We talked to CB and defensive special teams coach Jeff Popovich and his CBs today.
Popovich said that he is mixing and matching CBs every day. Said he has been pleased with the competition and how guys are developing as they try to create some depth.
Popovich said that
Jaytlin Askew said he was aching to reclaim his title as fastest player on the team this spring after seeing all the hype around Ahmarean Brown. Askew said his top time right now is 23.7 MPH and he is still working on it. Askew is up to 185 from 173 where he played at a year ago. Said that he hurts people now when he tackles whereas before he would sometimes take the worst of the tackle.
Zamari Walton said that he really likes having coach Collins be so hands on with the CBs and that the whole room loves that they play man press so much.
The CBs are rotated based on matchups so if there is a pure speed guy you may see Askew come in the game for example while Swilling and Walton may be matched up on bigger guys.
Tre Swilling said that he is very close to coach Coleman and that Coleman has a real stake on him and they've known each other for so long.
Tre said he is proud of Bruce Jordan-Swilling and how he was inspired to reshape his body, said he wished he had done it sooner so they could've shared the field more last year and they could've bonded more over a shared experience.
Askew said it has been a huge adjustment for him with the new style of practice but he is used to it now.
All three CBs said it has really helped seeing what they will see in games every day in practice instead of a different style of offense and less passing. They feel like those reps will payoff in the season because they are so much more comfortable with the types of looks and what the offense is doing.
Tre said he hangs out a lot with Coach Dixon and coach Will Glover to get insight on what WRs think in situations and how he can apply that to CB.
Popovich said the kickoff unit is still a battle between Brenton King and Wesley Wells and that they have a ton of starters in the mix for spots there.
Swilling said that starters on O and D have to earn a spot on special teams before they can play in a game that is how much emphasis coach Collins puts on that.
Pressley Harvin III said that he has trimmed down and turned 7 pounds of fat into muscle. Said he really loves the focus the new staff has on special teams and they mix the special teams throughout practice to keep guys engaged rather than just doing at the beginning or end.
Harvin said that he thinks the punt coverage will be dramatically improved and he loves the amount of speed guys the coaches have involved there.
Harvin said his goal is a net of 45 yards per punt.
Popovich said that they've watched a lot of tape from last year's horrendous kickoff coverage (my words not his) and that the team has made a lot of adjustments to avoid those issues. He said it is a lot of fun working so closely with coach Collins on all of that.
Harvin said that coach Collins takes a really interesting approach with the fake and plays they put in showing them and illustrating and walking through them instead of book learning them like other places do.
Popovich said he is still preparing Myles Sims as if he is going to play, said that he has done a nice job adjusting.
Swilling said they now have better size and length at CB to match the trend for teams to have bigger WRs.
Walton said that he has some tremendous battles with Malachi Carter and Adonicas Sanders in practice. He said that Sanders gave him a lot of grief over ripping his undershirt the other day.
OBVERSATIONS FROM PRACTICE:
Coach Collins showing some faith in us media today, we got to see a lot of stuff
What I can comment on:
Lots of mixing and matching with QB, OL and skill guys on O. I think CDP wanted to see how guys did with some of the upper level guys.
Jahaziel Lee was in #51, not sure if that is permanent or not. Jamal Camp also switched to 50, both were with the offense when we were out there. Lee at LT and Camp at RG though Camp was down the board. Scott Morgan back at center today.
11 v 11s
Kaleb Oliver had a really nice TFL in 11-on-11
Jordan Yates hit 20-yd pass to Liam Byrne who was lined up at WR (he played there a year ago) to help with some dings. Tobias Oliver also got some reps there to help out.
Yates had a nice 30-yd run.
Kalani Norris had a nice run from the slot for about 20-yds.
Yates just missed a really nice TD pass to Josh Tukes over the middle, he just overcooked the ball out of the big TEs reach.
Jordan Mason had a really nice recovery on a poorly thrown swing pass by TO, managed to get some yards on what could've been a fumble.
T.K. Chimedza had a nice TFL on Jerry Howard
Demetrius Knight had a pick off a pass by Lucas Johnson, was a tremendously athletic play. Knight I expect will be ATL and will play now. He has really been impressive.
Howard has a nice 15-yd run outside the tackle box.
Antonneous Clayton had a sack on Lucas Johnson
7 v 7s
The first play Tobias Oliver hit Adoncias Sanders for 50-yd TD down the middle, great throw and catch, maybe the best pass I've seen from TO over the middle.
Demetrius Knight had a nice PBU on a pass for Dontae Smith
Juanyeh Thomas has an impressive vertical he leaped to the top of his range and tipped a pass away from a receiver downfield about 10 yards breaking it up.
Ryan Lantz had a nice pass over the middle to Sanders for a big gain.
Jalen Camp just dropped a really nice ball by Lantz that he had to come back for.
Pass coverage was really good in the 11 v 11 and 7 v 7 today after a so-so day on Tuesday during our open period.
Jordan Huff ended the 7 v 7 with a pick off Oliver. Nice job on his part jumping a route.
Was not James Graham best day, he was a little off target today.
Student managers got a couple of sacks on TO, Graham and Yates who held the ball too long in 7 v 7.
Grind of camp and need to play showing a little bit which is typical.
Derrik Allen and his dad were there and appeared to be really enjoying the practice.
I also found out what's going on with guys like Steve Dolphus, Connor Hansen and Brad Morgan from some sources. If they were not going to be able to practice in fall camp they didn't carry them in camp because of the amount of reps Collins runs. So even guys like Quez Jackson who got hurt can get dropped out of camp and they can bring on a additional walk-on to give them a practice body. Not sure if that happened with him specifically but I've seen at least two new walk-ons during the course of camp.
Those guys should all be there on Monday when school starts and they get the full 110 roster. Whether they are practicing or not who knows.
Popovich said that he is mixing and matching CBs every day. Said he has been pleased with the competition and how guys are developing as they try to create some depth.
Popovich said that
Jaytlin Askew said he was aching to reclaim his title as fastest player on the team this spring after seeing all the hype around Ahmarean Brown. Askew said his top time right now is 23.7 MPH and he is still working on it. Askew is up to 185 from 173 where he played at a year ago. Said that he hurts people now when he tackles whereas before he would sometimes take the worst of the tackle.
Zamari Walton said that he really likes having coach Collins be so hands on with the CBs and that the whole room loves that they play man press so much.
The CBs are rotated based on matchups so if there is a pure speed guy you may see Askew come in the game for example while Swilling and Walton may be matched up on bigger guys.
Tre Swilling said that he is very close to coach Coleman and that Coleman has a real stake on him and they've known each other for so long.
Tre said he is proud of Bruce Jordan-Swilling and how he was inspired to reshape his body, said he wished he had done it sooner so they could've shared the field more last year and they could've bonded more over a shared experience.
Askew said it has been a huge adjustment for him with the new style of practice but he is used to it now.
All three CBs said it has really helped seeing what they will see in games every day in practice instead of a different style of offense and less passing. They feel like those reps will payoff in the season because they are so much more comfortable with the types of looks and what the offense is doing.
Tre said he hangs out a lot with Coach Dixon and coach Will Glover to get insight on what WRs think in situations and how he can apply that to CB.
Popovich said the kickoff unit is still a battle between Brenton King and Wesley Wells and that they have a ton of starters in the mix for spots there.
Swilling said that starters on O and D have to earn a spot on special teams before they can play in a game that is how much emphasis coach Collins puts on that.
Pressley Harvin III said that he has trimmed down and turned 7 pounds of fat into muscle. Said he really loves the focus the new staff has on special teams and they mix the special teams throughout practice to keep guys engaged rather than just doing at the beginning or end.
Harvin said that he thinks the punt coverage will be dramatically improved and he loves the amount of speed guys the coaches have involved there.
Harvin said his goal is a net of 45 yards per punt.
Popovich said that they've watched a lot of tape from last year's horrendous kickoff coverage (my words not his) and that the team has made a lot of adjustments to avoid those issues. He said it is a lot of fun working so closely with coach Collins on all of that.
Harvin said that coach Collins takes a really interesting approach with the fake and plays they put in showing them and illustrating and walking through them instead of book learning them like other places do.
Popovich said he is still preparing Myles Sims as if he is going to play, said that he has done a nice job adjusting.
Swilling said they now have better size and length at CB to match the trend for teams to have bigger WRs.
Walton said that he has some tremendous battles with Malachi Carter and Adonicas Sanders in practice. He said that Sanders gave him a lot of grief over ripping his undershirt the other day.
OBVERSATIONS FROM PRACTICE:
Coach Collins showing some faith in us media today, we got to see a lot of stuff
What I can comment on:
Lots of mixing and matching with QB, OL and skill guys on O. I think CDP wanted to see how guys did with some of the upper level guys.
Jahaziel Lee was in #51, not sure if that is permanent or not. Jamal Camp also switched to 50, both were with the offense when we were out there. Lee at LT and Camp at RG though Camp was down the board. Scott Morgan back at center today.
11 v 11s
Kaleb Oliver had a really nice TFL in 11-on-11
Jordan Yates hit 20-yd pass to Liam Byrne who was lined up at WR (he played there a year ago) to help with some dings. Tobias Oliver also got some reps there to help out.
Yates had a nice 30-yd run.
Kalani Norris had a nice run from the slot for about 20-yds.
Yates just missed a really nice TD pass to Josh Tukes over the middle, he just overcooked the ball out of the big TEs reach.
Jordan Mason had a really nice recovery on a poorly thrown swing pass by TO, managed to get some yards on what could've been a fumble.
T.K. Chimedza had a nice TFL on Jerry Howard
Demetrius Knight had a pick off a pass by Lucas Johnson, was a tremendously athletic play. Knight I expect will be ATL and will play now. He has really been impressive.
Howard has a nice 15-yd run outside the tackle box.
Antonneous Clayton had a sack on Lucas Johnson
7 v 7s
The first play Tobias Oliver hit Adoncias Sanders for 50-yd TD down the middle, great throw and catch, maybe the best pass I've seen from TO over the middle.
Demetrius Knight had a nice PBU on a pass for Dontae Smith
Juanyeh Thomas has an impressive vertical he leaped to the top of his range and tipped a pass away from a receiver downfield about 10 yards breaking it up.
Ryan Lantz had a nice pass over the middle to Sanders for a big gain.
Jalen Camp just dropped a really nice ball by Lantz that he had to come back for.
Pass coverage was really good in the 11 v 11 and 7 v 7 today after a so-so day on Tuesday during our open period.
Jordan Huff ended the 7 v 7 with a pick off Oliver. Nice job on his part jumping a route.
Was not James Graham best day, he was a little off target today.
Student managers got a couple of sacks on TO, Graham and Yates who held the ball too long in 7 v 7.
Grind of camp and need to play showing a little bit which is typical.
Derrik Allen and his dad were there and appeared to be really enjoying the practice.
I also found out what's going on with guys like Steve Dolphus, Connor Hansen and Brad Morgan from some sources. If they were not going to be able to practice in fall camp they didn't carry them in camp because of the amount of reps Collins runs. So even guys like Quez Jackson who got hurt can get dropped out of camp and they can bring on a additional walk-on to give them a practice body. Not sure if that happened with him specifically but I've seen at least two new walk-ons during the course of camp.
Those guys should all be there on Monday when school starts and they get the full 110 roster. Whether they are practicing or not who knows.
