On the second play the offense ran, Brown would have had a 75 yard TD if it was full tackle. On the first play of redZone, Brown would have had a 20 yard TD if it was full tackle.
Hard to get a feel for personnel with how much they’re rotating, especially on defense, but the transfer TE from Howard is huge and is going to play a lot. Don't see Joiner out here. Would expect Davis Patterson to be your third WR with Rudolph and Kacper. Pipkin and Thompson probably next up.
OL looks relatively as expected, but Evan Malcore getting the reps as #1 LT.
Looks like the Idaho transfer and Creamascoli are battling for QB3. Hampton is way bigger and looks to have more zip on his throws. Mason Kidd had a nice throw down the seam early in practice.
Gumbs getting a lot of reps at DE.
Dozier just had a wide open TD coming out of the backfield from Rocky on third down in redZone. Not sure if he’s nursing an injury but that was only the second play I’ve seen Dozier in.
(08-12-2023 11:59 AM)7 Wrote: [ -> ]On the second play the offense ran, Brown would have had a 75 yard TD if it was full tackle. On the first play of redZone, Brown would have had a 20 yard TD if it was full tackle.
Hard to get a feel for personnel with how much they’re rotating, especially on defense, but the transfer TE from Howard is huge and is going to play a lot. Don't see Joiner out here. Would expect Davis Patterson to be your third WR with Rudolph and Kacper. Pipkin and Thompson probably next up.
OL looks relatively as expected, but Evan Malcore getting the reps as #1 LT.
Looks like the Idaho transfer and Creamascoli are battling for QB3. Hampton is way bigger and looks to have more zip on his throws. Mason Kidd had a nice throw down the seam early in practice.
Gumbs getting a lot of reps at DE.
Dozier just had a wide open TD coming out of the backfield from Rocky on third down in redZone. Not sure if he’s nursing an injury but that was only the second play I’ve seen Dozier in.
Thanks for this!
What does the defense look like? Any kind of educated guess at LB and huskie?
Where has Barnes lined up? Kudo's for the onsite report.
Maybe somebody with a better eye can speak to it more than me, but I think we are going to be really small at LB. Gilbert, Lafayette, Jammeh, and Brown have all been playing with what you would think are the 1’s on defense. Tyler Jackson has been out there some too. If you want me to pick out two starting “linebackers” they would be Gilbert and Jackson, but it seems like the plan is to play some of the safeties/“huskies” in more of linebacker roles.
(08-12-2023 12:09 PM)7 Wrote: [ -> ]Maybe somebody with a better eye can speak to it more than me, but I think we are going to be really small at LB. Gilbert, Lafayette, Jammeh, and Brown have all been playing with what you would think are the 1’s on defense. Tyler Jackson has been out there some too. If you want me to pick out two starting “linebackers” they would be Gilbert and Jackson, but it seems like the plan is to play some of the safeties/“huskies” in more of linebacker roles.
Hopefully they play fast. The D Line is huge, any idea on who the starter is opposite Thomas at end?
Rudolph is wearing a knee brace, but has done everything you’d expect including being first up to return punts (haven’t seen any kickoffs). Rocky has looked at his best when he extends plays, as usual. Hampton just hit Pipkin on a crossing route for a big gain.
Haven’t noticed Barnes a ton but looks like he’s with the tight ends.
Based off today, I’d expect the Ohio State transfer for be the kicker. Hard to tell on the other end at this point, still think it’s an open competition but Gumbs is getting a lot of work. Pipkin has looked the best out of the WR’s.
(08-12-2023 12:25 PM)7 Wrote: [ -> ]Based off today, I’d expect the Ohio State transfer for be the kicker. Hard to tell on the other end at this point, still think it’s an open competition but Gumbs is getting a lot of work. Pipkin has looked the best out of the WR’s.
Thanks again for the updates!
Love hearing about a young WR who is looking good
Any punt or KO return yet? Curious who is back there.
(08-12-2023 12:25 PM)BigChilla Wrote: [ -> ] (08-12-2023 12:25 PM)7 Wrote: [ -> ]Based off today, I’d expect the Ohio State transfer for be the kicker. Hard to tell on the other end at this point, still think it’s an open competition but Gumbs is getting a lot of work. Pipkin has looked the best out of the WR’s.
Thanks again for the updates!
Love hearing about a young WR who is looking good
This might just be over optimism....but I feel like we went from no almost WR's to having a solid #3 and some good depth.
(08-12-2023 12:27 PM)Rabid Squirrel Wrote: [ -> ]Any punt or KO return yet? Curious who is back there.
Rudolph #1 PR, haven’t seen any KR. Been hard to tell with corners, but I gotta think Dabney will be the #1 guy. He just picked off Hampton on a tipped pass in redZone. Next play was a TD pass to Pipkin, though.
Rocky’s arm strength is really a sight to behold in person. Had an unreal throw to Kacper where he fit in between two defenders and a few minutes later launched a deep ball 65 yards in the air and hit Kacper right in the hands. Then on third and 11 he was rolling to his left and threw back across the field to his right to hit Rudolph for a first.
(08-12-2023 12:42 PM)7 Wrote: [ -> ]Rocky’s arm strength is really a sight to behold in person. Had an unreal throw to Kacper where he fit in between two defenders and a few minutes later launched a deep ball 65 yards in the air and hit Kacper right in the hands. Then on third and 11 he was rolling to his left and threw back across the field to his right to hit Rudolph for a first.
Lombardi is set for a really big year. Now having the benefit of hindsight and assuming he is 100% healthy, missing last season may have been a blessing for Rocky as this years team seems to be in a much better position to excel and can better highlight his talents.
Here are my observations from today:
The QB order was Rocky, Hampton, Cremascoli, CJ Jordan. Rocky looked great as noted earlier. He extended plays, made good decisions and made some great throws. He will keep us in every game if he stays healthy. Hampton is much bigger than before and seems to be taking a vocal leading role this year. He had some nice throws, although I wish they came out earlier sometimes. Cremascoli led one long TD drive and looked great doing it, making a couple of real nice throws. CJ Jordan barely played and I don't think he threw while he was in there.
The tailback order was Antario Brown, Kendrell Flowers, Gavin Williams, Billy Dozier, Greigh Joseph, Justin Lynch. Brown looked great. Flowers and Williams seem to be duking it out for number two. Williams probably made more plays today but both look like they can be solid in relief of Brown. Dozier ran and caught the ball well. Joseph showed impressive burst on about a 20 yard run later in the scrimmage. Lynch got in late and ran between the guards for the most part. They also used Christian Nash on short yardage several times so he might pitch in as well. Lampe didn't play much today.
Christion Carter looks very good at tight end. Rocky looked his way a lot. He and Tristen Tewes can catch the ball, which should really help. Izu Ozoh and Drew Cassens got in there quite a bit too. Gavin Patrick did not get in as much although he did catch a TD in goal line.
At receiver Trayvon Rudolph, Kacper Rutkiewicz and Davis Patterson seem to be the top guys, although a ton saw action today. Newcomer Cam Thompson looks good as Coach Hammock mentioned the other day. Grayson Barnes, Malik Armstrong and Keyshaun Pipkin were in quite a bit too. Jalen Johnson was dressed but was wearing a non-contact jersey and running sprints along the sideline. He didn't scrimmage.
Evan Buss, Logan Z and Drew Hoth were not dressed today. All were walking around in shorts looking just fine. Seemed to be precautionary for them. The starting O-line left to right was Evan Malcore, JJ Lippe, Pete Nygra, John Champe and Nolan Potter. Buss and Z are obviously in there if dressed. The two's were true Freshman Thomas Paasch, Matt Schooley, Seth Thompson, Tyler Pitcel and Abiathar Curry left to right.
Back in a few with defense and special teams notes.
As 7 noted above, the defense mixed and matched a ton today. It was impossible to get a great sense of a depth chart based on today. Safety Nate Valcarcel wasn't dressed, but looked just fine walking around in shorts. Cyrus McGarrell was in his place for the most part, pairing with CJ Brown. Muhammad Jammeh played some too, but it seemed like McGarrell played a lot more.
At linebacker it's probably going to be some combination of Jaden Dolphin, DaRon Gilbert and Tyler Jackson, plus a Huskie. I noticed Devin Lafayette, Ty Myles, Louis Frye and Jordan Hansen at Huskie at various times, so who knows.
At tackle James Ester and Devonte O'Malley didn't play much today, which is fine. Demond Taylor and Cade Haberman played quite a bit, backed up by Jacob Waskow, Mark Hensley and Skyler Gill-Howard.
George Gumbs got quite a few reps at end and looks pretty decent actually. He has a lot to learn but might be able to help at some point. Neveah Sanders has great get-off at end, really nice burst. Whether that translates to an effective pass rush remains to be seen, but he sure has the raw materials. Raishein Thomas didn't play much and Roy Williams wasn't dressed, so no great clues as to a depth chart. I didn't notice Ivan Davis today, not sure if he played.
Jake Seibert and Kanon Woodill both kicked well today. Seibert appears to have a stronger leg and would seem to be the frontrunner, but both seem quite capable.
Tom Foley crushed a few punts, 50 and 60 yards plus. He looked great today. Trayvon Rudolph was the first punt returner, as you would expect. It looked like Dane Pardridge was behind him.
Thanks 7 and 1981 for sharing your observations.
I'm excited to see Rocky lead this offense again. Wishing him and the rest of the team a healthy season so we can see what this team is capable of. Would like to see Rocky leave NIU breaking some Huskie football records.
Thank you all for the thorough write ups!
(08-12-2023 12:15 PM)7 Wrote: [ -> ]Rudolph is wearing a knee brace, but has done everything you’d expect including being first up to return punts (haven’t seen any kickoffs). Rocky has looked at his best when he extends plays, as usual. Hampton just hit Pipkin on a crossing route for a big gain.
Haven’t noticed Barnes a ton but looks like he’s with the tight ends.
Get any idea of Rudolph’s explosiveness and speed he had before or does he seem limited?
It seems like they’re being very careful with Rudolph, as you would expect. I doubt we see him really turn it loose until the lights come on.