SDSU will have a closed practice on Friday - a light one at that - so they had some full speed scrimmage work taken care of on Thursday night. About 20-30 minutes worth. I didn't shoot any footage of it but here are my thoughts.
The passing game wasn't much better compared to the last scrimmage on Saturday but the offense was moving the ball better. The backups especially weren't forcing as many throws and were extending plays with their feet more often. This led to some impressive plays for Agnew and some not so impressive ones by Laviano. Agnew's definitely much more comfortable when he's on the run. Laviano tends to miss on throws that would be completed by Chapman because his touch isn't all that great.
-I thought Kaegun Williams was the best of the three backs competing for the No. 3 job behind Juwan Washington. He has that no-fear attitude and running style that Chase Jasmin and Chance Bell can lack at times.
Bell struggled to get out of the backfield or break tackles while Jasmin just doesn't come off as a confident downhill runner.
Williams had one of the best plays of the day on a stretch run toward the left side where he bounced off two attempted tackles and turned the corner for a good eight or so yard gain.
Williams also nearly had a catch and run for a score when he got past the secondary up the seam but Laviano overthrew it.
Williams could have been my standout of the scrimmage had he finished a drive with a score. There was a moment near the end where SDSU faced 4th and goal at the 2 or 3 yard line. The offense called a power run which opened up a hole for Williams to run through. Williams hit the hole hard but safety Keoni Stallworth met him as he crossed the line of scrimmage. I wanted to see Williams shake or run Stallworth over to pound it in but Stallworth stuffed him at the one yard line.
-Another big play out of the backfield was actually by fullback Isaac Lessard. The former linebacker took a screen pass in the flat, followed his blocks with an S path and then ended up getting the space needed for a 20 yard catch and run. Both Lessard and Bawden have very surprising speed when they get the rare chance or two to show it.
-Safeties Will Stricklin and Tariq Thompson continue to look like they will be in the backup safety rotation this year. Both have really raised their stock by flying to the ball and just becoming true playmakers.
-While Parker Baldwin is far and away the best at his position, Dwayne Johnson also seems to be challenging for playing time at Aztec now that more scrimmages have gone underway. He is what he is in pass coverage but at his position, he'll be asked more to control the middle of the field and act as a third inside linebacker at times. He's been very effective whenever the full pads are on and he's getting closer and closer to locking down the No. 2 job because of his hitting/tackling ability alone.
-Cassidy and Henderson continue to pull away as first team linebackers, joining Ronley Lakalaka. Troy Cassidy has been a force as a pass rusher while Henderson's burst and ability to get into the backfield quickly has led to a number of big stops for the defense.
-Noble Hall has also continued to slowly but surely stand out during scrimmages. He's one of the toughest d-lineman to block and he's clearly the vocal leader of the unit.
-One freshman that has seemed to step up during live action is Seyddrick Lakalaka. He has a great frame on him with excellent instincts and he can really hit. I wouldn't be surprised if he follows in Ronley's footsteps.
-The first team defense as a whole did very well during their drives. They had a goal line stop along with a red zone stop which forced the offense to settle for a 25-30 yard FG make by walkon Garrett Erickson, who was in for John Baron II
-BTW, there was a funny moment when the second-team PAT blockers realized that they were missing a player. That player was Kyle Spalding, who is out for chickenpox precautionary reasons. It took them a while to figure it out but eventually Zach Thomas went out there.
-One noticeable thing that caught my eye was that Tim Wilson and Isiah Macklin were scrimmaging with the first team for the most part, over Quest Truxton and Mikah Holder. Either the coaching staff wanted to get Macklin and Wilson more comfortable with the 1s instead of sticking with the 2s like they have all camp, or Rocky's letting the two senior projected starters know that the two freshmen are right on their tales.
-The first team OL changed a bit once again with: Salcedo, Rosales, Ismael, Dixon and Roemer starting.
The second team OL consisted of: Pope, Young, Gudino, Achayo and Thomas
The third team OL switched around a lot but mainly looked like: Bessent, Martinez, Young, Gudino and Thomas.
I'm still pretty confident that Pope will start over Salcedo.
Nick Gerhard is still out with an injury which is a shame after he looked like a contender to at least make the top eight during spring camp.
Mikah Holder was very good in warmups along with his targets during the scrimmage. He's at his best on slants and quick cut routes and that's where the QBs have hit him most often. He hardly lets them down with drops and he's made DBs like Kam Kelly look average in coverage. It's just too difficult to get between him and the ball, so the DBs usually just go straight for the tackle instead of trying to make a play on the ball during his reps.
Isaiah Richardson made the catch of the night, even though it wasn't a deep ball or a big gain or anything. It was a simple in route where the ball was thrown way over his head but Richardson was able to pluck it out of the air with his fingertips. If I haven't made it clear enough: I'll be shocked if he doesn't play this year. He looks nothing like a freshman.
Some of the punt returners I saw:
Penny
Truxton
Washington
Isaiah Richardson
Ethan Dedeaux
Chance Bell
Kaegun Williams
Chaz Collins
I'm dedicating my entire Friday to catching you guys all up on practice videos (there's been less availability) but I'll be posting them on their respective camp reports throughout the day.
The passing game wasn't much better compared to the last scrimmage on Saturday but the offense was moving the ball better. The backups especially weren't forcing as many throws and were extending plays with their feet more often. This led to some impressive plays for Agnew and some not so impressive ones by Laviano. Agnew's definitely much more comfortable when he's on the run. Laviano tends to miss on throws that would be completed by Chapman because his touch isn't all that great.
-I thought Kaegun Williams was the best of the three backs competing for the No. 3 job behind Juwan Washington. He has that no-fear attitude and running style that Chase Jasmin and Chance Bell can lack at times.
Bell struggled to get out of the backfield or break tackles while Jasmin just doesn't come off as a confident downhill runner.
Williams had one of the best plays of the day on a stretch run toward the left side where he bounced off two attempted tackles and turned the corner for a good eight or so yard gain.
Williams also nearly had a catch and run for a score when he got past the secondary up the seam but Laviano overthrew it.
Williams could have been my standout of the scrimmage had he finished a drive with a score. There was a moment near the end where SDSU faced 4th and goal at the 2 or 3 yard line. The offense called a power run which opened up a hole for Williams to run through. Williams hit the hole hard but safety Keoni Stallworth met him as he crossed the line of scrimmage. I wanted to see Williams shake or run Stallworth over to pound it in but Stallworth stuffed him at the one yard line.
-Another big play out of the backfield was actually by fullback Isaac Lessard. The former linebacker took a screen pass in the flat, followed his blocks with an S path and then ended up getting the space needed for a 20 yard catch and run. Both Lessard and Bawden have very surprising speed when they get the rare chance or two to show it.
-Safeties Will Stricklin and Tariq Thompson continue to look like they will be in the backup safety rotation this year. Both have really raised their stock by flying to the ball and just becoming true playmakers.
-While Parker Baldwin is far and away the best at his position, Dwayne Johnson also seems to be challenging for playing time at Aztec now that more scrimmages have gone underway. He is what he is in pass coverage but at his position, he'll be asked more to control the middle of the field and act as a third inside linebacker at times. He's been very effective whenever the full pads are on and he's getting closer and closer to locking down the No. 2 job because of his hitting/tackling ability alone.
-Cassidy and Henderson continue to pull away as first team linebackers, joining Ronley Lakalaka. Troy Cassidy has been a force as a pass rusher while Henderson's burst and ability to get into the backfield quickly has led to a number of big stops for the defense.
-Noble Hall has also continued to slowly but surely stand out during scrimmages. He's one of the toughest d-lineman to block and he's clearly the vocal leader of the unit.
-One freshman that has seemed to step up during live action is Seyddrick Lakalaka. He has a great frame on him with excellent instincts and he can really hit. I wouldn't be surprised if he follows in Ronley's footsteps.
-The first team defense as a whole did very well during their drives. They had a goal line stop along with a red zone stop which forced the offense to settle for a 25-30 yard FG make by walkon Garrett Erickson, who was in for John Baron II
-BTW, there was a funny moment when the second-team PAT blockers realized that they were missing a player. That player was Kyle Spalding, who is out for chickenpox precautionary reasons. It took them a while to figure it out but eventually Zach Thomas went out there.
-One noticeable thing that caught my eye was that Tim Wilson and Isiah Macklin were scrimmaging with the first team for the most part, over Quest Truxton and Mikah Holder. Either the coaching staff wanted to get Macklin and Wilson more comfortable with the 1s instead of sticking with the 2s like they have all camp, or Rocky's letting the two senior projected starters know that the two freshmen are right on their tales.
-The first team OL changed a bit once again with: Salcedo, Rosales, Ismael, Dixon and Roemer starting.
The second team OL consisted of: Pope, Young, Gudino, Achayo and Thomas
The third team OL switched around a lot but mainly looked like: Bessent, Martinez, Young, Gudino and Thomas.
I'm still pretty confident that Pope will start over Salcedo.
Nick Gerhard is still out with an injury which is a shame after he looked like a contender to at least make the top eight during spring camp.
Mikah Holder was very good in warmups along with his targets during the scrimmage. He's at his best on slants and quick cut routes and that's where the QBs have hit him most often. He hardly lets them down with drops and he's made DBs like Kam Kelly look average in coverage. It's just too difficult to get between him and the ball, so the DBs usually just go straight for the tackle instead of trying to make a play on the ball during his reps.
Isaiah Richardson made the catch of the night, even though it wasn't a deep ball or a big gain or anything. It was a simple in route where the ball was thrown way over his head but Richardson was able to pluck it out of the air with his fingertips. If I haven't made it clear enough: I'll be shocked if he doesn't play this year. He looks nothing like a freshman.
Some of the punt returners I saw:
Penny
Truxton
Washington
Isaiah Richardson
Ethan Dedeaux
Chance Bell
Kaegun Williams
Chaz Collins
I'm dedicating my entire Friday to catching you guys all up on practice videos (there's been less availability) but I'll be posting them on their respective camp reports throughout the day.
