Hello There, Guest! (LoginRegister)

Post Reply 
Fan Day Observations
Author Message
Bookmark and Share
NIU1981 Offline
Heisman
*

Posts: 5,306
Joined: Nov 2006
Reputation: 54
I Root For: Peace & Equity
Location:
Post: #1
Fan Day Observations
I was out at today's (8-14-10) Fan Day to watch the boys scrimmage and here are my observations.

This team has guys you can get excited about at every position and could be real good if they take care of business. I was pleased and excited with what I saw, especially this early in camp.

The top 3 QBs (Grady, Harnish, Lynch in that order) shared the large majority of reps and all did good things. It would be hard to pick a "winner" of today's scrimmage based on what I saw. The fact that they run a vanilla offense and throw a lot of short dump-offs doesn't help the evaluation process either. Grady continues to improve and did make one nice downfield throw. I'm still not convinced he can be the guy who pulls us through when we're forced to pass but he does improve each year. Harnish was very solid and had a good command of the offense. He also ran extremely well. Lynch continues to impress. He's similar in style to Harnish but faster (like really fast) and with a slightly better arm. Lynch made the two most exciting throws of the day: a 25 to 30 yard laser to Ashford on the skinny post and a beautiful 35 yard TD to Anthony Johnson in the corner of the end zone. That throw was right on the money and had something on it. I still think Harnish is going to start but the other guys definitely bring something to the table. Weston and Hill did not even get in until one hour and forty minutes into the scrimmage and are clearly non-factors at this point. I saw each throw two short dump-offs before I left (it was effing HOT out there) and really couldn't draw any conclusions. I would say Weston is probably looking at a redshirt year based on how well Lynch is doing and the limited number of reps he is getting.

The top four running backs (Spann, Crider, Hopkins and Bell) all looked good. Our running back rotation will be real strong this year and I believe Bell will be an excellent back once he gets a few games under his belt.

Keith Otis started at right tackle and Logan Pegram at left guard, making the first five from right to left Otis, Joe Pawlek, Scott Wedige, Pegram and Trevor Olson. Adam Kiel was not dressed today. The second five right to left were Tyler Loos, Ed Jackson, Jared Volk, Matt Krempel and Matt Battaglia. There was no mixing of personnel so the first five seems to be solidly in place with the possible exception of Kiel.

Schepler was at tight end. I also saw quite a bit of Jack Marks and Luke Eakes. Eakes looks like he could be a good one. Adam Coleman was not dressed.

The receivers switch out constantly but the top guys seem to be the usual suspects Landon Cox, Nathan Palmer and Willie Clark with a lot of Martel Moore, Perez Ashford and Akeem Daniels mixed in. I also noticed Jayme Wells out there quite a bit, the rest of the guys less so.

The defense looked solid and is pretty deep at every position. They got quite a few sacks but of course they are "touch" sacks in these scrimmages.

The top defensive line was Jake Coffman and Sean Progar at end with Mike Krause and DJ Pirkle at tackle. They also mixed in a lot of Ron Newcomb, Brian Lawson, Darnell Bolding and Alan Baxter. The rest of the d-linemen played a lot less. Frank the Tank got in at the end. He is huge and looks like he is not fat at all even though he's 300 pounds plus. He has a good motor but lots to learn at this point. I spoke with his grandmother and younger brother who were both very nice. His grandmother is justifiably proud of the work he's done on his academics and I told her Huskie Nation is too. Great job Frank, we're glad you're here! She said she and Frank's mother were bothered by wisecracks they read about Frank on "blogs". I told her to disregard that stuff because those bloggers are idiots. :) His younger brother is a 7th grader and says he's bigger than Frank was at that age so let's keep an eye out for the next generation.

The top three linebackers were Alex Kube, Devon Butler and Jordan Delegal with Tyrone Clark, Mike Hellams, Greg Barksdale and Cameron Stingily mixed in.

The DBs are Chris Smith and Kiaree Daniels at corner with Tracy Wilson and Tommy Davis at safety. As noted on the HuksieWire Patrick George is recuperating from a sprained ankle. The main backups were Dominique Ware, Sean Evans and Rashaan Melvin at corner and Jody VanLaanen, Demetrius Stone and Jimmie Ward at safety.

I was pleased with the kicking game. Mathew Sims is a heck of a kicker and seems to be the front runner at this point. He made all of his kicks including a 45 yarder and has a live leg. Fillingim made his kicks too but doesn't have quite the pop. Sims and Cklamovski also got all of their kickoffs down by the goal line or deeper which was great to see.

They tried out just about every fast guy on the team at kickoff return but it's hard to believe they won't stick with Tommy Davis and Ricky Crider since they've been there awhile. Akeem Daniels and Da'Ron Brown looked like exciting alternatives there.
08-14-2010 02:31 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Advertisement


7 Offline
The Pride of the Midwest
*

Posts: 26,264
Joined: Oct 2006
Reputation: 67
I Root For: NIU
Location: Fatty's
Post: #2
RE: Fan Day Observations
I was at the practice where George got hurt, he caught a mean turf monster on one play. I'm glad it was only a sprained ankle, I thought it was worse at the time.

QB play sounds pretty much like it's been during all practices. If I had to money down, I still think Harnish is the starter come September 2nd.

Great writeup.
08-14-2010 02:43 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
rabidawg900 Offline
Heisman
*

Posts: 5,254
Joined: Jul 2005
Reputation: 52
I Root For: We Are Huskies
Location: New Orleans
Post: #3
RE: Fan Day Observations
Thank you for posting this
08-14-2010 02:52 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
gyrosandcheesefries Offline
2nd String
*

Posts: 439
Joined: May 2004
Reputation: 3
I Root For: Huskies
Location: Chicago
Post: #4
RE: Fan Day Observations
Seconds on the great writeup. Thanks. At least we have 3 viable options at QB this year instead of 1 and 1/2.
08-14-2010 03:22 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Big Redd Offline
Special Teams
*

Posts: 907
Joined: Jul 2010
Reputation: 16
I Root For: NIU
Location:
Post: #5
RE: Fan Day Observations
Nice 81! I was their for the entire scrimmage and would say this is a very accurate recap. All the QBs had their moments, but 4 also had some ugly plays. Only Harnish was consistent and I can't see how he's not going to be our starter. Grady has improved, but he's probably in 3rd place when it comes to the passing. The kicking game seemed good until the pressure field goals at the very end. There were about 8 attempts while the team surrounded them and the music blasted- 75% of the kicks were ducks. Overall, I was pleased but not blown away. Part of that could have been the heat.
08-14-2010 03:24 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
houstonhuskie Offline
All American
*

Posts: 3,766
Joined: Sep 2004
Reputation: 15
I Root For: NIU
Location: houston, texas
Post: #6
RE: Fan Day Observations
Any looks at Wilber? Is he healthy and kicking well again? (Just do not want to see the soccer punt any more)
08-14-2010 03:25 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Advertisement


17Huskies Offline
Heisman
*

Posts: 6,199
Joined: Oct 2009
Reputation: 12
I Root For: NIU
Location:
Post: #7
RE: Fan Day Observations
I came away slightly disappointed with the passing game....however, I don't know that it was the QB's. Didn't seem like there were that many plays going downfield. That being said, I wasn't paying attention the entire scrimmage, so I most likely missed some plays.

The defense just excites me...it looks/feels/plays like a great D.
08-14-2010 03:26 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Huskie359 Offline
All American
*

Posts: 2,532
Joined: Feb 2005
Reputation: 15
I Root For: NIU & SOX
Location:
Post: #8
RE: Fan Day Observations
Yes excellent write up... Thank you for posting, although my observations from today's scrimmage are completely different than yours.

Here is what I saw... The bounce house was great as it kept my son occupied for most of time we were there. The two dogs, Diesel and Lita (sp) were also a hit. Didn't mind that the cheerleaders were there either, and they were giving away free tats. Having an opportunity to walk along the sidelines also went over real well with the kids. Special thanks to Victor E, who put up with my daughter crawling after and stalking him wherever he went.
08-14-2010 03:32 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
NIU05 Offline
Heisman
*

Posts: 8,683
Joined: Jan 2008
Reputation: 40
I Root For: TRUTH
Location: Eternity
Post: #9
RE: Fan Day Observations
(08-14-2010 03:22 PM)gyrosandcheesefries Wrote:  Seconds on the great writeup. Thanks. At least we have 3 viable options at QB this year instead of 1 and 1/2.

+3 for the write up...

Surprised Kiel sat out. He did not finish last year, is there a lingering issue?

It sounds like we had a good recruiting class from the report. OT Loos is running with the second team,impressive for the true FR. True Fr TE Luke must be athletic if you said he looks like a player. Akeem Daniels has been making plays in the spring and fall camp. Back up LBs -3- Fr in the mix...

Again, thanks for the write up.
08-14-2010 03:41 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
NIU1981 Offline
Heisman
*

Posts: 5,306
Joined: Nov 2006
Reputation: 54
I Root For: Peace & Equity
Location:
Post: #10
RE: Fan Day Observations
(08-14-2010 03:24 PM)Big Redd Wrote:  Nice 81! I was their for the entire scrimmage and would say this is a very accurate recap. All the QBs had their moments, but 4 also had some ugly plays. Only Harnish was consistent and I can't see how he's not going to be our starter. Grady has improved, but he's probably in 3rd place when it comes to the passing. The kicking game seemed good until the pressure field goals at the very end. There were about 8 attempts while the team surrounded them and the music blasted- 75% of the kicks were ducks. Overall, I was pleased but not blown away. Part of that could have been the heat.

Thanks for the update. I left before they got to the pressure kicking session you saw at the end. Sounds like they still have some work to do.
08-14-2010 04:27 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
niubrad00 Offline
Boss
*

Posts: 8,048
Joined: Apr 2006
Reputation: -13
I Root For: NIU
Location:
Post: #11
RE: Fan Day Observations
(08-14-2010 03:32 PM)Huskie359 Wrote:  Yes excellent write up... Thank you for posting, although my observations from today's scrimmage are completely different than yours.

Here is what I saw... The bounce house was great as it kept my son occupied for most of time we were there. The two dogs, Diesel and Lita (sp) were also a hit. Didn't mind that the cheerleaders were there either, and they were giving away free tats. Having an opportunity to walk along the sidelines also went over real well with the kids. Special thanks to Victor E, who put up with my daughter crawling after and stalking him wherever he went.

My observations are similar to yours. 04-cheers with several air conditioning breaks in the Yordon.
(This post was last modified: 08-14-2010 04:40 PM by niubrad00.)
08-14-2010 04:39 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Advertisement


EddieMoney Offline
1st String
*

Posts: 1,655
Joined: Jun 2007
Reputation: 27
I Root For: NIU,Blues,Bucs
Location: DFW
Post: #12
RE: Fan Day Observations
(08-14-2010 03:32 PM)Huskie359 Wrote:  Yes excellent write up... Thank you for posting, although my observations from today's scrimmage are completely different than yours.

Here is what I saw... The bounce house was great as it kept my son occupied for most of time we were there. The two dogs, Diesel and Lita (sp) were also a hit. Didn't mind that the cheerleaders were there either, and they were giving away free tats. Having an opportunity to walk along the sidelines also went over real well with the kids. Special thanks to Victor E, who put up with my daughter crawling after and stalking him wherever he went.
Yea Lita is my dog. This was her first NIU football experience after a 4.5 hour drive up from St. Louis.
08-14-2010 04:40 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
geneva869 Offline
Water Engineer
*

Posts: 2
Joined: Aug 2010
Reputation: 0
I Root For: ...
Location:
Post: #13
RE: Fan Day Observations
(08-14-2010 02:31 PM)NIU1981 Wrote:  I spoke with his grandmother and younger brother who were both very nice. His grandmother is justifiably proud of the work he's done on his academics and I told her Huskie Nation is too. Great job Frank, we're glad you're here! She said she and Frank's mother were bothered by wisecracks they read about Frank on "blogs". I told her to disregard that stuff because those bloggers are idiots. :) His younger brother is a 7th grader and says he's bigger than Frank was at that age so let's keep an eye out for the next generation.

Their whole family routinely brought 20-25 people to all Geneva games last year, even the game at Glenbard South that he was suspended for. They get there early, and are on their feet and loud the whole game. Good people.
08-14-2010 04:53 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
MaddDawgz02 Offline
Banned

Posts: 40,735
Joined: Jan 2004
I Root For: any UT opponent
Location:
Post: #14
RE: Fan Day Observations
(08-14-2010 02:31 PM)NIU1981 Wrote:  I was out at today's (8-14-10) Fan Day to watch the boys scrimmage and here are my observations.

This team has guys you can get excited about at every position and could be real good if they take care of business. I was pleased and excited with what I saw, especially this early in camp.

The top 3 QBs (Grady, Harnish, Lynch in that order) shared the large majority of reps and all did good things. It would be hard to pick a "winner" of today's scrimmage based on what I saw. The fact that they run a vanilla offense and throw a lot of short dump-offs doesn't help the evaluation process either. Grady continues to improve and did make one nice downfield throw. I'm still not convinced he can be the guy who pulls us through when we're forced to pass but he does improve each year. Harnish was very solid and had a good command of the offense. He also ran extremely well. Lynch continues to impress. He's similar in style to Harnish but faster (like really fast) and with a slightly better arm. Lynch made the two most exciting throws of the day: a 25 to 30 yard laser to Ashford on the skinny post and a beautiful 35 yard TD to Anthony Johnson in the corner of the end zone. That throw was right on the money and had something on it. I still think Harnish is going to start but the other guys definitely bring something to the table. Weston and Hill did not even get in until one hour and forty minutes into the scrimmage and are clearly non-factors at this point. I saw each throw two short dump-offs before I left (it was effing HOT out there) and really couldn't draw any conclusions. I would say Weston is probably looking at a redshirt year based on how well Lynch is doing and the limited number of reps he is getting.

The top four running backs (Spann, Crider, Hopkins and Bell) all looked good. Our running back rotation will be real strong this year and I believe Bell will be an excellent back once he gets a few games under his belt.

Keith Otis started at right tackle and Logan Pegram at left guard, making the first five from right to left Otis, Joe Pawlek, Scott Wedige, Pegram and Trevor Olson. Adam Kiel was not dressed today. The second five right to left were Tyler Loos, Ed Jackson, Jared Volk, Matt Krempel and Matt Battaglia. There was no mixing of personnel so the first five seems to be solidly in place with the possible exception of Kiel.

Schepler was at tight end. I also saw quite a bit of Jack Marks and Luke Eakes. Eakes looks like he could be a good one. Adam Coleman was not dressed.

The receivers switch out constantly but the top guys seem to be the usual suspects Landon Cox, Nathan Palmer and Willie Clark with a lot of Martel Moore, Perez Ashford and Akeem Daniels mixed in. I also noticed Jayme Wells out there quite a bit, the rest of the guys less so.

The defense looked solid and is pretty deep at every position. They got quite a few sacks but of course they are "touch" sacks in these scrimmages.

The top defensive line was Jake Coffman and Sean Progar at end with Mike Krause and DJ Pirkle at tackle. They also mixed in a lot of Ron Newcomb, Brian Lawson, Darnell Bolding and Alan Baxter. The rest of the d-linemen played a lot less. Frank the Tank got in at the end. He is huge and looks like he is not fat at all even though he's 300 pounds plus. He has a good motor but lots to learn at this point. I spoke with his grandmother and younger brother who were both very nice. His grandmother is justifiably proud of the work he's done on his academics and I told her Huskie Nation is too. Great job Frank, we're glad you're here! She said she and Frank's mother were bothered by wisecracks they read about Frank on "blogs". I told her to disregard that stuff because those bloggers are idiots. :) His younger brother is a 7th grader and says he's bigger than Frank was at that age so let's keep an eye out for the next generation.

The top three linebackers were Alex Kube, Devon Butler and Jordan Delegal with Tyrone Clark, Mike Hellams, Greg Barksdale and Cameron Stingily mixed in.

The DBs are Chris Smith and Kiaree Daniels at corner with Tracy Wilson and Tommy Davis at safety. As noted on the HuksieWire Patrick George is recuperating from a sprained ankle. The main backups were Dominique Ware, Sean Evans and Rashaan Melvin at corner and Jody VanLaanen, Demetrius Stone and Jimmie Ward at safety.

I was pleased with the kicking game. Mathew Sims is a heck of a kicker and seems to be the front runner at this point. He made all of his kicks including a 45 yarder and has a live leg. Fillingim made his kicks too but doesn't have quite the pop. Sims and Cklamovski also got all of their kickoffs down by the goal line or deeper which was great to see.

They tried out just about every fast guy on the team at kickoff return but it's hard to believe they won't stick with Tommy Davis and Ricky Crider since they've been there awhile. Akeem Daniels and Da'Ron Brown looked like exciting alternatives there.


I still think this is going to be Weston's team eventually if not starting the season, at some point during the season.
08-14-2010 05:40 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
clcfball11 Offline
All American
*

Posts: 3,588
Joined: May 2006
Reputation: 17
I Root For: NIU!!!
Location: Denver
Post: #15
RE: Fan Day Observations
Thanks for the writeup, OP.

Looking forward to seeing this team in action.
08-14-2010 05:45 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
EddieMoney Offline
1st String
*

Posts: 1,655
Joined: Jun 2007
Reputation: 27
I Root For: NIU,Blues,Bucs
Location: DFW
Post: #16
RE: Fan Day Observations
(08-14-2010 05:40 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  I still think this is going to be Weston's team eventually if not starting the season, at some point during the season.

How the hell do you still think that?
08-14-2010 06:06 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Advertisement


goniu1523 Offline
1st String
*

Posts: 1,182
Joined: Feb 2009
Reputation: 2
I Root For: NIU
Location:
Post: #17
RE: Fan Day Observations
Great write up! Did any if you see Dechane Durante out there? I haven't heard anything about him this summer. Did he make it in academically? Was he at the practice?
08-14-2010 06:17 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
niubrad00 Offline
Boss
*

Posts: 8,048
Joined: Apr 2006
Reputation: -13
I Root For: NIU
Location:
Post: #18
RE: Fan Day Observations
(08-14-2010 06:06 PM)niutbbucfan Wrote:  
(08-14-2010 05:40 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  I still think this is going to be Weston's team eventually if not starting the season, at some point during the season.

How the hell do you still think that?

Because he's delusional and lives in an alternate reality.

Seriously though, his act is really getting annoying. He needs to be banned from the board. No, really he does. He's nothing but a problem.
08-14-2010 07:19 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
NIU1981 Offline
Heisman
*

Posts: 5,306
Joined: Nov 2006
Reputation: 54
I Root For: Peace & Equity
Location:
Post: #19
RE: Fan Day Observations
(08-14-2010 06:17 PM)goniu1523 Wrote:  Great write up! Did any if you see Dechane Durante out there? I haven't heard anything about him this summer. Did he make it in academically? Was he at the practice?

Durante was out there. He's the one Johnson beat on his TD pass from Lynch. Durante mostly played with the third and fourth teamers today.
08-14-2010 07:50 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
MaddDawgz02 Offline
Banned

Posts: 40,735
Joined: Jan 2004
I Root For: any UT opponent
Location:
Post: #20
RE: Fan Day Observations
(08-14-2010 06:06 PM)niutbbucfan Wrote:  
(08-14-2010 05:40 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  I still think this is going to be Weston's team eventually if not starting the season, at some point during the season.

How the hell do you still think that?

He is the most talented QB on our roster, but there is a learning curve with new offense and new personnell to adjust to. I do think its a matter of time before he is the starter whether its by injury or replacing whoever starts. Kill loves Weston.
08-14-2010 09:34 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Post Reply 




User(s) browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)


Copyright © 2002-2024 Collegiate Sports Nation Bulletin Board System (CSNbbs), All Rights Reserved.
CSNbbs is an independent fan site and is in no way affiliated to the NCAA or any of the schools and conferences it represents.
This site monetizes links. FTC Disclosure.
We allow third-party companies to serve ads and/or collect certain anonymous information when you visit our web site. These companies may use non-personally identifiable information (e.g., click stream information, browser type, time and date, subject of advertisements clicked or scrolled over) during your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services likely to be of greater interest to you. These companies typically use a cookie or third party web beacon to collect this information. To learn more about this behavioral advertising practice or to opt-out of this type of advertising, you can visit http://www.networkadvertising.org.
Powered By MyBB, © 2002-2024 MyBB Group.