Unfortunately I am super busy right now, but you guys can guess on defensive depth chart.
I’ll be free later in the week and post my thoughts.
Unfortunately I am super busy right now, but you guys can guess on defensive depth chart.
I’ll be free later in the week and post my thoughts.
Not hearing positive things about Peko…
Hope it’s bad info…he would be a huge addition.
Spotted: Kyle Peko imposter…
Sure looks like Peko from the photos on the recruiting sites. Good sign that he made it.
However, it does not appear that he is enrolled at the moment per the OSU online directory.
That’s Hautau in the picture…not Peko.
Mama Machado says she doesn’t expect Peko to be at practice today.
The challenge for the D will be right down the middle obviously. The edges are solid.
Last year’s run defense really degraded over the course of the season. I expect this year’s team to play run D more like last year’s team did down the stretch, and it will cost them in my view, capping them at 8 wins (throw in the Riley bonehead game and it may go 7).
UNLESS, this offense can just put up so many points and force opponents into obvious situations. This year’s offense wants to exceed last year’s 32 ppg; if they could get up to 36-40, there would be some entertaining games. If not, 8 wins.
Doctor is fast but undersized and not a great tackler. Serviceable but not a great run stopper.
Skotte isn’t a P-12 MLB.
I think Skotte will surprise. The only thing I am basing that on is his high school film. Just a feeling.
it seemed like he never moved backward, even if slightly undersized back then. I think he is a true Riley guy (a good one)
If someone is something, how can they not be that something?
Dictionary.com is your friend.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/poseur
zinger
The bad thing about a bad run D in the middle isn’t just that teams will score on you, it’s that they chew up the clock too, giving your O less total plays. 6 yards run plays up the middle all day long is like death by a thousand cuts, which is what we fans end up doing to ourselves when we have to witness it for 4 quarters.
It looks like that will happen again this year, unless the new DTs are great run stoppers.
Pass D looks good, but teams might not have to pass.
If you’re going to be running up the middle every play, defensive line play calling has just as much to do with stopping it. The middle will be fine. Same exact concern here last year.
Duck’s new facility has nothing on Valley Center, note semi-organized shelves, copious space, clock with re-beaved logo.
That DOES look pretty swanky.
From Will’S dad: “Will is totally capable of starting at defensive end. He played both ways in high school. When I have a few minutes I’ll send some video clips.”
I could not agree more with the negative ratings. I really hate Will’s dad. I wish he would leave me alone. What a tool! JB
I’m glad you’ve been able to relay the messages from his dad. He must have picked you over all of the other users because of your coaching pedigree. He seems like a smart guy who really needs to be around football more, if that’s possible. I’m looking forward to seeing him on the practice field sidelines these next few weeks. Hopefully he puts down the megaphone and video camera for a few minutes to chat with the other fans.
Has there been any talk of Rosa and his suspension from that bar fight last December. Is it still in effect? wasnt Mafi involved too? I know they both missed the Alamo bowl, and maybe that was the extent of their suspension.
I thought Rosa was a senior and his last game would have been the Alamo.
He is a senior this year.
I suspect Skotte is fundamentally sound, and would excel at Portland State. He is undersized by modern MLB standards, and the lack of depth is disconcerting. I suspect an OLB will have to move over.
I expect Doctor to improve this year and be Pac 12 2nd team caliber.
Meant as reply to Angry’s 1:19 am post above….
I must be missing something…
Yeah, that he runs like a wooden indian.
He is fine down hill, but no lateral moves. Just like Rueben Robinson. The spread or read option will kill Skotte.
Don’t use the R word Angry.
New Beavers beat writer invites story ideas:
http://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/index.ssf/2013/08/oregon_state_football_new_beav.html#incart_river
Send them here:
cletourneau@oregonian.com
So the laid off a bunch of writers to hire a new beat reporter? sure, I’ll welcome a fresh set of eyes, but still seems strange they axed the other guys based on cost cutting. Their familiarity with the team had to be worth something.
Familiarity breeds contempt… for truth-telling.
I’m not saying that’s a bad thing for anyone but a true reporter. If you want to pal around and rub elbows then drop names and info which makes everything hunky dory… start a blog.
Ready for some football!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcFnr-gnnVc
Live practice updates here: http://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/index.ssf/2013/08/oregon_state_beavers_football_130.html#incart_m-rpt-2
Boiler Beavs love a Neil Armstrong reference.
Purdue=astronaut factory.
Go BEAVS!
Lindsay just tweeted, “Got a new roster this am at OSU practice. Juco DT Kyle Peko and juco DE Charlie Tuaau not on it … Could still show later this week.”
Peko tweeted to Machado today “still waiting on a final and i should be set to go!”
Sounds optimistic at least. Somehow I think that final comes in with positive results. I can’t imagine a single test score keeping them from finding a way for this kid to make it into college.
Have heard this before.
Anybody else see that Katz is the Broncos 4th string QB? Does that count as a Riley guy making it to the NFL?
No.
Machado is saying Delva has “really shaped up. He is a walking brick..”
Good to hear because back in spring ball it sounded like he was a little more round. Hopefully the opportunity to start has lit a fire. His tape made it look like he has talent but needed a little more size/strength.
D’anthony Thomas being interviewed at practice on Portland sports radio right now. I know he’s fast physically, but he sounds retarded mentally.
He will probably make the Dean’s list just like LMJ.
Fuck… dude can’t stay healthy.
Mr. Glass
Chase Eldridge no longer with team.
Nelson/Reynolds started at the CB positions.
Hmmm… wealthy family… legitimate injury issue… need for roster reduction… ???
WTF with Eldridge?
was martin with the second team? i would’ve thought he’d get the first chance at the other number corner spot.
He’s not a boundary corner. He has to look inside constantly, or he loses sense for the play.
Sprague saying his day 1 impressions are that Mannion/Vaz both look good. Mullaney looks like the clear replacement for Wheaton. I saw talk on another board that Stephen Nelson is practicing as a starting CB with Reynolds, which is good to hear.
according to the Gazette Times reporter Kevin Hampton sounds like Gwacham was getting quite a few throws today with some deep balls. At least that’s what I’m taking from “Gwacham got balls deep” I guess that could be interpreted a couple ways.
You don’t have to write instructions for BG. He’s gonna get it.
Note all the duck info posts/tweets at the “OSU beavers football practice” live updates:
http://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/index.ssf/2013/08/oregon_state_beavers_football_130.html#incart_river
Really, can’t the oregonian block or remove those?
crappy Oregonlive coverage. This is why nobody follows their feeds.
They want hits, and dont care about content. FOL
fwiw – http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20130804/SPORTS/308040040/Pioneer-Great-Falls-Voyagers-pummel-Helena-Brewers
Danny Hayes
According to Eggers
@kerryeggers
OSU D-tackle Siale Hautau carted off practice field with apparent leg injury
L-Dogg is tweeting that team doctors say it isn’t serious.
If we have a dog who can tweet, how can we lose?
Do you think he is injury proned?
He has to pass one more obedience class to get admitted. Just waiting for the score on his final.
The guy’s got headcase written all over him. He pees on the field and licks his nads. No thanks.
Yeah, but how much upstairs do we need? I hear you can toss the rock as far as you can and he’ll still run it down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THRpWrqCt6A
the helmets dont have the beaver logo on them.
OSU just announced the opening of their newest “Beaver Building”
Can’t wait for the NY Times and SI articles.
Oregon State (@oregonstateuniv) tweeted at 3:23 PM on Mon, Aug 05, 2013:
The newly completed Native American Longhouse has officially been named “Eena Haws,” Chinook for “Beaver House.” http://t.co/4jFN9LndcU
(https://twitter.com/oregonstateuniv/status/364512029983264768)
Get the official Twitter app at https://twitter.com/download
Do they have a Eena Haws in Reno NV?
Comeon, you guys with real insight, give me a rundown of our current defense, v last year….. where its better, where it aint….
Storm looks like he really bulked up. The added muscle should hopefully help him stay away from the dings he ran into last year. I’m expecting a big year out of him
The compact Haskins makes Woods look skinny:
http://photos.oregonlive.com/photo-essay/2013/08/oregon_state_beavers_open_fall.html#incart_river
He is put together.
Well… at least they got two of TZ’s pics labeled correctly?
damn he looked ripped.
referring to storm
Early prediction of Defensive starters –
Left End: Scott Crichton, JR
Right End: Dylan Wynn, JR
Tackle Rotation: Edwin Delva, JR
Siale Hautau
Mana Rosa, SR
John Braun, SR
CB: Rashaad Reynolds
CB: Steven Nelson
Safety: Tyrequek Zimmerman
Strong Safety: Ryan Murphy
OLB: Michael Doctor
OLB: DJ Alexander
MLB: Joel Skottle
CB – RR & Nelson with Martin as the nickle and dime back. This isn’t necessarily better or worse than last year, but it may take a game or two for everyone to meld. And it could be better if Hunt or Okonkwo are too good to keep off the field.
S – Better right off the bat. Murphy hasn’t had to deal with a full off-season of Fred, and TZ has had time to let a full season of experience sink in. Those two are going to be more than solid for the next two years. Watkins was good for experience and solid play. But he wasn’t a playmaker. The talent coming up will do that. Christian played some last year, and I suspect he’ll get some time this year. But look for Noland and Robinson to fill in as back-ups. Even they will have to hope Solomon doesn’t learn the playbook fast though… if they want that much time.
MLB – Not as important as it once was, but necessary against power sets. Skotte should be fine with Saulo and Mageo backing up. Notice we didn’t recruit anyone here last here. It seems you either get a stud who can play, or you don’t really bother. And *take a deep breath* there’s no Reuben Robinson this year.
OLB – Doctor is good. But I’m surprised nobody is talking about DJ here. He fell off due to nagging injuries last year, and he would have made a significant difference in the Stanford game. He was seemingly all over the field in the CW. Rest and rehab make him ready for a first team All-Pac season. Since it seems MLB’s are sharing time outside, I guess it’s time for Johnson, James, Mafi and Saulo to show something in the back-up department.
DE – We got these guys called Skoki and Manimal. Barnett and Kell should be more than capable behind them. Tua’au would be gravy… as would a game ready Failauga… which I don’t expect as much.
DT – We’ve gone over it too much for me to say anything here. I thought we did okay with a walk-on and an o-lineman there last year. Just don’t let any of them go to McDonald’s, and we’ll be as good or better this year.
But I’m surprised nobody is talking about DJ here.
Because he’s the one good LB.
I think CB should be dominant. Reynolds and then Nelson/Hunt. Arnold could be in the mix in the secondary, too. Probably as a S, though.
Is it Alexander or Welch this year? He should switch every week to confuse our opponents.
Jack, why isn’t MLB as important anymore? Has Banker fundamentally changed his D? My understanding was that MLB had responsibility from C to C gap. They had to scrape and fill for cutback lanes. I thought that they even had C/D gap contain in some D sets. Doesn’t that make MLB one of the most important players on the field, particularly if the guy might be lacking in lateral speed (read: broken defense).
Banker hasn’t fundamentally changed his D. He’s fundamentally changed his thought process. He’s taken the study and thought required by the MLB, and he’s simplified it. Since he’s going with different packages in different situations the MLB isn’t even on the field for a majority of some games. And even when they are, he’s limiting them to downhill plays where he evaluates the situation, plugs in his player and just points and shoots.
Jack,
Who is Solomon? Don’t recognize him from past recruiting classes and didn’t see him on the roster.
This dude:
http://rivals.yahoo.com/oregonstate/football/recruiting/player-Terin-Solomon-141273
Thanks Angry! Think I’ve heard some people on here suggest he would fit better at olb and I put him there in my mind.
Hey Angry, good busy I hope? Being busy is good, if it’s productive. Hope that’s the case for you.
Sadly, no. Medical stuff. Have the surgery (I spoke about last year) Aug 22nd and busy with a lot of pre-op stuff.
Hopefully once this all passes I can get back to writing. AB has been slow the past year because I’ve been consumed with consults, research, etc. It’s hard to focus on football.
Thoughts are with ya Angry. You’ve researched this procedure a ton and now it’s crunch time, which is a good thing because the sooner you get started the sooner you can start healing.
We’ll survive in the meantime. Just throw us a bone once in awhile and let us talk amongst ourselves.
Before breaking up my face I wanted to be sure and research everything and thoroughly understand my options, you know? It took a while but it is time.
Thanks, man!
Beavs start a week after my recovery. I hope they don’t make it even more brutal.
Best of Luck Angry!
Hey Angry, I’m not up to speed on what’s going on, but wanted to wish you a safe and successful procedure. I trust you’ve picked the best to do their best for you. Good luck with everything and here’s to a quick recovery period.
Crunch time?!?!? Is that some kind of a joke?
heh, heh… i kid.
haha.
god this is going to suck.
Yeah, Angry….may it be free of complications,… and far less painful/annoying than you expect. Best of luck, man.
Wish you the best of luck with that. It DOES sound productive if it addresses a long term need, sorry it has to be (likely) expensive, complicated, and painful.
Take care
Have you researched ice packs yet?
I’m actually serious on this one. Before going out and getting a head sling with a doo-dad for the whatsit because so-and-so who has never used it or bothered to listen to feedback on it since he’s a specialist and complaints are usually handled by the primary before follow-ups are taken… go buy a box of high quality one-gallon zip-loc bags and a couple bottles of isopropyl alcohol. Fill a bag with anywhere between 1:2 and 1:3 parts alcohol:water, depending on how much you want it to get slushy. Double bag it and stick it in the freezer. Do enough to cycle them. If you really need it to have some form, then I hear you can just drop a disposable diaper in it. But you’ll want yours to be completely form free.
Angry,
Best of luck to you. Surgery sucks! Hope you have a speedy recovery.
BTW. I think Mullaney is going to be turning DB’s around, getting separation, and making plays count…top end speed isn’t everything.
Roger that.
He’s Steve Largent 2.0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubysILHF7Fc
From Will’s dad: “I just finished reading the Oregonian’s coverage of yesterdays practice. There was no mention of Will. I went over the material twice to be sure I hadn’t missed anything. To whom, at the paper, should I complain?”
If you’re looking for mentions, head over to rivals and scroll through the live coverage. Machado tweeted that the first 3 players out of the gates onto the field were Connor Hamlet, Victor Bolden, and young Will Hopkins. At least we know he Will’s punctual and excited to practice.
Thanks for making it so I notice every time this kids name is mentioned coach. If coaching opportunities have dried up, have you ever considered moving into player PR? All press is good press and your doing an incredible amount of free promotion.
Will’s dad hacked Bonehead’s account….
OT – this is about offense, but I like what Cooks is saying about the young WRs. I had thought of Bolden as a poor man’s Cooks, not sure Bolden is as fast yet. Throw in Mullaney, Jarmon…there’s some hands there too.
http://www.gazettetimes.com/sports/beavers-sports/football/osu-football-notebook-jc-players-still-waiting-to-be-eligible/article_e9415c26-fe29-11e2-9086-0019bb2963f4.html
I also like what players are saying about the O-line. The team hasn’t had justification for this kind of confidence in the O-line quite a few years.
OT again – but regarding the layoffs of Oregonian writers (Buker et al) and the addition of the new beat writer in this video:
http://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/index.ssf/2013/08/oregon_state_beavers_report_da.html
I think older print journalists like Buker find themselves at a difficult time in the media where they’re expected to serve not only as writers, but on-camera reporters they were never trained to be. Even given the lower expectations of informal video recording, the video reports with Buker were often awkward (again, not necessarily his fault, that wasn’t his background).
Not saying Lindsay is an on-camera champ, far from it, but I think this new aspect of print/video reporting is part of the reason for the staff changes at Olive. And I’m sure these young people are cheaper too…
My predictions,
DE – Wynn and Crichton, with Kell and Barnett backing up.
DT – Delva and Braun with Rosa, Hautau and Bennett-Jackson in the rotation. I think Bennett Jackson will overtake Braun by midseason.
LB- Alexander, Skotte, Doctor
CB – Reynold and Nelson with Martin as the nickel. Hunt will probably see the field in dime packages.
S – Murphy and Zimmerman.
With EWU and Hawaii being primarily passing teams, depth at MLB and DT won’t be really tested until Utah. Expecting a lot of nickel and dime packages in the first two games. Skotte won’t have much PT in the first two games.
Haskins looks ready:
http://pureorange.smugmug.com/SportsFolder/OSU-Football/FB-Practice-080513/i-ZNZgLFk/0/XL/2013FB-Aug05-Haskins1-Denison-XL.jpg
(More practice photos)
Wheaton impressing in training camp:
http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/4480526-74/wheaton-mann-receiver#axzz2bCTTsSk4
Some fun facts from looking over the roster,
Almost all the incoming freshman lost some height using their reported heights from rivals. Only Bolden and Villamin didn’t shrink. Most only lost 1 inch but Greer, Hunt, Jarmon, Solomon, and Strong both lost 2 inches.
Luckily no one returning lost any height, but a few guys got taller,
Bays – 2 inches
Braun – 1 inch
Kostol – 1 inch
Mitchell – 1 inch
Weinreich – 1 inch
Guys who put on some weight
Clute, James, Robins, Kell, Barnett, Anderson and Skotte all put on more than 10 pounds.
Woods put on 8 which is nice since he’ll have a lot more carries this year.
Addie and Gonzales lost over 10 pounds.
Mannion slimmed down 7 pounds – Trying to be more mobile?
Can’t remember where I read it, but read somewhere within the last month that Mannion was hitting the gym and put on weight over the summer. ??
It’s sort of like when you go clothing shopping at a department store and you ask the minimum wage clerk if the new pants your buying will shrink. “They’ll ask, do you want them to shrink?”
If you start to say yes, they’ll say “……cause these pants will shrink a little”
but if you start to say no, they’ll say “…..cause these pants are pre-shrunk”
“Do you want your Mannion to be lighter and more mobile?….”
I want my Mannion to throw no more than one interception a game…….and not because he is on the bench….
“my Mannion”;that’s cute. We all have our man crushes.
Mine’s Sean Connery.
Who’s yours?
Someone else referenced the discrepancy on the Scout board. Oregonian had him bulked up to 220. School reporting 207.
Kurt Scoby tweeted this earlier today
?@TheScoob22
My list is …. Arizona St , Oregon St, Fresno St , Miami in that order
You can see his info in the recruiting forum
http://angrybeavs.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=431
New to football, another rough diamond, this one from Hawaii
http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=880&CID=1533102
I just saw the tweet. I don’t know what the article says other than he’s a lean. But I’ve been watching the news on him from time to time. He was looking hard at Michigan and OSU and camped at both this summer. I don’t know if Hoke offered him though.
Reports from the Michigan camp were that he is really big, long and fast, really raw and really really strong.
Oh…
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1644028/highlights/44960374
Apparently people hate him.
I don’t. I see some talent.
Vaz comparing Bolden to Cooks (speed), Hunter Jarmon to Wheaton (catches)…
http://portlandtribune.com/pt/12-sports/158356-fresh-start-for-competitive-beavers
Hautau x-rays were negative according to Beav doctors. He was practicing today.
Will’s Dad must have been at practice today, saw a tweet from reporter Stephen Nelson that “Beavs walk on TE will Hopkins is a massive kid. 6’6″, 250+ pounds. Angie Machado said he had a ton of interest from other programs”
I’m picturing Will’s dad shadowing Angie all day.
Also, today was Popsicle Day at practice! Everybody got a popsicle, including media.
saw this on PO, interesting and fun for ‘uck haters
http://www.uomatters.com/2013/07/what-to-call-knights-latest-gift-to-uo.html
I like the comment getting all upset over the honor of imaginary butts of a joke. I like it because the comment which so incensed him followed one of real consequence dealing with crimes against real children, and he completely ignored that one.
I’m telling you now. If the Dead ever play Autzen again, I know where I’m sleeping that weekend.
Damn! The last time had to be 19 and 20 years ago. Would it be wrong to say that I camped in the back yard of the Boy Scouts… given the topic?
And my submission would be:
Maid of China
As an aside, do others already have their season tickets in hand? I just realized I haven’t seen any tickets yet and it’s already August.
They were supposed to hit the mail Monday, so depending on how far from Corvallis you live, they should arrive this week. It sounds like they’re being packaged as a booklet this year rather than a sheet of tickets.
My tickets have not reached Olympia WA yet.
Mine are not yet to Portland.
Read that Scott Brosius talked to the fb team tonight. Seems like a good thing that he’s on campus, perhaps he and Casey had a chance to chat about his successor?
Another player with a huge list of offers has decided to use one of his official visits to come to Corvallis. Jalen Brown 4* WR
Greg Biggins ?@GregBiggins 1h
Add #OregonState (Sept 7) to the visit list for Phoenix (Ariz) Mountain Pointe WR Jalen Brown, 4 down, 1 spot left
That’s awesome but it’s too bad he picked the Hawaii game to visit. I don’t know how exciting the stadium will be for that game whereas some of the ones near the end of the season should have a pretty electric atmosphere.
Hopefully we can get some of these big recruits to actually commit. Seems like we’ve been among the final 3-5 teams for quite a few 4-5* recruits over the past few years but usually haven’t been able to get them to actually choose us.
I didn’t know if this was news. I thought he only had a top 10 before now.
http://twitter.com/johncoonsports/status/365210492257583105
That was annouced a little while ago. I thought I saw somewhere he chose the Stanford-OSU game for an official to Corvallis but I can’t find it now.
Another, less heralded, Texas recruit has us in his top 3. Safety
Scout Recruiting ?@scoutrecruiting 3h
@BrightUgwoegbu adds #Big10’s #Illinois to top three along with #OregonState and #WakeForest http://bit.ly/15J7IUe
Cheikh N’Diaye’s PG from A/N will be visiting tomorrow.
http://twitter.com/ArmyNavyHoops/status/364231987122274305
I’ve loved Watson’s game since I first started seeing him show up on N’Diaye’s highlight reels, but he has always been on the small side being listed anywhere from 5’10” to 6’1″. His game is a lot like Damian Lillard’s game… with a little more facilitation. This may be one time getting a teammate from HS makes a difference. Every time I listened to one of Watson’s post-game presser’s he had only glowing things to say about Cheikh, at times crediting the big for his own success. Besides that, our coaches have logged hours evaluating him while just watching N’Diaye. So they’ve had a longer relationship than anyone else with Watson.
I’m really happy that he’s a priority PSA. He’s quality and quantity on and off the court. This is how much a priority he is:
http://twitter.com/ArmyNavyHoops/status/364232455118520320
I think this might be a necessary move by Coach Rob since Watson’s recruitment blew up this summer. Steve Fisher has been after him all summer, and UCONN offered him last week.
If Watson joins Manderson, that’s two checks off my wish list. A tall swing like Isaiah Bailey (who blew up in Vegas last week) would be a third. And do any of us think Moreland will stick around for his senior year?
Check that… I don’t know why I keep thinking today is Thursday.
I was able to make it to practice today, here some things that I saw.
As far as any changes to the offense there was a little read option being ran as well as quarterback shovel pass similar to BYU ran quite a bit on us last season, and a couple new ways to set up screen passes, which looked good and went for some big yards.
Vaz vs. Mannion
Mannion got first reps and worked the first group all day (I think it has been that way all week) and looked awesome, especially passes to the boundaries, really strong well placed throws. He did have one pass that I think slipped out of his hand, trying to hit Obum deep but the ball was a dead duck that landed about 15 yards short of Obum. But other than that he picked apart the defense. Vaz looked really good also he was a little more inaccurate on the wide receiver screens. He has really good anticipation, but his passes to the boundaries had less zip and accuracy than Mannion’s. After watching today I think Sean is winning the position battle, he was really, really sharp. Vanderveen and Kempt still have a ways to go before they reach Mannion and Vaz. Vanderveen did throw a pick 6 in team though.
Wide Receivers
Brandin Cooks is a STUD. I’ll just leave it at that. Besides Cooks, Cummings, was getting a lot of separation even against the top corners/safeties on the team and beat them in a lot of different ways. Micah Hatfield is looking good; he made some really nice catches, especially in tight coverage. During team drills Gilmore was getting the first reps over Gwatcum and Mullaney, but did not perform well. On back to back plays Brennen came running out and yelling at him to do better. Obum looked really good, but he has been that way the last couple years, I did see and dropped passes from him. He did “pants” Larry Scott after an interception, which was pretty funny. Nothing earth shattering from Mullaney, just did what he does. Bolding looks like De’Antothony Thomas and runs similar to him; we need to finds ways to get him the ball. Hunter Jarmon looked good, almost made an incredible diving catch, but just couldn’t hold on.
Tight Ends
This is a nice looking group. All of them are big, athletic, and look comfortable catching the ball. Caleb Smith’s body has changed from last year; he trimmed down quite a bit and looks a lot more athletic. The guy from Dayton Hayden Craig looks to be a blocking tight end, he was the least athletic out of the group. Hamlet was looked fine also.
Running Backs
I didn’t see a ton of this group. Haskins is already built to be a college running back, much bigger than Storm, Ward, and Chris Brown. Woods does look bigger and he was noticeably quicker than last year. All the backs looked good catching the ball except for the 3rd full back #42. Tyler Anderson was playing full speed and did not appear limited by the giant brace he had on. He did however sit out the last part of practice with ice on knee, but I think that was just precautionary. And standing next to Lyle Moevao, you can’t tell the two apart. And the last couple times I have gone to practice they have tried running a running back pass with Terron Ward, but he can’t throw at all, it was embarrassing.
Offensive Line
I am not very good at analyzing or getting a good look on who is in. Didn’t see anything alarming.
Defensive Backs
Reynolds is very good, and fast. He won several 1 on 1’s, he ran stride for stride and broke up a perfectly thrown deep ball intended for Cooks. Sean Martin got beat all day, embarrassed by Cooks and Cummings. It does not help that he has to leave practice to go to class either. Steven Nelson is going to win this job; he had great coverage all day. He had come great battles with Micah Hatfield, he had perfect coverage a majority of plays. After what I saw today I would be shocked if he didn’t over take Martin. I haven’t seen or heard much of Larry Scott (not commissioner) but he was running with the second unit and played well, he is not very big.
Linebackers
I didn’t see a ton of individual drills with this group either, but some interesting stuff. Alexander and Doctor are good to go, nothing stood out to me, positive or negative, with Skotte (He did pick off Vanderveen). The freshman Greer is a very, VERY small linebacker, but he gets to the ball in a hurry and is good in coverage (nearly picked off Vaz). A fight broke out between I believe Kellen Clute and Darrell Songy. I don’t know what started it, but Songy was really fired up about something and was yelling “Let’s goOOooo!) they were doing 1 on 1 drills and then punches started to fly. Then it got defused and everything was fine again.
I didn’t get a good look at the defensive line, they were inside most of practice, but the Devla and Hautau both are big. No sign of Pecko though. During Team there weren’t huge holes for the running backs to run through so I guess they are doing fine now.
Special Teams
First thing I saw was Romaine hit from 45+ with ease. He was really short on a 57 yarder, but I think that was to practice the coverage if a field gets returned. Didn’t see any punters.
Nice write up, thanks!
Thanks dude. Good stuff
Thanks, nice stuff.
Damn!
They’re good.
https://twitter.com/oregonstateuniv/status/365238023312535552/photo/1