Spring ball of 2016 is in the books as today's very rainy spring game wrapped up today. We saw some interesting developments take place through this camp and today. You've got the UM twitter handle and AJ for the play by play - today I took a break from tweeting b/c in the rain it was near impossible to type.
My takeaways from today's scrimmage:
- Jerry Louie McGee had a huge day, a kick return TD, two long bomb receptions, and another nullified by a whistle too early blown on what the refs called a sack (it wasn't). JLM showed some great ability to get open downfield and incredibly good top speed. He got better each scrimmage and capped it off today. This guy is going to be a playmaker this season.
- Caleb Lyons and James Homan also had very good days. Both had a few drops in the rain and Homan did lose a fumble after a 45-ish yard catch and run - so there were some stuff the two would like to forget. Lyons had a few tremendous grabs, a few on throws that looked overthrown at first. Homan had 2 TDs I believe and a few nice long receptions - also made a few tacklers miss.
- Colin Bingham looked like a great fit with the #1 offense. Took a contested catch, slipped a tackle, stayed in bounds and raced for a TD. Bingham isn't passing Horner and isn't the run blocking body like Ralston but he's starting to demand more time on the field.
- Gus had some big strikes but was inconsistent. His drives were either long bomb TDs or ended really quickly with a punt. He had good protection from the O-line and I'd have to check but I don't think he was sacked at all. Maybe the best sign from Gus over all three scrimmages... no interceptions. Needs to get more consistent though. I know the weather was challenging but they could very well get a game or two like that this season, they had one against PSU last year.
- Phillips had his best scrimmage. Phillips in all three scrimmages starts slow, today he avoided any turnovers and as he went along he heated up. It appears he's a quick learner and as he got comfortable today he became the more deadly passer. Now it's tricky to say Phillips against the 2s where it's Gus against the 1s is a fair measure... but Reese made a case that we shouldn't be putting the QB job to rest just yet.
- Two big runs, one by Calhoun, one by Favors. 1st string OL took a slight step back in run blocking from the 2nd scrimmage though. Had quite a few 2 or 3 yard rushes. It wasn't bad like the 1st scrum where the leading rushers were QBs only, but it was a little more inconsistent today.
- Curran and Eaton weren't much of a factor today. I saw some tweets about getting healthy from one but I also think JR Nelson had something to do about it as well. Nelson was blanketing his cover for most of the day. He did allow one late TD to Homan (I think that was JR's cover).
- Josh Sandry had one of the more interesting days. He got beat twice for big gains. One was what looked like a coverage error that left Lyons wide open for a big gain. The other was a 4th and 2 jump pass to Homan and both went for the ball and Homan pulled the ball away and took off. However Sandry recovered on both plays. he chased both WRs down and forced the ball loose on both tackles. The tackle on Homan was a perfect chop that knocked the ball loose and the D recovered. The tackle on Lyons the ball came out late and Lyons was already down. On that drive though I think it resulted in a missed fieldgoal. Sandry has TREMENDOUS speed and made several good open field tackles. This guy has had a monster spring.
- Brandt Davidson is our new Tonga Takai. He took away running lanes and gobbled up double teams today. That freed up mostly Peevey and Kidder to get in Gus's face more which may have resulted in a few more throwaways than we've seen up until now.
- Lots of good individual tackles and plays in pass coverage by our linebackers. Buss, Fa'atuiese, and Banks were the starting 3 and then Sirmon, Olson, and a mix of the others were the 2s. Sirmon was getting his name called a lot, as has been the case all spring. Vika Fa'atuiese has really impressed this spring. He's obviously going to hand the job back to Strahm this fall but he's showing that he should be out there quite a bit sooner than later.
- 2nd string O line gave up a lot of early sacks but they did settle in and in the 2nd half gave Phillips and Chalich time to get the ball moving.
- Jesse Sims made some moves today. He even got some 1st team reps.
- Tucker Schye finished with 3 more sacks I believe. He has had multiple sacks in every scrimmage now. Great speed rusher.
- Nate Bradley had a very good day, took advantage of the early mishaps by the 2nd string O line and had a few sacks and a TFL.
- Kicking was pretty bad today, kickoffs were short, a missed PAT, two missed fieldgoals and a blocked fieldgoal. Another PAT was blocked when the holder dropped the snap and the kicker had to re-set. Punting wasn't much better. #35, Williams, from Loyola had one very nice punt. He may be the guy leading the pack for punter. As for kicker... no idea. Smenza got a long look but I think went 0-2 on fieldgoals and had the missed PAT. Greenberg didn't get much of a shot at kicking, his PAT attempt was the one the holder dropped.
- Too many dropped passes. Blame the rain but again, who's to say we wont get a few rainy games? It was a mix of a few high passes and a few just bad drops.
- The white team technically should have one, Phillips and Homan connected for a 25 yard TD in the 2nd quarter but the ref blew the play dead when a d-end was about 2 steps away from Phillips and not touching him. It got some boos from the crowd. Haha.
-----------
Overall despite the downpour it was a fun scrimmage and fun setup. Props to the UM and the GSA for their efforts to make today feel like a game. The scoreboard and ribbon boards were on. Peter Christian was doing the PA. Monte was in the house. There was even a halftime break (but no halftime show). A few hours of tailgating before was fun as well. I hope they keep this format for future scrimmages.
I'll get some thoughts on spring ball as a whole up tomorrow or the next day.
Go Griz!
My takeaways from today's scrimmage:
- Jerry Louie McGee had a huge day, a kick return TD, two long bomb receptions, and another nullified by a whistle too early blown on what the refs called a sack (it wasn't). JLM showed some great ability to get open downfield and incredibly good top speed. He got better each scrimmage and capped it off today. This guy is going to be a playmaker this season.
- Caleb Lyons and James Homan also had very good days. Both had a few drops in the rain and Homan did lose a fumble after a 45-ish yard catch and run - so there were some stuff the two would like to forget. Lyons had a few tremendous grabs, a few on throws that looked overthrown at first. Homan had 2 TDs I believe and a few nice long receptions - also made a few tacklers miss.
- Colin Bingham looked like a great fit with the #1 offense. Took a contested catch, slipped a tackle, stayed in bounds and raced for a TD. Bingham isn't passing Horner and isn't the run blocking body like Ralston but he's starting to demand more time on the field.
- Gus had some big strikes but was inconsistent. His drives were either long bomb TDs or ended really quickly with a punt. He had good protection from the O-line and I'd have to check but I don't think he was sacked at all. Maybe the best sign from Gus over all three scrimmages... no interceptions. Needs to get more consistent though. I know the weather was challenging but they could very well get a game or two like that this season, they had one against PSU last year.
- Phillips had his best scrimmage. Phillips in all three scrimmages starts slow, today he avoided any turnovers and as he went along he heated up. It appears he's a quick learner and as he got comfortable today he became the more deadly passer. Now it's tricky to say Phillips against the 2s where it's Gus against the 1s is a fair measure... but Reese made a case that we shouldn't be putting the QB job to rest just yet.
- Two big runs, one by Calhoun, one by Favors. 1st string OL took a slight step back in run blocking from the 2nd scrimmage though. Had quite a few 2 or 3 yard rushes. It wasn't bad like the 1st scrum where the leading rushers were QBs only, but it was a little more inconsistent today.
- Curran and Eaton weren't much of a factor today. I saw some tweets about getting healthy from one but I also think JR Nelson had something to do about it as well. Nelson was blanketing his cover for most of the day. He did allow one late TD to Homan (I think that was JR's cover).
- Josh Sandry had one of the more interesting days. He got beat twice for big gains. One was what looked like a coverage error that left Lyons wide open for a big gain. The other was a 4th and 2 jump pass to Homan and both went for the ball and Homan pulled the ball away and took off. However Sandry recovered on both plays. he chased both WRs down and forced the ball loose on both tackles. The tackle on Homan was a perfect chop that knocked the ball loose and the D recovered. The tackle on Lyons the ball came out late and Lyons was already down. On that drive though I think it resulted in a missed fieldgoal. Sandry has TREMENDOUS speed and made several good open field tackles. This guy has had a monster spring.
- Brandt Davidson is our new Tonga Takai. He took away running lanes and gobbled up double teams today. That freed up mostly Peevey and Kidder to get in Gus's face more which may have resulted in a few more throwaways than we've seen up until now.
- Lots of good individual tackles and plays in pass coverage by our linebackers. Buss, Fa'atuiese, and Banks were the starting 3 and then Sirmon, Olson, and a mix of the others were the 2s. Sirmon was getting his name called a lot, as has been the case all spring. Vika Fa'atuiese has really impressed this spring. He's obviously going to hand the job back to Strahm this fall but he's showing that he should be out there quite a bit sooner than later.
- 2nd string O line gave up a lot of early sacks but they did settle in and in the 2nd half gave Phillips and Chalich time to get the ball moving.
- Jesse Sims made some moves today. He even got some 1st team reps.
- Tucker Schye finished with 3 more sacks I believe. He has had multiple sacks in every scrimmage now. Great speed rusher.
- Nate Bradley had a very good day, took advantage of the early mishaps by the 2nd string O line and had a few sacks and a TFL.
- Kicking was pretty bad today, kickoffs were short, a missed PAT, two missed fieldgoals and a blocked fieldgoal. Another PAT was blocked when the holder dropped the snap and the kicker had to re-set. Punting wasn't much better. #35, Williams, from Loyola had one very nice punt. He may be the guy leading the pack for punter. As for kicker... no idea. Smenza got a long look but I think went 0-2 on fieldgoals and had the missed PAT. Greenberg didn't get much of a shot at kicking, his PAT attempt was the one the holder dropped.
- Too many dropped passes. Blame the rain but again, who's to say we wont get a few rainy games? It was a mix of a few high passes and a few just bad drops.
- The white team technically should have one, Phillips and Homan connected for a 25 yard TD in the 2nd quarter but the ref blew the play dead when a d-end was about 2 steps away from Phillips and not touching him. It got some boos from the crowd. Haha.
-----------
Overall despite the downpour it was a fun scrimmage and fun setup. Props to the UM and the GSA for their efforts to make today feel like a game. The scoreboard and ribbon boards were on. Peter Christian was doing the PA. Monte was in the house. There was even a halftime break (but no halftime show). A few hours of tailgating before was fun as well. I hope they keep this format for future scrimmages.
I'll get some thoughts on spring ball as a whole up tomorrow or the next day.
Go Griz!
