Missed going to the spring game but had it on the SWX app and was able to follow along with most of it. From what I could see and from the commentary and some posts on here and twitter it sounded like the day was a little better than I expected it to be. I was expecting this to be more like the 2nd scrimmage. More focused on seeing if individuals can step up to certain challenges than really working on scoring points/moving up and down the field/etc. It seemed to me that today they worked to open things up a bit more and treat it slightly more like a real game situation. I couldn't tell much on the defensive side based on what I could see. Good stuff today offensively from Akem, Flowers, Roberts, Knight, and Humphries.
Looking at where this team is coming out of spring camp, here's some thoughts at each position - and as I see it as we now move into the summer for this team.
Quarterback - Obviously Sneed's our guy. What I liked best was how Humphrey finished out the spring. I was nervous about our depth but he had a good scrimmage today and has given me some boosted confidence in this spot. Graves and Harris pretty young/choppy. Still not sure Graves is an FCS-level QB, but is for sure an FCS-level athlete.
Running Back - For as murky as this position has been most of the spring, it looked ok today. We say Knight stretching some runs and both Eastwood and Turner diving in some short yardage TDs. I'm not convinced this position is locked in, I still want to see Graves here. I don't know if there's great team speed/athleticism for what we need at this spot just yet. It feels like the starting job is wide open still and no on, based on the body of work through the spring, grabbed it. It's a young group and outside of Eastwood pretty inexperienced. I think if Knight and Eastwood can keep improving we could have a fun 1-2 punch, but... it's a long road ahead to get there.
Wide Receiver - This is by far the most talented and deep position on the roster. Akem will dominate the Big Sky this season, he can do it all. I was talking to someone about him the other day and it reminds me of watching Tru when he was a junior. At that point you could tell in practice that he was just a different level of athlete and player than most, I get a similar-ish read on Sammy. Toure & JLM are dudes we know and can rely on. Roberts and Flowers have had really strong camps.
Tight End - Maybe one of the best transformations of a group in just a year. 1 WR (Bingham) and 2 DEs (Rensvold & Deming) are a reliable group that can block and catch. For all of the positions that needed a longer-term build, I think Bobby and company really lucked out that these guys adapted so fast. I don't really see an over-the-top freak pass catcher that can chop up defenses in this group, but I don't think they really "need" that here.
Offensive Line - We're seeing some signs creep in that they're going in the right direction. The interior group added Pillans, Sirmon moved to center, and Martin is keeping other interior youngsters at bay. The tackles remain Beaver and Keintz. The 2s/3s looked way more rough, which is a common trend year-in and year-out. I don't think this group needs any more transfers/outside help this season, they have the bodies, they have the size. What remains to be seen is if they can put it all together and avoid what we saw last year all too often. OL and DL remain my biggest concern, but I feel this group is trending upward.
Defensive Line - I know this group lost some beef with Shaw and it's vocal guy with Tilleman. I'm not really sure where these guys are at, honestly. Seems like Gubner and Alford will be the big body guys, Sims we know is a stud - but hasn't flashed much in terms of stats. The buck/edge is a black hole, IMO. Nagler and Nelson - last years main guys at the spot haven't practiced much, if at all. Grossman started with the 1s and is clearly one hell of an athlete that looks the part, but I need to see much more of him to play the part, seems to still be something he's figuring out. Vika... maybe? He seems to be a good fit, but I want to see him make plays against the 1st team OL before I can figure out if he can be someone that could make a splash this fall.
Linebacker - Lewis didn't play in the 2nd scrimmage and I think that was him I saw with the big club on his hand today, that could explain it. Obviously I think we're fine with Olson and Lewis as the main guys. Depth wise I feel we've got good guys here, Welnel, O'Connell, Matthews, Flink. My concern here is that I'm not sure if the depth guys are ready to step up, if needed, to start multiple games just yet. I think ST will be a strength for many of these guys based on their skill, speed, and strength.
Corner back - This spring we saw Egbo and Hemphill rise up and give me some hope that this spot has a group of guys that can play. Nash is probably the best well-rounded guy in this group, Calhoun a more quiet spring. This position, in my opinion, still lacks a guy that we can place on a #1 WR and stay with him, that will be their weakness this year as I think they'll still have major issues with the top tier WRs in this conference.
Safety - I feel... ok about this group. We didn't see Robertson this spring much at all, I think in some sort of recovery protocol. That gave McGinnis and Nash Fouch some time to play and they did OK, Gavin Crow did well too. This should translate well to not only defense but to special teams. I liked the progression of the depth in this group.
K/P Purdy had a very good spring overall. I think it was mostly Wilson punting, saw he smashed a few today, he's a little more up/down.
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Overall what I liked about this spring was that you could go to a practice or a scrimmage and see what this staff is working on, building towards, and trying to do. Last spring it felt like they had the "kid gloves" on a bit to ease into working with this group, not this year. The intensity and expectations are way up, as they should be.
I've said this before but in the prior years we saw spring camps that were 60% - 70% running full 11 on 11 with the hopes/expectations that with enough reps, every player would have worked through most in-game situations. However we saw Saturdays that many times wasn't the case. Now it's such a precise focus on individual execution given all sorts of moments. So many more individual or by position drills.
This team isn't supposed to look flashy in the spring by design, and it didn't. However what I saw this spring was the layering of depth and talent, plus more of the formation of a total team. I feel better about just about every position save possibly D-line and maybe running back than I did before spring ball started. In prior years I felt there were giant gaps and concerns all over. This spring it feels a little more precise in certain areas, and not across the board. I still don't think we've got an elite team here, but I think they're building on something that could grow into a dominant squad in the years ahead.
It was a good spring, maybe one of the better springs I've seen from a Griz team in a long time.
Go Griz!
Looking at where this team is coming out of spring camp, here's some thoughts at each position - and as I see it as we now move into the summer for this team.
Quarterback - Obviously Sneed's our guy. What I liked best was how Humphrey finished out the spring. I was nervous about our depth but he had a good scrimmage today and has given me some boosted confidence in this spot. Graves and Harris pretty young/choppy. Still not sure Graves is an FCS-level QB, but is for sure an FCS-level athlete.
Running Back - For as murky as this position has been most of the spring, it looked ok today. We say Knight stretching some runs and both Eastwood and Turner diving in some short yardage TDs. I'm not convinced this position is locked in, I still want to see Graves here. I don't know if there's great team speed/athleticism for what we need at this spot just yet. It feels like the starting job is wide open still and no on, based on the body of work through the spring, grabbed it. It's a young group and outside of Eastwood pretty inexperienced. I think if Knight and Eastwood can keep improving we could have a fun 1-2 punch, but... it's a long road ahead to get there.
Wide Receiver - This is by far the most talented and deep position on the roster. Akem will dominate the Big Sky this season, he can do it all. I was talking to someone about him the other day and it reminds me of watching Tru when he was a junior. At that point you could tell in practice that he was just a different level of athlete and player than most, I get a similar-ish read on Sammy. Toure & JLM are dudes we know and can rely on. Roberts and Flowers have had really strong camps.
Tight End - Maybe one of the best transformations of a group in just a year. 1 WR (Bingham) and 2 DEs (Rensvold & Deming) are a reliable group that can block and catch. For all of the positions that needed a longer-term build, I think Bobby and company really lucked out that these guys adapted so fast. I don't really see an over-the-top freak pass catcher that can chop up defenses in this group, but I don't think they really "need" that here.
Offensive Line - We're seeing some signs creep in that they're going in the right direction. The interior group added Pillans, Sirmon moved to center, and Martin is keeping other interior youngsters at bay. The tackles remain Beaver and Keintz. The 2s/3s looked way more rough, which is a common trend year-in and year-out. I don't think this group needs any more transfers/outside help this season, they have the bodies, they have the size. What remains to be seen is if they can put it all together and avoid what we saw last year all too often. OL and DL remain my biggest concern, but I feel this group is trending upward.
Defensive Line - I know this group lost some beef with Shaw and it's vocal guy with Tilleman. I'm not really sure where these guys are at, honestly. Seems like Gubner and Alford will be the big body guys, Sims we know is a stud - but hasn't flashed much in terms of stats. The buck/edge is a black hole, IMO. Nagler and Nelson - last years main guys at the spot haven't practiced much, if at all. Grossman started with the 1s and is clearly one hell of an athlete that looks the part, but I need to see much more of him to play the part, seems to still be something he's figuring out. Vika... maybe? He seems to be a good fit, but I want to see him make plays against the 1st team OL before I can figure out if he can be someone that could make a splash this fall.
Linebacker - Lewis didn't play in the 2nd scrimmage and I think that was him I saw with the big club on his hand today, that could explain it. Obviously I think we're fine with Olson and Lewis as the main guys. Depth wise I feel we've got good guys here, Welnel, O'Connell, Matthews, Flink. My concern here is that I'm not sure if the depth guys are ready to step up, if needed, to start multiple games just yet. I think ST will be a strength for many of these guys based on their skill, speed, and strength.
Corner back - This spring we saw Egbo and Hemphill rise up and give me some hope that this spot has a group of guys that can play. Nash is probably the best well-rounded guy in this group, Calhoun a more quiet spring. This position, in my opinion, still lacks a guy that we can place on a #1 WR and stay with him, that will be their weakness this year as I think they'll still have major issues with the top tier WRs in this conference.
Safety - I feel... ok about this group. We didn't see Robertson this spring much at all, I think in some sort of recovery protocol. That gave McGinnis and Nash Fouch some time to play and they did OK, Gavin Crow did well too. This should translate well to not only defense but to special teams. I liked the progression of the depth in this group.
K/P Purdy had a very good spring overall. I think it was mostly Wilson punting, saw he smashed a few today, he's a little more up/down.
------------
Overall what I liked about this spring was that you could go to a practice or a scrimmage and see what this staff is working on, building towards, and trying to do. Last spring it felt like they had the "kid gloves" on a bit to ease into working with this group, not this year. The intensity and expectations are way up, as they should be.
I've said this before but in the prior years we saw spring camps that were 60% - 70% running full 11 on 11 with the hopes/expectations that with enough reps, every player would have worked through most in-game situations. However we saw Saturdays that many times wasn't the case. Now it's such a precise focus on individual execution given all sorts of moments. So many more individual or by position drills.
This team isn't supposed to look flashy in the spring by design, and it didn't. However what I saw this spring was the layering of depth and talent, plus more of the formation of a total team. I feel better about just about every position save possibly D-line and maybe running back than I did before spring ball started. In prior years I felt there were giant gaps and concerns all over. This spring it feels a little more precise in certain areas, and not across the board. I still don't think we've got an elite team here, but I think they're building on something that could grow into a dominant squad in the years ahead.
It was a good spring, maybe one of the better springs I've seen from a Griz team in a long time.
Go Griz!