Final scrimmage update

[mat1992 2,235]

Last scrimmage before The Citadel next week. It was a quick one. Lasted just a little over an hour and the 1's didn't play much. RA wouldn't say the the D-line was complete but O-line looks like LT Garnett, LG Grzymkowski, C Cassells, RG Cheripko and RT DeMarcus Gilmore, who is the only transfer. I think Brown Tuiasosopo got here a bit late so he was behind the eight ball. He's the backup center right now.

Flacco didn't play much. Stover I thought looked good. Made a strong thrown down the same to Darrian Street, who made a nice adjustment on the ball against safety Stanley Davis. Jeff Miller made a nice touch throw in the end zone. I do like Tristan Harris and the improvement he made but I expect Stover to be the backup. He just has too much experience over the other guys.

Shane Simpson was held out. Got a little banged up last week but there was no need for him to play. It was good to Yeedee Thaenrat get back out there after he had an early camp injury. Wow, was he explosive in the one series he played. I'm still a bit worried about inside the 10 and running the football. Didn't see them work on that a lot today but I'd like to see a more traditional I-formation with the QB under center but who knows. When you go shot gun, you take away the effectiveness of the FB/HB but you do give Flacco the option to run.

Also good to see Jabari Allen back on the field. Allen, Street, Leatherbury, Daniel Thompson, Charles Murphy, Rutkowski, Caleb Smith and D'Ago Hunter has a chance to be a special group of receivers. I just love Hunter's ability to make people miss in the open field. If Simpson wasn't here, I would think he'd have a chance to return punts.

Defensively, I'm not sure what the line is going to look like exactly but the 1st have mainly been Bryce Carter, Sam Gyeni and either Tibo Debaille or Marcus Bowman. I think Vinny Schafer fits in there somewhere. Not sure about the status of Jesus Gibbs and well, RA might be at it again with a late addition.

Malik Tyne was out at OLB today so they had Keon Paye and John Lambert who looked really good. He was a walk-on DE last season and was awarded a scholarship. I think we'll see Tyne and maybe some Troy Vincent in passing situations.

Safeties and corners, Ambrose talks about them in his comments so I'll get to them.

[mat1992 2,235]

On last scrimmage

"Decent, not great. Good energy. Good focus. Things that have to be tweaked."

On D-line

"If you ask me that question at 5pm tomorrow, I can tell you, but it's close. You know me, I've got something going on."

On O-line

"Cassells should be ok. I'm please about how he went about camp. Tuiasosopo is in the mix, but he's not there yet. We're hoping to see his growth. We're seeing flashes that he's potentially going to be the starter to noway in hell. At center, you have more consistency to be in the conversation."

Gilmore looks good. His size is a benefit and his athleticism is incredible. You're not supposed to be close to 400 pounds and move like him and he's a smart kid. He's actually shown me he can throw the football and catch the football. I might find something interesting to do with him before he graduates."

On safeties

"Topps plays corner and safety. His versatility really helps. Tippett, Brown, Gay are in the mix."

On corners

"Shuman and Gillette are carrying the load. I saw more out of Love today. He's had days where he's been very very hot and other days where he's been meh. Troy Vincent has had a great camp and has doubled as the Sam (LB) in nickel and can play corner. We're going to keep doing that. The more versatile we are, the better we'll be in the long run."

On outside linebacker

"Malik has been down for a good bit and we're looking forward to having him back. Ricky (DeBerry) moving inside was a good move for us. I'm really confident about that. I thought Lambert had a great camp. He's grown. When he started, he was just a guy."

On other quarterbacks

"They were pretty sharp. It's difficult. We limited what we were going to do offensively. I was disappointed in the first series but after that, thought the quarterbacks played really well. Will sit down and talk about backup job. It might be situationally-based."

On Yeedee

"First live work he's gotten in awhile. Had the conversation about how hard we were going to let him go. I haven't had anybody run as hard as him since Darrius (Victor). He does hurt people so we needed him to be really careful."

On WR corps

"I've coached Mark Orlando, Jamal White. Mike Deal. These guys can all catch and run. Some are quicker than others. It's a talented group."

On RB

Last year we had three. Now we have four with Platt back. We have so many good backs and wideouts, but we have just one ball."

Special teams

"Simpson will be the return man again. How do you tell the other guys you are playing over an All-American? Shane McDonough will be the punter and kickoff guy. He has a different leg than Toomey and the others in the past. His directional stuff needs work."

[TSU88 1,073]

I’ve got mixed feelings about Simpson as the return man. While he’s certainly quite good in that role, it also increases his chances of being injured.

Any word on Gibbs? Is Gilmore the JUCO?  What happened to the Temple transfer?

How did Alexander, the Nebraska transfer, look?

Whoever the 1st punter was today, he boomed one 60 yards. Of course, that type of kick can out kick the coverage. I noticed they practiced several punts from inside the 50, & the punter was unable to keep his kicks from going in the end zone for what would have been touchbacks 

 

Edited August 24, 2019 by TSU88

[mat1992 2,235]

Gilmore is the juco. Gibbs is injured. I don't know the extent. They won't talk about it. Bryant, the Temple transfer, has a knee injury. It's serious so I don't expect him to play anytime soon if at all. If Gilmore wasn't here, that would be a huge injury. I still wonder what Bryant (330) and Gilmore (360) playing on the right side might have been. But Cheripko is good either at guard or center. He's not huge (300) but athletic with good feet. 

We do have legit depth on the O-line, even with Bryant out. Desire, Tuaisasopo, and even Mullins can play. Then we have the two very large Euros. Not sure they are ready for this level yet but they are huge and athletic.

Alexander, the Nebraska transfer, has been ok. I don't see him as much of a factor early on. A lot of these new guys just got here and they are learning a new defense. He's basically never really played even at Nebraska, save for the Spring Game, when he led them in tackles. I'd use him strictly as a pass rusher. He's 6-3, 255 and not that big for a 3/4 DE. I thought they'd play him as an OLB. Like I said, I wish we had Gibbs right away. Supposedly, Ambrose has something up his sleeve. But like I said weeks ago, why the eff did we not move a huge OL to DL?

I agree that using Simpson is a risk in the return game, though he's an All-American in that respect. I would not use him as a kick returner but yes as a punt returner. He's smart and makes wise decisions. They have Platt, Kobe and Yeedee so Shane is not going to get 20 carries or even 20 touches a game.

Yes, Ambrose mentioned that McDonough, the Marshall transfer, has struggled with directional punting but he does have a huge leg.

 

[Chris Datres 423]

3 hours ago, TSU88 said:

I’ve got mixed feelings about Simpson as the return man. While he’s certainly quite good in that role, it also increases his chances of being injured.

A number of Penn State fans (not me) had similar hand-wringing about Saquon Barkley bringing kicks back but that worked out pretty well.  I think you try to get the ball in the hands of your playmakers as many times as you can and Shane's speed on a KOR can be a big field position changer much like it was against Delaware.  Can't go through these games worrying about injuries.

[mat1992 2,235]

1 hour ago, Chris Datres said:

A number of Penn State fans (not me) had similar hand-wringing about Saquon Barkley bringing kicks back but that worked out pretty well.  I think you try to get the ball in the hands of your playmakers as many times as you can and Shane's speed on a KOR can be a big field position changer much like it was against Delaware.  Can't go through these games worrying about injuries.

Barkley was around 235 and Shane is 200. That's my worry about Shane. He was hurt in camp. He's been hurt every year but last season. He's not a big dude but he is our best playmaker. Again, rather have him on punts than kickoffs but sure, maybe you wait until the CAA because a long kickoff return could be the difference in the game. Don't use him on returns against NC Central, Bucknell, Florida and The Citadel, but I doubt that happens. This kid D'Ago Hunter (5-7, 160), who is even smaller, could be a tremendous return man. But just a redshirt freshman. 

[Blounge 520]

I Hope the O-line is ready for Florida. That defense was in the backfield all night against Miami 

[TuTigers2012 1,070]

1 hour ago, Blounge said:

I Hope the O-line is ready for Florida. That defense was in the backfield all night against Miami 

Yeah they were. Laid some big hits too

[RundaPower 153]

4 hours ago, Blounge said:

I Hope the O-line is ready for Florida. That defense was in the backfield all night against Miami 

You do know that Miami started a 17 year old true freshman at left tackle and a redshirt freshman at RT, right?  With Florida’s experience on the DL, they had better be in the Miami backfield all night!  I thought the Florida QB looked bad and the OL did not get much push against a good but not great Miami DL.  Also, Florida did not tackle well and missed a bunch of assignments.  I’m sure they will get it right this week.

[Blounge 520]

they did look sloppy, but it’s an early measuring stick and we will see them in mid season form. I think we can run with them and surprise some people