Today definitely had the largest group of fans that the Gopher have had so far this spring and there was an definite uptick in intensity I think because of that.
I'll start out with Philip Nelson today. Nelson was having some issues completing passes this afternoon. When the teams would go "live", Nelson missed two different throws on crossing routes where he'd threw behind the receiver who was open. He had another where he threw a fade to KJ Maye (yes you read that right) and KJ either pulled up or thought he was running a different route because they were not on the same page. Nelson just didn't handle pressure from the defensive line well today as he would get skitish. I'm being hypercritical, as he's only going to be a true sophomore next year, but he HAS to continue to progress this spring as he'll be the upperclassmen of the group.
Mitch Leidner had a better day I thought as he threw the deep ball very well today completing two good balls to Fruechte and Engel respectively during one on ones. Like I've said all spring, the kid moves much better than what you would expect for a guy of his size. But when the teams "scrimmaged" at the end of practice, he telegraphed and floated a ball that sophomore safety Grayson Levine jumped the route for an easy pick. Hopefully Leidner can continue to progress this spring as well.
David Cobb received many reps with the first team today and showed a good burst after his first cut. He's got to be the tallest running back of the group and I was impressed by his speed today. We'll see how the coaches handle Cobb's situation this year.
The hit of the day definitely came from CB Martez Shabazz today. The play was a bubble screen to KJ Maye and Shabazz read it perfectly and absolutely destroyed Maye with the LEGAL hit to the chest plate with his shoulder. There was a definite pop when he hit him as well that drew ooohhhh's from the crowd. Shabazz's explosiveness was very impressive and he split time as a 1st time CB from Murray today.
There was a tussle between Josh Campion and Thieren Cockran today when they went live as Campion had been giving it to Cockran. Cockran didn't like that very much and it ended up with Kill diving in (literally) to break it up and Campion's helmet coming off. Kill was very excited to see that from both guys you could tell.
Damien Wilson continues to keep impressing me. His block shedding so far this spring has been impressive and that's music to my ears. I'm excited to continue to watch his progress this spring.
The only bad note of the day was an apparent injury to Jonah Pirsig who came up holding his knee at the end of practice, but could put pressure on injured knee of the sidelines.
I did speak with both Jeff Jones and Jashon Cornell today and will have updates on them after they finish their visits to Minnesota.
If I missed anything or you have any questions, please comment below and I'll answer them as best I can.
I'll start out with Philip Nelson today. Nelson was having some issues completing passes this afternoon. When the teams would go "live", Nelson missed two different throws on crossing routes where he'd threw behind the receiver who was open. He had another where he threw a fade to KJ Maye (yes you read that right) and KJ either pulled up or thought he was running a different route because they were not on the same page. Nelson just didn't handle pressure from the defensive line well today as he would get skitish. I'm being hypercritical, as he's only going to be a true sophomore next year, but he HAS to continue to progress this spring as he'll be the upperclassmen of the group.
Mitch Leidner had a better day I thought as he threw the deep ball very well today completing two good balls to Fruechte and Engel respectively during one on ones. Like I've said all spring, the kid moves much better than what you would expect for a guy of his size. But when the teams "scrimmaged" at the end of practice, he telegraphed and floated a ball that sophomore safety Grayson Levine jumped the route for an easy pick. Hopefully Leidner can continue to progress this spring as well.
David Cobb received many reps with the first team today and showed a good burst after his first cut. He's got to be the tallest running back of the group and I was impressed by his speed today. We'll see how the coaches handle Cobb's situation this year.
The hit of the day definitely came from CB Martez Shabazz today. The play was a bubble screen to KJ Maye and Shabazz read it perfectly and absolutely destroyed Maye with the LEGAL hit to the chest plate with his shoulder. There was a definite pop when he hit him as well that drew ooohhhh's from the crowd. Shabazz's explosiveness was very impressive and he split time as a 1st time CB from Murray today.
There was a tussle between Josh Campion and Thieren Cockran today when they went live as Campion had been giving it to Cockran. Cockran didn't like that very much and it ended up with Kill diving in (literally) to break it up and Campion's helmet coming off. Kill was very excited to see that from both guys you could tell.
Damien Wilson continues to keep impressing me. His block shedding so far this spring has been impressive and that's music to my ears. I'm excited to continue to watch his progress this spring.
The only bad note of the day was an apparent injury to Jonah Pirsig who came up holding his knee at the end of practice, but could put pressure on injured knee of the sidelines.
I did speak with both Jeff Jones and Jashon Cornell today and will have updates on them after they finish their visits to Minnesota.
If I missed anything or you have any questions, please comment below and I'll answer them as best I can.
