Some nuggets to pass along from this morning's practice.
The quarterback pecking order still seems to be Evan Simon at No. 1, Tyler Douglas at No. 2, Robet Morris transfer Anthony Chiccitt at No. 3 and walk-on Patrick Keller at No. 4. While I get the impression that K.C. Keeler and Tyler Walker are fairly happy with what they've seen so far from Simon, they are going to pursue a quarterback in the portal who is capable of competing for the starting job.
There were several plays today in which Walker made an effort to get Simon rolled out and in space. On one occasion, he rolled to his left under some pressure and connected with Antonio Jones. It wasn't a huge play, but a smart one. On another throw, Simon found sophomore tight end Daniel Evert, and Evert shed a tackler to the delight of his teammates as he made his way down the right sideline. He later completed a pass to John Adams near the same spot with some zip on it.
The staff looks to be throwing various offensive line combinations together, and I'll continue to say this until I'm blue in the face: it's March and it's early. Having said that, Simon was at one point playing behind a line that had Kevin Terry at left tackle, Eric King at left guard, Chris Smith at center (Grayson Mains still appears to be limited), Jackson Pruitt at right guard and Diego Barajas at right tackle.
Douglas has continued to wear a brace on his left, non-throwing arm as he's practiced.
Jay Ducker, the Sam Houston State transfer, appears to be RB 1 right now. He broke a couple of runs later in practice. Joquez Smith seems to be the No. 2 tailback.
For what it's worth, walk-on Jordan Miller seems to be running with some pop early on this spring. No. 23 flashed a little bit on Tuesday and again today. The 5-foot-7, 185-pound redshirt freshman from Bear, Delaware's Caravel Academy played in a pair of games as a freshman at Millersville this past fall. He broke off a run today and drew some praise from his teammates. I don't know how that will carry over into August or if he'll be part of the rotation, but he's stood out a bit so far.
Once again, the team ended practice with some kicking. Honestly, all three kickers looked pretty good today. Carl Hardin, who as Keeler mentioned is now on scholarship, still appears to have the strongest leg. He hit from 33 yards, had a 36-yard kick blocked by cornerback Denzel Chavis, and then, I believe, hit from 40 yards near the end of practicel. The 40-yarder had plenty of leg on it and I think it was good. Didn't see the official verdict on it from where I was standing. But redshirt freshman Lucas Glassburn and redshirt sophomore Darren Wu also made their kicks. Wu was the first to kick in the late-practice session and easily hit from 21 and 23 yards before Glassburn converted from 25 and 30 yards with plenty of leg. He probably has the next-strongest leg behind Hardin.
Punter Dante Atton was kicking after the team broke down practice and was taking snaps and punting traditionally, not in the rugby style he utilized under former special teams coach Adam Scheier. When I asked Keeler about it earlier this week, he said Atton might utilize both punting styles this season depending upon the situation. But from what I saw today, he was able to get some leg into his punts without rolling to his right, so he appears capable of doing both, and he continues to be the holder on field goals.
We talked to defensive coordinator Brian Smith after practice, and it was an enlightening conversation with some good takeaways. I'll have a story up later tonight or tomorrow about him.
Smith ran a 3-4 at Rice. He said his defense will be multiple, will mix in some three-down concepts, and will mirror an NFL-style system, with influences from former Jets head coach Rex Ryan and his mentor, Don Brown, Smith's former head coach at UMass and his defensive coordinator at Michigan when Smith coached the Wolverines' defensive backs in 2016 and 2017.
When I asked Smith if any outside linebackers looked good so far as edge rushers, he brought up some names, breaking the 'I don't want to single anyone out yet' mold, which was refreshing.
"Cam Stewart,, he played more of an (defensive) end last year, kind of moved him over to rush (linebacker)," Smith said. "He looks good there. Tyrese Whitaker has kind of been a big surprise for so far. I think he's got a really bright future, but it's a good group of guys. We're still learning, seeing who can do what. But I'm definitely excited all across the board with the D line, the outside backers. It's been a pleasant surprise, the level of talent that we have."
What's next? Keeler and special teams coordinator Brian Ginn will talk to reporters after Tuesday's practice, and cornerbacks coach Henry Baker and a few players from his room will talk Thursday.
The quarterback pecking order still seems to be Evan Simon at No. 1, Tyler Douglas at No. 2, Robet Morris transfer Anthony Chiccitt at No. 3 and walk-on Patrick Keller at No. 4. While I get the impression that K.C. Keeler and Tyler Walker are fairly happy with what they've seen so far from Simon, they are going to pursue a quarterback in the portal who is capable of competing for the starting job.
There were several plays today in which Walker made an effort to get Simon rolled out and in space. On one occasion, he rolled to his left under some pressure and connected with Antonio Jones. It wasn't a huge play, but a smart one. On another throw, Simon found sophomore tight end Daniel Evert, and Evert shed a tackler to the delight of his teammates as he made his way down the right sideline. He later completed a pass to John Adams near the same spot with some zip on it.
The staff looks to be throwing various offensive line combinations together, and I'll continue to say this until I'm blue in the face: it's March and it's early. Having said that, Simon was at one point playing behind a line that had Kevin Terry at left tackle, Eric King at left guard, Chris Smith at center (Grayson Mains still appears to be limited), Jackson Pruitt at right guard and Diego Barajas at right tackle.
Douglas has continued to wear a brace on his left, non-throwing arm as he's practiced.
Jay Ducker, the Sam Houston State transfer, appears to be RB 1 right now. He broke a couple of runs later in practice. Joquez Smith seems to be the No. 2 tailback.
For what it's worth, walk-on Jordan Miller seems to be running with some pop early on this spring. No. 23 flashed a little bit on Tuesday and again today. The 5-foot-7, 185-pound redshirt freshman from Bear, Delaware's Caravel Academy played in a pair of games as a freshman at Millersville this past fall. He broke off a run today and drew some praise from his teammates. I don't know how that will carry over into August or if he'll be part of the rotation, but he's stood out a bit so far.
Once again, the team ended practice with some kicking. Honestly, all three kickers looked pretty good today. Carl Hardin, who as Keeler mentioned is now on scholarship, still appears to have the strongest leg. He hit from 33 yards, had a 36-yard kick blocked by cornerback Denzel Chavis, and then, I believe, hit from 40 yards near the end of practicel. The 40-yarder had plenty of leg on it and I think it was good. Didn't see the official verdict on it from where I was standing. But redshirt freshman Lucas Glassburn and redshirt sophomore Darren Wu also made their kicks. Wu was the first to kick in the late-practice session and easily hit from 21 and 23 yards before Glassburn converted from 25 and 30 yards with plenty of leg. He probably has the next-strongest leg behind Hardin.
Punter Dante Atton was kicking after the team broke down practice and was taking snaps and punting traditionally, not in the rugby style he utilized under former special teams coach Adam Scheier. When I asked Keeler about it earlier this week, he said Atton might utilize both punting styles this season depending upon the situation. But from what I saw today, he was able to get some leg into his punts without rolling to his right, so he appears capable of doing both, and he continues to be the holder on field goals.
We talked to defensive coordinator Brian Smith after practice, and it was an enlightening conversation with some good takeaways. I'll have a story up later tonight or tomorrow about him.
Smith ran a 3-4 at Rice. He said his defense will be multiple, will mix in some three-down concepts, and will mirror an NFL-style system, with influences from former Jets head coach Rex Ryan and his mentor, Don Brown, Smith's former head coach at UMass and his defensive coordinator at Michigan when Smith coached the Wolverines' defensive backs in 2016 and 2017.
When I asked Smith if any outside linebackers looked good so far as edge rushers, he brought up some names, breaking the 'I don't want to single anyone out yet' mold, which was refreshing.
"Cam Stewart,, he played more of an (defensive) end last year, kind of moved him over to rush (linebacker)," Smith said. "He looks good there. Tyrese Whitaker has kind of been a big surprise for so far. I think he's got a really bright future, but it's a good group of guys. We're still learning, seeing who can do what. But I'm definitely excited all across the board with the D line, the outside backers. It's been a pleasant surprise, the level of talent that we have."
What's next? Keeler and special teams coordinator Brian Ginn will talk to reporters after Tuesday's practice, and cornerbacks coach Henry Baker and a few players from his room will talk Thursday.
