So yesterday was SDSU's second scrimmage but it wasn't nearly as long since they'll be doing a public scrimmage on Saturday at Fan Fest.
I can't say too much about it other than some notes.
I thought Juwan Washington once again had a couple of strong runs at full speed which bodes well for the season. I'm interested to see if the coaching staff will even play him much on Saturday because he's been performing that well during 11v11s. He's very confident in his ability right now as is running more like DJ Pumphrey instead of the earlier comp on him (Chase Price). HIs cutting and vision have took a step forward this past spring and now fall.
As he has done all camp Isiah Macklin made a great downfield jump ball catch for a major gain during the scrimmage. My best bet of the year is that he will lead the team in YPC even though he'll only get a few targets this year. He'll have some opportunities to spark the offense for sure.
That said, he's not someone you can put out their on every down. He has continued to drop passes on short slant routes and comeback routes which should be routine. He'd be challenging for a starting spot if he was improved in that area but as of now he still needs some big development in that area of the field.
One thing I noticed is that there has been little improvement with the QB group's deep ball accuracy this year (including fr Mark Salazar). There have been so many instances this camp where SDSU's big receivers have beat the secondary over the top, on post routes for example, only for them to pull up and wait for the ball at the end of their route. The DB initially beat downfield almost always is able to recover because of this. There were about three potential TDs that were either broken up or whistled down at the spot of the catch during the scrimmage because the receiver was tackled. Chapman has the issue less than Agnew and Laviano (who overthrows it more often than not) but you'd still like to see more consistency out of the passing game.
Isaiah Richardson, easily the shortest and leanest receivers currently in the mix to be in the top five receiver group (Truxton, Holder, Trevillion, Wilson, Macklin) is arguably the best receiver when it comes to fighting for those 50/50 balls. He often ends up snatching out of the air against some of the backups and reserves but I wouldn't be surprirsed if he could do it against the first team defense if he gets any reps against them on Saturday. His concentration and hands have been that good.
Holder looked better than Truxton again, but I'm not sure Truxton is at full speed. He was a little better than Tuesday's bad practice but not by much.
Holder actually almost made the highlight catch of camp, running down the sideline at full speed at laying out for a deep ball. It bounced off his fingertips though. Once the QBs get more consistent with dropping passes over the receivers shoulders downfield it could be dangerous.
Laviano didn't do himself any favors during the scrimmage after I said that he was edging out Agnew for the No. 2 job.
Here are the kick return groups that practiced yesterday:
Washington/Penny
Truxton/Kelly
Chase Jasmin
Before the scrimmage, SDSU did a v tackling drill. This is where a DB matches up with a receiver, a LB matches up with a LB/FB and a DL matches up with a OL. The running back has to make it past everyone in front of him to give the offense a point.
It's a very exciting drill that led to some shoving matches and a lot of trash talking. The defense ultimately won, but the play of the day was FB Adam Eastwood getting a carry and absolutely running over Ron Smith. It was a huge collision.
My guess is that Rocky did this before the scrimmage in order to fire everyone up.
Did it work? Kind of. The scrimmage was not much better than Saturday but it was definitely crisper with less mistakes. The hitting still could have been better.
Both Mikah Holder and Quest Truxton played in the scrimmage but Rashaad Penny was held out.
The starting line was still Roemer, Dixon, Ismael, Gudino and Pope
The starting defense was
Henderson, Hall, Phillips, Turner,
Lakalaka, Cassidy
Smith, Lomax, Trenton Thompson, Baldwin, Kelly
The second team defensive front looked like:
Onyeukwu, Cheatum, Moore, Ricks
Dunn Tezino
My guess is that if Cheatum continues to play nose, Anthony Luke will be the second string DE (when JonDarius Gardner isn't in).
I think Cassidy has a good chance to hold on to his spot with the first team over Tezino just because he can do a variety of things a little better. I underestimate his blitzing ability at times, too. He's instinctual and quick.
As much as I question his coverage skills downfield, Baldwin is still a terrific in the box safety.
Since Darryl Richardson was with the ones and David Wells was still walking around the field, rehabbing his foot, Parker Houston has continued to take second team reps. I'd argue that he'd be a starter for several MW schools and his play during the scrimmage didn't disappoint. He's basically a tall fullback with athleticism, speed, power and catching ability. He has great hands and trucks into guys after almost every catch. He's not going to show elusiveness getting down the field but he is going to hit some defenders in the mouth.
Richardson did well with the ones but he did have a lazy fumble during 7v7s. I believe Israel Cabrera ripped it out.
I feel like Jay Henderson is going to hold onto his starting job against Randy Ricks. His production was very high during the scrimmage and his improvement with shedding blocks has really improved and helped him against the run. He could end up having the year we all though Ricks could have last season.
Kahale Warring has been just OK this spring but I don't think his potential has necessarily topped off. He had one of his better practices yesterday.
RB Tyler Wormhoudt is now wearing No. 24 and I expect him to get a lot of reps on Saturday to see if he can hold off the scholarship freshman. He's a very physical runner and definitely sticks out in scrimmages.
-OL Derrick Achayo, I think, has a good chance to land a spot with the Top Eight o-lineman by the end of camp. He's been better during 11v11s
-A Cleveland Browns scout was at practice.
-Today's practice will be in full pads and they will have Friday off before the scrimmage.
I can't say too much about it other than some notes.
I thought Juwan Washington once again had a couple of strong runs at full speed which bodes well for the season. I'm interested to see if the coaching staff will even play him much on Saturday because he's been performing that well during 11v11s. He's very confident in his ability right now as is running more like DJ Pumphrey instead of the earlier comp on him (Chase Price). HIs cutting and vision have took a step forward this past spring and now fall.
As he has done all camp Isiah Macklin made a great downfield jump ball catch for a major gain during the scrimmage. My best bet of the year is that he will lead the team in YPC even though he'll only get a few targets this year. He'll have some opportunities to spark the offense for sure.
That said, he's not someone you can put out their on every down. He has continued to drop passes on short slant routes and comeback routes which should be routine. He'd be challenging for a starting spot if he was improved in that area but as of now he still needs some big development in that area of the field.
One thing I noticed is that there has been little improvement with the QB group's deep ball accuracy this year (including fr Mark Salazar). There have been so many instances this camp where SDSU's big receivers have beat the secondary over the top, on post routes for example, only for them to pull up and wait for the ball at the end of their route. The DB initially beat downfield almost always is able to recover because of this. There were about three potential TDs that were either broken up or whistled down at the spot of the catch during the scrimmage because the receiver was tackled. Chapman has the issue less than Agnew and Laviano (who overthrows it more often than not) but you'd still like to see more consistency out of the passing game.
Isaiah Richardson, easily the shortest and leanest receivers currently in the mix to be in the top five receiver group (Truxton, Holder, Trevillion, Wilson, Macklin) is arguably the best receiver when it comes to fighting for those 50/50 balls. He often ends up snatching out of the air against some of the backups and reserves but I wouldn't be surprirsed if he could do it against the first team defense if he gets any reps against them on Saturday. His concentration and hands have been that good.
Holder looked better than Truxton again, but I'm not sure Truxton is at full speed. He was a little better than Tuesday's bad practice but not by much.
Holder actually almost made the highlight catch of camp, running down the sideline at full speed at laying out for a deep ball. It bounced off his fingertips though. Once the QBs get more consistent with dropping passes over the receivers shoulders downfield it could be dangerous.
Laviano didn't do himself any favors during the scrimmage after I said that he was edging out Agnew for the No. 2 job.
Here are the kick return groups that practiced yesterday:
Washington/Penny
Truxton/Kelly
Chase Jasmin
Before the scrimmage, SDSU did a v tackling drill. This is where a DB matches up with a receiver, a LB matches up with a LB/FB and a DL matches up with a OL. The running back has to make it past everyone in front of him to give the offense a point.
It's a very exciting drill that led to some shoving matches and a lot of trash talking. The defense ultimately won, but the play of the day was FB Adam Eastwood getting a carry and absolutely running over Ron Smith. It was a huge collision.
My guess is that Rocky did this before the scrimmage in order to fire everyone up.
Did it work? Kind of. The scrimmage was not much better than Saturday but it was definitely crisper with less mistakes. The hitting still could have been better.
Both Mikah Holder and Quest Truxton played in the scrimmage but Rashaad Penny was held out.
The starting line was still Roemer, Dixon, Ismael, Gudino and Pope
The starting defense was
Henderson, Hall, Phillips, Turner,
Lakalaka, Cassidy
Smith, Lomax, Trenton Thompson, Baldwin, Kelly
The second team defensive front looked like:
Onyeukwu, Cheatum, Moore, Ricks
Dunn Tezino
My guess is that if Cheatum continues to play nose, Anthony Luke will be the second string DE (when JonDarius Gardner isn't in).
I think Cassidy has a good chance to hold on to his spot with the first team over Tezino just because he can do a variety of things a little better. I underestimate his blitzing ability at times, too. He's instinctual and quick.
As much as I question his coverage skills downfield, Baldwin is still a terrific in the box safety.
Since Darryl Richardson was with the ones and David Wells was still walking around the field, rehabbing his foot, Parker Houston has continued to take second team reps. I'd argue that he'd be a starter for several MW schools and his play during the scrimmage didn't disappoint. He's basically a tall fullback with athleticism, speed, power and catching ability. He has great hands and trucks into guys after almost every catch. He's not going to show elusiveness getting down the field but he is going to hit some defenders in the mouth.
Richardson did well with the ones but he did have a lazy fumble during 7v7s. I believe Israel Cabrera ripped it out.
I feel like Jay Henderson is going to hold onto his starting job against Randy Ricks. His production was very high during the scrimmage and his improvement with shedding blocks has really improved and helped him against the run. He could end up having the year we all though Ricks could have last season.
Kahale Warring has been just OK this spring but I don't think his potential has necessarily topped off. He had one of his better practices yesterday.
RB Tyler Wormhoudt is now wearing No. 24 and I expect him to get a lot of reps on Saturday to see if he can hold off the scholarship freshman. He's a very physical runner and definitely sticks out in scrimmages.
-OL Derrick Achayo, I think, has a good chance to land a spot with the Top Eight o-lineman by the end of camp. He's been better during 11v11s
-A Cleveland Browns scout was at practice.
-Today's practice will be in full pads and they will have Friday off before the scrimmage.
