Spring Game comments

[mat1992 2,228]

So the game (was it a game?) started at 3pm, not 3:30pm as advertised. Didn't keep score. No clock. No Stover. Very little to get excited for in terms of splash plays, A couple of nice throws by Jason Epps and Tristan Harris, but not enough of them. Nice run after the catch by Caleb Smith and Rodney Dorsey showed his speed. Nygill Johnson continues to impress at OLB. The secondary is kind of a mess due to injuries, guys leaving and guys getting thrown off the team. A lot of guys coming will help right away like Mantrell Reaves at safety and probably a freshman corner or two. Reese Clarke (5-11, 190), Jamal Gay (6-1, 180) and Rober Javier (6-0, 170) could challenge for playing time. Jirhe Love (6-0, 180) already looks legit. He did get burned once but more about scheme then anything else.

Now for the rest. The D-line gets Zain Harps Upshur back from injury and he'll team with Charles Garrett (6-2, 290) up front. As I've said before, Mullins is going to be a beast. He'll take over for Zain next season. N. Cook looks like a slightly bigger Cummings up front. Tibo is going to be better after a year of football with about 15 more pounds. But sure, corner is more of an issue than safety unless Troy Vincent Jr. can get healthy. At running back, I'm concerned about Shane's health. Was all banged up this summer and hopefully Kobe and Platt are better with more reps.

Really tough not knowing some of the players on the field that weren't on the roster. Assumed that Trey Kilgore was getting an extra year but no, he's gone. 

 

Rob Ambrose on Spring Game
This is the one that I love every year because when I wake up in the morning, I know we'll win. I told Shawn Nadelen
he better win and he won.

On who stood out
"(Soph LT) Andrew Garnett he put himself in really good position. The OL is not solidified yet. A lot of guys got reps."
I don't think we made any monumental leaps to an A+ student but we improved incrementally. 

On overall spring
"Positive. Less injuries until today. To a man, everybod got reps. I mean everybody. It was a good spring."

On reps at quarterback
Good and bad. I'm not naming a starter at quarterback. We're nowhere near it. There's a lot of work to do be done on the
field, off the field and players to be named later. 

Tight end
Joe (Green) got hurt early. Ellis (Knudson) had a really good spring. Zach (Herron) is rehabbing and looks like a million
bucks. By the time we get to camp, they should be in perfect shape. Ther's always a player to be named later somewhere.

On r-freshman Myles Wright
When he knows what he's doing, he's very good. The problem is, Myles is young and doesn't always know what he's doing.

On O'Neill missing XP
No. Our operations are so off right now. This is the least special teams work we did in a spring game. Our focus was
elsewhere.

On OL
It's good. Last year, was the first time those guys played together as five or six or seven. They are really getting
used to each other on and off the field. There's not a set five or seven. There's really good seven or eight.

On Garnett
He's a smart young man who loves football who did not have a lot of experience before he got here. There's a whole lot of
bad habits we don't have to unteach. He hasn't played a lifetime of football where he's had bad habits.

On corners
Troy could have used more reps (Troy Vincent Jr. out with hammy) and the missed fall time due to off the field situation.
I think he can help us but he needs more practice time.

On young corners (Love, Watson, Hargraves)
Jahri Love hit the ground running closer to full speed more than I would have expected. For a guy who has only been a short
time, he understands what we're doing and who we are and who we are trying to be. He keeps getting better.

On Safety
Kind of beat up there. We have some guys in the secondary that are going to fill some holes in about two months. Coby 
(Tippett) has not had a very good spring. Fortunately, he had a good day today. Hopefully that jump starts his summer.
He's been off. He needs a break. We need Boles and Fenner to be healthy. We need guys to compete.

On Kobe and Platt
Thought they were both execellent today. They've grown since the fall. They understand scheme. Ball security is better.
AP (Platt) is probably the best example. We had a scrimmage last year, the minute he'd break the line of scrimmage, he'd
run to the sideline. Unless you have 4.2 speed, you just can't run by people. He had to learn that everybody can run.
I have to keep going forward. This is the best he's ever looked. Jaelen (Thompson) has shown flashes. There were a couple
of time where I said "wow" and other times he looked lost. Just needs to get in the playbook more and gain confidence.

On RBs weights
They are all like Shane (around 200 or less). They are 196-202. 

On DLine
The inside guys are beat up. Garrett will be here in a couple of months. Those guys will work to get better. On the outside,
they are really fighting. We have some good competition (at end). Once we get more people in, I'll get a better feeling
of where we are.

On LBs
We have a lot of experience and a lot of guys that have played good football (Wallace, Paye, Tedder, Heyward). We have
some guys behind them that can do something. Nygill Johnson walked in here and I think weight about 180 pounds. Now
he's clearly over 200 pounds. He's getting bigger, stronger, and he's very smart. He knows what he's doing.

On WRs
It's very deep. We got banged up in the last week and it's still deep. Guys are still making plays. Brent Richardson
has a great ceiling. He can't find a way to stay healthy. He got hurt falling down. If he ever stays healthy, he'll have
an All-league type of year. 

On summer
Just build. They have been so together and so tight since January. Really, there's been a lot less distractions. A lot
better team chemistry. Normally we've had guys, they get out of spring ball and they come back later in the summer. That's
just not going to happen this year. Guys have laid down the law and we're going to work hard before the season starts.

On bigger concern 
Not very pleased at quarterback. Not where we are today. That's not good enough. I want to solidify the five up front.
I would like to see more consistency at tight end. When nobody is pushing Ellis, he's not as good as when Joe (Green)
and Zach (Herron) are playing. I need to see us healthy on the interior defensive line. I need to see if the young corners
can pick up what we're doing to help us in the fall.

On least concern
Quality players at wideout. It's the deepest and our experience at linebacker. I'll through in Nygell in there with Keon
and three on the inside.

[mat1992 2,228]

Here is the  official story on the Spring Game. Jason Epps by the way is a D3 transfer from Lincoln. He's a redshirt sophomore.

 

http://towsontigers.com/news/2018/4/21/football-concludes-spring-season-with-intersquad-scrimmage.aspx

[TSU88 1,069]

Did Ambrose address why Stover didn’t participate yesterday? Injury, discipline issue, he’s so good it would have been pointless...? Was he even on the sidelines yesterday?

[mat1992 2,228]

I believe Stover was on the sidelines and he did practice Friday. It was more of a discipline thing from something that happened weeks ago, just like a few weeks ago when he was in the "doghouse". When he says there's a lot of work to do "off the field" that's addressing Stover.

[TigerFan54 102]

I didn't sense any spark or excitement yesterday. The spring game had been an "event" in the past, but I couldn't even find a roster to look at. And all the talk about guys being banged up (after just just 15 practices) makes me wonder how we'll get through the season. Combined with the Stover situation -- whatever it is -- makes it hard to have high expectations. 

[TSU88 1,069]

I tend to agree, though I did see some displays of enthusiasm by the players throughout the scrimmage. What irritates me is the sending out of an email that the “game” would start at 3:30. Based on that I got there 3:15 or so, only to find out they started at 3:00, without notifying what few fans the program has. 

My expectations for the season are very low. To make the FCS playoffs a team generally has to go at least 8-3, though some 7-4’s do sneak in. We open with an L vs Wake Forest, & at the end of the season we have what is almost assuredly a L vs JMU. That leaves our margin of error razor thin-we probably have to go 8-1 (maybe 7-2) in the remainder of our games, to make the playoffs. I hope I’m wrong,but that would appear to be a major stretch. 

Feels to me like the program is on a slow death march, waiting out the end of RA’s contract.

[mat1992 2,228]

1 hour ago, TigerFan54 said:

I didn't sense any spark or excitement yesterday. The spring game had been an "event" in the past, but I couldn't even find a roster to look at. And all the talk about guys being banged up (after just just 15 practices) makes me wonder how we'll get through the season. Combined with the Stover situation -- whatever it is -- makes it hard to have high expectations. 

Not going to disagree about the so-called event but guys get banged up every spring and before spring and during the season. That's just part of football. There's a difference between banged up and serious injuries. Not sure we had any during the spring until the final one. Wasn't sure how serious Ventemiglia's injury was or Richardson. There's also no reason to have veterans like Shane, Wallace, or other proven guys out there too long. I would be concerned about Shane holding up for 11 games which is why all of us have consistently said we need another back. I'll even take a guy a 210. Just don't need another 190-pounder.

[mat1992 2,228]

28 minutes ago, TSU88 said:

I tend to agree, though I did see some displays of enthusiasm by the players throughout the scrimmage. What irritates me is the sending out of an email that the “game” would start at 3:30. Based on that I got there 3:15 or so, only to find out they started at 3:00, without notifying what few fans the program has. 

My expectations for the season are very low. To make the FCS playoffs a team generally has to go at least 8-3, though some 7-4’s do sneak in. We open with an L vs Wake Forest, & at the end of the season we have what is almost assuredly a L vs JMU. That leaves our margin of error razor thin-we probably have to go 8-1 (maybe 7-2) in the remainder of our games, to make the playoffs. I hope I’m wrong,but that would appear to be a major stretch. 

Feels to me like the program is on a slow death march, waiting out the end of RA’s contract.

If you are a Ravens fan, you want a "splash" draft pick or free agent pickup. They didn't exactly have a splashy pick, just solid additions. But is that enough to save Harbaugh's job? It all starts at the quarterback position. If Miller or an FBS transfer can elevate that position (also off the field), then we have a chance to be competitive. Not sure about 8-3 or more. That appears to be a longshot but we were 5-6 last season with a horrific offense and a young r-freshman qb who wasn't ready. If that equation is improved, the record will be better. How much is the question.

[BoogerJ 30]

Everything's going to be alright.  People need to simmer down.