Today’s practice was open to students and Fleck started off by introducing himself to almost all the students that showed up and took pictures with them. Then he brought all the students on the field and had them pick a side and watch an offensive-defensive tackling drill.
Quarterback play was a little bit inconsistent today. Demry Croft won the day in my opinion. Demry looked good on the timing routes to the outside, and for sure has the best arm on the team. He threw one deep ball in particular during one-on-ones to Tyler Johnson that led him perfectly into the endzone for a touchdown. Croft also threw a terrific back shoulder route to Melvin Holland when he was in tight coverage. It also seems like he is putting the work in. Croft was working on throwing deep routes with some coaches for around 25 minutes after practice concluded. Conor Rhoda had a solid day, but was a little inaccurate at times. His timing routes toward the sideline were more often than not towards the wrong shoulder, but he got the ball out quick and is a solid decision maker. He threw one pick to Celestin during team drills. Seth Green was getting some of the reps with the next team and was a little off. He has all the tools but needs to get used to his new motion and become more accurate. Tanner Morgan had a decent day and had one really nice pass up the seem to Ko Kieft up the seam. I would say he is a little ahead of Green at this point in terms of pure quarterback play. Neil McLaurin, as Fleck confirmed after practice, will transfer and is looking for a new place to go.
Rodney Smith had a good day in terms of how he saw holes. When the running backs were getting carries, I tried to stay behind them and see what they were seeing in the offensive line, and Rodney really has great vision and patience. Much improved in my opinion. Femi-Cole had a decent day as well. Again, no tackling so it’s hard to really tell on the backs.
Tyler Johnson looked very good again. Best routes on the team, and maybe the best hands. Melvin Holland ran some really good routes again. During 7-on-7, Holland ran a beautiful out route, and set it up and actually made his defender fall before catching a touchdown. Philip Howard also had a solid day as well. He runs tight routes and gets decent separation. Rashad Still looks to be slowly improving his body control each practice, which is going to be big for him to make a serious impact.
The first team secondary looked to include Thomas, and Shenault on the corners, with Winfield, and McGhee at the safety spots. Duke looks like he still needs to improve a lot on his coverage skills. It seems like Huff might be a little bit ahead of him in the coverage department, but McGhee is more of a sure tackler. Second team corners were Ayinde and Zo Creighton today. During one-on-one’s I was impressed with Antonio Shenault in press coverage. I think Thomas is the best cover corner on the team, but Shenault has been making some strides. He has the athleticism and potential.
I didn’t pay too much attention to the line play as there really isn’t much contact in the drills to keep from getting many more injuries. I did see Coughlin playing on the rush end a lot.
In the return game, it looked like Rodney Smith and Tyler Johnson were back there with the first team. Howard was back there returning kicks with the second unit I believe. Shenault returned a lot of punts.
Quarterback play was a little bit inconsistent today. Demry Croft won the day in my opinion. Demry looked good on the timing routes to the outside, and for sure has the best arm on the team. He threw one deep ball in particular during one-on-ones to Tyler Johnson that led him perfectly into the endzone for a touchdown. Croft also threw a terrific back shoulder route to Melvin Holland when he was in tight coverage. It also seems like he is putting the work in. Croft was working on throwing deep routes with some coaches for around 25 minutes after practice concluded. Conor Rhoda had a solid day, but was a little inaccurate at times. His timing routes toward the sideline were more often than not towards the wrong shoulder, but he got the ball out quick and is a solid decision maker. He threw one pick to Celestin during team drills. Seth Green was getting some of the reps with the next team and was a little off. He has all the tools but needs to get used to his new motion and become more accurate. Tanner Morgan had a decent day and had one really nice pass up the seem to Ko Kieft up the seam. I would say he is a little ahead of Green at this point in terms of pure quarterback play. Neil McLaurin, as Fleck confirmed after practice, will transfer and is looking for a new place to go.
Rodney Smith had a good day in terms of how he saw holes. When the running backs were getting carries, I tried to stay behind them and see what they were seeing in the offensive line, and Rodney really has great vision and patience. Much improved in my opinion. Femi-Cole had a decent day as well. Again, no tackling so it’s hard to really tell on the backs.
Tyler Johnson looked very good again. Best routes on the team, and maybe the best hands. Melvin Holland ran some really good routes again. During 7-on-7, Holland ran a beautiful out route, and set it up and actually made his defender fall before catching a touchdown. Philip Howard also had a solid day as well. He runs tight routes and gets decent separation. Rashad Still looks to be slowly improving his body control each practice, which is going to be big for him to make a serious impact.
The first team secondary looked to include Thomas, and Shenault on the corners, with Winfield, and McGhee at the safety spots. Duke looks like he still needs to improve a lot on his coverage skills. It seems like Huff might be a little bit ahead of him in the coverage department, but McGhee is more of a sure tackler. Second team corners were Ayinde and Zo Creighton today. During one-on-one’s I was impressed with Antonio Shenault in press coverage. I think Thomas is the best cover corner on the team, but Shenault has been making some strides. He has the athleticism and potential.
I didn’t pay too much attention to the line play as there really isn’t much contact in the drills to keep from getting many more injuries. I did see Coughlin playing on the rush end a lot.
In the return game, it looked like Rodney Smith and Tyler Johnson were back there with the first team. Howard was back there returning kicks with the second unit I believe. Shenault returned a lot of punts.
