Today's practice was at TCF Bank Stadium. The 100+ Junior Day visitors took up the entire sideline of the field. There were also a lot of alumni. I saw Jack Lynn, Ernie Heifort, Ben Kuznia, Damarius Travis, Donnell Kirkwood, Jalen Myrick, Damien Wilson, and Pete Najarian.
Conor took the first team snaps in the last practices, but it was Demry today taking the first snaps in both drills and the scrimmage portion. He and Rhoda were both on target today. Seth Green had another decent practice, far better than his Tuesday practice. Tanner Morgan looked great showing shorter routes and curl routes but wasn't quite as accurate when they worked on wheel routes. McLaurin had his up-and-downs and right now I think he's pretty safely behind the other four. I didn't see Pickering get a single snap today.
Shannon Brooks and Rodney Smith both broke off big runs during a 3v3 inside the hashes portion at the start of practice. For most of the day, their blocking wasn't great and they weren't tackling until the very end. Smith has been getting more first team reps than Brooks.
Hunger Register and Brock Annexstad also made defenders miss and broke off big runs in the 3v3 drill. Register has great straight-line speed and looked to be more slippery than I remember him being. Rashad Still, Tyler Johnson, and Isaiah Gentry took the first team wide receiver reps. Johnson did a great job of beating the corner and getting separation off the line of scrimmage. Walk-on Clay Geary impressed again with his ability to get separation, but he had a couple drops, as did Matt Morse and Eric Carter. Brock Annexstad I could really see making an impact later on. He runs crisp routes and has good hands, but right now could probably add some more weight. There was a receiver missing from today's practice, but per practice rules I'm not allowed to say who.
The tight ends are very thin, as there are a couple injuries, but again, I'm not allowed to comment on those injuries. Nate Wozniak looked really good blocking today. Ko Kieft looks bigger and did some nice things. He was about 20 minutes late to practice, I'm not sure if he had a test or what.
The offensive line got back Sam Schlueter from an injury today, so they finally had six and thus a substitute, but then they lost a lineman halfway through practice. Fleck talked after practice about how much they need to improve on offensive line depth even if the injured players were healthy.
Defensively, it was mostly the same first team as the past two practices. Two of Devers/Martin/Coughlin on the edge, DeLattiboudere/Jackson and Stelter in the middle, Celestin and usually Barber at linebacker, and Thomas, Shenault, Winfield, and McGhee in the secondary. Winfield again played some nickel and some safety. They also played more of a traditional 4-3 than they had in past practices. In the drill portion, the defense appeared to work more than in past practices on zone coverages. One of the drills they worked on their zone was in a 3v3 setting late in practice, and Fleck actually hopped in and pretended to be a DB too.
Winston DeLattiboudere I think looks bigger than last season and was in the backfield several times today. Kamal Martin looks a little bigger as well. Robb Smith seems to have some creativity to him, as at one point Taiyon Devers was 30 yards downfield covering a fly route.
During the position group drills, the edge rushers were separate from their line. Devers, Coughlin, and Guthrie (but not Kamal Martin) were in that group.
Kiondre Thomas continues to look really, really good. He's the full package of height, length, straight-line speed, hips, etc. He's just a freshman but has held his own against the first team receivers. Shenault is usually opposite of Thomas on the first team, and he's shown signs of progress as well. He's very good at mirroring receivers and obviously has phenomenal straight-line speed.
Like the previous practice, there was a part of practice devoted to special teams. Today the group of returners was much smaller: Hmielewski, Brooks, Shenault, and Carter. Simon was very hands-on working with them. The punters were booming their kicks today. Jacob Herbers had some big punts.
Conor took the first team snaps in the last practices, but it was Demry today taking the first snaps in both drills and the scrimmage portion. He and Rhoda were both on target today. Seth Green had another decent practice, far better than his Tuesday practice. Tanner Morgan looked great showing shorter routes and curl routes but wasn't quite as accurate when they worked on wheel routes. McLaurin had his up-and-downs and right now I think he's pretty safely behind the other four. I didn't see Pickering get a single snap today.
Shannon Brooks and Rodney Smith both broke off big runs during a 3v3 inside the hashes portion at the start of practice. For most of the day, their blocking wasn't great and they weren't tackling until the very end. Smith has been getting more first team reps than Brooks.
Hunger Register and Brock Annexstad also made defenders miss and broke off big runs in the 3v3 drill. Register has great straight-line speed and looked to be more slippery than I remember him being. Rashad Still, Tyler Johnson, and Isaiah Gentry took the first team wide receiver reps. Johnson did a great job of beating the corner and getting separation off the line of scrimmage. Walk-on Clay Geary impressed again with his ability to get separation, but he had a couple drops, as did Matt Morse and Eric Carter. Brock Annexstad I could really see making an impact later on. He runs crisp routes and has good hands, but right now could probably add some more weight. There was a receiver missing from today's practice, but per practice rules I'm not allowed to say who.
The tight ends are very thin, as there are a couple injuries, but again, I'm not allowed to comment on those injuries. Nate Wozniak looked really good blocking today. Ko Kieft looks bigger and did some nice things. He was about 20 minutes late to practice, I'm not sure if he had a test or what.
The offensive line got back Sam Schlueter from an injury today, so they finally had six and thus a substitute, but then they lost a lineman halfway through practice. Fleck talked after practice about how much they need to improve on offensive line depth even if the injured players were healthy.
Defensively, it was mostly the same first team as the past two practices. Two of Devers/Martin/Coughlin on the edge, DeLattiboudere/Jackson and Stelter in the middle, Celestin and usually Barber at linebacker, and Thomas, Shenault, Winfield, and McGhee in the secondary. Winfield again played some nickel and some safety. They also played more of a traditional 4-3 than they had in past practices. In the drill portion, the defense appeared to work more than in past practices on zone coverages. One of the drills they worked on their zone was in a 3v3 setting late in practice, and Fleck actually hopped in and pretended to be a DB too.
Winston DeLattiboudere I think looks bigger than last season and was in the backfield several times today. Kamal Martin looks a little bigger as well. Robb Smith seems to have some creativity to him, as at one point Taiyon Devers was 30 yards downfield covering a fly route.
During the position group drills, the edge rushers were separate from their line. Devers, Coughlin, and Guthrie (but not Kamal Martin) were in that group.
Kiondre Thomas continues to look really, really good. He's the full package of height, length, straight-line speed, hips, etc. He's just a freshman but has held his own against the first team receivers. Shenault is usually opposite of Thomas on the first team, and he's shown signs of progress as well. He's very good at mirroring receivers and obviously has phenomenal straight-line speed.
Like the previous practice, there was a part of practice devoted to special teams. Today the group of returners was much smaller: Hmielewski, Brooks, Shenault, and Carter. Simon was very hands-on working with them. The punters were booming their kicks today. Jacob Herbers had some big punts.
