First Practice and Scrimmage Review

[mat1992 2,231]

Great to be out there at football practice for the first time in nearly two years. One issue I had was with the numbers. Jerry Howard was 31 and he was listed on the roster as 30. I originally thought he was 4, but that was Kobe Young, who is normally 19. Some guys were wearing different numbers than they had on the roster.

Let's start with quarterback. There's no doubt, Chris Ferguson is the guy. He has good leadership qualities and has the size (6-3, 235) to run a little when needed. He's certainly not a runner like Tom Flacco was, but I think most knew that. I thought he needed to put more zip on a few balls out there to the sidelines, but overall he was solid. There were also be a lot of play-action, assuming the running game is going to be strong and it should be. I'll get to that later.

I do like Jeff Miller. He's has made strides from the last time I saw him. Of course, he's big (6-6, 235) and has a strong arm. He just has to limit the mistakes. If Ferguson wins it, it's because he's experienced (took Maine to the semi-finals in 2018) and takes care of the ball. You don't have to be spectacular with this offense. They will be able to run the football, but you can make plays in the passing game with receivers like Jabari Allen, Caleb Smith, Darian Street, etc. Vincent Amendola (6-3, 220ish) is another big quarterback, who can run. I didn't see enough of him, but I assume he's competing with Miller for the second spot. I like the potential of Nathan Kent from Liberty, who can throw but also is a dual threat. Scott Smith (6-4, 210) is another big gunslinger that can throw it from the pocket.

So two seasons ago, Towson averaged just 4.4 yards per carry and allowed 4.2 yards per carry. Part of that was due to the loss of Shane Simpson. But for them to be effective they have to get to close to the 5.0 yards per carry mark and with a 230-pound bruiser like Howard along with Sabias Folley (5-11, 235ish), and a huge, experienced O-line, we should have no problem getting to that mark. To me, the offensive line is everything, but if you have a big back like Howard, who can break tackles, it's going to help.

In 2017, we had Kobe Young (328 yds, 4.7ypc) and that was it. Simpson was injured again (3.3ypc) and Ryan Stover was the QB. Rough. In 2016, with Darius Victor injured Simpson stepped up with 784 yards and averaged 5.6ypc. That was another year of injured QB (Morgan Mahalak) and the team averaged 4.3ypc. That was three years after the championship offensive line graduated.

With Young back and looking great, Howard, Folley, Devin Matthews (5-9, 210) a pleasant surprise and even D'Ago Hunter lining up in the backfield, we seem to have pretty good depth and should be adding another piece shortly. Not thrilled with Hunter (5-8????, 160) as a back. He's fun to watch, but if he's going to be my main return man, not sure I'd want to risk losing him. He's listed at 5-8, which is a stretch and 160.

I know size isn't everything and that doesn't always make great OLines. Morgan State used to roll out some huge lines and some were pretty good and some weren't. It depends on how you carry the weight. DeMarcus Gilmore was in the 360-pound range two seasons ago and he looks like he dropped about 30 pounds, while freshman Jean Germain (6-6, 355) also looked to be in great shape. He was battling a nagging injury and working out on the side.

I think we have a line that can rival many FBS line in terms of size. We will average around 6-4.5 and 325 across the line. The defensive line, if he start Cholewa, Reece and Gibbs. You're talking about averaging 6-5 and 290. Not just size, but Gibbs and Reece can both move. So can Oly Olokambi (6-1, 275). Sam Gyeni (6-0, 280) could end up starting at nose guard or they can move Cholewa (6-7, 310) there or Olokombi. 

I'll talk more about the defense in my report next week. I want to focus more on No. 18 Elorm Lumor (6-3, 245), who should be a huge difference-maker at rush end. Somebody we've been waiting for since #56 was getting double-digit sacks nearly a decade ago.

Now, to the safeties. Keyvon Bruton (5-11, 210) is one of those guys you will see all over the field. Check out No. 3. The three-star Temple transfer will play some safety, some linebacker. He's basically a hybrid, which you need. He can hit and he should be able to cover slot receivers. But we will see. Jamal Gay and S.J. Brown are likely the starters and they would have been in 2019 had Gay not torn his ACL before the year starter. 

I've talked about the depth at cornerback all off-season. That was something we didn't have in 2019. If Brandon Shuman goes down again, we have Charles Peoples, the juco transfer. If he goes down, we have Makai Self, a Penn State transfer or 6-3 DJ Pratt from Virginia. We also have Mark Collins Jr., the South Dakota transfer, who led the nation in batted balls in 2018. All are at least 5-11 except for Self. The best corner eventually could be freshman Shafeek Smith (5-10, 175), who can fly and is a three-star from Philly (no. 2 corner in Pa).

Also, the kicking situation is a bit of a question mark. I thought freshman Keegan Vaughn looked very good and may have taken the lead. UConn transfer Clayton Harris really struggled.

Now to the interview after the practice.

Rob Ambrose
Impressions
"First live work in the heat since 2019. I'll take it."

"We don't look worse for wear. Look pretty sound. I'm pleased. Very pleased."

On competitions
"Competition makes the world go around. It makes everybody better. 'I'm going to work. I'm a starter. You're not going to take
my job away.' We got better. Or the guy behind him works hard and takes his job. Either way, we got better."

Steadiest position
"Offensive line. Those guys have great chemistry. We have five or six guys that have played tons of games. Great knowledge."

On having a year off
"It's a year of working out so everybody is bigger, faster, and stronger. We put some feelers from people across the country who played in the spring and they said we got beat up. Well, why wouldn't you be? We're not. We have one injury coming out of the spring and he's practicing now. So we're as healthy as we've ever been.

On QBs
"We're just throwing them in there and having fun. I thought we did 1000x better than we did today than all of a spring."

On young QBs
"Young kids with talent. Scott Smith is tremendously accurate and Nathan Kent is more athletic. He's Carroll County Player of the Decade. He's a true athlete."

On what the starting QB needs to do
"Lead. Run the other 10 guys the right way. Consistently put the ball in the end zone. Don't turn the ball over."

On Jerry Howard
"He has weight and strength. It usually takes more than one guy to bring him down. We said that last fall. We had to get a bigger back. He fits that bill perfectly."

On OL
"We haven't had a chance to have them all healthy at the same time. We're figuring out who is our best five and who fits
behind them."

On DL
"We are as a deep as we've ever been in the front 7. This front 7 will rival the front 7 from the national championship (team)."

On Olokombi
"We recruited him. Wanted him badly. Kent State had...Cost of Attendance gets you."

On Reynolds and inside linebackers
"Dixon and Kearney are great. We just added so much quality depth. Reynolds was here in the spring. If you don't do your job, somebody else will."
"Recruited Reynolds and Howard in high school. Those personal relationships paid dividends down the road."

"Guys looking for opportunities. We have guys that appreciate the opportunities."

"I loved every team I ever coached. But this group is special. They like each other. They have fun with each other.
They work hard for each other. Maybe it was Covid or not playing, but these guys are fun to be with."

At corner
The depth and the experience is better. Makes them work harder. That's completely open. We would evaluate the depth chart
and we'll see. Xavier (Terry) can play safety or corner.

The punter is the punter. The fact that Shane McDonough is not first-team all-league is whatever. Lack of respect. 
You're a two-time all-league player and you don't get notice. You think Aaron Grzymkowski is not pissed off.

On practice next couple of weeks
"We need to get tougher. Trying to gThe difference between an 11-game season and a 16-game season. The attitude you have to have
for your body, if you want to play that long, you have to practice in a way that gets you there and we're not there yet."

[RundaPower 153]

Mat, thanks for the terrific update.  The roster is full of experienced players at every position.  I expect a lot of combinations in camp to come up  with a depth chart.  However,  I suspect that chart will be fluid at the beginning of the season. Lumor could very well be the best defensive player in the CAA.

[mat1992 2,231]

So, the new running back I mentioned was on the field and while not on the internet roster, do a little research. Look up Maine's spring roster and check out a localish guy.

[griggey20 178]

Thanks for the update Mat!  Did Rob have any comments about the NIL stuff?  Are some of the guys getting some small deals here and there?

[mat1992 2,231]

6 minutes ago, griggey20 said:

Thanks for the update Mat!  Did Rob have any comments about the NIL stuff?  Are some of the guys getting some small deals here and there?

I didn’t ask him about that. I think he may have talked about it on CAA media day. I’ll ask him next time. I could have spent another 10 minutes asking him questions, but he was dripping from sweat since  it was about 100 degrees on that turf.

[Blounge 520]

It’s a shame Pizan’s is gone I’m sure they would have sponsored some players. Maybe BMW of towson on kennilworth wants to hook up our players with a new whip?

[RundaPower 153]

38 minutes ago, Blounge said:

It’s a shame Pizan’s is gone I’m sure they would have sponsored some players. Maybe BMW of towson on kennilworth wants to hook up our players with a new whip?

Well,  just look at what’s happening at BYU.   It’s a perfect example of senseless legislation by the NCAA.  Bilt Bar is now sponsoring all 36 walk-ons for the football program.  Is that fair?  Should Alabama now be allowed to scholarship 300 football players? When you allow unfettered access to money, corruption will soon follow.  

[TuTigers2012 1,061]

50 minutes ago, Blounge said:

It’s a shame Pizan’s is gone I’m sure they would have sponsored some players. Maybe BMW of towson on kennilworth wants to hook up our players with a new whip?

Lol

7 minutes ago, RundaPower said:

Well,  just look at what’s happening at BYU.   It’s a perfect example of senseless legislation by the NCAA.  Bilt Bar is now sponsoring all 36 walk-ons for the football program.  Is that fair?  Should Alabama now be allowed to scholarship 300 football players? When you allow unfettered access to money, corruption will soon follow.  

the rich get richer off of this. The divide grows bigger.

I wonder do/will we continue to offer COA?