Home Football Practice Report #2

Practice Report #2

103

Second practice report (8/10), via Bone:

Here is some of the action that took place at the afternoon practice.
First thing I saw was a lot of players did not participate. Kevin Cummings, Micah Hatfield, Caleb Smith (In a boot), Tyler Perry, Ty Zimmerman, and Mullany at the end of practice was using a single crutch, did not see what happened to him but it doesn’t’ look too serious. And there doesn’t seem to be much concern about the number of players out
Connor Letourneau ?@ConnOregonian11m
Definitely a bit more guys out of pads today. Is Riley concerned? “That’s camp”

For the quarterback battle, Vaz worked with the first team today and did not look very impressive. He had some passes batted down at the line during the team session, threw a pick, and missed on a couple of throws. Mannion did not have a great day either, or at least he did not separate himself enough from Vaz. Both quarterbacks relied a lot on dumping off passes to the running backs and tight ends during 7 on 7 and team. Mannion still looks better than Vaz and has improved from last year. His release is quicker and is throwing spirals more consistently.

It was a sloppy day by the receivers Cooks, Mullaney, Villiman, Obum, Boldin, all dropped passes that should have been caught. Cooks had a couple touchdowns, including one a new looking screen play, which was really slick. Victor Boldin is a much better receiver than I thought he would be after watching his high school film. He was getting a lot of reps today.

Sean Martin continues to struggle in coverage and Steven Nelson continues play extremely well. The defense ran a lot of nickel package with Martin playing the nickel back. Larry Scott is also running with the second team along with Dashon Hunt, who played some impressive coverage on Cooks today. I would not be surprised if Martin falls down the depth chart, he has not looked impressive.

The team was in full pads today so it was easier to get a look at the offensive and defensive line and how they are progressing. The offensive line is much further along than the defensive line, Storm, Ward, and Brown all broke through for some good runs. Haskins put the ball on the ground and he did not see many carries during the team session. The second unit offensive line is much better than second unit of defensive line right now; staying healthy will be the key on the d-line.

Based on what I have seen in the couple practices players that I don’t think will redshirt are Victor Boldin, Sean Harlow, Darrel Songy, Dashon Hunt, and maybe Brandon Arnold. All of them are getting a lot of reps with the second unit, not sure if any of them will crack the starting lineup though.

I’m going to try and make it to this evenings practice as well.

103 COMMENTS

  1. Thanks, Bone.

    Been saying that Sean Martin is a weak CB. He should be a special team player only. Nelson is a stud, had him as a 5 star and Bolden as a 4 in the rankings: http://angrybeavs.com/rankings/9136
    Nelson is smooth, shifty, and fast — looks more like a prototypical Duck CB, which is a good thing.

    Any Cody Lawrence sightings? High on this guy.
    And how does Richie Harrington look!?

  2. Thanks, Bone, for your report. It is, as usual, more detailed than what we get from the professional scribes. For example, the O only had this to say about Vaz/Mannion:

    “Vaz and Mannion continued to share reps, and it was Vaz’s turn to lead off. Both players had nice plays, but there was a definite adjustment period with the young receivers.”

    Connor Letourneau of The Oregonian could take lessons from you and good ‘ol silver….silver, where are ya?

    • I spoke with Silver via email several times…he had life issues, too. Don’t think he will make it to practice so it’s good we have Bone. Best, Silver! Good guy.

    • Happy to read Bone’s excellent and detailed reports. As Angry says, I’ve been sidetracked with personal/family issues lately, but was able to catch part of today’s morning practice.

      A big concern for this year’s OSU team is — of course — defensive tackle. Here’s what I saw this morning.

      Siale Hautau: I spent a lot of my time watching Hautau. Hautau played DT on the 2d unit, along with Delva (Hautau was left DT, Delva was right DT). Hautau looks like he really is 345 lbs (his listed weight), but not so sure he is 6’1″ (his listed height) — looked an inch or two shorter to me (and I stood pretty close to him to check). It looks like Hautau is carrying an unhealthy amount of weight for his frame. He kind of waddles when he walks. He has upper arms that look like Stephen Paea’s, but not sure whether that’s all muscle.

      I watched Hautau whenever he was on the field in the 11-on-11 scrimmaging. He pretty much did the same thing on every play, but I thought he was effective in his role. Hautau gets down low in his stance, fires off pretty quickly at the snap, and stays low as he drives into his assigned gap. Hautau is clearly a load, and will probably attract double-teams from opponents this season. Even then, Hautau will be hard for anyone to move. So the good news is that Hautau should be an effective gap filler and run stopper in the middle for the Beavers this year IF Hautau can stay healthy, and IF he can build up his stamina. Today, Hautau didn’t play more than 3 plays in a row, and looked gassed whenever he came out. Also, Hautau didn’t show much lateral movement or upfield speed, so I’m not sure how effective he will be as a pass rusher (hard to tell from today’s practice — have to see more of Hautau before judging his pass-rushing ability).

      Other DTs: It will probably be DT-by-committee this year. Today, Mana Rosa and John Braun played with first unit, Hautau and Edwin Delva ran with the second unit. I wouldn’t be surprised if John Braun moves down the depth chart, and if Hautau and Delva move up. But all will probably get substantial playing time this year, and others may, too. There were a few times today where Dylan Wynn moved inside and played DT, and we may see more of that this season, if other guys can’t get the job done. DW is of course undersized for DT, but if DW only is required for spot-duty at DT, he can probably use his ferocity to compensate for his lack of size (but again, only once in a while — too much time at DT would wear DW down pretty quickly).

      Overall, I left practice feeling a bit less concerned about defensive tackle play for the Beavs this year. But that assumes that Hautau can stay healthy and be available when needed to clog up the middle. At today’s practice, I didn’t see anyone else who could fill that role as effectively as Hautau.

        • It’s perhaps not a coincidence that Hautau is wearing #98 (same number Castro M. wore for OSU). Hautau will likely be asked to play a similar role as a run-stopper in the middle of the OSU D-Line. Hautau may be able to perform that role well, if he can stay on the field.

          But Castro M. was a better athlete, with a better body. Castro M was a legit 6’3″, and (in high school) ran a 4.86 in the 40 (when Castro M. was listed at 244 lbs and as an offensive guard). http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Castro-Masaniai-60904

          Hautau is 2 or 3 inches shorter than Castro M., and is also a bit slower (listed as running a 5.05 at Snow JC, with a weight of 315). http://sports.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/player-Siale-Hautau-139592

          I remember watching Castro M. running the steps at Reser during a Fall OSU practice, and was impressed. From what I saw of Hautau, I doubt he could have kept up with Castro M.

          That being said, I’m hopeful that Hautau can do the job for the Beavers in the middle this season (again, IF he can stay on the field at all, which is the big question for me about Hautau).

          • Look at silver come screamin in with another insightful report for us!! Kudos and thank you. As others have said, there’s more useful info on AB than the professional sites, thanks to the generous efforts of people like bone and silver.

          • Most have been in 4-3. but in yesterdays practice they spent most of their time in nickle and dime packages, which I think we will see more than their base defense.

    • Sometimes I wonder if it would be better to have sports reporters who were knowledgeable about sports first instead of knowledgeable about writing first. O writers mostly spend their time writing puff pieces and glazing over simple details because they probably just don’t know enough about the sport to actually write anything with substance.

  3. No big shock here, lost another top in-state talent, more to come.

    ?@jalfieri4
    Thank you to all who have supported me throughout this process, and it feels great to say I’ve officially committed to Stanford University!

  4. Surprised by this, didn’t think we were on his radar, made the top 5, maybe with teammate Nall verballing we have some pull there???

    @C_Humphreys54
    My top five schools in no order are, USC, UCLA, Arizona State, Wisconsin, and Oregon State. I will be committing in a week.

  5. CFN tabs Chricton as 4th best DE in the country:

    http://cfn.scout.com/2/1314403.html

    Nice recognition for him, hopes he gets some help and continues to increase his production.

    By the way, I know Clowney is a ridiculous combination of size, speed, and ability, and “the hit’ was impressive, but everyone seems to forget that the guard and tackle miscommunicated and Clowney came through cleanly. I read that they actually contained him pretty well most of the game.

    While the hit and helmet popping off was visually impressive, I thought was was impressive was that he caused and was quick enough to recover the fumble (if I am recollecting correctly).

  6. Wonder how much the Obama effect has on football recruiting?

    Dashon Hunt tweeted:

    First in counter with #ObamasBrotherInLaw #LetzGo #OneStepCloserToMeetingObama ????????

  7. Disappointing to hear about Martin, the guy’s always seemed pretty physically gifted, but just never has been able to adequately cover anybody. I remember him getting beat between the 20’s all day even against Utah. Hopefully Scott or Hunt can beat him out for the nickel spot and he can turn into a high grade special teamer similar to what Gerard Lawson turned into when he was here.

  8. Angry, if you can, find some Ulmo Honey. It has excellent antibiotic, antibacteria properties and is helpful healing wounds and surgical incisions. Good luck….Perhaps the lack of interior defensive linemen will force the Beavers to consider thinking out of the box, utilizing 2,3 or 4 defensive ends on the field at one time in specific situations. Perhaps multiple tight ends are utilized at times and perhaps Tyler Anderson can become the change of pace ball carrier, with a te or backup guard as a lead blocker.

  9. This would be awesome

    John Canzano ?@JohnCanzanoBFT

    Whisper is 4-star DE Connor Humphreys (Central Catholic HS) expected to commit to Oregon State on Saturday, per @JHopkins247 on @750TheGame

  10. Tickets came in the mail today. The booklet has a slightly more professional feel. I like the change and the information provided in the booklet. Could have done without the twitter for De Carolis.

  11. Scary moment at Cal scrimmage today. starting strong safety injures himself while hitting their running back and leaves in an ambulance.

  12. Just thought of something one could market…. “beaver black.” No seriously, it would lay claim to the color and have a little fun. Of course our school’s black is no different from others, but it makes it something different and may be catchy. I think I have something here. What do you think? And no, beaver byte did not steal my username.

    • I don’t think that’s happening any time soon since Oregon State has chosen “wear orange” for the theme to all six home games this season after the “controversy” last year. Beaver Black is obviously not nearly PC enough.

      • I agree, he’s already missed 7 practices. Even if he did come, he wouldn’t know the system and would have a hard time getting up to speed. I don’t see a positive resolution to this. My guess is he sits out this football season and arrives on campus in winter. I think he’d still have 2 years of eligibility.

      • He’s wearing a “beavers” hat in his most recent pics too, but I’m just concerned he’ll be getting here too late to make it worth using a year of eligibility. Maybe he can contribute to depth for the 2nd half of the season, but I’m afraid he’ll be too out of shape to keep up at this point, no to mention unprepared mentally.

        • If he does get in, it will take him awhile to learn the system. However, I would think as DT they could simplify his schemes to contribute at least by mid-season, just to spell the others. I would play him early (this season), because there is no guarantee that he is going to stay eligible. I believe he is a workout fein so he is probably in decent shape.

          Another train of thought would say let redshift, practice and hopefully dedicated to school and get ahead in credits?

    • Totally agree, very entertaining. Last year’s ‘best case’ had the Beavers beating Texas in the Holiday Bowl. So freaking close…

    • If he can hold onto the ball, he should factor into the return game. He’d be great in the fly sweep packages too.

      If you watch his sr year film highlights, he basically runs fly sweep the majority of the time.

  13. Sounds like practice injuries are mounting:

    Brandon Sprague ?@BrandonSprague 7m

    OL Garret Weinreich, according to Riley, has an unspecified knee injury. No timetable for him but Riley def wants him back.

    Brandon Sprague ?@BrandonSprague 9m

    Riley said some injuries are mounting. A lot of hammies and such. He mentioned walk on TE Will Hopkins has a serious toe injury.

    Sounds like Mulaney was back in full pads today though.

  14. This is a little surprising. Not sure if Bray is just putting up a smokescreen?

    Brandon Sprague ?@BrandonSprague 31m

    Spoke with LBs coach Trent Bray, he loves the progress of Joel Skotte. Complimented his athleticism and ability to pick things up quickly…
    …he also added that the one thing they need before Eastern Wash. is consistency. But he loves where his group/depth is.

  15. Who is this Larry Scott guy that keeps getting brought up during the practice reports. Don’t remember him from last years class of redshirt freshmen.

  16. Jack’s prediction comes true…..hope for him it’s not too bad

    Jason Quick ?@jwquick 23s

    Oregon running back Thomas Tyner was just wheeled out of practice on a cart while wearing a boot on his left foot

  17. From Will’s dad: “Just arrived in Corvallis after a straight through day and a half drive. I left as soon as I saw the injury live on my web phone thingy. I am the only one allowed to treat Will. I can report that he will be fine. I’ll have him up and running in a few minutes and he will…I repeat will be at practice tomorrow. Let me work my magic!”

    Jack..thanks for letting me crash at your place. Might be late, leave a key under the mat. I need to spend some time tonight with Coach Riley to make sure that he knows how to best use Will.”

    PS: “Anyone of you insiders know where Riley lives?”

    • Will’s dad should just create his own angrybeavs screen name to save you the time of reposting his messages, JB. I’m sure this wasn’t how you’d imagined retirement would go.

      • I wish I had time to create fake handles for dad’s of Beaver recruits. I guess once you have kids, you don’t have time to act like an imbecile on an Internet message board.

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