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mat1992

First Football Practice update

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Fairly hot and very humid first Saturday practice in pads with refs for some 11 on 11. First start with injuries. Saw Troy Vincent Jr. go down late in practice. Looked like a shoulder or a stinger. Was down for at least 2 minutes. Ellis Knudson also knocked out with what looked like a shoulder. Good thing is that we have depth at both positions if these are serious injuries. Also saw both Zane's (Ventemiglia and Harps Upshur working out on the side). Harps-Upshur is coming back from an ACL so he practiced during the week and they are being cautious with him .Ventemiglia seems ok. That allowed r-freshman Cole Cheripko to work at right guard. Mitch Boals was also out so they had to move some guys around at safety. New DT Charles Garrett was coming off some dental surgery. So I didn't get to see the top 2 DTs. Also Chris Clark not there due to minor issue but should be back next week.

Now to the newcomers. I was hinting that they weren't done. Watching No. 4 out there. Very fast linebacker with size. Can rush off edge, play in space or cover. 

http://www.hudl.com/profile/611286/Ricky-DeBerry

 

https://247sports.com/Player/Ricky-DeBerry-23418/high-school-131989

 

This not hyperbole to say Ricky DeBerry is one of the most decorated defensive players to ever play at Towson. Graduated in three years at Oklahoma. Has two left.

 

Also a big running back in Yeedee Thaenrat. About 5-10, 215. And a ball of muscle. Problem is that he could have sit out after coming over from FCS Tenn. Tech, but they are trying to get him eligible this season.

 

http://www.ttusports.com/sports/fball/2016-17/bios/thaenrat_yeedee_76ru

 

As for the quarterbacks, Flacco looks the best. He has great touch, strong arm and hits a receiver in stride just about every time. There's a reason why he was at Western Michigan and Rutgers had some interest in hi. Threw a couple of really nice fade passes around goal line. Is also athletic but glad to see he didn't take off too much. Stover also looked good and showed a lot of improvement after a rough spring. The only thing I'd like to see for him is a little more patience in the pocket or more passing on the run. Still seems to take off every time he sense pressure.

Daniel Rose has that odd sidearm delivery. Don't really see him in the mix though it's very early. He can run all day and would also like to see him stay in the pocket more. But tough when you are working with 3rd stringers. Same with Jeff Mlller. Not a big enough sample size but he has some work to do to get in the mix. He's not going to take off much but overall, they seem to love him. Just have to see him more with a better line. When he plays with the first unit, I think you'll see if he's ready or not.

RBs are fine. Yeedee is a powerhouse with some explosion. A little like Vito. Though APlatt looked very good until he got nicked up at the end. Looked like an ankle. Kobe Young continues to get better and stronger. Shane is fine but I can see they want to limit his reps. Again, need some depth there. If Yeedee isn't eligible, we basically have three then Jaelen Thompson, who has never played and diminutive freshman Sean Bryan, who is very quick. No reach change at WR. They are all pretty much the same while Myles Wright really stepped up today. Made two very nice catches down the seam. He and Clark are going to be big-time this year and the next as targets for whomever is the QB.

 

Harping on the offense, the defense looks fine. Tommy Danagogo got a lot run at DT with the two starters out. He looks to be improved. N. Cook also played a lot of tackle. Seems like Tyne and Carter starting on both ends, HOWEVER, they have to get DeBerry on the field somewhere. He'll start either at end/olb or inside LB. Corners all look decent. Watson was starting, McCants moved to safety, Jirhe Love was playing some safety and corner. Freshman Robert Javier looked good out there. The other transfers (Shuman and Gillette) were playing with the 2s. That should change though a lot of competition at corner.

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Ambrose On first scrimmage

We went over normal reps. Over 100. About 20-30 more than I had planned. It was hot. Meant to be that way. Working three different tempos in new offense. It was not pretty by any stretch of the imagination but we got some good work done.

On DeBerry

Family ties. He went to Oklahoma out of Virginia. Good friends with Chris Tedder from youth. Good friends with Robbie Jackson's (former RB) sons. Between Chris' experience here, he was courted by a lot of people. 

On Yeedee recruiting him

He had a bad ankle issues coming out of high school. Went down South (Tenn Tech). For personal reasons moved back up to north. Still might be able to play. Has an appeal process to the NCAA.

On RBs

We have three pretty good ones. We had talked to some transfer backs and let's just say there were reasons why they were transfers.

On injuries

Harps-Upushur practiced all week. That knee needs a little bit of rest. Zane V. has a back issues. Just a tweak. 

On O-line

Ok. We are just not in shape enough to play long ways. We have a lot of work to do.

On QBs

Tristan (Harris) hurt his knee. He's done for the year. Ryan and Tom are doing a good job. Mr. Rose has some skill. It's tough to get all those guys reps and evaluated. We're probably depth and experience that best situation since I got here. We have to find the right guy but I'm feeling very good about the backup. Jeff Miller hasn't had a chance to play with the ones yet. Really like what I've seen. Has natural tools, he's a leader, he's smart. It's all new to him. He soaks it up like a sponge. He hasn't had enough reps yet to play with the ones. Stover is an entirely different person from the spring. We have to keep ourselves from being distracted. There are no distractions until school starts.

On defense

N. Cook has had best camp he's ever had. Now as a senior, the reality has stepped in. All the injuries in the lower body has helped him get bigger in the upper body. Danagogo and Gyeni had great offseasons. Danagogo might be in the three deep. 

Competition at cornerback. It's awesome.They are all great kids. They are helping each other. It's a great group.

 

On tight end

Joe Green and Ellis are experienced. Myles made less mistakes and made plays today. Chris (Clark) hasn't even gotten on the field yet. He's big and can run very fast. Coming off an arm injury. He's moving forward. 

D'Argo Hunter did some really good things today. Small but very quick wide receiver. Both freshmen fullbacks are playing at a solid level. Robert Javier has had a good camp. He's really done a good job. We've played a bunch of guys who are corners to play safety. (Jamal) Gay has been hampered by a groin injury. The guys are learning the safety spot and that helps them when they play corner.

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I swear everyone must be taking an extended social media break.  There was daily interest in men's basketball off-season and here we are in the thick of football pre-season and the only poster is Matt.  God bless him. 

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Any update on the QB battle?

How are the 2 FBS transfers (Clark & DeBerry) looking?

How are the O & D lines shaping up?

Seems like we have a lot of depth at WR. Anybody separating themselves from the pack?

Any off-the radar guys stepping up so far?

🤔 that should do for now

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I updated the QB battle up top. I’ll hopefully have an update after Saturday afternoon. Too early to mention D-Line without Zain HU and the new judo DT. The Oline is adequate, second string a concern.

Other stuff impossible to answer after one early practice. Other questions answered up top. 

Seriously, does anybody read the recaps of the practices? If not, I’ll just post the comments or find something better to do on a Saturday morning.

 

 

 

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Just to clarify, I did read your initial practice recap post. I was trolling for any updated info you might have had. That’s all. 

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