Warrior or others,

How is the team looking this spring? Any depth charts changes? Did Cozart really quit?

As I recall I think we had one scholie left wondering if we will sign another player ie late qualifier.

To add to Cowboy's questions - have the newcomers fit in ?

huroncowboy Wrote:Warrior or others,

How is the team looking this spring? Any depth charts changes? Did Cozart really quit?

As I recall I think we had one scholie left wondering if we will sign another player ie late qualifier.

They`ve only had 1 day in pads, that being yesterday. Pollock has been working with 1st team. I guess the o-line had a different look with Lang at RT, Fretz at LG, Davis at C, Johnson at RG, and Buche at RT, dont know anything about Demaster. Im going out tomorrow for practice to take a look at them.

huroncowboy Wrote:Warrior or others,

How is the team looking this spring? Any depth charts changes? Did Cozart really quit?

As I recall I think we had one scholie left wondering if we will sign another player ie late qualifier.

Yes, Cozart did quit.

Zane Gay is trying out at Wide-out. Wonder how this will affect his basketball status as if he sticks on the football team he will miss part of the basketball season.

EMU09 Wrote:Zane Gay is trying out at Wide-out. Wonder how this will affect his basketball status as if he sticks on the football team he will miss part of the basketball season.

He participated in some non contact drills early today, that was it. Saw him later without pads, not injured though.

According to his profile on the EMU Athletics website:

Senior year of high school:

"Also caught 36 passes for 862 yards and six touchdowns in football to earn first-team All-State selection by The Associated Press..."

Very energetic and physical practice today, alot of hitting on both parts....Players I did not even see on the field, Pollock, S. Smith, Hicks, Hatchett, Mitchell, Fox. In pads but didnt play, Gage and Riley who we know about his knees, the others, I dont know where they were. Didnt practice much kicking, but Orhman and Fretz were doing some long snapping. I undrstand S. Smith has not been moved to LB yet. Defensive line needs players bad, no depth today there at all, Hunt and Palsrock seeing alot of double duty. Offense looked real good IMO, with the line as aI said earlier, Lang, Fretz, E. Davis, Johnson and Buche. Demaster was with the 2nd team. IMO TE is a concern at least for now, Paluch had a bad day and the OC really let him know it. I though Schmitt had a good day along with Priest, Burke and T. Jones and J. Jones, T.Jones looks like a totally new player, I thought it was someone different, he has lost alot of weight! Also someone who caught my eye was Corey Welch, tough hard running RB.....and let me say this about Blevins....WOW!..WOW!, NOBODY COULD TACKLE HIM. Just imagine a Pierre Walker, only 4 or 5 inches taller and Faster.

Also, recruits Williams, MaCloud and Sanders were there watching. Williams, good size kid, MacLeod (correct spelling) evey bit of 6' 7", didnt look 295 lbs, Sanders, this kid is SMALL!!! I would bet against him being 5' 9" and 160 lbs.....EagleAttack, were you there?...any opinions of practice?

just saw sonny paluch at a party tonight. it helps to have a student on the board!

thanks guys for the updates

kEEP THE UPDATES COMING. GAY AT WR SHOULD BE INTERESTING, HE HAS THE SIZE! BLEVINS - DOES HE HAVE GOOD SPEED? ARE WE HOPING T FOR A BREAKOUT YEAR FROM HIM AS A SENIOR? WALKER REALLY CAME ON LATE LAST SEASON, LETS HOPE BLEVINS CAN START THE SEASON ON THE RIGHT TRACK.

I share some concerns not about the offense which was the concern last year but then the offense really warmed up but the DL, lots of young potential, losing Matthews hurts more than we realize and our secondary stills gives up too many yards.

huroncowboy Wrote:I share some concerns not about the offense which was the concern last year but then the offense really warmed up but the DL, lots of young potential, losing Matthews hurts more than we realize and our secondary stills gives up too many yards.

Yea cowboy with the maybe the TE spot, the offense is not a concern, they are gonna score points, but hopefully enough points. At this point I dont see any help for Hunt or Palsrock, and no pass rush at all, granted Riley is out until August and Smith was not there. The 1st team dline yesterday was Hunt and Palsrock along with Brockman and Downs at ends. I think they have the players in the dbackfield, but you cant cover a guy forever if there is no pass rush, hopefully this kid Seiles from Canada can help in August. Its my thought, if S. Smith can get at the QB easier from the LB position...why not?...but IMO the dline is practicing against probably the best o-line in the MAC, Brockman didnt get close to getting arouind Lang and no rush from the left side either.

Dennis Hoopster Wrote:kEEP THE UPDATES COMING. GAY AT WR SHOULD BE INTERESTING, HE HAS THE SIZE! BLEVINS - DOES HE HAVE GOOD SPEED? ARE WE HOPING T FOR A BREAKOUT YEAR FROM HIM AS A SENIOR? WALKER REALLY CAME ON LATE LAST SEASON, LETS HOPE BLEVINS CAN START THE SEASON ON THE RIGHT TRACK.

Gay looked ok running the pass routes, but like I said, he didnt get any contact, Im sure it was his 1st practice. Didnt know who #83 was for awhile until someone told me. Would be nice if we could just throw the pas up and he can go up and get it eh?......as for Blevins, I know everyone just loves him especially the olineman, and yes I think we can expect a breakout year from him, if everyone stays healthy I can easily see him getting 1,000 yds. Was told yesterday he runs a 4.4 40 yd dash....I think the offense is gonna pich up right where they left off from last season......

Dennis Hoopster Wrote:kEEP THE UPDATES COMING. GAY AT WR SHOULD BE INTERESTING, HE HAS THE SIZE! BLEVINS - DOES HE HAVE GOOD SPEED? ARE WE HOPING T FOR A BREAKOUT YEAR FROM HIM AS A SENIOR? WALKER REALLY CAME ON LATE LAST SEASON, LETS HOPE BLEVINS CAN START THE SEASON ON THE RIGHT TRACK.

A very reliable source told me that Blevins runs a 4.5. That's not blazing, but it's fast enough.

TheWoodenNickle Wrote:

Dennis Hoopster Wrote:kEEP THE UPDATES COMING. GAY AT WR SHOULD BE INTERESTING, HE HAS THE SIZE! BLEVINS - DOES HE HAVE GOOD SPEED? ARE WE HOPING T FOR A BREAKOUT YEAR FROM HIM AS A SENIOR? WALKER REALLY CAME ON LATE LAST SEASON, LETS HOPE BLEVINS CAN START THE SEASON ON THE RIGHT TRACK.

A very reliable source told me that Blevins runs a 4.5. That's not blazing, but it's fast enough.

Are you suggesting my sources arent reliable?.......lol...jk

Some thoughts on Sat. practice.

Pollack out with Broken hand. They are going to build him a special cast so he can try to get some more spring practice in.

Hatchett out (not practicing with the team - academic? injury?).

Spencer Smith out - hamstring.

Defense has a way to go. Hatchett and Spencer being out is a major factor. DL is a bit thin as Warrior mentioned, but I think back to last year - we only played 4 DT and 4 DE's. That's what we had dressed at each position. What I did notice is that prior to any scrimmaging, the DL's are badly out numberd by the o lineman in all the contact drills. The individual DL's where taking 2 to 3 times the reps as the o lineman in all those drills over a long period of time. By the time they got to scrimmaging, I could tell the DL's were gassed. I think they will be fine when they can scrimmage without this disadvantage - we will see. I did see the DL's get some pressure, but as you know they are letting up, or tapping the QB as they run by while he's throwing. They didn't get enough pressure yet, but they got some.

As most of you know we are also thin at Linebacker. If we get Hatchet and Spencer back we will be in much better shape at that position (or Spencer will give the DE's better depth). Still, at DT and LB we will need 1 or 2 younger players to step up like we did last year.

RB's Blevins and Priest looked good, and ran very tough. I still don't see that go to wide receiver with size. Maybe Gay will be that guy. Maybe Fox, but I didn't see him.

I'll tell you what. These guys where cracking heads on Sat. It was hard to believe it was the 2nd day with pads. This is a hard hitting bunch.

More on the D-Line, which is an area I really focus on.....kind of like Warrior with the o-line.....

Tackles:
Hunt - Looked good. He's lost some weight (280ish maybe). Dominated in some of the drills against the o-line. He's a great talent, but IMO he needs more rest during the games to be his most effective.

Palsrok - Much bigger than last year. Has gained 20 lbs+ of quality weight since the end of the season - it appears mostly in his lower body (now 270). Needs another 10-15 to hang with the big boys...The way he's going I think he will have it by training camp. Needs to work on keeping his eyes up as he works down the line so he can see the cut backs. One of the highest bench presses on the team. Needs to keep building lower body strength and explosiveness.

Slater - Also around 270-275. Very strong lower body. Needs to keep developing upper body strength. Much improved. Still needs to be explosive on every play. I think part of that is being confident in knowing where he's supposed to go on every line call. Being forced into more playing time will help.

Kuhlman - Very good build - similar to Palsrok but maybe an inch shorter. Is not full speed yet after his knee injury in the Ohio all star game last summer. Has been thrown in to the full speed, full contact mix already. Looks lost at times which is to be expected. Ended up sitting out late in the practice to rest his knee. I hope they don't rush him too much...I think he could be solid.

D Ends:

Brockman - Looks a little heavier than last year, and maybe not quite as quick. Still, a very talented kid for his age. I think he is on his way to becoming a very good player.

Downs - Solid. Stout. Experienced. Not a lot of flash, but made some plays in the scrimmage. Combined with Spencer and Brockman it's a good group of experienced guys. Remember, its the same group as last year - only a little stronger and more experienced.

Orhman - Biggest physical change of any d-lineman. I'm guessing he's gained 40 lbs+ since the start of camp last fall, and a lot of it in his lower body. He could be a pleasant surprise this year.

Reese - Very raw with a great upside. Surprisingly big lower body. Looks lost at times (like Kuhlman, only his 2nd day in pads at the D1 level). Looks like he's never done a lot of the standard drills. But you could see flashes of tremendous explosion at times. He's another one that could be really good with more development.

So, these guys are obviously very, very young. IMO they have great potential. Considering most are still 18 or just turning 19 they are doing well. If a couple of the incoming freshman can step up and at least travel, it will add to the depth. Also, I would love to see Spencer Smith stay with the DL. This should be a good group for years to come, but we can't afford any injuries at this time.

Excellant analysis and comments on the DLa. How do you see the LB's in particular and then the secondary. With the 2 LB's out (lets hope Hatchett surfaces), who is playing tyhat position and the depth?