Open Scrimmage + Fall Camp Continued II

Just a few (way too many, now that I’ve finished) of my completely untrained, inexperienced thoughts from yesterdays scrimmage:

QBs: Seemed like Noyer was little more comfortable handling the rush and had a little bit stronger arm than Vidlak. That’s not a criticism of Vidlak – he is the real deal and will only get stronger as he matures. He looked extremely polished for a true freshman, like he’s gotten a lot of private coaching. That said, it felt though like they were running a more balanced, complex offense with Noyer whereas with Vidlak, the coaches seemed to be calling nothing but short pass plays and letting him build confidence. Long story short, Noyer seems to give the Beavs the best chance to win in Week One, but if you started Vidlak, he could probably catch/pass Noyer around Week 6. I don’t know what was going on with Gebbia (still injured, presumed starter?). He participated in all of the pre-scrimmage QB drills, but then put on a headset. I know this sounds a little counter intuitive, but I could see Smith naming Vidlak the number 2 (to get him PT) and letting Gebbia and Nolan fight it out for 1st and 3rd string.

OL: Seemed to have legit size (with OSU linemen you always have to start there) but gave up a few too many negative plays and didn’t break any long runs (that I remember). I was also disappointed they weren’t able to dominate the smaller, undermanned DL more. When I comes to OSU’s line play, I have to wait until I see them line up against a legit P5 team before I can tell what we’ve really got. I’ve been fooled too many times after seeing them scrimmage against each other.

RB, WR: No RBs jumped out (like a Jefferson). Seemed like if there was a little bit of a hole, they could competently get you 3 or 4 yards but that was it. No jukes or broken tackles once the OL got them into the second level. Same with the WRs. The QBs were completing passes, but mostly just short passes, nothing spectacular. Also saw Beason not work to get open on a busted play which I didn’t like. And whats with all the little guys? Just my personal preference to see more big bodies like a Villamin or Hodgins. Vidlak did make a perfect contested throw to a big target (didn’t get the WR’s name) in the corner of the endzone, but he dropped it. Best pass of the day for any QB. I guess overall, I’m a little concerned that nobody stood out and I’ll be interested to see if any real playmakers emerge from either of these two position groups.

TE: Speaking of big – Musgrave. Noyer went to him a lot in the opening series – like he will be a big part of the offense. He also was practicing his golf swing on the sideline. Teagan Quitoriano didnt dress – injured?

DL: During pre-scrimmage drills, I counted only 9 players in this group. Overall, they seem smallish and depth is a concern. When the entire D lined up, it didn’t fit my eye because there seemed to be so little size distinction between the DL and LB. I know I’m not writing anything the coaching staff isn’t aware of, but until they can finally fix it, the Beavs will continue to be at a disadvantage to other P5s. To be fair, the offense wasn’t exactly running all over them, but as I wrote above, I need to see our linemen go against another school’s linemen before I can really tell where they are at. One plus – no fat guys.

LB: Great size – I think the coaches are relying on these guys to plug holes and clean up after the D Line. Do other teams take advantage of the LB’s size by making them chase RBs on pass routes? No question though these guys are probably our best unit. John McCartan (my favorite player because he just always seems to be around the ball) was out, but don’t know why. Roberts and the freshman Mascarenas both had huge hits.

DB: Nothing really stood out – plus I’m running out of steam. No long runs or long completions – so that’s a good sign. The interception return was also a positive, but I thought the receiver could have caught the ball even though it wasn’t a great throw. The offense also should have brought Wright down about midfield – he should have never escaped. On the negative side, they blew the coverage on Nolan’s TD throw, but that was probably 3rd, 4th string guys.

K: I wouldn’t write anything about kickers, but Everett Hayes is the greatest kicker to ever kick anything in the history of kicking things. He had a 37 yarder that even cleared the kicking net. He just sort of flicks the ball with his foot – kind of like how Vidlak flicks it when he throws – and he’s accurate. Ivan Bolden’s little brother looked very shifty on punt returns, but I always reserve judgement on little guys until I see them in a real game. The punt jugs machine was very also impressive – 60 yards, perfect turnover every time – I want one.

PS. The crowd was way more than 100 to 200 – closer to the 600 range. You had to have a mask on to enter but about 60% pulled down or took off their mask once they sat down. They announced that masks were mandatory about three times, but it that didn’t seem to change anyone’s behavior.