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My OL positives out of the first scrimmage - We were able to field a full 1st and 2nd team OL. With the additions this summer, we should have a stable of 8-10 serviceable OL's to choose from. That's much better than Joe's Year #1. #78 Darrell Johnson looked good at LT. He's a Jr. from Western Kentucky. The scrimmage was officiated, and there were few OL penalties. Seems like a disciplined group. Tough to glean anything deeper than that from scrimmage #1. My biggest takeaways overall from the scrimmage were - Broughton seems like an exciting player. Has some "special" qualities. He won't unseat Finley, but next year it wouldn't be a surprise to see him behind center. Alex Adams looked healthy and in-shape. He could definitely lessen the blow from Norton's departure.

And a +29

Hull played quite a bit. For a Freshman, he more than held his own. Definitely looks like he was born to play NT. Physically, he's a drop in replacement for Marcus Moore. Need to pay more attention to him this week.

I think the unidentified WR that caught the ball from Finley in pic 8 appears to be Broughton, based on a comparison to pic 9

8 points and 8 boards in 31 minutes in his hometown today.

Went to today's practice. Here's what I gleaned... Check out some of the defensive numbers if you'd like... Starting DL was: 97 / 10 / 5 / 41 Second unit was: 50 / 90 / 98 / 30 Joe's post-practice speech. He seemed pretty pleased Joe spent the bulk of his time observing from 20 yards behind the offense. #3 Cibastian Broughton is intriguing. He's a diminutive kid, but has a strong arm. Completed a long TD pass to #7 Adams (who's back and looks healthy). Had another nice TD pass to St Ed's Kyan Mason (#11) and one to Jake Newell too. Moves well. He's like Dijon Jennings, but good. He will see the field somewhere this season. 2nd Unit OL. First unit was (left tackle to right tackle): 78/56/52/50/73 Second unit was: 60/55/52/79/51 Finley's left leg was apparently cold? He played a lot today. Looked in-command, but understandably a bit rusty. WR's screwed up some routes that probably made his accuracy look worse than it was. Owen Wiley and Dublin Fr. Matt Schramm split the kicker duties. Both missed from 42 yards out. Tough to kick indoors, into netting with goal post stripes that's often only halfway dropped from the ceiling when the ball is snapped. Wiley seems to have the bigger leg, but Schramm is no slouch. This position will be an interesting battle. I forget who caught this Finley pass? It's spring practice for me too. 🙃 Ruggow on the run. He threw an early pick (S #18 DeMarco Johnson). Probably threw more bad balls than good ones today. Back up QB will be a battle this year. I expect Broughton (#3) will see the field, even if not at QB (like above). He's pretty athletic. Maybe a few of the 2024 "Taj" wildcat plays go to him this season? Kyan Mason blocks for Ben. Washington State transfer Brandon Hills (Soph.) made a couple nice receptions. Washington State transfer Brandon Hills again. A Cibastian Broughton INT ended the scrimmage. Overall or DB's looked surprisingly good? I think they had a pick of each Blue QB. Other notes: #95 Joey Castle punted well (albeit indoors). It looks like we'll be ok at punter this year. #22 Jordan Gant (Tennessee State) started at RB. He fumbled on his first carry. But rebounded with a tough 10 yard run on next opportunity. #25 Chris Gee from Colgate was the #2 RB today. Got a lot of action. Runs hard. Showed good hands on swing passes. #13 Sean Patrick saw a lot of reps today. Played at WR and RB. Overall the defense looks good. Solid tackling and created several turnovers. #88 Newell looks to be a beast this year. Made several nice plays. Caught a TD from Broughton. Starting LB's were: 42 (Spriggs), 32 (Summers) and 17 DeWalt (Butte College - listed as a DB) #5 Ronald Hull from Wise HS in Maryland played NT. He's mistakenly listed as #55 on the Zips roster Late game RB's included #28 Luke Reed from Benedictine and Cam Macon from Walsh It was heartening to see the Zips had sufficient depth to field 2-deep offensive and defensive units, even without the guys who will be joining in the summer. The country "Rock me like a Wagon Wheel" blasted on the speaker system for the final few minutes. Overheard in the crowd - Adrian Norton is ineligible...that's why he hasn't signed anywhere.

Looks like Graham is no longer listed on the roster

Also, like the pros the better you are the more teams are willing put up with. He was fairly mid last season. Would he be a upgrade at a lot of schools? Sure, but not a big enough one to give him the $4 million he's asking for or dealing with his antics.

Isn't it funny how when you start treating college players like professional players that they start acting like professional players,

Can't wait until no one signs him and we get the first "collusion" law suit. That will be so cool.🙄