OK we're two weeks into Spring Ball. Here's this observational fan's opinion of current position battles that are ongoing.
Quarterback - Written off by message board users, all Brady Gustafson has done is come in as the starter on day 1 and improve quicker than all of his competition in this new system. Gus has had a pretty good first two weeks. Today's scrimmage showed he's got moving the ball up and down the field going. His RZ performance wasn't great but I saw a Stitt quote in the post-scrum write up pointing out they've not even practiced much RZ stuff and will wait until fall camp to fine tune that. Simis and Chalich are improving though and this battle isn't over. Prater took a step back today and Pflug/Trent/Weyer are in group 2 for now.
Left Guard - It largely appears that the one spot on the O-line that remains open is LG. It started with McCauley Todd last week, turned into Max Kelly this week, and even showed a bit of Robert Luke today as well. What's not overly helping is that LT John Schmaing appears to be out for most if not all of spring ball so the whole left side of the line is a little suspect with a less experienced Thiebes pulling LT duties. Luke looked the most out of place of the three in the scrimmage today. Kelly is holding his own while Todd now on the 2nd string line appears to be doing what is asked of him as well. Going to be tough to tell how this shapes out, it doesn't seem one or the other has emerged of Todd and Kelly.
Punter - As last season ended I mused that Shaw may not have his starting job handed right back to him when he returns. While I don't know if he's 100% or not (I'd guess not?) Shaw didn't match Lider's hangtime. Lider did have more punt opportunities with a longer field to kick and he smashed a few towering shots with great hang time. Shaw, meanwhile, had 2 punts to try to pin the returner - so it's tough to tell on his range compared to Lider since he had a shorter field. Shaw did not have the hang time though on his punts like Lider did. A plus to Lider as well is that he's a big guy that can handle kickoff duties on the road and get in the mix and make a tackle if needed (don't think Sullivan is really that kind of a guy). Intangibles like that tip to Lider here.
Running Back - The much anticipated stable of backs has two pulled up lame right now with Favors and Counts out for most all of spring ball. That's helped cement Nguyen as the #1 guy. He's caught Stitt's eye too who has talked about his smarts, his quickness, and his ability to make guys miss. It's helped Logwood as well who is looking to become more of the Jordan Canada-type of back. Logwood needs to improve his pass catching from what I've seen. Nguyen looks to be "the man" for now as this offense seems perfectly designed for him.
Wide Receiver - Stitt wants at least 8 WRs right? Locks are Henderson, Jones, Naccarato, Janssen, and Burke. That leaves at least 3 others who could be on the roster now or who could be here in the fall. Caleb Lyons made a great case to be one of those three today. Carlson and McGuire are in the mix too. Graham also making a case in practice.
Cornerback - Nate Harris returns as a starter but has missed all of spring camp with a sprained ankle. That's actually been a blessing for the depth as it's allowed the other corners to work out and give the coaches full looks. JR Nelson is playing his best football I've seen him play. He's always been good in practice and needs to keep showing that he can carry it over to game-day. Ryan McKinley is also looking great to be the 3rd / nickel corner. I saw he lead in tackles today. Parker & Garner are improved as well. Corner looks surprisingly deep all of the sudden.
Safety - This one is going to get interesting. Whitted is out this spring as he is recovering from something, he's done some light drills but no contact stuff. Meanwhile that's paired Jake Dallaserra and Manu Rasmussen. They've worked well together. Rasmussen has really impressed me, this guy does not play like a freshman, he's a hard hitter and good in coverage - although he hasn't been tested that much as this offense hasn't gone deep on him too often yet. So what happens when Whitted comes back? Who gets bumped back? At this point I don't honestly know. What we do know is that Whitted has battled injury most of his career so having these options is a good thing.
Quarterback - Written off by message board users, all Brady Gustafson has done is come in as the starter on day 1 and improve quicker than all of his competition in this new system. Gus has had a pretty good first two weeks. Today's scrimmage showed he's got moving the ball up and down the field going. His RZ performance wasn't great but I saw a Stitt quote in the post-scrum write up pointing out they've not even practiced much RZ stuff and will wait until fall camp to fine tune that. Simis and Chalich are improving though and this battle isn't over. Prater took a step back today and Pflug/Trent/Weyer are in group 2 for now.
Left Guard - It largely appears that the one spot on the O-line that remains open is LG. It started with McCauley Todd last week, turned into Max Kelly this week, and even showed a bit of Robert Luke today as well. What's not overly helping is that LT John Schmaing appears to be out for most if not all of spring ball so the whole left side of the line is a little suspect with a less experienced Thiebes pulling LT duties. Luke looked the most out of place of the three in the scrimmage today. Kelly is holding his own while Todd now on the 2nd string line appears to be doing what is asked of him as well. Going to be tough to tell how this shapes out, it doesn't seem one or the other has emerged of Todd and Kelly.
Punter - As last season ended I mused that Shaw may not have his starting job handed right back to him when he returns. While I don't know if he's 100% or not (I'd guess not?) Shaw didn't match Lider's hangtime. Lider did have more punt opportunities with a longer field to kick and he smashed a few towering shots with great hang time. Shaw, meanwhile, had 2 punts to try to pin the returner - so it's tough to tell on his range compared to Lider since he had a shorter field. Shaw did not have the hang time though on his punts like Lider did. A plus to Lider as well is that he's a big guy that can handle kickoff duties on the road and get in the mix and make a tackle if needed (don't think Sullivan is really that kind of a guy). Intangibles like that tip to Lider here.
Running Back - The much anticipated stable of backs has two pulled up lame right now with Favors and Counts out for most all of spring ball. That's helped cement Nguyen as the #1 guy. He's caught Stitt's eye too who has talked about his smarts, his quickness, and his ability to make guys miss. It's helped Logwood as well who is looking to become more of the Jordan Canada-type of back. Logwood needs to improve his pass catching from what I've seen. Nguyen looks to be "the man" for now as this offense seems perfectly designed for him.
Wide Receiver - Stitt wants at least 8 WRs right? Locks are Henderson, Jones, Naccarato, Janssen, and Burke. That leaves at least 3 others who could be on the roster now or who could be here in the fall. Caleb Lyons made a great case to be one of those three today. Carlson and McGuire are in the mix too. Graham also making a case in practice.
Cornerback - Nate Harris returns as a starter but has missed all of spring camp with a sprained ankle. That's actually been a blessing for the depth as it's allowed the other corners to work out and give the coaches full looks. JR Nelson is playing his best football I've seen him play. He's always been good in practice and needs to keep showing that he can carry it over to game-day. Ryan McKinley is also looking great to be the 3rd / nickel corner. I saw he lead in tackles today. Parker & Garner are improved as well. Corner looks surprisingly deep all of the sudden.
Safety - This one is going to get interesting. Whitted is out this spring as he is recovering from something, he's done some light drills but no contact stuff. Meanwhile that's paired Jake Dallaserra and Manu Rasmussen. They've worked well together. Rasmussen has really impressed me, this guy does not play like a freshman, he's a hard hitter and good in coverage - although he hasn't been tested that much as this offense hasn't gone deep on him too often yet. So what happens when Whitted comes back? Who gets bumped back? At this point I don't honestly know. What we do know is that Whitted has battled injury most of his career so having these options is a good thing.
