San Diego State’s third practice was the first one in shells and the physicality kicked it up a notch very early on. Tensions tend to rise when all of a sudden guys are actually lowering their shoulder and hitting you, and a shoving match took place between Noble Hall and Nico Siragusa during one of the first drills. It was hard to tell who else was involved because other players stepped in including Sergio Phillips and Kwayde Miller but it was clear that one of the o-lineman did something Hall didn’t like, and it probably had something to do with them playing a little bit past the whistle. Hall really got into and had to be pulled out of the area for a bit by a GA. The coaches broke it up and then both sides of the line got back to work like nothing happened.
This ordeal was expected and I’m curious to see if we see the same type of tension and physicality during Saturday’s fan fest since it will be the first day in full pads. The emotions will either pick up again or, as Rocky Long expects to happen, the team will be too sore from the first week of practice that they won't be able to play with such physicality because their bodies are going to be in an adjustment period. I think the crowd being there will keep the energy level high, however.
On to the notes:
With the pads on, the offense was able to execute much more of its rushing schemes throughout practice and Horton opened up the playbook. They ran a lot of zone read runs and outside pitches to get guys moving and it really allowed the staff to evaluate the team’s overall athleticism and reactive instincts.
On offense, Kwayde Miller stole my attention during those outside pitches. The kid is straight up sprinting toward his blocks at 6-foot-7! No lumbering. It's a scary sight.
On defense, the guys that stood out in these scenarios to me were Chibu Onyeukwu and Randy Ricks. Onyeukwu continues to make good reads on plays and is very good at following the ball while taking on blocks. As a pass rusher, he’s very good at setting up his opponent and cutting to whichever direction the o-lineman is off balance. Against the run, he moves sideline to sideline very well for the length he is and he just continues to look like someone who will challenge for a spot on the second unit or at least get into the d-line rotation.
Ricks, as the end man on the line of scrimmage, is usually the key read during zone read runs because he becomes the unblocked/freed up man and he almost always makes the right decision on who to pursue (QB or RB). It looked to me that it got to the point where Chapman became aware that Ricks would be literally right in his face during the handoff exchange and as a result he started making regrettable handoff decisions. Ricks made big stops on both Pumphrey and Penny during those split-second decisions, and Penny in particular took a big shot from Ricks.
Pumphrey again had a nice day, though. And it’s pretty much hard for him not to at this point. The defense doesn’t hit him head on and instead does what Kameron Kelly described as “olé”-ing Pump as they approach to tackle him, reffering to the bullfighting move.
But, because the shells came on on day 3, there was one instance toward the end of one of his runs where Parker Baldwin squared him up for a big hit on the heisman candidate. Pumphrey lowered his shoulder and toppled over him, however. It was the biggest collision I’ve seen Pumphrey take to this point of camp but he was fine and it kept the energy level up.
Overall, the defense had a great day controlling the run. They forced the ball carrier outside when they needed to and plugged up any holes during inside carries. I don’t see any offenses they face this year suddenly figuring out how to run the ball against them.
-While there weren’t as many 7v7 periods yesterday Jimmy Walker had his best day so far in camp. He threw nothing but ropes during his reps and gave the receivers some opportunities to turn up field and make a play.
-Christian Chapman’s go to target is clearly Mikah Holder but he definitely seems to trust Eric Judge on those over-the-top throws downfield so far in camp. I think that’s what will keep Judge in the starting lineup since his speed will be a huge asset to the offense during those play action throws. Basically, Judge will probably lead the team in yards per catch but Mikah will easily get the most targets this year.
-I asked Rocky about his thoughts on the QB battle so far (even though he doesn’t pay attention to them much) and he said he still thinks the backup will either be Jimmy Walker or Ryan Agnew. If that’s the case I think Walker is going to be the backup because Agnew still hasn’t showed consistency completing passes. He even threw a near interception straight at Malik Smith that was dropped. It was a designed throw to Penny who motioned out to the slot and then ran an in route. Agnew didn’t read Smith hovering over the middle and threw it directly at him. And that shouldn’t be happening at all at this stage. Walker has the bigger arm and those tighter, cleaner passes and unless Agnew surprises during the upcoming scrimmages I don’t see him remaining the backup.
(Coming back to this because I don't want to seem too hard on the redshirt freshman and I'll point out one of his positives: he's one of the few quarterbacks who can maneuver and even scramble around the pocket while keep his awareness down field. He's completed a surprising amount of passes while on the run that the other backups haven't shown they can do consistently.)
-Snaps continue to be an issue for the two top centers. I asked Rocky about it for the first time this fall because I figured he would pay more attention to the offense today and he really seemed frustrated about it. I’ll include it in the next notebook but he basically said they had all summer to figure out how to snap the ball and there doesn’t seem to be much improvement being shown so far.
-Freshman Keith Ismael had back to back botched snaps during one series but turned his day around during one on ones. He has some serious strength to him and always seems to get in an extra shove to the d-lineman he matches up against during his reps. Loving his tenacity on the field for such a kind kid off of it.
-Miles Cheathum still doesn’t have much lower body mass to him but he has looked very strong taking on blocks so far in camp.
-I can’t reiterate enough how explosive Alex Barrett is looking like a pass-rusher now. I would not be surprised at all if he sneaks into the the draft come 2017.
-Julian Rochelin will be known for swatting down passes at the line when his time comes.
-Another lineman whose physicality has really popped out but isn’t done growing has been freshman Nick Gerhard. He’s not at Rosales’ level of nastiness, but he’s got a good strong punch and he finishes off his blocks rather well. He can become a really good right tackle down the line.
-A walk-on that always plays hard everytime I see him is DL Thomas Browne. Again, SDSU’s defensive line depth will be tough for a lot of guys to crack into the rotation but for a walk-on Browne is making a case for himself to get some snaps this year.
-LB Troy Cassidy had the pick of the day when he jumped ahead of a slant route thrown by Daniel Prieto and turned it into a pick 6.
-Freshman corner Kyree Woods has looked very good sticking onto his receivers in coverage so far but he still needs to improve on reading the play and reacting to the ball a little better. Coach White could be heard yelling at both Woods and Derek Babiash at times during team periods where they showed good awareness in zone coverage but failed to react and close on the ball fast enough on underneath throws.
-That’s where Damontae Kazee stands out from the rest of the corners. He sees the play developing and he’s there before the ball carrier or receiver can secure the ball and look up field. Kazee hasn’t had too many reps during these practices but he makes an impact every time he’s out there. Don’t think for a second that his game has plateaued because I wouldn’t be surprised if he matches some of his tackling numbers from last year even though teams may avoid running his way.
-Another DB note. Dwayne Johnson continues to look like he will play this year. He’s strong enough, plays physical and breaks up plays. Because of his background as a receiver, I wouldn’t be surprised if he earns a lot of picks during a later season in his career.
The same goes for Trenton Thompson again for his physicality for a freshman. Those two will be candidates for special teams, at least.
-Actually I have another DB note, but it’s related to special teams. Trey Lomax was doing a kickoff return team drill where he half-a**ed a couple reps and Rocky Long got on him, hard. He basically got up into Lomax’s chest to show how he should have taken on his block, instead of just using his arms like he was.
-WR Curtis Anderson made the catch of the day with a 20+ yard post route over the middle that saw him collide with Baldwin right as he made the catch. Kelly was caught with his back turned but Baldwin came out of nowhere and was actually flagged on the play even though it seemed clean.
-Some of you may be curious about the fullback battle and I basically think it’s Bawden’s job to lose. Dakota Turner has done pretty well considering the circumstances but it’s pretty obvious he’s not adjusted quick yet to the position. He looks a lot like Micah Seau did when he initially made the move to FB but Seau improved a lot as time went on. Hopefully that’s the same case for Turner and we all know his work ethic will help get him to that point.
This ordeal was expected and I’m curious to see if we see the same type of tension and physicality during Saturday’s fan fest since it will be the first day in full pads. The emotions will either pick up again or, as Rocky Long expects to happen, the team will be too sore from the first week of practice that they won't be able to play with such physicality because their bodies are going to be in an adjustment period. I think the crowd being there will keep the energy level high, however.
On to the notes:
With the pads on, the offense was able to execute much more of its rushing schemes throughout practice and Horton opened up the playbook. They ran a lot of zone read runs and outside pitches to get guys moving and it really allowed the staff to evaluate the team’s overall athleticism and reactive instincts.
On offense, Kwayde Miller stole my attention during those outside pitches. The kid is straight up sprinting toward his blocks at 6-foot-7! No lumbering. It's a scary sight.
On defense, the guys that stood out in these scenarios to me were Chibu Onyeukwu and Randy Ricks. Onyeukwu continues to make good reads on plays and is very good at following the ball while taking on blocks. As a pass rusher, he’s very good at setting up his opponent and cutting to whichever direction the o-lineman is off balance. Against the run, he moves sideline to sideline very well for the length he is and he just continues to look like someone who will challenge for a spot on the second unit or at least get into the d-line rotation.
Ricks, as the end man on the line of scrimmage, is usually the key read during zone read runs because he becomes the unblocked/freed up man and he almost always makes the right decision on who to pursue (QB or RB). It looked to me that it got to the point where Chapman became aware that Ricks would be literally right in his face during the handoff exchange and as a result he started making regrettable handoff decisions. Ricks made big stops on both Pumphrey and Penny during those split-second decisions, and Penny in particular took a big shot from Ricks.
Pumphrey again had a nice day, though. And it’s pretty much hard for him not to at this point. The defense doesn’t hit him head on and instead does what Kameron Kelly described as “olé”-ing Pump as they approach to tackle him, reffering to the bullfighting move.
But, because the shells came on on day 3, there was one instance toward the end of one of his runs where Parker Baldwin squared him up for a big hit on the heisman candidate. Pumphrey lowered his shoulder and toppled over him, however. It was the biggest collision I’ve seen Pumphrey take to this point of camp but he was fine and it kept the energy level up.
Overall, the defense had a great day controlling the run. They forced the ball carrier outside when they needed to and plugged up any holes during inside carries. I don’t see any offenses they face this year suddenly figuring out how to run the ball against them.
-While there weren’t as many 7v7 periods yesterday Jimmy Walker had his best day so far in camp. He threw nothing but ropes during his reps and gave the receivers some opportunities to turn up field and make a play.
-Christian Chapman’s go to target is clearly Mikah Holder but he definitely seems to trust Eric Judge on those over-the-top throws downfield so far in camp. I think that’s what will keep Judge in the starting lineup since his speed will be a huge asset to the offense during those play action throws. Basically, Judge will probably lead the team in yards per catch but Mikah will easily get the most targets this year.
-I asked Rocky about his thoughts on the QB battle so far (even though he doesn’t pay attention to them much) and he said he still thinks the backup will either be Jimmy Walker or Ryan Agnew. If that’s the case I think Walker is going to be the backup because Agnew still hasn’t showed consistency completing passes. He even threw a near interception straight at Malik Smith that was dropped. It was a designed throw to Penny who motioned out to the slot and then ran an in route. Agnew didn’t read Smith hovering over the middle and threw it directly at him. And that shouldn’t be happening at all at this stage. Walker has the bigger arm and those tighter, cleaner passes and unless Agnew surprises during the upcoming scrimmages I don’t see him remaining the backup.
(Coming back to this because I don't want to seem too hard on the redshirt freshman and I'll point out one of his positives: he's one of the few quarterbacks who can maneuver and even scramble around the pocket while keep his awareness down field. He's completed a surprising amount of passes while on the run that the other backups haven't shown they can do consistently.)
-Snaps continue to be an issue for the two top centers. I asked Rocky about it for the first time this fall because I figured he would pay more attention to the offense today and he really seemed frustrated about it. I’ll include it in the next notebook but he basically said they had all summer to figure out how to snap the ball and there doesn’t seem to be much improvement being shown so far.
-Freshman Keith Ismael had back to back botched snaps during one series but turned his day around during one on ones. He has some serious strength to him and always seems to get in an extra shove to the d-lineman he matches up against during his reps. Loving his tenacity on the field for such a kind kid off of it.
-Miles Cheathum still doesn’t have much lower body mass to him but he has looked very strong taking on blocks so far in camp.
-I can’t reiterate enough how explosive Alex Barrett is looking like a pass-rusher now. I would not be surprised at all if he sneaks into the the draft come 2017.
-Julian Rochelin will be known for swatting down passes at the line when his time comes.
-Another lineman whose physicality has really popped out but isn’t done growing has been freshman Nick Gerhard. He’s not at Rosales’ level of nastiness, but he’s got a good strong punch and he finishes off his blocks rather well. He can become a really good right tackle down the line.
-A walk-on that always plays hard everytime I see him is DL Thomas Browne. Again, SDSU’s defensive line depth will be tough for a lot of guys to crack into the rotation but for a walk-on Browne is making a case for himself to get some snaps this year.
-LB Troy Cassidy had the pick of the day when he jumped ahead of a slant route thrown by Daniel Prieto and turned it into a pick 6.
-Freshman corner Kyree Woods has looked very good sticking onto his receivers in coverage so far but he still needs to improve on reading the play and reacting to the ball a little better. Coach White could be heard yelling at both Woods and Derek Babiash at times during team periods where they showed good awareness in zone coverage but failed to react and close on the ball fast enough on underneath throws.
-That’s where Damontae Kazee stands out from the rest of the corners. He sees the play developing and he’s there before the ball carrier or receiver can secure the ball and look up field. Kazee hasn’t had too many reps during these practices but he makes an impact every time he’s out there. Don’t think for a second that his game has plateaued because I wouldn’t be surprised if he matches some of his tackling numbers from last year even though teams may avoid running his way.
-Another DB note. Dwayne Johnson continues to look like he will play this year. He’s strong enough, plays physical and breaks up plays. Because of his background as a receiver, I wouldn’t be surprised if he earns a lot of picks during a later season in his career.
The same goes for Trenton Thompson again for his physicality for a freshman. Those two will be candidates for special teams, at least.
-Actually I have another DB note, but it’s related to special teams. Trey Lomax was doing a kickoff return team drill where he half-a**ed a couple reps and Rocky Long got on him, hard. He basically got up into Lomax’s chest to show how he should have taken on his block, instead of just using his arms like he was.
-WR Curtis Anderson made the catch of the day with a 20+ yard post route over the middle that saw him collide with Baldwin right as he made the catch. Kelly was caught with his back turned but Baldwin came out of nowhere and was actually flagged on the play even though it seemed clean.
-Some of you may be curious about the fullback battle and I basically think it’s Bawden’s job to lose. Dakota Turner has done pretty well considering the circumstances but it’s pretty obvious he’s not adjusted quick yet to the position. He looks a lot like Micah Seau did when he initially made the move to FB but Seau improved a lot as time went on. Hopefully that’s the same case for Turner and we all know his work ethic will help get him to that point.
