Bender clearly has the best arm, Hilinski the best feet and Falk has the best command of the offense. Nearly four years in and the most dynamic player on offense is a Wulff recruit -- Dom Williams, not good. But with Marks back, we will have several WRs who can find wholes in coverage. In the battle of the Titans, our DLs vs our OLs, no one stood out, the run game wasn't there, nor was the pass rush. Splitting the OL up might explain the lack of a run game, but the DLs should have feasted on the situation rush wise. No such luck. Best DB is White, by a mile. The fact that Dom Williams looked like Usian Bolt, does not bode well for our DBs. Farrar? Move Green to DB? He is the fastest kids on the team, and only seeing spot duty on O. Was there a freshmen/TR out there that impressed you? Green impressed last year, I didn't see anyone like that this year.
Thoughts on the spring game
- Thread starter Cougsocal
- Start date
What you say about Dom has been a concern of mine as well...and not just at the wr position.
That needs to change...and fast.
That needs to change...and fast.
Marks actually looked like the more dynamic player- but he got the B QB and the A secondary.
Also, no matter whose recruit he is, the idea that your most experienced, physically mature player is also the one who shows best is proof that the system is working, not a show that there aren't enough good players being brought in.
Saying that our team is in trouble because our most dynamic player is a Wulff recruit seems short sighted to me. Wulff missed on plenty of guys and his recruiting wasn't up to snuff overall but he had a few guys that were legit diamonds in the rough. There's this guy named Deonne Bucannon who probably thinks that he's not too shabby even though he's a Wulff recruit. Plenty of people in the NFL agree. If we were relying heavily on Wulff players, I'd be nervous. Having a couple Wulff guys left who might be pretty good? I'm ok with that.
I could be mistaken, but I think the angle was more of a comment on Leach's recruiting since all we ever hear is how bad Wulff's recruiting was...and our best playmaker, is a Wulff recruit.
It's amazing that a guy that never played a snap for Wulff, who is going int his fifth year, after spending three years in Leach's system is good.
It's your angle.
To no one's surprise, it's an obtuse angle. That's some geometry humor, right there.
Both Williams and Bucannon blossomed under Leach. I doubt either one would be the players they are today had Wulff and his band of idiots remained in Pullman.
SoCal,
Pretty negative summary. You think Grinch wanted to unleash every blitz package to get pressure during a spring game? Give me a break. The squads were split up to provide a realistic, competitive game situation. It's a hell of a lot better than the glorified sissy practices I witnessed on the P12 network. I thought it was an energetic positive day. You can't write off 2015 before we've taken a snap.
Pretty negative summary. You think Grinch wanted to unleash every blitz package to get pressure during a spring game? Give me a break. The squads were split up to provide a realistic, competitive game situation. It's a hell of a lot better than the glorified sissy practices I witnessed on the P12 network. I thought it was an energetic positive day. You can't write off 2015 before we've taken a snap.
I don't know what the broadcast said about the format but the number of times I saw a coach run across the field and yell at a player to get the other colored jersey on was uncountable. They were grading the match ups people. The rosters were continually changing. "So-and-so did well against "that guy" let's change his jersey and see how he competes against this guy with the same jersey. Put him on the other team so we can see the matchup". So they were split for an internal purpose that we'll never know and then continually changed.
And after the broadcast, the 3's and 4's continued to play for well over 10 minutes of game time. That was nice to see. Hillinski certainly has an arm. Our futures bright at the QB position.
Is my summary accurate? Where were the positives, for you? Nit pick all you want, but tell me what your assessment is. Who were your stars of the show, particularly D --- Someone????. The more you complain about what I say, make excuses, and fail to tout exploits of up and coming stars, the more concern I become.
Yes, I am a concerned that that Dom Williams looked so dynamic. It is because we didn't seem to have anyone on defense to match his speed. If we want to play with the big boys we need to start recruiting kids who are dynamic. Dom has alway been fast, and our best threat to go all the way for some time, but if we want to succeed in Pac-12 ball don't we need kids on the field guys who can match him? It isn't like Dom has Agholor, Allen or Thomas' wheels. If we want to be more aggressive on defense, don't we need kids with speed who can prevent the big play. The main reason the 94 defense was so dominate was because the back 4 allowed the front 7 to be uber aggressive. Don't we want and need safeties with the wheels like Rushing and Mobley? If they are out there, who are they? My impression was Mitchell, Broughton, Shalom and Porter can't get on campus soon enough. Who in the D are PTPs, who can take us back to relevancy?
Marks more dynamic than Dom? I just don't see him as a YAC receiver. Tough, smart, good hands, but I can out leap and out run you, not so much.
Vaeao looked like a beast. Peuller could actually diagnose a play. Ekeuale is a young, active body with tons of upside. Ike Dotson looks like an imposing safety (looks like a poor man's Taylor May's). McClennon looks like a wild man coming off the edge. Our defenders, especially the secondary, seemed near the ball more often.
On O, we have 3 P12 QBs on the roster. The entire O line returning. Baker is a friggin stud in the slot. Marks and Dom will be a dangerous duo. Harrington looks like a dynamic playmaker. Wicks can hammer it in at the goaline. We have plenty of depth at receiver and RB.
Most importantly, the kids seemed to really enjoy themselves out there. Aside from Leach, our staff consists of young, hungry assistants that have played in the league or for a Power conference. This year feels different to me.
So with that logic, how did Wilson put up better numbers that Williams?
For that matter, how did Wilson set receiving records at Washington State?
Under Leach, we have more than one good receiver. That would be my first guess.
Marks career stats don't suggest he gets behind P-12 defenses that often. 123 catches for 1367 yards, 11.1 per catch, 9 TDs, long play - 51 yards. Compared to Cracraft, 112 catches, of 1385 yards, 12.3 per catch, 11 TDs, long - 85 yards. But you are right that he got befind our defense at least twice, I not sure that is a good thing when a possesion receiver does that.
If I had to guess, I'd say "function of the offense on that day"- Marks was the deep guy on that team, so he got those balls. If he and Williams are your outside guys, I think you're good at the position. Both Williams and Marks were able to get deep frequently, it seemed like- as someone who's a realist, I'd say 20% good receiving, 80% questionable defending.
The time is now for "the beast," we need him to quadruple his career sack total this year. I think McLennan has Pac-12 tools. Will Baker play much behind both Marks and Cracraft? It would have been nice to have seen Harrington make more people miss. But he is new at the position.
I'll have to watch for Dotson on TiVo. and Didn't I see Singleton, playing during the regular scrimmage? Not bad for a pre-freshman. I'd say we have 2 Pac-12 QBs on the roster, until Hilinski can work out that messed up throwing motion. I think it was trying too hard to put too much on each throw. His mechanics were far better when he was outside the pocket and wasn't trying to throw the long out. He reminded me a lot of Kegel his freshman year.
Singleton played at safety and corner. Baker plays inside and Marks outside so they won't be directly competing for time.
Socal...I didn't see much of the scrimmage. In general, if recruiting is considered pathetic by one staff I think you hope the new staff bring in better players where the kid from the last staff is on par or a role player. Personally, while I think continuity is very important, I would have loved to see Dockery and Jackson for example make Washington and Horton role players that came in situations. I think that is what one should look for in a rebuild. So I do get what you are saying.
