Brent Key had a special guest today, George O'Leary for the scrimmage and it was extremely hot out there. Key was as sweaty as I've seen him coming off the field. The scrimmage was closed but I'll share what I can as I'm able to assemble some details
Here is what Key had to say in quick quotes format as I have an event to go to with my wife tonight.
Good chance to get out there today in the heat.
149 plays, 61 with the ones, 50 with the twos and the rest with the threes.
D’Quan Douse showed up and Noah Collins made some plays today.
They rehearsed game day stuff on all sides of the ball and they are working on that. Key has a full page of notes on things he wants fixed, huddles, play calls and other things he wants tightened.
They had some big plays called back by some penalties overall penalties weren’t too bad in number, but the ones they got were costly. They played some freshmen and they had back-to-back penalties in one sequence both by freshmen.
Want to start looking at the depth chart now after this scrimmage, looking at the back end of the D and the LB positions and figure out who those guys are.
Jamie Felix is sitting at the 2/3/4 spot and he made some plays today caught Key’s eye. He said the RB production needs to improve and Felix got what the play was designed to get and he stuck with the design and Jamal Haynes made a couple of plays as well at RB.
In the first half of the scrimmage, the RBs struggled and he talked with Norval McKenzie at the break and McKenzie motivated them and they played much harder.
Dylan Leonard had a couple of nice catches.
The young guys looked like young guys today, that’s why you scrimmage and make it just like the game.
Key said Etinosa Reuben had some nice plays, but they are looking for consistency. The ability to effect the QB and as a collective they did well. He thought the OL pass pro was not good today and the pocket was close. Eddie Kelly is doing a good job there rushing the passer and did that today.
All three QBs got reps with the top three groups. Everyone played including the walk-ons today, it was family day and they are having a BBQ afterward. They will aim to establish some spots and two-deep and they may not know who the one or the two is. Today was about seeing who handles adversity in two-minute drills or 2nd and 16, after you got a penalty on a big play and can they shake that off. Going to the sideline and rallying the players. They are looking for mental toughness to forget the bad play. Don’t have a bad day, it’s okay to have a bad play. O’Learyism
Key said the OL got a chance to block multiple fronts and they rotated young guys in, they have 6-7 guys who have started games and played together so that is a bonus and they aren’t seeing things for the first time, they are trying to add in new guys there now.
Camp is a grind and nothing comes easy, he is trying to build a team and today is a day they have to push through and it has been a grind and it is no different than day one. Seeing your individual improvement each day is your reward for that grind. They had 10-11 guys with heat cramps on day one and today just a couple and they all came back in. It is a credit to the S&C and staff for getting the guys ready.
Key said that Trenilyas Tatum has done a nice job and come a long way the last 5-6 months and he is communicating better and making the call to the DL fast. The other guys they are sorting through. The check down or busting a gap on a different type of run, they have to build some cohesiveness at LB, Tren is going to be out there who else is. Kevin Sherrer wants the best eval for who all will be out there.
Key said that other than the line coaches the other ones have been on the box or on the field. They were trying some stuff today. Some guys like to call it from the field and who is the spotter and who is watching the clock and all that.
On kicking, some versus scouts and some vs air, the next two weeks they will hone in on the finer details of that. Who the guys are on those teams and they will play the best on special teams, who are the best to contribute.
Additional notes:
All three QBs ended up throwing INTs including King throwing a pick six and the first half of the scrimmage was rough on the offense and dragging. They picked things up later in the scrimmage. They did continue rotating the QBs with different groups throughout the scrimmage.
The LB position is basically Trenilyas Tatum as Key said and then they are trying to find who is the other LB with him. Andre White, Braelen Oliver or Paul Moala.
The defense seemed to have the upper hand for a lot of the scrimmage and there were some penalties on the edge when backs kept trying to bound plays to the edge hence the comments from Key above.
They are still trying to figure out the RB rotation. Dontae Smith, Jamie Felix and Jamal Haynes are the three guys who are sort of the top end of things. It sounds from sources like Evan Dickens hit a little bit of a freshman wall in camp and needs to fight through it.
QB thing is not settled and probably won't be for some time. That isn't coach speak.
Kicking has been an actual real competition, they are going to amp that up next week more.
Here is what Key had to say in quick quotes format as I have an event to go to with my wife tonight.
Good chance to get out there today in the heat.
149 plays, 61 with the ones, 50 with the twos and the rest with the threes.
D’Quan Douse showed up and Noah Collins made some plays today.
They rehearsed game day stuff on all sides of the ball and they are working on that. Key has a full page of notes on things he wants fixed, huddles, play calls and other things he wants tightened.
They had some big plays called back by some penalties overall penalties weren’t too bad in number, but the ones they got were costly. They played some freshmen and they had back-to-back penalties in one sequence both by freshmen.
Want to start looking at the depth chart now after this scrimmage, looking at the back end of the D and the LB positions and figure out who those guys are.
Jamie Felix is sitting at the 2/3/4 spot and he made some plays today caught Key’s eye. He said the RB production needs to improve and Felix got what the play was designed to get and he stuck with the design and Jamal Haynes made a couple of plays as well at RB.
In the first half of the scrimmage, the RBs struggled and he talked with Norval McKenzie at the break and McKenzie motivated them and they played much harder.
Dylan Leonard had a couple of nice catches.
The young guys looked like young guys today, that’s why you scrimmage and make it just like the game.
Key said Etinosa Reuben had some nice plays, but they are looking for consistency. The ability to effect the QB and as a collective they did well. He thought the OL pass pro was not good today and the pocket was close. Eddie Kelly is doing a good job there rushing the passer and did that today.
All three QBs got reps with the top three groups. Everyone played including the walk-ons today, it was family day and they are having a BBQ afterward. They will aim to establish some spots and two-deep and they may not know who the one or the two is. Today was about seeing who handles adversity in two-minute drills or 2nd and 16, after you got a penalty on a big play and can they shake that off. Going to the sideline and rallying the players. They are looking for mental toughness to forget the bad play. Don’t have a bad day, it’s okay to have a bad play. O’Learyism
Key said the OL got a chance to block multiple fronts and they rotated young guys in, they have 6-7 guys who have started games and played together so that is a bonus and they aren’t seeing things for the first time, they are trying to add in new guys there now.
Camp is a grind and nothing comes easy, he is trying to build a team and today is a day they have to push through and it has been a grind and it is no different than day one. Seeing your individual improvement each day is your reward for that grind. They had 10-11 guys with heat cramps on day one and today just a couple and they all came back in. It is a credit to the S&C and staff for getting the guys ready.
Key said that Trenilyas Tatum has done a nice job and come a long way the last 5-6 months and he is communicating better and making the call to the DL fast. The other guys they are sorting through. The check down or busting a gap on a different type of run, they have to build some cohesiveness at LB, Tren is going to be out there who else is. Kevin Sherrer wants the best eval for who all will be out there.
Key said that other than the line coaches the other ones have been on the box or on the field. They were trying some stuff today. Some guys like to call it from the field and who is the spotter and who is watching the clock and all that.
On kicking, some versus scouts and some vs air, the next two weeks they will hone in on the finer details of that. Who the guys are on those teams and they will play the best on special teams, who are the best to contribute.
Additional notes:
All three QBs ended up throwing INTs including King throwing a pick six and the first half of the scrimmage was rough on the offense and dragging. They picked things up later in the scrimmage. They did continue rotating the QBs with different groups throughout the scrimmage.
The LB position is basically Trenilyas Tatum as Key said and then they are trying to find who is the other LB with him. Andre White, Braelen Oliver or Paul Moala.
The defense seemed to have the upper hand for a lot of the scrimmage and there were some penalties on the edge when backs kept trying to bound plays to the edge hence the comments from Key above.
They are still trying to figure out the RB rotation. Dontae Smith, Jamie Felix and Jamal Haynes are the three guys who are sort of the top end of things. It sounds from sources like Evan Dickens hit a little bit of a freshman wall in camp and needs to fight through it.
QB thing is not settled and probably won't be for some time. That isn't coach speak.
Kicking has been an actual real competition, they are going to amp that up next week more.
