers, I know this time of year is when they begin announcing they are taking off for a new school in the 2017-18 season.

Aztecs moved to 2-0 in MWC play and 10-5 overall after winning second game of series up in Reno this afternoon by score of 7-3.

Nevada was picked above SDSU in pre-season MWC standings.

Only game SDSU has lost in last couple of weeks was a close 1-0 loss to U$C. Nice wins along the way over Notre Dame, ranked Long Beach, etc.

Aztecs are getting great pitching and hitting from their seasoned Juniors and Seniors.

How about those Aztecs!
What a performance in Fresno, today!
Opened up the double header with a 5-4 victory, then came back in the evening game with a 12-0 victory over the Bulldogs!
Going eight innings, Brett Seeburger threw a one hitter facing only 25 batters. Marcus Reyes faced the final three batters as Seeburger was closing in on his 100 pitches for the evening.
The Aztecs hammered out 16 hits in 40 official at bats, with nine different Aztecs crossing the plate.
Jordan Verdon and Chase Calabuig each had three Runs Batted In.
Andrew Brown and Danny Sheehan each had three hits.
Jordan Verdon,Chase Calabuig, and Tyler Adkison hit home runs.

The Aztecs improved their season record to 16 & 7 and their Mountain West Conference to 6 & 2, with one more game in Fresno, Sunday at 1:00.

Big week coming up, Tuesday we are on the road to face the Trojans in Los Angeles. Friday, Saturday and Sunday we play host to San Jose State. The following Monday we host the University of San Francisco for a day game and on Tuesday evening we play UCLA at Lake Elsinore's stadium.

Hope some of you guys can get out for a little baseball, and our team keeps up its strong play.

The team had it’s final practice yesterday and it was another non-padded light one. It was actually one of the nicest practices of the entire camp in terms of the weather and setting.

They did a lot of scout team defensive work against the triple-option offense which I can’t write about and some more technical stuff with the offensive players but I liked the energy everyone brought during the one on ones.

Once again, I thought Miles Cheatum and Quest Truxton were the standouts. They will probably be my “mvps” of camp when I do my spring recaps even though I’m still not sure if Cheatum will be a legit every down starter in the fall and more of a passing down type pass rusher.

It will be difficult because of the type of offense SDSU runs which will limit his stats but Truxton looked like a potential all-conference player throughout camp. I don’t know enough about the rest of the receivers in the conference to predict that but he certainly has been the most consistent pass catcher and best route runner.

Mikah Holder practiced 100 percent. Rocky said he still has a hamstring strain but the trainers said he could practice if he felt comfortable enough and he did. You could tell he wasn’t always running at full speed but his suddenness and cutting ability on his breaks still looked really good and I don’t think it will be a concern during fall camp.

Speaking of suddenness on breaks, WR coach Hunkie Cooper had the one-liner of camp when the players were practicing comebacks routes during individual drills. The receivers are supposed to chop their feet hard before turning their body around to make a quick catch. Cooper was tired of seeing the receivers chop too much (which is a big tell for the cornerback to jump the route) so he yelled “stop doing that it looks like you’re trying to put out a fire.” Truxton and Holder don’t really have that issue because they have great body control but the younger guys along with the taller receivers aren’t as sharp or consistent.

The quarterbacks had an easier day and I’m still very confident that Christian Chapman will be improved next year and his hand won’t cause any issues. Unless Chris Laviano doesn’t show up and decides to sign/attend another school elsewhere, I don’t think we’ll see Ryan Agnew on the field unless it’s a situational reason. It’ll be interesting to see how the reps work out in the fall because Agnew has had plenty of time/chances/reps to prove himself this spring so I wonder if Laviano will get a similar treatment - at least early on in camp - to prove his worth and work to earning his potential No. 2 spot on the depth chart.

I’ve wrote that Fred Trevillion has shown talent and athleticism but he’s up and down a bit. The final practices was one of his better ones though, so I feel confident in continue to slot him with the top four including Truxton, Holder and Wilson. He’s really tough to cover when his route running is on point and he’s got enough speed to beat people.

On the offensive line, I feel like there’s still a lot of uncertainty within that group so I started thinking about what we’re “sure” about now exiting camp that were question marks entering camp. Rosales is obvious, but I thought the biggest question was the comfort level at center.

I think SDSU is ending camp with two serviceable centers which I wasn’t expecting at all during camp. Derrick Achayo may be my pick for most improved player on the entire team and I still feel like there’s a lot of areas he can improve in during the fall. I wouldn’t be surprised if he shows up to fall camp even more comfortable at center and wins the job outright, although I feel Nick Gerhard will be neck and neck with him when it comes down to naming a starter. It will be one of the tougher decisions made by Mike Schmidt.

Another big question mark was the depth at tackle. The starting unit won’t have the experience like they’ve had at tackle in year’s past but I’d feel pretty confident in the three deep and both left and right tackle. I think Salcedo and Pope will be the guys but Roemer looks extremely comfortable as a freshman and then you have Tucker and Thomas as very solid players that have only improved to add even more depth.

I feel like the depth at the guard spots is now the biggest question mark exiting spring BUT, the team has a youngin’ in Ladji Bagayoko and two more freshmen with long term potential coming in the spring. I do worry if those guys are forced to play before they are ready in the future (2018 and on) because there will be a pretty big gap when Rosales leaves. But I can see SDSU targeting a pulling guard on the junior college market this winter. I can also see Achayo being a two year starter at center though, which in that case would allow Gerhard to move over to guard. The more I think about it the more I can see it happening. This wouldn’t be a consideration at all if Achayo didn’t show so much improvement this spring, so big props to him.

On defense, my thoughts on particular players hasn’t changed that much throughout the spring. I was surprised to see Jeff Clay move over to corner because I felt he was weakest and man coverage and more of a zone coverage guy with great closing speed against the run but he’s athletic and very fast so I guess it’s worth a shot.

I feel like JonDarius Gardner had an underrated second half of camp. It wasn’t enough to make me think he’ll be a big contributor next season but it was enough to keep his name in consideration leading up to fall camp in a few months.

Parie Dedeaux is really the only other player that has come out of nowhere. His potential at corner has flown a bit under the radar but he’s taken big steps since he moved over from safety just a few practices into camp. He’s very comfortable in coverage, can come up to stop the run and he’s an athletic player who’s improved his technique very quickly. Dedeaux hs sort of saved the comfort level the coaches have regarding the depth at corner too. It was a serious worry entering camp and Tayler Hawkins ACL injury set it back even more. I think Smith, Kelly and Woods will be the three players in 2017 but Garrett Binkley seemed to be the only backup. Dedeaux looks like he’ll at least be an emergency backup. I can see him playing a big role on the special team units as well.

I also really liked Dwayne Johnson’s improvement as an Aztec safety but there are still major question marks with his down field coverage. He’s going to be listed as the backup Aztec but I wouldn’t be surprised if they rotate Trey Lomax with Parker Baldwin every now and then instead of Johnson. I think Johnson defends the routes happening in front of him pretty well and he can matchup with tight ends and physically fight for the ball better than most of the smaller safeties on the roster, but there’s a lot more to it. I honestly can’t think of one practice this spring where he ran side by side with a tight end on a deep route and made a deflection on a pass. I felt like he opened up his hips a little bit better as camp went on but he was susceptible to getting beat on double moves up until the very end. Walkon Troy Artopeous made him whiff on a double move where Johnson only had to cover shorter routes during his previous reps. It was like the coaches did that by design to see if Johnson would fall for the bait and that’s what happened.

Videos will be up soon and I plan to do a bunch of post spring content to fill the void but feel free to post any questions you have in this thread.

Posting this now because I keep forgetting Jeff Clay has switched from safety to cormer.

Who are the possible players to transfer OUT of SDSU?? (Basketball)

With Michigan's football team traveling to Italy for a week during its spring camp, SDSU will be spending a day in Little Italy next week. This is defintely Rocky making at dig at the Power 5 school.

Per GoAztecs

Aztec Football to Visit Little Italy on March 21

SDSU football to take part in Little Italy festivities on Tuesday


SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State football team will visit Little Italy next Tuesday (March 21) with festivities planned for the historic urban neighborhood. The visit will come three days after the annual spring game at 11 a.m. PT Saturday on the enclosed Aztec football practice field.


SDSU will arrive at 2:45 p.m. PT to take a photo with the Little Italy sign, before splitting into five groups for culture immersion experiences at 3 p.m. PT. One group will attend an Our Lady of the Rosary blessing and art history event at 1668 State Street. A second group is slated to visit the Washington Elementary School for an American football experience at 1789 State Street. The third group will participate in a bocce ball experience at Amici Park on the corner of West Date and State Streets. Another group will watch live Italian music at the Piazza Basilone on the corner of India and West Fir Street. The final group will go on a historic walking tour with Little Italy Tours under the Little Italy sign.


The five groups will then attend a lunch service at four different restaurants, including Sorrento Ristorante (1646 India Street), Café Zucchero (1731 India Street), Filippi’s Pizza Grotto (1747 India Street) and Mona Lisa Restaurant (2061 India Street) before heading back to campus.


In 2016, San Diego State defeated Wyoming, 27-24, in the Mountain West Championship for its second straight league title and downed Houston, 34-10, in the Las Vegas Bowl to finish 11-3, culminating in a No. 25 ranking in both the AP Top 25 poll and the Amway Coaches Poll. It is just the second time that the Aztecs have been ranked in the final AP poll in program history (also 1977). The 11 wins tied a school single-season record as SDSU became the first team in program history with back-to-back 11-win campaigns.San Diego State is accepting new account deposits on 2017 season tickets through the Aztec Ticket Office, while current season-ticket holders can also renew their tickets for the 2017 campaign. Fans can purchase tickets through GoAztecs.com, over the phone by calling (619) 283-7378, or by visiting Qualcomm Stadium's Window E between 9 a.m. PT and 5 p.m. PT.


SDSU’s home schedule next year includes games against UC Davis (Sept. 2), Stanford (Sept. 16), Northern Illinois (Sept. 30), Boise State (Oct. 14), Fresno State (Oct. 21), Nevada (Nov. 18) and New Mexico (Nov. 25).


SDSU Football Little Italy Agenda

Time Group Activity Location

2:45 p.m. All Arrival at Little Italy sign Under the Little Italy sign


3 p.m. 1 Our Lady of the Rosary Blessing & Art History 1668 State Street

2 Washington Elementary School American FB Exp. 1789 State Street

3 Bocce Ball Experience at Amici Park Corner of W. Date & State Streets

4 Live Italian Music at the Piazza Basilone Corner of India & W. Fir Street

5 Historic Walking Tour with the Little Italy Tours Under the Little Italy sign


4 p.m. 1 Sorrento Ristorante 1646 India Street

2 & 3 Café Zucchero 1731 India Street

4 Filippi’s Pizza Grotto 1747 India Street

5 Mona Lisa Restaurant 2061 India Street

Ok, so I'm sure you all have heard Nick Stone's interview with Darren Smith by now and have seen SDSU's press release. I went over all the coverage on Mighty 1090 yesterday and it was all just very fascinating to me from an objective point of view. SDSU just so happened to release its response to the FS Investors' plan whole Stone was on air. When read SDSU's statement, Stone's initial response was "it's telling" that he heard it on the radio before being notified about it from SDSU. It kept getting better.

Darren Smith did a decent job trying to clarify the situation between the two and it became obvious that the communication between both sides has been uneasy. Then hours later Scott Kaplan had Stone back on to talk more about SDSU's statement and it just flat out turned into a public negotiation battle.

SDSU took a dig at the tax breaks the Investors would receive without providing typical "revenue or ownership normally associated with a gift." They also called out the plan for not showing much promise for a potential 40k expansion "given the density of the plan." Basically, there's so much more involved with the entire plot of the Mission Valley land benefitting the FS Investors that have little to do with the MLS stadium, SDSU or the parkland and more to do the with the proposed housing, retail and office space. In other words, this was all just a land grab to get the City and the public to approve a very valuable business idea.

This isn't about brining an MLS team or giving SDSU a half-hearted "gift" or putting out the idea of a potential NFL team returning, it's about FS Investors acting in their own self interests much more than the limited details they've tossed out in the air through the media. However, it's clearly working. They are the first group to put out a plan with an aggressive mindset and the media and public, at least based off the initial reactions lately, are eating it up.

I've looked at Facebook comments to the local media coverage of the FS Investors plan and almost all the responses are in favor other than some people still dreading not having the NFL (especially the crowd that thinks its a downgrade from the "NFL", which in my opinion should be unrelated) and a couple of SDSU fans who realize how the Aztecs won't get much of what was originally brought up.

Some notes:
-After their initiative is released this week, they will need to get 72k signatures from registered voters.

-Stone said they are providing SDSU with a substantial amount of free land underneath the 30K stadium.

-Stone denied SDSU's claim that 40k wouldn't be an option and then said that it would happen "should the university be fortunate enough to secure a power five birth." Woah, woah, woah. That wasn't brought up during all the hubhub in the media before.

-He then showed some leverage while throwing a dig at SDSU's leadership that they should instead worry about finding a place to play when the Qualcomm lease is up. Last I heard, Petco is available according to Ron Fowler but that point was not brought up. I should add that Kevin Acee mentioned that the MLB wouldn't like the idea of a cfb team playing in Petco very much but didn't further explain that aspect.

-The response to the release has been generally positive and focused on the MLS aspect. One facebook headline that read "The group vying to bring Major League Soccer to San Diego..." got me thinking, because there's so much more to it. But the FS Investors timed this whole thing perfectly with the Chargers leaving in the manner they did, snd fans being desperate for a pro team - one that won't cost them tax payer dollars to boot.

-He constantly brought up the fact that Qualcomm Stadium cost the city 12 million just to sit there, again showing leverage since time is money and they were the first to act.

-Kaplan tossed out the idea that SDSU should tread lightly because of the FSI investors involvement with the school in the form of donations, namely Steve Altman as the a in JAM Center.

-FSI says they can accomplish this without SDSU and the stadium for the MLS team would only be 22k if that's the case.

-There is a lot of housing and a lot less SDSU campus expansion then originally believed

-The tax base created with the retail and housing would generate a lot of money for the city and state but as has been pointed out by the JMI plan, a SDSU-centric expansion would help the local economy greatly in the long term.

-Parking. There are only structures shown in the renderings and Stone said they plan to have more underground parking around the site. This all just seems like another fashion or mission valley retail center to me with all the not-so-lottle details he reveals like that, after not mentioning much in the previous announcements of the plan.

-The first plan is hardly ever the best, but that's all the media has to talk about so they are going all in on the idea and so is the public.

-Acee did repeat that he's all for it unless there's another plan out there. SDSU has indicated that it is in talks with multiple parties but have yet to put anything out in the open for discussion. I feel like it's their right to hold off on revealing anything despite the local media calling them out on how quiet they've been (which I think will continue in the next days/weeks of coverage) but I do agree that the time is ticking with FS Investors getting out so far ahead. They also should probably act fast now that they they put out such a damning response.

Oh wait! They did. Sort of. Last year.

https://sdsupresident.wordpress.com...um-site-provides-opportunity-to-advance-sdsu/

They just need a partner to meet them half way.

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Monday was another post-scrimmage recovery practice so it consisted of a little bit of individual drills and a lot of scout team work and specials teams work. The defense mainly focused on scout team work for teams they will be facing next season.

The offense mainly focused on correcting mistakes they made during the scrimmage. The offensive line really worked on their footwork technique, the running backs did a bunch of cone drills to work on their quick cutting, and the quarterbacks worked on their timing with the tights and wide receivers, spending some extra time working on fade routes in the red zone.

To end practice, the entire offensive line worked on their kick slides and first step(s) by having every linemen lined up at one end zone along the goal line, facing the sideline, and practicing their kick slide going left on every five-yard maker until they reached the other goal line (20 reps). Once they reached the other goal line, they did the same thing going right (20 reps). I think it was designed to have them execute their technique well even as they got more and more tired. And to hammer in the idea that they need to slide their feet better and quicker.

When I asked Rocky if all these drills were related to the scrimmage he confirmed that was the point.

It was obvious that the offense didn’t play to the level that the coaches expected during the spring game so I asked him a bit about the obvious weakness: the OL. I’ll have a story up on it later about the reasons for their struggles and why there is a silver lining heading into next year. But the big point he made that I thought matched my feelings after the game was that when Rocky called the defensive plays in past scrimmages, he would let up from his crazy blitz schemes at some point during the game if the offense was struggling to get into any sort of a rhythm. Anybody that saw the game on Saturday knew that that was the case when the offense was having their plays end extremely quickly because of blocking assignment errors.

Well, if that were to happen under Rocky’s calls, he would switch up his scheme midway through the scrimmage(s) to resemble a more traditional, straight up base defense to give the offense a chance to not have to worry about all the movement and build their confidence up a bit. But Danny Gonzales was calling plays during the scrimmage, and he did not do that. He was pretty relentless all game and Rocky was fine with it because it was a wake up call for the offense and the OL.

There are still a lot of reasons to be optimistic though. I still firmly believe that this starting unit will be a better pass blocking group than expected, especially compared to last season’s group. This group will not be as consistent run blocking, but how I felt about last year’s group as run blockers (I was extremely confident in them last fall and luckily they all stayed healthy) is how much potential I feel this OL group can show as pass blockers.

I don’t have many individual notes but I’m putting up the videos right now and just watch Quest Truxton and Miles Cheatum kill it during one one ones. Now that camp is coming to a close I’d name the the MVPs of camp based off their improvement and overall play this spring - no question.

Rocky Long told me on Saturday that he wouldn’t review the spring game scrimmage film until Monday so I figured I should do my due diligence and really dive into the footage I shot. We wil hopeully get an in-depth take on the game from Rocky after practice on Monday but here’s what I got out of it.

To start things off, I want to say that yes, it was a very ugly game for the casual fan to watch, but I’d much rather the spring scrimmage be a defensive showcase than an offensive shootout. I’d also be way more concerned if the offense was taking and completing shots downfield and the run game was running circles around the defense for positive yardage every attempt.

That did not happen and it shouldn’t shock anyone.

Rocky’s defense has been the best in the conference for a reason and the only teams that have been able to exploit it all have upper-tier quarterbacks. SDSU, however, was playing with two backup quarterbacks that may very well not see the field this fall (unless big strides are made over the summer) so we got what was expected.

Rocky’s defense also exploits inexperienced offensive linemen and has the overall speed to make stops against the run. Well, it was no surprise to see the offensive line struggle to create holes and the running backs struggle to get into their second gear.

That said, I DID expect a little bit more production out of the offense. I would be content if the running backs were able to break two or three long runs each and the quarterbacks took care of the ball, but there was only one medium sized run by Chase Jasmin (the 30-yd end around by WR Colin Andrews doesn’t count) and the QBs threw four horrible, horrible interceptions.

-Ryan Agnew’s stats got padded on one drive where the second team defense accidentally got sent out onto the field against the first team offense during a two minute drill. He threw what I thought was his best pass of the day to Darryl Richardson for a 30 yard gain. It was a nice touch pass but the protection was good and Richardson was wide open because Israel Cabrera got caught looking at Agnew’s eyes instead of reading Richardson running across the field in front of him.

Agnew didn’t scan the field like that the rest of the day though, even when he had a good pocket to work with. Other than the Richardson throw and Fred Trevillion’s one-handed catch and run score (which was an underthrown ball that Trevillion had to pull up to get), nearly all of Agnew’s completions were on designed timing routes for small gains or check down throws to the running backs. When the OL gave him a pocket to work with, he didn’t take advantage of it and stared down his first reads. Neil Boudreau had the same problem and he didn’t have enough reps to show improvement in that area, unlike Agnew did on those two completions he had near the end of the scrimmage. Even more disappointing, Boudreau couldn’t even complete the short timing routes. I counted three passes on slant routes that were just flat out off the mark.

Overall, I was mainly focused on seeing how Agnew would perform as a pocket passer when given the chance but he just didn’t take advantage of his opportunities, particularly the downfield opportunities.

-I thought the wide receivers did just OK with the balls they were being thrown. I thought Parker Houston (who otherwise played well) and Taylor Dodds had the only clear cut drops during the scrimmage.

Agnew actually dropped a dime to Houston up the seam and over his shoulder but Houston couldn’t hold it on the way down. I would consider it Agnew’s best pass of the day if he didn’t stare down Houston the whole route (it didn’t matter though because the ball was on target). He also threw a pretty good deep ball to Taylor Dodds on a go route down the sideline but it ricocheted of Dodds hands (he was flagged for a push off too).

Those were the only true wasted chances in the passing game that weren’t completely at fault of the QBs. If only they made throws like that the entire scrimmage...

Moving on...

-Before I get started with the OL, I thought it was a little humorous how Jeff Horton and Mike Schmidt were hardly ever yelling at the offense to get it together. They did, a little bit, but I'm guessing they were screaming internally. If the crowd wasn’t there, they would probably be riding them all game.

Keith Ismael and Dwayne Parchment had their shoulder surgeries today. Ismael showed up to at end of practice in a sling.

Jeff Clay's arm went limp when he went up to swat a pass late during the scrimmage. They will have him take an MRI soon but they don't think it was serious because he practiced today.

Kahale Warring suffered a bruised back early in the scrimmage and sat out practice today.

Daishawn Dixon left practice during warmups but I don't have an update on him.

Brandon Fitzpatrick was in a knee brace and didn't practice.

Ezell Ruffin, Curtis Anderson, Maxwell Smith and Terry Poole stopped by practice.

Warm-up thoughts:

Trenton Thompson is huge.
Good to see Lomax out there warming up.
Parker Baldwin looking good in drills.
Our CBs are looooong

Decent group of recruits here. Wonder if they're also participating in the Explore SDSU day thing going on on campus.

I get the sense, reading between the lines, that he is contemplating leaving the team.

Ruben your thoughts?

Any idea of who we are looking at/realistic shot at landing?

Just watched the UCLA game. Couldn't help but notice Kevin Zabo's efficient line for Kent State. Scored 12 pts shooting 5 of 9, 2 of 2 from deep. Also chipped in 5 assists and a couple of boards.

The team had a lot of 7v7 reps for their lead-up to Saturday’s spring game and I can’t help but feel less and less confident in Ryan Agnew the more I watch him drop back and throw.

With Christian Chapman sitting out 75 percent of the time, Agnew has had a ton of opportunities this spring to make improvements with his accuracy but I just haven’t seen it. He had a couple good practices midway through camp but he’s struggled during this second half so far.

Agnew has thrown a good amount of interceptions along with a lot of passes that could have been easily intercepted - mostly because he stared down his receiver, didn’t look off the safeties or just threw an inaccurate ball. He’s a solid passer on the run (which is admittedly a huge part of this offense) but even during a bootleg call yesterday, he threw a deep ball right into the gut of CB Kyree Woods. Woods dropped it but it was still a head-scratching, inaccurate throw.

Another instance occurred earlier in the practice when Agnew didn’t recognize DE Miles Cheatum dropping back into coverage, leading to a pick six.

TE David Wells was lined up on Agnew's right side and Cheatum was on the left side of the defensive line. Wells came across the middles and Agnew stared him down the whole way, not once realizing that Cheatum was in position to jump the pass as soon as he let it go. I credit Cheatum for the heads up play and catching it with his hands but the INT could have been prevented if Agnew read the coverage before throwing it.

After practice I asked Rocky what he thought of Agnew’s progression at this point of camp and his answer was exactly what I expected: “He’s gotten better, but he still throws too many interceptions.”

Agnew will get a LOT of reps during the spring game on Saturday because he needs them. So instead of Boudreau and Agnew being in charge of the first team offense and second team offense separately, Agnew will take reps with both units every now and then in place of Boudreau.

He better show out soon or else I’d write in Rutgers transfer Chris Laviano as the backup entering fall.

Moving on...

-Juwan Washington gets up to his top speed so quickly in both the run and pass game. His stop and go speed after the catch is especially impressive. I bet he’s going to shock some people on his catch and runs next year just like how he surprises the DBs in practice when they take really bad angles on him.

-WR Isiah Macklin’s speed continues to impress, but his hands and physicality need to pick it up if he wants to be in the rotation this year. I expect him to be a taller version of Eric Judge, someone that can stretch the field and be a consistent threat. But whether or not he develops his game in other areas will determine if he has a more productive career than Judge.

-Other than walkon WR Kaylen Williams' really tough catch over Kam Kelly during one on ones, the WRs weren’t fighting for catches as much as you’d like to see during practice 12.

It was sort of an off day for them in terms of the number of drops they had and the amount of times they gave up on balls early. Some of the blame could be put on the ball placement by the QBs though.

-Even though the wide receivers need to be more versatile than in years past, I really like how walkon freshman Collin Andrews executes as a run blocker. He gets to his blocks very fast and is an an aggressive, hard hitting crack back blocker too. He’s not as big as Christian Cumbelander or Curtis Anderson were but I’ll be monitoring him more closely now to see if he can fill that void.

-On the the offensive line, the first team during live periods was, from left to right: Ryan Pope, Keith Ismael, Derrick Achayo, Antonio Rosales and Nick Gerhard.

This was because Tyler Roemer was not at practice. I like the idea of this if we can assume Joe Salcedo will be the starting right tackle in the fall and Gerhard will be ahead of Ismael at guard.

That said, based on this practice, I REALLY liked how Gerhard looked at right tackle. He’s a better pass blocker than you’d think and he’s extremely physical when he gets his hands on a defender.

-The possibilities the o-line can have if Derrick Achayo continues to progress or Dominic Gudino comes in during the fall and dominates at center is very, very promising in my opinion. The top eight would be in a fantastic position if the center position can be figured out, especially if Gerhard doesn’t have to be limited to that spot.

-My current top eight offensive linemen, in order, are: Antonio Rosales, Ryan Pope, Joe Salcedo, Nick Gerhard, Tyler Roemer, Derrick Achayo, Keith Ismael, Zach Thomas.

-I think, by the fall, this will be a very good group for the offense to count on.


I should add that Douglas Tucker just missed the cut because of his inconsistency - although he’s improved as a blocker - while Daishawn Dixon has sort of fallen out of the picture. I honestly thought Dixon would be right in contention to start but he has been really struggling both in one on ones and live periods.

-I’d also say that Keith Ismael would be higher up in the top eight - ahead of Roemer - if he played more consistently. He’s had the most up and down camp, though, with his best practices showing serious talent and his worst practices making me think he’d be a huge question mark in the fall.

The staff seems confident in his potential, though, because he’s continued to take reps with the first team throughout spring.

I would consider Ismael as another major x-factor because if he can improve over the summer, it will prevent the staff to try something drastic such as moving one of the tackles (Salcedo, Pope) to left guard when that’s definitely not a great fit for them athletically.


-On the defensive line, Miles Cheatum had another really strong practice and continues to make a case to start in the fall. I mentioned the interception he grabbed at the top of the post, which was a great sign of improved instincts, but he’s also really shown the ability to make a major impact playing against the run. He’s involved in almost every stop whenever he comes out onto the field.

-DEs Anthony Luke and Damon Moore continue to look very effective as pass rushing specialists. They are at their best when they get off the ball quickly and they win their one on one reps almost instantly when lining up against the bulkier guards.

-LB Troy Cassidy had a great start to camp but he really came on during yesterday’s practice. He was taking on blockers, sneaking into the backfield and making some plays back in coverage too. He’s a very good athlete but I still think Kyahva Tezino has made the most strides forward and has been the most consistent out of the young linebackers.

-CB Kameron Kelly has continued to improve at corner this week. He’s sticking to receivers more and running through the play when he gets beat deep, rather than getting beat and looking back for the ball when you’re best chance of making a play at that point is to run it out and knock it out of the receivers hands.

-CB Garrett Binkley had the interception of the day during one on ones, snatching it out of the air on a go route against 41.

-A sleeper at defensive back continues to look like freshman Will Stricklin. He plays extremely physical and reads and reacts against the run very well. There was one power run where he took on Antonio Rosales’ pull at the line of scrimmage and it was the first time I’ve seen Rosales get stopped in his tracks and even knocked back a little. I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes the backup Aztec ahead of Dwayne Johnson.

-I mentioned Kyree Woods above and it can’t be understated how much of a missed opportunity his dropped interception was. He saw the pass coming the entire way and right into his stomach but he couldn’t hang onto it. In my mid-spring review, I said that Woods’ only flaw seemed to be his top end speed but I think his hands may become a big question mark too.

-I really just want to see more out of Ron Smith during one on ones. He's too athletic to allow so many completions by the receivers.

Day 1: QBs and TEs

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10 Chapman
9 Agnew
96 Bodreau

88 Wells
87 Warring
84 Richardson
82 Houston
83 Spalding
49 Artopoeus

Putting this up now just to note that you should either print out the 2017 roster on GoAztecs.com or download it on your cell phone if you plan on attending. The practice jerseys don't have last names on them.

Don't count on it but I also hope they have an announcer during the game to help the fans identify players.

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools...uto_pdf/2017-18/misc_non_event/2017Roster.pdf