Heavy WR day today with Kerry Dixon and Kyric McGowan, Peje Harris and Adonicas Sanders.
Coach Dixon broke down his top receivers right now:
"Malachi Carter has come a really long way since the beginning of camp and he has had 5-6 contested catches in the last two days of camp.
Kyric McGowan has stepped up his game and can play inside and outside receiver and they can use him to create mismatches with the defense.
Nate McCollum "I can't say enough about him. He has been making so many tremendous plays on the ball on the side whether it is running by people or just understanding how to work the middle of the field versus coverage.
Peje Harris and Adonicas Sanders have a knack for the game and they really know what we are trying to do on offense and thye've been performing at a high level.
Kalani Norris has been a great surprise and they've moved him inside and outside and he has not faltered, just making plays on the ball and he has a knack for getting open and his balance and body control is unbelievable right now. I'm excited about his future."
On the freshmen receivers:
"Malik Rutherford is an unbelievable talent and is making a lot of plays on the ball. He has a knack for getting open and making plays at his size.
Jamal Haynes has come a long way the past two days on 50/50 plays and that is good to see.
James BlackStrain is really coming along and learning the offense and trying to hone his technique and trying to make sure he is a craftsman.
Dixon said on Malachi Carter they watched his catch tape on every throw in the spring and there was a lot of wasted movement on different things at the LOS and he is understanding now how to get his releases better and being physical at the top of the route and it is helping him.
I asked Kerry about Avery Boyd being back in the mix, "Avery is definitely a deep threat for us and he makes a ton of players on the ball down the field. We are just trying to craft his intermediate game and his short game. Once he gets better at getting in and out of his breaks he will be phenominal. He has improved the whole summer working on his hip flexibility and his breaks. He understands what is holding him back and I appreciate how he has attacked these last two days on the field. He has been running by people."
Demaryius Thomas came back and he spoke with Avery at practice on Saturday and spent a lot of time talking to him about how to play as a bigger guy and using his body to create leverage. Dixon said it is a big deal to get a guy like that to come back and talk with his kids.
On the slot receivers, "the group is fast and unbelievably quick and they make a lot of plays and create a lot of mismatches," Dixon said. "They have great feet and they can get in and out of breaks like something I've never seen. I've been excited to watcht that competition and they make it a competition amongst themselves.
I asked Dixon about how they proceed with keeping Leo Blackburn engaged and learning as he rehabs for next year, "I think Leo is an unbelievable talent. For his size, the ability to get in and out of his breaks and if you throw it anywhere near him he will come down with it. That is just the type of athlete he is. His size, speed and quickness for a guy that big is unbelievable and he has tremendous upside."
Dixon said he has stayed on Leo and kept quizzing him, he said right after the injury he asked him if he was staying on top of stuff and he asked him if he had been studying and he hesitated a little, ,"I said if you want to come back better than ever then it starts now mentally and he is taking that challenge and has been doing a phenomenal job in the meeting room.
Dixon said he told the receivers he was not impressed with their perimeter blocking this past weekend and it was not up to his standards so they were pushing the blocking sled yesterday and he reminded them they have dynamic RBs and they need to be able to protect and create bubbles on the outside and if they maintain their blocks they can create explosive plays and they can score TDs and pick up 3rd downs easily.
Dixon said they have a catch, drops, targets chart that is updated every day and they know exactly where they are and the guys that take that seriously and compete every day will get playing time. They also have a production chart that calculates everything from scrimmages, practices and whatever and they look at TDs, 3rd down conversions, blocking and they get + or - points off that.
Kyric McGowan said he has focused on helping the young slot receivers and helping them break down film and technique stuff and about being in the right place at the right time for the QB. He said he is trying to teach the young guys how to be veterans.
McGowan said he thinks the offense has made tremendous strides from the spring through now. He said he thinks the offense is clocking on all cylinders now and they really want to finish up strong.
McGowan is excited about the opener against NIU, it will be the closest game to home he has played since HS, the next closest was a trip to Duke at Northwestern a few years ago.
Adonicas Sanders said he think the OL is doing their job upfront and Jeff Sims is doing an unbelievable job of getting the ball outside to the receivers and they are giving him the time to make plays with his arm.
Sanders said he enjoyed becoming a key 3rd down target for Sims last year and he worked a lot with Sims in the offseason on third down routes and they've put in a lot of extra work getting their timing down to build chemistry.
Sanders said the NC State game (7 catches for 105) was like a dream for him production-wise and he hopes this season to have multiple 100-yard games.
Sanders said the WR room is definitely more competitive this year and everyone is working to be #1 and the competition is so high they are really contributing to the team's overall success this fall.
Sanders said the DBs have come up a lot too and they are providing really strong competition.
Peje Harris said he has been focusing on the things he struggled with last year and he knows he is not the fastest guy out there, but he needed to improve his hands because he has very strong hands and the ability to make contested catches. He said he was decent at that last year, trying to be great.
Harris said playing in the slot last year has helped him a lot understand the routes and why and how they attack the defense from a bigger picture. He can now help the younger guys in the slot as well when they are lined up with him.
According to my counterparts, coach Collins stopped down practice today during 11v11 to lecture the team about focus as he was displeased with some focus/performance similar to something he did last week. Clearly, he is trying to get them dialed in before the season starts and making a point of that. This is a fatigue tipping point typically in camp as well so I'm sure that is something he wants them to fight through. The WRs basically confirmed he wasn't happy with what was going on and some lack of focus.
McGowan said the stop down was effective, " I think, a lack of focus from offense perspective, a lack of focus and just not the fast start that we wanted, you know, came out and had a few miscues. a few bad snaps and a few penalties. He brought us up, and we got right in though and went back out, made the right plays, and executed like we were supposed to."
Coach Dixon broke down his top receivers right now:
"Malachi Carter has come a really long way since the beginning of camp and he has had 5-6 contested catches in the last two days of camp.
Kyric McGowan has stepped up his game and can play inside and outside receiver and they can use him to create mismatches with the defense.
Nate McCollum "I can't say enough about him. He has been making so many tremendous plays on the ball on the side whether it is running by people or just understanding how to work the middle of the field versus coverage.
Peje Harris and Adonicas Sanders have a knack for the game and they really know what we are trying to do on offense and thye've been performing at a high level.
Kalani Norris has been a great surprise and they've moved him inside and outside and he has not faltered, just making plays on the ball and he has a knack for getting open and his balance and body control is unbelievable right now. I'm excited about his future."
On the freshmen receivers:
"Malik Rutherford is an unbelievable talent and is making a lot of plays on the ball. He has a knack for getting open and making plays at his size.
Jamal Haynes has come a long way the past two days on 50/50 plays and that is good to see.
James BlackStrain is really coming along and learning the offense and trying to hone his technique and trying to make sure he is a craftsman.
Dixon said on Malachi Carter they watched his catch tape on every throw in the spring and there was a lot of wasted movement on different things at the LOS and he is understanding now how to get his releases better and being physical at the top of the route and it is helping him.
I asked Kerry about Avery Boyd being back in the mix, "Avery is definitely a deep threat for us and he makes a ton of players on the ball down the field. We are just trying to craft his intermediate game and his short game. Once he gets better at getting in and out of his breaks he will be phenominal. He has improved the whole summer working on his hip flexibility and his breaks. He understands what is holding him back and I appreciate how he has attacked these last two days on the field. He has been running by people."
Demaryius Thomas came back and he spoke with Avery at practice on Saturday and spent a lot of time talking to him about how to play as a bigger guy and using his body to create leverage. Dixon said it is a big deal to get a guy like that to come back and talk with his kids.
On the slot receivers, "the group is fast and unbelievably quick and they make a lot of plays and create a lot of mismatches," Dixon said. "They have great feet and they can get in and out of breaks like something I've never seen. I've been excited to watcht that competition and they make it a competition amongst themselves.
I asked Dixon about how they proceed with keeping Leo Blackburn engaged and learning as he rehabs for next year, "I think Leo is an unbelievable talent. For his size, the ability to get in and out of his breaks and if you throw it anywhere near him he will come down with it. That is just the type of athlete he is. His size, speed and quickness for a guy that big is unbelievable and he has tremendous upside."
Dixon said he has stayed on Leo and kept quizzing him, he said right after the injury he asked him if he was staying on top of stuff and he asked him if he had been studying and he hesitated a little, ,"I said if you want to come back better than ever then it starts now mentally and he is taking that challenge and has been doing a phenomenal job in the meeting room.
Dixon said he told the receivers he was not impressed with their perimeter blocking this past weekend and it was not up to his standards so they were pushing the blocking sled yesterday and he reminded them they have dynamic RBs and they need to be able to protect and create bubbles on the outside and if they maintain their blocks they can create explosive plays and they can score TDs and pick up 3rd downs easily.
Dixon said they have a catch, drops, targets chart that is updated every day and they know exactly where they are and the guys that take that seriously and compete every day will get playing time. They also have a production chart that calculates everything from scrimmages, practices and whatever and they look at TDs, 3rd down conversions, blocking and they get + or - points off that.
Kyric McGowan said he has focused on helping the young slot receivers and helping them break down film and technique stuff and about being in the right place at the right time for the QB. He said he is trying to teach the young guys how to be veterans.
McGowan said he thinks the offense has made tremendous strides from the spring through now. He said he thinks the offense is clocking on all cylinders now and they really want to finish up strong.
McGowan is excited about the opener against NIU, it will be the closest game to home he has played since HS, the next closest was a trip to Duke at Northwestern a few years ago.
Adonicas Sanders said he think the OL is doing their job upfront and Jeff Sims is doing an unbelievable job of getting the ball outside to the receivers and they are giving him the time to make plays with his arm.
Sanders said he enjoyed becoming a key 3rd down target for Sims last year and he worked a lot with Sims in the offseason on third down routes and they've put in a lot of extra work getting their timing down to build chemistry.
Sanders said the NC State game (7 catches for 105) was like a dream for him production-wise and he hopes this season to have multiple 100-yard games.
Sanders said the WR room is definitely more competitive this year and everyone is working to be #1 and the competition is so high they are really contributing to the team's overall success this fall.
Sanders said the DBs have come up a lot too and they are providing really strong competition.
Peje Harris said he has been focusing on the things he struggled with last year and he knows he is not the fastest guy out there, but he needed to improve his hands because he has very strong hands and the ability to make contested catches. He said he was decent at that last year, trying to be great.
Harris said playing in the slot last year has helped him a lot understand the routes and why and how they attack the defense from a bigger picture. He can now help the younger guys in the slot as well when they are lined up with him.
According to my counterparts, coach Collins stopped down practice today during 11v11 to lecture the team about focus as he was displeased with some focus/performance similar to something he did last week. Clearly, he is trying to get them dialed in before the season starts and making a point of that. This is a fatigue tipping point typically in camp as well so I'm sure that is something he wants them to fight through. The WRs basically confirmed he wasn't happy with what was going on and some lack of focus.
McGowan said the stop down was effective, " I think, a lack of focus from offense perspective, a lack of focus and just not the fast start that we wanted, you know, came out and had a few miscues. a few bad snaps and a few penalties. He brought us up, and we got right in though and went back out, made the right plays, and executed like we were supposed to."
