April 7th Scrimmage Notes

[Captain Kangaroo]

If anyone attended the scrimmage and wanted to share their thoughts, let's try it in this thread. Here's what I saw...

 

The scrimmage began a little late, with the action starting a little after 9 am. Thankfully it was held indoors. 

 

Appropriately kicking things off was a session with the various kicking candidates who rotated attempts starting at roughly 30 yards, and extending out to 50. O'Leary and Gasser alternated, and then Fitschen and newcomer David Albert took turns. O'Leary looked strong. Gasser was short from 50. Fitschen is a lefty who's been around a while. Looks like he's got a really powerful leg. Albert hit one from 50. I don't know what that all will mean come September, but those are the names presently in the kicking battle.

 

Kato and Alex Ramart split virtually all the QB snaps. Drew Hodgson saw very limited action. They wore red jersey's, so they couldn't be hit. The offense/defense portion of the scrimmage began with the offense basically at the 20 yard line, running 8(?) plays each, and then moving back to the 20 and re-starting with the other QB. The 2nd half of the scrimmage was devoted to red zone plays, again alternating QB's.

 

Zips fans should be pretty excited about their 2018 QB situation. Both Nelson and Ramart looked eminently capable of running the offense. As expected, there were a lot of designed running plays with Kato. Ramart, while not the runner, acquitted himself well when he had to use his feet. Said Bowden after the scrimmage, "As much as we're excited about Kato, we haven't really talked about how excited we are about Ramart. He's 6' 3", 215 pounds and in addition to his passing, he runs the ball well. He's not a typical "Louisville type" running QB, but he's big and strong. I liken him to that Florida Atlantic QB (Jake Driskel). A smart runner with good size that drives you crazy if you don't account for him. It's exciting to have two guys who have now been with our program a little while, that can play the game like Kato and Alex." 

 

Both Ramart and Nelson showcased strong arms. Ramart threw a nice deep ball the MTB on his first possession that would have been on the money, had Traylor-Bennett not been held. He later had a deep one to Kwad that was dropped. Kato's best deep toss of the day resulted in a 30+ yard grab by Andre Williams.

 

Williams took a big stem forward in solidifying a starting position. He showed sure hands, and looked comfortable catching balls along the sidelines and in the slot. He's also very elusive after the catch. Said Bowden, "We saw as a back up last season that Dre was going to be something special." 

 

Ramart threw the only INT of the day. Under pressure, he tossed a ball into traffic that was picked by Bubba Arslanian.

 

A name to watch on the defensive side of the ball is Andy Jean-Baptiste. The 6' 5", 267 pound JUCO transfer looks like he'll make an impact in 2018. 

 

Dylan Meeks saw some time at defensive end.

Jamal Davis had an active day. Said Bowden, "He's still learning to play with his hand down, but he's got as much talent as anyone on our team. He could've had two or three sacks today if the quarterbacks weren't wearing those red shirts. Sampson on the other side, he's got some real ability too. We've just got to continue to grow them."

 

When asked about the goals of this scrimmage, and the spring overall, Bowden said "I told our coaches I want to find the top eleven guys on offense and defense. and then we need to find those next eleven.  We're evaluating the talent level of the team, and identifying which guys we can count on in the fall." Bowden also said it was a good time to experiment with some different looks on both sides of the ball. "We're trying a few different things ...just throwing some plays and formations up against the wall and seeing what sticks."  One of those trials looked to be lining true freshman Keyondre White in the wildcat as the potential successor to 2017 short-yardage specialist Manny Morgan. On White, Bowden said "He's 233 pounds...we haven't had a runner like that for a while. He's got those big hips and he's tough to tackle. He's got a place here for sure." Bowden also mention he's following the track exploits of Devanier Floyd, "He's 220 pounds and ran a 10.9 the other day." Abe Alce also enters the picture this summer at 250 lbs, so the 2018 Zips will definitely have a different, more physical look in the backfield.

 

There were only two scholarship running backs available today. Keyondre White and Van Edwards shared the load on the ground. Former DB Caleb Green got a few carries at RB too. He actually looked pretty good. 

 

ZipsNation medical specialist Dr. Z reports Deltron Sands is 75% healed, and will be ready to go for the fall.

 

The Coach spoke in general terms about the scrimmage when he stated "We saw some guys today that made some plays...we didn't know those guys could do what they showed." But it was clear he was caught by surprise at the physicality of Maverick Wolfley's (West Virginia transfer) play from the H-back position. With Kobie Booker out for a family commitment, and Newman Williams out with a meniscus issue, Wolfley took the opportunity for extended playing time to steal the early Saturday morning show and provide a rude awakening to multiple would-be tacklers. The biggest roar from the sidelines came when Wolfley steamed up the sideline and completely flattened a Zips CB. If you like hard-nosed, old school football you're going to love watching Maverick Wolfley play at InfoCision over the next four seasons.

 

Another surprise was the play of former QB Nick Johns, who caught several mid-range passes (1 TD) from the H position. At 6' 3", 230 pounds he was a favorite target for both QB's today. 

 

Former Zips defensive coordinator (under Lee Owens) Joe Trecey was once again seen coaching along the sidelines?  In addition to Akron, he's had  stints as defensive coordinator at Cincinnati, UCLA, YSU and some other schools. Word on the street is he's not going to be the Zips DC, but will be a defensive position coach. 

 

Alvin Davis was a healthy scratch today.

 

Jest is back and looks to be in better condition than his freshman season.

 

So the overall takeaways from today's scrimmage? We have a deep, veteran defense. We're a little thin at WR, but reinforcements are coming. And MTB will shake off the rust at some point. We have two great young QB's. The depth at H-back might get the Zips playing some 3 WR + TE sets this year? Maverick Wolfley is a beast. We got out of the scrimmage healthy. 

 

Apologies if there are any errors above. The scrimmage was very fast-paced, with no time outs. The seating in the Stile Center is very low, and it's tough to see the action when it's far away. It was tough to keep up at times. 

[LZIp]

 

A few things that stuck out to me from your comments:

 

Has Sampson overtaken (at least for the day) Reinke as the starting DE opposite of Davis?

Your comment about Jean-Baptiste making an impact this year is very welcomed as I did not have any opinion of him.

"We're a little thin at WR, but reinforcements are coming." Would you mind elaborating on that? I haven't heard of any of our guys being injured and am not aware of anyone else coming besides true freshman. Anything positive at all re: McGriff?

 

Thanks!!

[CDMac]

Thanks a bunch, Cap'n; Great write-up!  I was going to say exactly the same thing so no need for my practice report 

 

Just a couple of things to mention:

You questioned how many (8?) snaps in the first session.  I didn't count so not sure 100%, but that was the plan as I understood it 

 

We were told warmups at 8:30, scrimmage at 9:00 so I'm glad they were running a tick late as momma and I got out of the house a little later than we would have liked.

 

My abbreviated practice report (as to not duplicate what CK already covered)

LOVED the work by Maverick and Johns. I agree with CK that Wolfley is really fun to watch; he punishes DBs as they try to tackle him.

Kyron Brown has his side of the field on lockdown and Butler had a good day with a great PBU

The change from silent snap count to QB calling the cadence resulted in converting a 3rd and 6 into a 3rd and 1 via hard count getting the D to jump

Keyondre White brings a wallop - He runs hard and finishes forward

AND... Van is still FAST (I think I mentioned this 2 weeks ago)

Overall was excited by the offense and their progress from 2 weeks ago

Team tempo, energy, and camaraderie seem to be quite good

When they ran the wildcat, it was Keyondre taking the snap, Maverick in the backfield with him, and Kato split out wide

Davon’te Jest is very quick off the ball; he broke up several plays getting into backfield

Can't wait til the 21st -  see you all there!

 

Thank you for detailing the QB competition from an outsider's perspective. I know my bias and I have refrained from commenting in detail lest I misrepresent the situation. I thought they both looked markedly better than they did 2 weeks ago but that was expected as they're digesting quite a bit of new info and getting used to the timing with new receivers.

 

Edited April 8, 2018 by CDMac

[CDMac]

Link to post-scrimmage interview of Coach Bowden by Joe Dunn 

[72 Roo]

Cap'n and CDMac,

 

Thanks for the info. It is much appreciated. I believe this team will be much better than last year, but I am nervous as to how many games we will win.  

[Blue & Gold]

Another nice article from GT:

 

Zips show potential at spring scrimmage

[Captain Kangaroo]

19 hours ago, LZIp said:

Has Sampson overtaken (at least for the day) Reinke as the starting DE opposite of Davis?

Your comment about Jean-Baptiste making an impact this year is very welcomed as I did not have any opinion of him.

"We're a little thin at WR, but reinforcements are coming." Would you mind elaborating on that? I haven't heard of any of our guys being injured and am not aware of anyone else coming besides true freshman. Anything positive at all re: McGriff?

 

Thanks!!

Reinke played quite a bit yesterday, so I don't think Sampson has supplanted him. It was interesting to look at the defense yesterday and see that, at times, it was the exact same players at each position as last season. That continuity and experience has to pay big dividends for the Zips this year.

 

Jean-Baptiste saw time at both tackle and end. He seemed to get in the backfield a lot. Worst case, he'll be a seamless replacement for Camera. But he appears to have the size and skills to do more. 

 

I didn't notice McGriff. I don't think he played? Wooldridge saw some time. Stewart saw a fair amount of snaps, but didn't make any noteworthy plays. 

 

The reinforcements I was thinking about were Brimage and Lewis/Scippio. Our thin WR situation opens the door for one or two of them to play this fall. Dixon is another young WR that will be in the mix. I didn't notice him yesterday.

[94zipgrad]

9 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Reinke played quite a bit yesterday, so I don't think Sampson has supplanted him. It was interesting to look at the defense yesterday and see that, at times, it was the exact same players at each position as last season. That continuity and experience has to pay big dividends for the Zips this year.

 

Jean-Baptiste saw time at both tackle and end. He seemed to get in the backfield a lot. Worst case, he'll be a seamless replacement for Camera. But he appears to have the size and skills to do more. 

 

I didn't notice McGriff. I don't think he played? Wooldridge saw some time. Stewart saw a fair amount of snaps, but didn't make any noteworthy plays. 

 

The reinforcements I was thinking about were Brimage and Lewis/Scippio. Our thin WR situation opens the door for one or two of them to play this fall. Dixon is another young WR that will be in the mix. I didn't notice him yesterday.

Maybe @CDMac can find out but from the few people I’ve talked to WR corps should be stronger than last year.  So far they are doing mostly TE formations with Bennett & Stewart at WR & Williams at Slot, Burkhart & Smith rotating in at WR, when in 4 wide Burkhart would be the other slot, time will tell, offense scored 7 TD’s yesterday & looked much better

[Blue & Gold]

Any Marquise Bridges sightings?

[CDMac]

21 hours ago, 94zipgrad said:

Maybe @CDMac can find out

I don't have much information to add to what you detailed as far as personnel groupings. It looks to me like they are doing exactly what TB mentioned; trying to find the best 11 on each side of the ball and then the next 11 after that. I think we have a lot more options at the receiver position but it'll be long into Fall camp before we start to see those position battles settled I'd imagine. On paper, we have guys to plug into the holes left by the graduating seniors but we'll have to wait and see if they are "better" as a group than what they fielded last year. 

[Let'sGoZips94]

Love hearing that Ramart looks capable of stepping in right away if needed or if he wins the job. 

[Dr Z]

Here are a few things I noticed. I thought Denzel Butler looked very comfortable covering on the edge. His man coverage was tight and his mechanics looked improved to me. I saw Andy Jean-Baptiste get inside penetration twice early, then get stood up late. MTB was getting separation on go routes, for whatever reason, both QB's missed him deep Saturday morning, I would bet we see multiple connections throughout the year on that go route. His size is noticeable. If I'm a special teams coach, I want Maverick Wolfley blocking for me, he gets low and destroys would be tacklers. If he is catching the ball out of the backfield, I don't want to be the guy that has to take him on one on one, ouch. Reminds me of Peyton Hillis.I noticed Gilbert blitzing (run and pass) around the end, once disguised in coverage. He had a TFL on one run play away from him, reminded me of the way Polamalu executed from the backside. It made me wonder if he is able to freelance like Troy did if he reads the play. Keyondre White is hard to tackle, he impressed me for my first look. During warmups I witnessed a trick play out of the FG lineup that I think has potential. This scrimmage was hard to judge being inside the field house and using a shortened field. The offense was working on particular things (red zone, short yardage...), so everything I observed won't be taken too seriously. I'll be out of town this week, but back for the spring game, hopefully the weather cooperates. Hopefully a few can attend and report.

[CDMac]

3 hours ago, Dr Z said:

MTB was getting separation on go routes, for whatever reason, both QB's missed him deep Saturday morning

I think the timing/chemistry will come as they get more work in on those deep routes. I like his size and burst off the ball to gain quick separation. I don't think he's fully 100% yet, but I don't know if that's accurate. Either way, I think there will  be some big-play potential there when he and the QBs get on the same page as far as where he likes them to place the ball on certain routes.

[Cykron]

1 hour ago, CDMac said:

I think the timing/chemistry will come as they get more work in on those deep routes. I like his size and burst off the ball to gain quick separation. I don't think he's fully 100% yet, but I don't know if that's accurate. Either way, I think there will  be some big-play potential there when he and the QBs get on the same page as far as where he likes them to place the ball on certain routes.

 

 

Do these guys work out together and practice these throws?  I would like to think that QBs and WRs would have a mutual interest in doing so, but don't actually know how much of it they do during the off-season.  

[CDMac]

16 minutes ago, Cykron said:

Do these guys work out together and practice these throws? 

Before spring camp opened, they were getting together as a group (QBs/WRs) to work on routes, etc.

 

They continue to get extra work in when they can.

[Let'sGoZips94]

16 hours ago, Cykron said:

 

 

Do these guys work out together and practice these throws?  I would like to think that QBs and WRs would have a mutual interest in doing so, but don't actually know how much of it they do during the off-season.  

 

Typically yes. I don't know about Akron's QBs/WRs, but I do know that Tom Brady brings his WRs (Amendola, Edelman , etc.) up to his property in Montana to workout and build chemistry together. Obviously a group of college players would get together at a lesser extent, but the same principles stand around the college level. 

[94zipgrad]

I wish Akron video would release a highlight clip.  They haven’t done one since March 20th & Matt drills, on 3rd week of spring ball & nothing

[Cykron]

8 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

Typically yes. I don't know about Akron's QBs/WRs, but I do know that Tom Brady brings his WRs (Amendola, Edelman , etc.) up to his property in Montana to workout and build chemistry together. Obviously a group of college players would get together at a lesser extent, but the same principles stand around the college level. 

 

I would think that college players could get together even more often as they live on campus (or near campus) and may not have the most demanding class load.  Seems like they could take some of their Madden football time and use it on the practice field for some real throws and catches.  Do coaches discourage this at all?  For instance, might they be concerned about players developing bad habits in throwing motion or route running?  

[CDMac]

4 hours ago, Cykron said:

may not have the most demanding class load

Have you ever seen the schedule for a D1 football player? It may not be "class" heavy but it's loaded

Fall semester load is rather brutal to be honest. 

 

4 hours ago, Cykron said:

Do coaches discourage this at all?

With the limited time the coaches can spend with the players (and are restricted from coaching them at times of the year), the guys take it upon themselves to get together and work on the things they need to work on. I'm sure there are varying degrees to the amount of work being done at different programs across the country but I know the QBs and WRs for Akron have put in significant time together this offseason.

 

4 hours ago, Cykron said:

they could take some of their Madden football time

Where the heck is the fun in giving up Madden/bonding time? 

Edited April 11, 2018 by CDMac

[94zipgrad]

35 minutes ago, CDMac said:

Have you ever seen the schedule for a D1 football player? It may not be "class" heavy but it's loaded 

 

With the limited time the coached can spend with the players (and are restricted from coaching them at times of the year), the guys take it upon themselves to get together and work on the things they need to work on. I'm sure there are varying degrees to the amount of work being done at different programs across the country but I know the QBs and WRs for Akron have put in significant time together this offseason.

 

Where the heck is the fun in giving up Madden/bonding time? 

And keep in mind, one guy might run a 4.4 & another may run a 4.8 & the QB might have a 275 lb guy coming at him, he may be able to step into throw, may not, could have to step up in pocket or be on the run

 

@Cykron you are making it sound like it’s a easy thing to do, look at the %’s of completions by distance, it drops significantly on your streaks, it’s the most difficult play to execute but has the biggest reward & also keeps a defense honest & has to be attempted a few times a game

 

Im sure they will get better at it

Edited April 10, 2018 by 94zipgrad

[Cykron]

Yeah, I know I'm being pretty simplistic about it.  However, it seems that when a QB and WR are "in sync," they can be almost unstoppable.  In my imaginary world, I like to think of QBs and WRs playing catch for a few hours per day, not unlike basketball players taking hundreds of shots per day.