The team had its first full-scale spring scrimmage at the stadium today. Here are the big-picture things we picked up:
-- Neither side seemed all that stoked. Seems in some ways the team is still recovering a little mentally from the extended time off. There were some positives for both offense and defense, but overall you could tell Tony Elliott and Brent Venables were ready to hit the film room and diagnose what needs to be corrected.
-- Jayron Kearse wasn't very happy afterward. The source of the sour taste in his mouth was the offense winning the short-yardage and goal-line situations.
"We definitely didn't do what we're capable of doing," he said. "I know there's work to be done with me, and the rest of the defense. There's a lot of things we have to work on."
-- Chris Register was at defensive end for the first time today. Venables told us Register approached him with the idea because he wants to help the team. Venables said Register is physical, has good instincts, is intelligent and cares.
-- Jordan Leggett continues to impress. Elliott mentioned him a few times.
-- Venables was very happy with Ben Boulware. Said he had a great day. Boulware continues to work at WILL linebacker as B.J. Goodson, Kendall Joseph and a few others work at MIKE. Speaking of Goodson, Boulware told us he's unquestionably been the most vocal leader thus far during the spring. Sounds like the fifth-year senior is really taking charge.
-- Elliott said Venables was throwing a lot at the offense today, mixing his pressures and bringing various games with the defensive line. That made it a challenge for Nick Schuessler and the offense to execute at the desired tempo.
-- Shaq Lawson was credited with three sacks, but he told us it was more like four or five. Venables said Lawson is a lot more serious now that he's moving into a front-line role.
-- Kearse told us Joseph and Adrian Baker had good days today.
-- Elliott coached from the sideline and said it was hard to process everything. He was really eager to get a look at the film before making any judgments on the offensive line or other positions. He was pleased with the red-zone execution but said the offense didn't come through on enough plays that were there to be made.
-- C.J. Fuller hit a couple of runs today. Tyshon Dye looked good as well.
-- On freshman quarterbacks Tucker Israel and Kelly Bryant, if you could combine the two you'd have a heck of a quarterback. Elliott told us one's weakness is the other's strength, as Israel tries to learn the zone-read run game and Bryant tries to refine his passing. Bryant is quite promising, as we've told you. But at this early juncture it's hard for both guys to process things while going at a breakneck tempo.
-- Venables is doing a lot of mixing and matching right now, "trying to stress some guys out" to see if they react positively or negatively. Said he's pretty pleased with the first group, other than their inability to handle a hard count in the scrimmage.
-- Kearse is lining up in a lot of places right now, Venables said.
-- Venables was asked for an update on corner opposite Mackensie Alexander. Said Cordrea Tankersley and Ryan Carter have done some good things.
"You only need two," he said.
More from the scrimmage in a bit...
This post was edited on 3/25 6:38 PM by Larry_Williams
-- Neither side seemed all that stoked. Seems in some ways the team is still recovering a little mentally from the extended time off. There were some positives for both offense and defense, but overall you could tell Tony Elliott and Brent Venables were ready to hit the film room and diagnose what needs to be corrected.
-- Jayron Kearse wasn't very happy afterward. The source of the sour taste in his mouth was the offense winning the short-yardage and goal-line situations.
"We definitely didn't do what we're capable of doing," he said. "I know there's work to be done with me, and the rest of the defense. There's a lot of things we have to work on."
-- Chris Register was at defensive end for the first time today. Venables told us Register approached him with the idea because he wants to help the team. Venables said Register is physical, has good instincts, is intelligent and cares.
-- Jordan Leggett continues to impress. Elliott mentioned him a few times.
-- Venables was very happy with Ben Boulware. Said he had a great day. Boulware continues to work at WILL linebacker as B.J. Goodson, Kendall Joseph and a few others work at MIKE. Speaking of Goodson, Boulware told us he's unquestionably been the most vocal leader thus far during the spring. Sounds like the fifth-year senior is really taking charge.
-- Elliott said Venables was throwing a lot at the offense today, mixing his pressures and bringing various games with the defensive line. That made it a challenge for Nick Schuessler and the offense to execute at the desired tempo.
-- Shaq Lawson was credited with three sacks, but he told us it was more like four or five. Venables said Lawson is a lot more serious now that he's moving into a front-line role.
-- Kearse told us Joseph and Adrian Baker had good days today.
-- Elliott coached from the sideline and said it was hard to process everything. He was really eager to get a look at the film before making any judgments on the offensive line or other positions. He was pleased with the red-zone execution but said the offense didn't come through on enough plays that were there to be made.
-- C.J. Fuller hit a couple of runs today. Tyshon Dye looked good as well.
-- On freshman quarterbacks Tucker Israel and Kelly Bryant, if you could combine the two you'd have a heck of a quarterback. Elliott told us one's weakness is the other's strength, as Israel tries to learn the zone-read run game and Bryant tries to refine his passing. Bryant is quite promising, as we've told you. But at this early juncture it's hard for both guys to process things while going at a breakneck tempo.
-- Venables is doing a lot of mixing and matching right now, "trying to stress some guys out" to see if they react positively or negatively. Said he's pretty pleased with the first group, other than their inability to handle a hard count in the scrimmage.
-- Kearse is lining up in a lot of places right now, Venables said.
-- Venables was asked for an update on corner opposite Mackensie Alexander. Said Cordrea Tankersley and Ryan Carter have done some good things.
"You only need two," he said.
More from the scrimmage in a bit...
This post was edited on 3/25 6:38 PM by Larry_Williams
