A fun and lively scrimmage in the chilly, windy weather!
Got there for drills, watched the WRs vs DBs, the two WRs that were doing really well were Mariani and Sambrano. Jabin had an inside fake that he turned into a sideline route that completely fooled his defended, Mariani did his usual stuff.
7on7, basically without the Oline/Dline had some nice plays, probably the highlight was a beauty that Larson dropped into Greg Hardy for a TD, right up the middle. Sambrano had good catches too, Connor Smith grabbed a few, lots of different guys had some good plays. Selle and Larson were the only two throwing.
11on11 had a few guys sitting out, Reynolds and Mariani I don't think played at all, Mariani might've for a bit, but not much. Starting Oline still had Oppenrud at RG. All three starting LBs had some good plays, Lebsock picked off a Selle pass, Fisher had a near catch. Sentinel Missoula's own Lockwood had two near picks on the 2nd string team and one real nice tackle for a loss.
TBF was with the 1s, had some good runs and two very nice catches. Late in the "overtime" drills he had a 20 yard TD run, the OL on the right side opened up a great hole, and the WRs blocked really well down field. Tel Reynolds also got carries with the 1s as well, but mostly with the 2s. He had the most highlight runs today, looked just like his brother, found the gap and fired through, he had a 50 yard run, a 20 yard run and a 15 yard run. The two big runs he did get caught from behind, but he was looking good out there, he could be shooting up through the depth chart.
Sambrano had the best day of the WRs, caught a beauty from Larson, also had a few short routes as well. Connor Smith had a nice play where he slipped two would be tacklers. Levi Buckles got a lot of encouragement from the sidelines when he plowed through Mike McCord. All 5 of the TEs had a catch I think, Beaudin might've had a few.
Stoll and Schann were firing the gaps really well, Stoll hit Tel in the backfield on a run that would've probably been a TD if Stoll didn't trip him up.
Of the DEs, Palmer and Fetherston had the best show out there, Fetherston by far, in one series he had two sacks, and a pressure that resulted in a throw away. In that play Larson scrambled out of the pocket and appeared to be looking to run downfield, but Ryan stayed stride for stride with him and forced the throw-away pass. Graupmann had a touch sack too, McSurdy (they were calling him dirty I think) was in on a lot of tackles.
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You'll probably read a more detailed account in the paper tomorrow, and on the twitter update. I thought I'd post some opinons of what I saw overall today in regards to a few players:
- Selle seemed hesitant, and was over-throwing on a few plays. He did throw the one pick, right into Lebsock's gut. Early he had a throw that was a little high but not bad that hit Gratton in the out-stretched hands, if Sam would've pulled it in it would've been 6. Selle was "sacked" more than Larson, and at times he'd stare down his WR. One play he had a CB, S, and LB all jump on Ty Palmer b/c he was staring him down, Selle checked down to TBF for a completion. For those who say he can't run, well he might've dispelled that talk a bit, he broke through an arm tackle to scramble for a 25 yard gain.
- Larson, in my opinion, had the best showing today of the QBs. Larson and Selle got the majority of the reps, by far. I didn't get to see if Larson led his squad to a TD in the OT drill though. Larson I think completed more, and had the best pass of the day on the sideline route to Jabin. Jeff scrambles around and his throwing accuracy is much improved. He stands tall in the pocket and takes some serious gambles, had a few that paid off, firing through defenders.
- Kemp got one series, I think he threw once. He scrambled a few times, I think 3 or 4, had a 15 yarder and a 10 yarder. One was a dynamic read where he tucked the ball, juked a DE out of his shoes and ran upfield. Also had another good option pitch. Looks like the coaches really want to see what he can do in a true option/spread offense as they didn't run that with Larson or Selle at all.
- Tel Reynolds was the star RB in terms of yards, lots of big runs. The issue was he kept getting caught from behind, Lisowski chased him down on his big run, and Stoll on the other. Tel hits guys just like his brother, and is quick to accellerate. On passing though he badly missed a blitzing LB badly which led to coach Delaney to shout, "If you want to carry the ball at all you have to pass block!"
- TBF had some powerful runs, it looks like he'll be the power-back this year, sure handed, no fumbles and he caught two passes really well.
- Sambrano as I said probably the best day, his route running and speed/agility is very impressive. Jabin's going to bust out in a major way this year. He got a punt return chance, but the coverage was there, only a short gain.
- I wish I could say our TEs will be amazing parts of our passing game, but 7 years into Bobby's tenure we just don't see a TE that's going to rack up 100's of yards and 5+ TDs. All of our guys can run fast, catch well, and block hard. TE is probably the biggest "unsung hero" group on this team.
- Our starting 5 did well in pass protection, and seem to block much better when the QB is in the shotgun handing the ball off. The right side of the 2nd string OL is what sprung Tel free for a few of his big runs and Piette was playing RG there, I wonder if Piette is going to start battling Oppenrud for starter at RG. Burton was the lone guy to get a holding call today, he made up for it on the next screen where he plowed a DB downfield, it looked like it must've hurt... BAD. Burton at backup C did well, had a few bad snaps, one over the QBs head, Verlanic at starter is solid with shotgun snaps.
- Can't say much about the DTs, but Fetherston and Palmer both had very visible days with a lot of pressures, some touch sacks, and Fetherston even dropped into coverage on a play and just about picked off Selle but had the ball go through his arms. Palmer got dinged up but came back in. Graupmann is a good pass rusher, but it was his side of the D line that was continually giving up the big run plays against the 2s. The lack of a heavy run-stopping DE is apparent, the OTs shove our DEs back for the most part.
- Fisher made a great open-field tackle against TBF, and had many other quick plays, him and Lebsock are a dangerous combo at LB, they hit REAL hard, are quick in coverage, and show that they both have good hands.
- Other LBs who had some great plays were Lockwood, Bauer, McSurdy, and Stuberg.
- I don't recall any major plays from our CBs at all, not sure why, but just nothing stands out. I did notice that Haynes really does well playing run D on the line, you'd usually see him as the last tackler getting off the ground at the bottom of the pile.
- Stoll and Schann are a great pair, should ease the pain of losing Colt. McCord was tackling well but getting knocked around a bit back there, dont recall much from Cummings...
- McKnight punted the ball, hit both fairly well with a good hangtime, I didn't see any fieldgoals, but I know he made the extra point on TBF's TD run
- Frosh RB Craig Baldus from Bozeman had a big run when it was 3s vs 3s.
Whew! There you have it!
Got there for drills, watched the WRs vs DBs, the two WRs that were doing really well were Mariani and Sambrano. Jabin had an inside fake that he turned into a sideline route that completely fooled his defended, Mariani did his usual stuff.
7on7, basically without the Oline/Dline had some nice plays, probably the highlight was a beauty that Larson dropped into Greg Hardy for a TD, right up the middle. Sambrano had good catches too, Connor Smith grabbed a few, lots of different guys had some good plays. Selle and Larson were the only two throwing.
11on11 had a few guys sitting out, Reynolds and Mariani I don't think played at all, Mariani might've for a bit, but not much. Starting Oline still had Oppenrud at RG. All three starting LBs had some good plays, Lebsock picked off a Selle pass, Fisher had a near catch. Sentinel Missoula's own Lockwood had two near picks on the 2nd string team and one real nice tackle for a loss.
TBF was with the 1s, had some good runs and two very nice catches. Late in the "overtime" drills he had a 20 yard TD run, the OL on the right side opened up a great hole, and the WRs blocked really well down field. Tel Reynolds also got carries with the 1s as well, but mostly with the 2s. He had the most highlight runs today, looked just like his brother, found the gap and fired through, he had a 50 yard run, a 20 yard run and a 15 yard run. The two big runs he did get caught from behind, but he was looking good out there, he could be shooting up through the depth chart.
Sambrano had the best day of the WRs, caught a beauty from Larson, also had a few short routes as well. Connor Smith had a nice play where he slipped two would be tacklers. Levi Buckles got a lot of encouragement from the sidelines when he plowed through Mike McCord. All 5 of the TEs had a catch I think, Beaudin might've had a few.
Stoll and Schann were firing the gaps really well, Stoll hit Tel in the backfield on a run that would've probably been a TD if Stoll didn't trip him up.
Of the DEs, Palmer and Fetherston had the best show out there, Fetherston by far, in one series he had two sacks, and a pressure that resulted in a throw away. In that play Larson scrambled out of the pocket and appeared to be looking to run downfield, but Ryan stayed stride for stride with him and forced the throw-away pass. Graupmann had a touch sack too, McSurdy (they were calling him dirty I think) was in on a lot of tackles.
-----------------
You'll probably read a more detailed account in the paper tomorrow, and on the twitter update. I thought I'd post some opinons of what I saw overall today in regards to a few players:
- Selle seemed hesitant, and was over-throwing on a few plays. He did throw the one pick, right into Lebsock's gut. Early he had a throw that was a little high but not bad that hit Gratton in the out-stretched hands, if Sam would've pulled it in it would've been 6. Selle was "sacked" more than Larson, and at times he'd stare down his WR. One play he had a CB, S, and LB all jump on Ty Palmer b/c he was staring him down, Selle checked down to TBF for a completion. For those who say he can't run, well he might've dispelled that talk a bit, he broke through an arm tackle to scramble for a 25 yard gain.
- Larson, in my opinion, had the best showing today of the QBs. Larson and Selle got the majority of the reps, by far. I didn't get to see if Larson led his squad to a TD in the OT drill though. Larson I think completed more, and had the best pass of the day on the sideline route to Jabin. Jeff scrambles around and his throwing accuracy is much improved. He stands tall in the pocket and takes some serious gambles, had a few that paid off, firing through defenders.
- Kemp got one series, I think he threw once. He scrambled a few times, I think 3 or 4, had a 15 yarder and a 10 yarder. One was a dynamic read where he tucked the ball, juked a DE out of his shoes and ran upfield. Also had another good option pitch. Looks like the coaches really want to see what he can do in a true option/spread offense as they didn't run that with Larson or Selle at all.
- Tel Reynolds was the star RB in terms of yards, lots of big runs. The issue was he kept getting caught from behind, Lisowski chased him down on his big run, and Stoll on the other. Tel hits guys just like his brother, and is quick to accellerate. On passing though he badly missed a blitzing LB badly which led to coach Delaney to shout, "If you want to carry the ball at all you have to pass block!"
- TBF had some powerful runs, it looks like he'll be the power-back this year, sure handed, no fumbles and he caught two passes really well.
- Sambrano as I said probably the best day, his route running and speed/agility is very impressive. Jabin's going to bust out in a major way this year. He got a punt return chance, but the coverage was there, only a short gain.
- I wish I could say our TEs will be amazing parts of our passing game, but 7 years into Bobby's tenure we just don't see a TE that's going to rack up 100's of yards and 5+ TDs. All of our guys can run fast, catch well, and block hard. TE is probably the biggest "unsung hero" group on this team.
- Our starting 5 did well in pass protection, and seem to block much better when the QB is in the shotgun handing the ball off. The right side of the 2nd string OL is what sprung Tel free for a few of his big runs and Piette was playing RG there, I wonder if Piette is going to start battling Oppenrud for starter at RG. Burton was the lone guy to get a holding call today, he made up for it on the next screen where he plowed a DB downfield, it looked like it must've hurt... BAD. Burton at backup C did well, had a few bad snaps, one over the QBs head, Verlanic at starter is solid with shotgun snaps.
- Can't say much about the DTs, but Fetherston and Palmer both had very visible days with a lot of pressures, some touch sacks, and Fetherston even dropped into coverage on a play and just about picked off Selle but had the ball go through his arms. Palmer got dinged up but came back in. Graupmann is a good pass rusher, but it was his side of the D line that was continually giving up the big run plays against the 2s. The lack of a heavy run-stopping DE is apparent, the OTs shove our DEs back for the most part.
- Fisher made a great open-field tackle against TBF, and had many other quick plays, him and Lebsock are a dangerous combo at LB, they hit REAL hard, are quick in coverage, and show that they both have good hands.
- Other LBs who had some great plays were Lockwood, Bauer, McSurdy, and Stuberg.
- I don't recall any major plays from our CBs at all, not sure why, but just nothing stands out. I did notice that Haynes really does well playing run D on the line, you'd usually see him as the last tackler getting off the ground at the bottom of the pile.
- Stoll and Schann are a great pair, should ease the pain of losing Colt. McCord was tackling well but getting knocked around a bit back there, dont recall much from Cummings...
- McKnight punted the ball, hit both fairly well with a good hangtime, I didn't see any fieldgoals, but I know he made the extra point on TBF's TD run
- Frosh RB Craig Baldus from Bozeman had a big run when it was 3s vs 3s.
Whew! There you have it!
