I counted coaches from the following colleges at practice today: Augustana, South Dakota, Wyoming (Craig Bohl was there), plus local high school East Ridge and Wayzata.
Eden Prairie recruit JD Spielman (Iowa and Michigan offers) was also attending practice today with his mother, and Coach Kill extended an offer after practice.
Maxx Williams was also at practice today.
Guys out in orange jerseys today that were new: OLB De'Vondre Campbell and TE Nate Wozniak. No update on what's ailing them.
Some notes:
Mitch Leidner's ball was better than Saturday, but I wouldn't say by much. Ball is still wobbly, but as I said on Saturday, it's accurate, on-time and with velocity. He didn't throw any interceptions today and hit a few long ball that were very good to Eric Carter and I believe Desmond Gant. None of the quarterback's were perfect in drills today, but I'd still say that Leidner had the best day of the four. I don't know what the coaches are telling him or if it's play design, but Chris Streveler still doesn't like to stick around in the pocket long before running. You'll watch him and then the other quarterbacks, but he likes to get out of the pocket and run a lot quicker than Leidner or Perra. Not a knock as he's also the most athletically gifted, just more of an observation. I remarked again how big Jacques Perra is now. Looks like he's filled out his frame. Still doesn't run great, but does well enough to escape pressure.
Rodrick Williams impressed me again today. He is leaner, has a good burst and runs angry all the damn time. Has shown a little more wiggle than I remember seeing last year, and still loves to run through arm tackles and into contact, not away. The guy who I thought looked the best today from this group was Rodney Smith. His running style meshes very well with the offensive scheme as he's a very patient runner and has great vision. Was constantly getting the yards after hitting the line of scrimmage. Very good at reading blocks and where the hole will be, not where it is currently. Jeff Jones loves contact. In and out of his cuts, he's explosive and changes speed really well. Still definitely is adjusting to B1G football though and learning the schemes.
Wasn't that impressed with either the offensive line or wide receivers today. Defensive line got a lot of pressure all day and Limegrover expressed his displeasure multiple times. Quarterbacks were being harassed most of the day. Noticed a lot of drops from the wide receivers as well. Melvin Holland had a few more drops, but I think I counted most of the receivers dropping at least one. It is fun to see a healthy Drew Wolitarsky though as he's looked the best of the receivers. Hoping he can stay healthy for a full season to see what he can do.
Really impressed with Hank Ekpe again today. Has constantly been harassing the right tackles as getting around the edge for "sacks". Gophers need him to have this translate to the season to get some pressure on the quarterback. Andrew Stelter and Steven Richardson also were in the backfield a lot. Got to see Julian Kafo close up today and he looks the part of a B1G lineman. Yoshoub Timms had a real tough day as I think he had 3-4 encroachment penalties.
With Campbell out, Celestin got his reps with Lynn and Williams and didn't disappoint. Still boggles my mind how Celestin had zero offers until Minnesota, but he's did real well again today getting to the flat quickly and shedding blocks as well. The guy who I came away most impressed with today was Cody Poock. His combination of size, speed and football IQ is a lot like Damien Wilson. He's constantly making the tackle when he's out there and loves to bring the wood. No way Minnesota can keep him off the field this fall. Julian Huff also got some meaningful reps today and is an explosive athlete. Sheds tackles well. I also think it's becoming clear that Jack Lynn is now the leader of the linebackers as well. I feel comfortable with the depth at linebacker now between Poock, Everett, Celestin, Campbell and Lynn.
I thought Craig James had a very good day. Knocked down a few passes and very good out of his breaks. Ace Rogers looks like a veteran back in the safety as he looks very comfortable in the schemes and isn't thinking too much, just reacting like a football player should. Nothing new to say about Boddy and Murray as they'll be rock solid.
A guy that I could see contributing at tight end is transfer Noah Scarver. He's a big body kid, a lot like Lincoln Plsek and moves well enough in his routes. Really think he could be used as Lincoln's back-up TE as the main blocking TE.
Any questions or comments, please leave below. Also, if you attended practice, please leave your thoughts as well!
This post was edited on 3/10 8:12 PM by Ryan Burns
Eden Prairie recruit JD Spielman (Iowa and Michigan offers) was also attending practice today with his mother, and Coach Kill extended an offer after practice.
Maxx Williams was also at practice today.
Guys out in orange jerseys today that were new: OLB De'Vondre Campbell and TE Nate Wozniak. No update on what's ailing them.
Some notes:
Mitch Leidner's ball was better than Saturday, but I wouldn't say by much. Ball is still wobbly, but as I said on Saturday, it's accurate, on-time and with velocity. He didn't throw any interceptions today and hit a few long ball that were very good to Eric Carter and I believe Desmond Gant. None of the quarterback's were perfect in drills today, but I'd still say that Leidner had the best day of the four. I don't know what the coaches are telling him or if it's play design, but Chris Streveler still doesn't like to stick around in the pocket long before running. You'll watch him and then the other quarterbacks, but he likes to get out of the pocket and run a lot quicker than Leidner or Perra. Not a knock as he's also the most athletically gifted, just more of an observation. I remarked again how big Jacques Perra is now. Looks like he's filled out his frame. Still doesn't run great, but does well enough to escape pressure.
Rodrick Williams impressed me again today. He is leaner, has a good burst and runs angry all the damn time. Has shown a little more wiggle than I remember seeing last year, and still loves to run through arm tackles and into contact, not away. The guy who I thought looked the best today from this group was Rodney Smith. His running style meshes very well with the offensive scheme as he's a very patient runner and has great vision. Was constantly getting the yards after hitting the line of scrimmage. Very good at reading blocks and where the hole will be, not where it is currently. Jeff Jones loves contact. In and out of his cuts, he's explosive and changes speed really well. Still definitely is adjusting to B1G football though and learning the schemes.
Wasn't that impressed with either the offensive line or wide receivers today. Defensive line got a lot of pressure all day and Limegrover expressed his displeasure multiple times. Quarterbacks were being harassed most of the day. Noticed a lot of drops from the wide receivers as well. Melvin Holland had a few more drops, but I think I counted most of the receivers dropping at least one. It is fun to see a healthy Drew Wolitarsky though as he's looked the best of the receivers. Hoping he can stay healthy for a full season to see what he can do.
Really impressed with Hank Ekpe again today. Has constantly been harassing the right tackles as getting around the edge for "sacks". Gophers need him to have this translate to the season to get some pressure on the quarterback. Andrew Stelter and Steven Richardson also were in the backfield a lot. Got to see Julian Kafo close up today and he looks the part of a B1G lineman. Yoshoub Timms had a real tough day as I think he had 3-4 encroachment penalties.
With Campbell out, Celestin got his reps with Lynn and Williams and didn't disappoint. Still boggles my mind how Celestin had zero offers until Minnesota, but he's did real well again today getting to the flat quickly and shedding blocks as well. The guy who I came away most impressed with today was Cody Poock. His combination of size, speed and football IQ is a lot like Damien Wilson. He's constantly making the tackle when he's out there and loves to bring the wood. No way Minnesota can keep him off the field this fall. Julian Huff also got some meaningful reps today and is an explosive athlete. Sheds tackles well. I also think it's becoming clear that Jack Lynn is now the leader of the linebackers as well. I feel comfortable with the depth at linebacker now between Poock, Everett, Celestin, Campbell and Lynn.
I thought Craig James had a very good day. Knocked down a few passes and very good out of his breaks. Ace Rogers looks like a veteran back in the safety as he looks very comfortable in the schemes and isn't thinking too much, just reacting like a football player should. Nothing new to say about Boddy and Murray as they'll be rock solid.
A guy that I could see contributing at tight end is transfer Noah Scarver. He's a big body kid, a lot like Lincoln Plsek and moves well enough in his routes. Really think he could be used as Lincoln's back-up TE as the main blocking TE.
Any questions or comments, please leave below. Also, if you attended practice, please leave your thoughts as well!
This post was edited on 3/10 8:12 PM by Ryan Burns
