Hope everyone is doing well. I finally got a chance to sit down and watch through the Spring game and wanted to share some of my thoughts on it.
Defense
- Jamal Anderson is a friggin dude. He's a prototype of the guy we should be (and have been) recruiting at that spot.
- Tying into that, we look great as a whole at LB. I have no doubt in my mind that Wade Woodaz is going to have an all-ACC level season. Sammy Brown flashes like nobody's business and fits in already. Crayton and McCloud did decently well as well. Not to mention, BC is back and he'll be a big help. We have size/length, speed, experience and depth. Love what Wes is doing with this room.
- At DB, I like how we look. Shelton Lewis has continued to develop. Aveion is still Aveion. I also thought Brandon Strozier popped with his length and physicality. Don't know if he'll be much of a contributor this year, but I think he's someone I may buy some stock in. Also think I'll probably wish I graded Tavoy Feagin higher coming out of HS. Interception was great, but I was also impressed with his physicality at the line of scrimmage. Really brought a lot of fight.
- Talking about defensive line guys that we haven't seen a ton of before, AJ Hoffler is the guy I want to talk about the most. Man, he looks damn good. Still needs to get a little stronger, but he's quick and violent. Jaheim Lawson showed a lot of burst too, even if he's still more skinny than I'd like. Stephiylan Green had some reps where he flashed. Overall, I thought the unit looked really solid and deep and there's still more coming.
- I thought the safety play was a little weak. Venables got cooked on the Pearman run. Some dumb penalties. Pretty glad that Mickens is back.
Offense
- Antonio Williams looks like a new man. Adam Randall had the miscommunication leading to an INT, but had a really nice grab and some nice plays on screens. Bryant Wesco man... once he works out the freshman year kinks, he's going to be a big time player here. Overall, I feel pretty good about the WR room. Add in TJ Moore and Tyler Brown and I think this may actually be a strong point for us.
- On a down note with the WR room, our blocking on the perimeter still sucks. Part of the advantage of running a tight end in the slot in theory is the blocking. Olsen Patt-Henry is going to be a good player for us, but he can't let plays get blown up like he did.
- Let's cut to the chase, the offensive line was not good. Lotta blown assignments, fast pressure getting home, etc. It's the Spring though. Luke will help get a lot of that worked out. It's just not where it needs to be right now unless our QB is going to end up on his ass 10+ times against UGA.
- And now we get to Quarterback... I didn't think Cade was bad, exactly. He did some really good stuff and some stuff that looked like early last year. He still doesn't understand how to see cornerbacks lurking the flats on mesh concepts. He was more accurate than he was in the past and I thought he generally managed drives better than he used to. Still a little jittery for my taste. Trent Pearman did a lot of amazing stuff. Really athletic. He's really snappy getting the ball out and was accurate. He clearly understands the offense. I was really impressed by his touch on back shoulder fades. Here's what I think, not know: Pearman's arm isn't huge. He doesn't have a crazy deep ball. But if he's as consistent as he showed to be on Saturday when it came to touch on back shoulder fades, I don't really care if he has the huge deep ball. I think at the very least, we have a conversation if Cade shows an inability to get it done.
Overall, I thought this was a better scrimmage than last year. It's a long way to go, but I'm really happy with our defense. The offense is still a work in progress, but I like where we are with skill positions. Just see how things shake out at QB and offensive line.
Defense
- Jamal Anderson is a friggin dude. He's a prototype of the guy we should be (and have been) recruiting at that spot.
- Tying into that, we look great as a whole at LB. I have no doubt in my mind that Wade Woodaz is going to have an all-ACC level season. Sammy Brown flashes like nobody's business and fits in already. Crayton and McCloud did decently well as well. Not to mention, BC is back and he'll be a big help. We have size/length, speed, experience and depth. Love what Wes is doing with this room.
- At DB, I like how we look. Shelton Lewis has continued to develop. Aveion is still Aveion. I also thought Brandon Strozier popped with his length and physicality. Don't know if he'll be much of a contributor this year, but I think he's someone I may buy some stock in. Also think I'll probably wish I graded Tavoy Feagin higher coming out of HS. Interception was great, but I was also impressed with his physicality at the line of scrimmage. Really brought a lot of fight.
- Talking about defensive line guys that we haven't seen a ton of before, AJ Hoffler is the guy I want to talk about the most. Man, he looks damn good. Still needs to get a little stronger, but he's quick and violent. Jaheim Lawson showed a lot of burst too, even if he's still more skinny than I'd like. Stephiylan Green had some reps where he flashed. Overall, I thought the unit looked really solid and deep and there's still more coming.
- I thought the safety play was a little weak. Venables got cooked on the Pearman run. Some dumb penalties. Pretty glad that Mickens is back.
Offense
- Antonio Williams looks like a new man. Adam Randall had the miscommunication leading to an INT, but had a really nice grab and some nice plays on screens. Bryant Wesco man... once he works out the freshman year kinks, he's going to be a big time player here. Overall, I feel pretty good about the WR room. Add in TJ Moore and Tyler Brown and I think this may actually be a strong point for us.
- On a down note with the WR room, our blocking on the perimeter still sucks. Part of the advantage of running a tight end in the slot in theory is the blocking. Olsen Patt-Henry is going to be a good player for us, but he can't let plays get blown up like he did.
- Let's cut to the chase, the offensive line was not good. Lotta blown assignments, fast pressure getting home, etc. It's the Spring though. Luke will help get a lot of that worked out. It's just not where it needs to be right now unless our QB is going to end up on his ass 10+ times against UGA.
- And now we get to Quarterback... I didn't think Cade was bad, exactly. He did some really good stuff and some stuff that looked like early last year. He still doesn't understand how to see cornerbacks lurking the flats on mesh concepts. He was more accurate than he was in the past and I thought he generally managed drives better than he used to. Still a little jittery for my taste. Trent Pearman did a lot of amazing stuff. Really athletic. He's really snappy getting the ball out and was accurate. He clearly understands the offense. I was really impressed by his touch on back shoulder fades. Here's what I think, not know: Pearman's arm isn't huge. He doesn't have a crazy deep ball. But if he's as consistent as he showed to be on Saturday when it came to touch on back shoulder fades, I don't really care if he has the huge deep ball. I think at the very least, we have a conversation if Cade shows an inability to get it done.
Overall, I thought this was a better scrimmage than last year. It's a long way to go, but I'm really happy with our defense. The offense is still a work in progress, but I like where we are with skill positions. Just see how things shake out at QB and offensive line.
