San Diego State’s sixth practice was another ‘thud’ day even though the team had helmets and pads on.
There wasn’t any one-on-one segments but I still felt like it was a productive practice with some developing themes.
The order of QBs hasn’t changed one bit (Chapman, Agnew, then Boudreau). Chapman has struggled a bit in getting the ball where he needs it on deep throws but I feel like that’s just a result of his hand surgery given the way he lets it go. He’s still the most accurate QB of the bunch by far and his advanced ball placement hasn’t changed on short and intermediate routes.
Chapman also has the quickest release and can make completions that would otherwise be pass breakups by the DBs. One play that came to mind in 7v7s is when Kahale Warring ran an out route but Parker Baldwin seemed to read it perfectly and started to jump it. Even with his outstretched arms, Baldwin couldn’t get a hand on it because Chapman flicked his pass off so quickly.
Because Chapman is limited with his range (not to mention his reps), Agnew often comes out of practice with the most highlight throws. As usual, he made a bunch of 20-30 yard completions down the middle of the field to the tight ends and also made a nice touch pass to Tim Wilson over the top which in a game would be a TD. Still, his inconsistency with decision making and accuracy have continued to hold him back.
He threw two really bad picks. The first was either a miscommunication or the receiver turning the wrong direction on a curl route. Either way, Agnew’s pass was well short and came at the feet of his target. Parie Dedaux made a nice diving catch to scoop it up for an interception though.
His second pick happened on a similar curl route, but this time his throw was toward Isaiah Macklin on the field side. It’s a long throw to make and Kyree Woods was playing off but Agnew’s pass still didn’t have a chance. Woods broke on the ball like Damontae Kazee did for the Cal game-winner.
-Since there was no tackling, Rashaad Penny finally got some reps and was a ton of fun to watch. Last year during thud periods, it was always cool to see Pumphrey take handoffs because not only would he make guys look silly with his cuts, but he’d lower his shoulder into defenders knowing that they weren’t allowed to really hit him. Ok, now, imagine Penny in those same shoes.
He trucked over Jeff Clay and a number of other guys. His speed and hands also seem to be in midseason form as well.
-The tight ends and running backs continue to look like they’ll be the focal point of the passing game and Wells and Richardson have been the most productive of the bunch so far in camp. Richardson hasn’t had any egregious drops that I can remember this spring. Hopefully I don’t jinx him like I did last spring but he and Wells seem to be very consistent so far.
I think Warring and Houston may be the better downfield threats but they aren’t as consistent as blockers. Either way, it’s a very good mix of options for the offense to utilize.
-Mikah Holder continues to look like he should be a threat after the catch kind of receiver next season. He’s hard to stop once he has some room and he can out run pretty much anybody on the defense, including Jeff Clay.
-I’m convinced that Tim Wilson will be a player this season. He’s not as consistent as you’d like but he’s very physical against press coverage, can fly and has a really good catch radius. The last few practices are making me consider putting him slightly ahead of Fred Trevillion at this point.
-Along with the interception he had, I’m really starting to buy into Woods as a potential no. 1 corner. SDSU always lines up its corners on one particular side of the field at all times but you can tell who they really trust by who gets the most game reps. This was the case with McFadden and Kazee and Woods can definitely into that type of lockdown man to man player down the line.
He still needs to improve making fast decision in zone coverage though. His bad tendencies really show when there are no wideouts on his side of the field and he’s basically tasked with either covering the tight end or making sure no crossing routes are wide open on his side of the field.
There was one particular play where SDSU went to its two tight end package and Woods got caught looking into the backfield for too long, allowing Kahale Warring to run free on a shallow cross away from Woods. Woods closed in on him a little but Warring’s size mismatch was just too much and it was a 25 yard gain.
-Dwayne Johnson is still a liability in pass coverage as safety. The quarterbacks aren’t afraid to throw up 50-50 balls downfield if Johnson is the DB at this point.
-Tyler Morris was very active at linebacker and shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to the rotation. He has always been one of the better athletes on the team despite his injuries and he’s very good at getting in front of pulling guards and making stops on the running backs before they can burst through the whole. I plan on keeping a close eye on him during the next scrimmage.
-Practice got a little testy when Israel Cabrera gave Tim Wilson a shove toward the end of a play. Parker Baldwin stepped in, and then Parker Houston responded to that, and all hell broke loose. It was nothing more than the daily shoving matches they’ve had this spring though.
-It kind of woke up the defense a bit too. The thud practice turned into more of a legitimate hitting practice. Then it led up to the final rep of the day where Kahale Warring caught a tough pass over the middle and Parker Baldwin basically speared him into the ground. Then when Warring attempted to get off the ground, Ronley Lakalaka pushed his helmet back down, prompting Warring to throw the ball at Lakalaka.
Again, nothing got too crazy, but Baldwin and Lakalaka definitely look like they’ll be the emotional leaders of the defense next year, while Phillips and Hall will be the guys handling the dirty work up front. Those are the four most experienced defensive guys - along with Randy Ricks who is the trash talker - so it makes sense.
There wasn’t any one-on-one segments but I still felt like it was a productive practice with some developing themes.
The order of QBs hasn’t changed one bit (Chapman, Agnew, then Boudreau). Chapman has struggled a bit in getting the ball where he needs it on deep throws but I feel like that’s just a result of his hand surgery given the way he lets it go. He’s still the most accurate QB of the bunch by far and his advanced ball placement hasn’t changed on short and intermediate routes.
Chapman also has the quickest release and can make completions that would otherwise be pass breakups by the DBs. One play that came to mind in 7v7s is when Kahale Warring ran an out route but Parker Baldwin seemed to read it perfectly and started to jump it. Even with his outstretched arms, Baldwin couldn’t get a hand on it because Chapman flicked his pass off so quickly.
Because Chapman is limited with his range (not to mention his reps), Agnew often comes out of practice with the most highlight throws. As usual, he made a bunch of 20-30 yard completions down the middle of the field to the tight ends and also made a nice touch pass to Tim Wilson over the top which in a game would be a TD. Still, his inconsistency with decision making and accuracy have continued to hold him back.
He threw two really bad picks. The first was either a miscommunication or the receiver turning the wrong direction on a curl route. Either way, Agnew’s pass was well short and came at the feet of his target. Parie Dedaux made a nice diving catch to scoop it up for an interception though.
His second pick happened on a similar curl route, but this time his throw was toward Isaiah Macklin on the field side. It’s a long throw to make and Kyree Woods was playing off but Agnew’s pass still didn’t have a chance. Woods broke on the ball like Damontae Kazee did for the Cal game-winner.
-Since there was no tackling, Rashaad Penny finally got some reps and was a ton of fun to watch. Last year during thud periods, it was always cool to see Pumphrey take handoffs because not only would he make guys look silly with his cuts, but he’d lower his shoulder into defenders knowing that they weren’t allowed to really hit him. Ok, now, imagine Penny in those same shoes.
He trucked over Jeff Clay and a number of other guys. His speed and hands also seem to be in midseason form as well.
-The tight ends and running backs continue to look like they’ll be the focal point of the passing game and Wells and Richardson have been the most productive of the bunch so far in camp. Richardson hasn’t had any egregious drops that I can remember this spring. Hopefully I don’t jinx him like I did last spring but he and Wells seem to be very consistent so far.
I think Warring and Houston may be the better downfield threats but they aren’t as consistent as blockers. Either way, it’s a very good mix of options for the offense to utilize.
-Mikah Holder continues to look like he should be a threat after the catch kind of receiver next season. He’s hard to stop once he has some room and he can out run pretty much anybody on the defense, including Jeff Clay.
-I’m convinced that Tim Wilson will be a player this season. He’s not as consistent as you’d like but he’s very physical against press coverage, can fly and has a really good catch radius. The last few practices are making me consider putting him slightly ahead of Fred Trevillion at this point.
-Along with the interception he had, I’m really starting to buy into Woods as a potential no. 1 corner. SDSU always lines up its corners on one particular side of the field at all times but you can tell who they really trust by who gets the most game reps. This was the case with McFadden and Kazee and Woods can definitely into that type of lockdown man to man player down the line.
He still needs to improve making fast decision in zone coverage though. His bad tendencies really show when there are no wideouts on his side of the field and he’s basically tasked with either covering the tight end or making sure no crossing routes are wide open on his side of the field.
There was one particular play where SDSU went to its two tight end package and Woods got caught looking into the backfield for too long, allowing Kahale Warring to run free on a shallow cross away from Woods. Woods closed in on him a little but Warring’s size mismatch was just too much and it was a 25 yard gain.
-Dwayne Johnson is still a liability in pass coverage as safety. The quarterbacks aren’t afraid to throw up 50-50 balls downfield if Johnson is the DB at this point.
-Tyler Morris was very active at linebacker and shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to the rotation. He has always been one of the better athletes on the team despite his injuries and he’s very good at getting in front of pulling guards and making stops on the running backs before they can burst through the whole. I plan on keeping a close eye on him during the next scrimmage.
-Practice got a little testy when Israel Cabrera gave Tim Wilson a shove toward the end of a play. Parker Baldwin stepped in, and then Parker Houston responded to that, and all hell broke loose. It was nothing more than the daily shoving matches they’ve had this spring though.
-It kind of woke up the defense a bit too. The thud practice turned into more of a legitimate hitting practice. Then it led up to the final rep of the day where Kahale Warring caught a tough pass over the middle and Parker Baldwin basically speared him into the ground. Then when Warring attempted to get off the ground, Ronley Lakalaka pushed his helmet back down, prompting Warring to throw the ball at Lakalaka.
Again, nothing got too crazy, but Baldwin and Lakalaka definitely look like they’ll be the emotional leaders of the defense next year, while Phillips and Hall will be the guys handling the dirty work up front. Those are the four most experienced defensive guys - along with Randy Ricks who is the trash talker - so it makes sense.
