Nothing.

OK, we learned a few things, but we really learned nothing.  And for an Illini football junkie, that’s a big disappointment.  Ohio State fans got to learn that Braxton Miller might just play right away while Pryor is suspended.  Iowa fans learned that Keenan Davis is probably ready to become their superstar receiver.  Penn State fans learned that they might return to their Linebacker U ways sooner rather than later.

And Illinois fans learned that if the quarterbacks can be touch-sacked, the defense can look pretty good.

Oh, and a touchdown.  We saw one touchdown.

/bitterness

OK, I’ve turned off the bitter.  I will now be positive, as best I can.  I will try to evaluate the players and the coaches and the schemes and the results without complaining about how the first and second string tailbacks and the top two receivers were held out for injuries reducing this first string offense that relies on a running QB – who couldn’t run because of the touch-sacks – to try to make something happen with a converted safety at tailback and a few walkons at wideout.  I’m over it.  I’ll speak of it no more.

Last year, we learned a lot with a split squad.  We learned that Mikel Leshoure was ready to break out, that AJ Jenkins was absolutely the top receiver on the team (remember, he only had 10 catches in 2009), that Trulon Henry might just be more than a legacy recruit, and that Nathan Scheelhaase had the heart of a lion.  A split squad gives you the opportunity to watch for players to pop off the page, and last year, those players did (and then followed with solid 2010 seasons).

This year, we didn’t get much.  One touchdown.  (Seriously, that was it.  If they had used conventional scoring, this game would have been 7-0)  Two (badly) missed field goals.  Normally, in the spring football realm of “wait, does that mean we’re good on offense or bad on defense?” conundrum, you would point to a solid defensive performance here.  But even the defense was kind of sloppy.

(OK, I’m dropping the bitterness for real now.  For realio for real.  Positivity.)

How about this: positives and negatives from what we saw.

Positives

+ Jonathan. Brown. (Those periods are there for emphasis.  Like, when you read that in your head, the first word is supposed to be higher and then you lower your voice for the second.  Try it again.)  Jonathan. Brown.

In my mailbag post on Friday night, I did a March-Madness style breakdown of the top 8 players on the defense, trying to find the top guy. Brown made the semifinals, where he was matched up with Ian Thomas.  I made the comparison to Ohio State-Kentucky Sweet 16 match-up, with Thomas being the older, experienced Ohio State and Brown being the young-gun Kentucky.  In the end, I said that the match-up would not end like the tournament game, and that the David Lighty-like Ian Thomas would win.

I think I was wrong.  Jonathan Brown was everywhere on Saturday. Every. Where.  Seriously – watch these highlights and just watch for #45.  He’s everywhere.

I’ve been searching for 24 hours for a way to predict his next three years at Illinois.  I’m not ready to put specifics on it yet, but I’ll put it this way.  In 5 years, when someone asks me “who were the top 3 Illini linebackers of the last 20 years – you know, since Hardy and Rice went off to the NFL?”  I now think that I will tell you “J Leman, Jonathan Brown, and Martez Wilson.” In that order.

+ For most of the spring, I’ve read many Illini writers raving about Ryan Lankford.  And, to be honest, I’ve quietly scoffed and said something like “yeah, he looks great, but only because Jenkins and Millines aren’t playing and somebody has to be the go-to guy.”  But after yesterday, I think I need to admit that I was wrong.  Lankford looked much better than a default go-to guy yesterday.  He looked like a Big Ten receiver.

In Rantoul last summer, I commented on how skinny his arms were.  I think I might have even used a Nicole Richie joke.  But this spring, he’s filled out a bit.  He’s still skinny, but not to the point where you’re afraid he’ll break in two.  Jenkins will be the true go-to guy this fall, but he’ll need a supporting cast, and Lankford appears ready to step up.

+ November-10-2007-Miami-Thomas made a reappearance yesterday.  That was probably my favorite part of the scrimmage.  Read a pattern and jumped a route for an interception (released his guy on the left and dove in front of Spencer Harris crossing from the right), and then broke up another pass while running with Ryan Lankford.

I’m still too cautious to declare him ready to contribute.  It’s more than just a long road back from ACL injuries on both knees and double shoulder surgeries.  Like most, I had given up hope that his body would ever let him contribute on the football field again.  But after yesterday, I have hope again.  Which leads me to crazy daydream scenarios of Miami Thomas picking off a pass in the final minute against Michigan to preserve a victory and prompting me to record an instant reaction podcast in tears.

Or something like that.  My daydreams usually turn weird at the end.

Negatives

+ Depth.  Great teams don’t have the problem that we had yesterday, because great teams have 85 guys who are ready to step in immediately.  If the top two tailbacks are out at Alabama, they insert guys #3 and #4 and don’t miss a beat.  If the top two receivers are being held out of the spring game at Oklahoma, not many fans even notice.  Yet here I am complaining because we didn’t get to see much due to our “good” players not playing.

So if these injuries hit during the fall, watch out.  We have lots of talent in the first string defense, but the second string looks a little weak. Which means 2 or 3 injuries could really hurt this team.  Many second string guys – from Glenn Foster to Tyler Sands to Earnest Thomas – are really going to need to step up their game.

+ Zero big plays.  How many 25+ runs did Mikel Leshoure have last fall?  77?  I can think of about 5 from the Northwestern game alone.  And in the Texas Bowl, we complimented a power running game and controlled passing game with two deep bombs.

Yesterday, we saw none of that.  Yes, some of that was the wind, but we have 8 home games this fall.  I can almost guarantee that 4 of those games will be this windy.  The opening drive (was it 16 plays?) was very nice, with some great third down conversions.  But we’ll need to stretch the field some this fall, and we didn’t show it yesterday.

+ Special Teams.  I know, right?  An Illini Football fan worrying about special teams. You’re shocked.

Yesterday, we had punting adventures (again, wind), punt returning adventures (Terry, my man, step up, grab that ball, and attack the defense like you’re one of the fastest guys in the Big Ten. Because you are.), and the strangest partial punt block I’ve ever seen (were they told to let Ean Days come around the corner of the second level or something? They didn’t even try to block him.)

I know, I know, it’s spring ball, and they won’t really settle on special teams units until late August.  But I’ve been waiting what seems like 15 years for a field goal block or a punt return for a TD.  And from yesterday, it looks like I’ll have to wait longer.

(Sorry – I just got bitter again.)

I had called to football office to verify that the practice was a) still on, and b) open to the public.  It was.  I hit the road, found a parking spot, hustled to the practice fields, and…

Now I had a decision to make. Bluster my way into the Irwin Indoor Facility and claim to be media? I’d driven there – might as well give it a shot.

On my way to the Irwin, I noticed the door to the northeast stair tower was open. They wouldn’t be, I mean, it wouldn’t be as simple as…

Open the doors, and there’s all the people.

I wasn’t exactly sure if I was supposed to be there, as most everyone milling about in the East stands seemed to know each other. But I used my jacket to dry off the wet bleachers and got to work watching Trulon Henry do his thing.

After 67 minutes of that, I wandered back in to the East Great Hall. Gameday Sports was doing a big garage sale of sorts. Miles and miles of Illini clothes, all of it super cheap. I purchased lots of orange. It was awesome. Everyone in the family got something, including a Vontae Davis fitted woman’s jersey for my wife. We’re all set for our next weekend away.

There was one item that didn’t seem to be selling very well. Not sure if it was the theme, or the design, or…

As I was getting ready to make my purchases, the players (THE PLAYERS!) started to wander through on their way to the Varsity Club. Eddie and Travon! My Man Mikel! Justin Green and his walking boot! How scary is it that I know these next two are early enrollee Shawn Afryl and freshman-next-fall Michael Heitz! I considered pictures (too creepy), or maybe autographs (too nerdy), and I settled on “mill about and pretend like I’m still shopping so I can see which players wander through next”.

That didn’t last too long – even that felt creepy – so I made my purchases and headed out. And who did I just so happen to be following as I made my way out of the hall?

Randall Hunt! Jack Cornell Jr.! Ryan Palmer!

(My phone makes a fake camera shutter sound when it takes a picture, and after I snapped this photo, Randall Hunt turned around to see who the stalker was. I put the phone in my jacket pocket and pulled the “hmmm – what is that up there above the concession stand?” routine until he turned back around. Creepy, I know. But Randall Hunt!)

Seeing Big Jack reminded me of the episode of The Journey where he tried to take the Big Fat Ugly Challenge (skip ahead to the 5:00 mark), so I knew exactly where I needed to eat.

It was about the time that I walked into this place that I realized that some dude who graduated from UIUC in Nineteen Ninety-something, eating alone, on campus, on a Friday night, was That Guy. I pondered that for a bit as I ordered the Big Fat Walk Of Shame sandwich, but I came to the realization that taking stalker photos of offensive linemen was a much worse social offense, and I could eat my sandwich in peace. With a caffeine-free Diet Pepsi.

For the record, that’s cheesesteak, bacon, egg, cheese, ketchup, mayo, and french fries on a bun. Yes, it’s real. Yes, it was spectacular.

After this, I headed straight to my hotel. Nothing but the Champaign’s finest accommodations for this blogger, complete with a piece of wood holding the air conditioner together and cigarette stains on the floor, the chair, and, yes, the bathtub.

I watched some NFL draft coverage (Rejus! Big Jon!) and attempted to get some sleep. But the high school tennis team in the next room wouldn’t let me. I didn’t mind – I was enjoying reliving the memories. And I felt really sorry for Justin.

“Hey Justin, coach wants to see you in his room upstairs”

“Coach does? Really?”

“Yep, Room 218. He said not to knock – just walk right in.”

“OK, if Coach wants me to…”

I considered yelling “don’t do it, kid” through the paper walls, but decided against it. Poor Justin.

Like Nathan Scheelhaase, I woke up before my alarm. Yes, because I was excited about the spring game. I headed down to the continental breakfast, ate a waffle and a bagel, returned to my room, showered, changed, and headed out to drive around good ol’ Champaign. I’m not kidding – I really miss that place.

Some friends of mine were tailgating, and I drove around a few of the lots to see if I could find them, but I couldn’t. So I decided to have my own tailgate.

That’s right. Diet Mountain Dew, Chili Cheese Fritos, and the News Gazette, sitting by myself in the Assembly Hall parking lot, staring impatiently at the clock waiting for 12:00 when the gates would open. Living. The. Dream.

I’m nearly finished reading the sports section when two students walk past my car. Wait… is that? *grabs phone/camera*

DJ Richardson! Demetri McCamey!

This time, I seriously considered autographs. My son would be loving life if the new t-shirt his dad brought home from Champaign included DJ and DMac’s signatures. Alas, Randall Hunt’s glare from the day before still had me scared, so I stayed in the car and moved on to the Lifestyles section.

The clock finally reached 11:45, and I headed to the stadium to get a good seat on the 50. Phyllis wouldn’t let me in – it was only 11:54, so I wandered around the sale items a little more until 12:00 hit. I had my spot picked out, marched right up to the 50, and…

A beautiful sight, isn’t it? Field of dreams. I could stare at that picture all day. The colors, the sounds, the smells – I’ll never not love the inside of that stadium.

The game? I covered that on Sunday. The game was secondary at this point. Yes, the crowd was disappointing. Yes, I’m scared of what the recruits – some who had been at Nebraska’s spring game the week before – thought of us. But despite the crowd, despite the lack of a crisp offense, despite the last 15 years of futility within those sidelines, I was happy. That place is Home.

I lingered for a bit after the game – waited until nearly everyone left, actually – and then headed back to my car. 23 hours in Champaign, and only one stop left to make.

.

I hate that feeling.  That “we weren’t crisp at all, were we” feeling.  I told the people I was sitting with that I wanted something to get excited about.  I wanted an eye-popping play that would stick in my head all summer and linger with thoughts of “you know, if we can just simplify the passing game and Feed Five, the defense might play well enough that we could…”

I didn’t get it.  Not at all.  First string offense against a defensive line of Nate Palmer (converted linebacker), Darrell Ballew, Wisdom Onyegbule, and Justin Staples (converted linebacker), and we couldn’t move the ball.  And when we did start to move the ball, we’d turn it over (three in the first half by the Orange offense alone, if I recall correctly).  If we can only put up 3 points on our own second string defense (which is really half third-string due to injuries to starters), well, then we might not score in the first half against NIU.

I was on the edge of my seat, Twittering with jittery fingers at the beginning.  I slowly slouched back as the game went on.

There were bright spots, of course.  Not “I really believe this team has a shot at a bowl” bright spots, but approving-nod bright spots.  Hey, lets do an “Impressed/Just OK/Umm…” like last year.

Impressed

+ I’m not ready to fully declare yet – I still want to take my official visits – but if I had to name a leader right now, it would definitely be the University of Nathan Scheelhaase.

Yes, he struggled today.  One fluke INT (batted pass caught by a DE), one awful INT (threw into triple, maybe quadruple coverage).  And he locks in to his receiver on the snap of the ball.  If we were playing Iowa today, Tyler Sash might have had 6 interceptions.  But let me tell you why I’m almost ready to declare.

First, this morning, I woke up at 6:15 and had a hard time getting back to sleep.  Yes, because I was excited about the Illinois Spring Game.  Yes, I realize I’m insane.  Don’t care.

But when I read that Nathan Scheelhaase also woke up early, couldn’t get back to sleep, and headed over to the stadium early with roommate Steve Hull so they could run a few passing plays, well, kindred spirits, me and Nate.

And then, when he is so fired up and so wants to help his team win that he outraces his tailback and makes a fantastic block on TWO long running plays (yes, the plays bounced outside, and he was lead blocking), well, hand me my Letter Of Intent.  The kid seems to care deeply about a winning football program at the University of Illinois.  If he wasn’t playing, I feel like he’d be blogging about the Illini.  And waking up before his alarm.

+ Star of the Game was easily Nate Palmer.  Confused, buried-deep-in-the-depth-chart linebacker last year, active, pass-batting defensive end this year.  He was all over the place, stretching out a running play here and getting a touch sack there.  And he was doing this against our first string offensive line.

(Ah, the great Spring Game rub.  Should I be excited about Palmer or worried about our offensive tackles?)

+ AJ Jenkins is our #1 receiving target, and it isn’t even close.  This might say more about our lack of wideout depth than it does AJ.  But just like the practices I watched this spring, he was by far our top receiver.  He has that “how does he twist his body like that and still get both hands on the ball?” thing that you look for in a wideout.

+ Last year, in 12 games, we had 50 punt return yards.  Today, in 5 punt returns, Terry Hawthorne had 81 punt return yards.  Black Cat is fast, shifty, and fast, and he needs to field every single punt (and kickoff) this fall.

+ The running game was solid, especially in the second half.  LeShoure’s acceleration is stunning when you see it – he ran away from Patrick Nixon-Youman and Joelil Thrash today like he ran away from Michigan’s DB’s in October and Fresno State’s DB’s in September.  Feed Five.

And Jason Ford’s 56 yard touchdown was awesome.  Much like his Michigan TD last season, he was in a crowd, hesitated, shoved someone out of his way, and took off down the sideline.  Except this time, his QB was his lead blocker.

Just OK

+ I’m putting the first string defense here mainly because they played the second string offense.  Yes, they held the Blue team to 68 total yards.  And Corey Liuget was in the backfield all day (he should probably be listed above this line).  But there were still a few breakdowns I saw that left me concerned what Evan Royster might do if we made the same mistakes.  Example: Hawthorne had Troy Pollard forced to the outside, but he shed his blocker that way, allowing Pollard to cut in and gain 20 yards.

+ We really, really need a second receiver to emerge.  Chris James dropped a first down catch, Jarred Fayson wasn’t really a factor, and the Blue team was led in receiving by converted walk-on quarterback Eddie Viliunas.  Fayson almost made a spectacular catch (ball was just out of his reach), and Eddie made an eye-popping one handed grab, but for the most part, it was AJ and the Try Hards.  Let’s hope that nickname doesn’t stick.

+ Chandler Whitmer was more impressive running the Blue offense than Jacob Charest.  7-8 for 43 yards and a touchdown. It wasn’t anything eye-popping – mostly short underneath passes (and he was “touch sacked” 4 times), but it was a decent start.  The 7-8 for 43 yards stat is important because…

Ummm…

+ Jacob Charest: 2-8 for 15 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT, 1 Fumble

Ummm…

Combine this with the last scrimmage and he’s 5-23.  Even when he got a series with the Orange offense, he threw one bad pass and then dropped a shotgun snap. To make matters worse, didn’t even try to pick up the ball.  The ball hit the ground, everyone around me was yelling “fall on it”, and he stood and watched while a defensive lineman recovered the fumble.

From most everything I’ve read and seen, he’s been really out of it the last two weeks.  I have no idea why.  I was really encouraged by his first 30 minutes of practice on Friday.  But today, it just wasn’t there.

+ 3-0 halftime score.  It was really, really sloppy.  Nothing crisp.  Bad turnovers.  Third and long against our second string defense.  Dropped passes.  TFL’s by a third string defensive tackle beating a starting offensive lineman.  Really bad.

And it didn’t appear to be scheme or assignment confusion.  Just the old sinking Memorial Stadium feeling coming back.  Lazy tackles.  Illegal motion penalties.  A wide receiver fumbling at the five (straight out of the Rose Bowl playbook).

If I added a 20th point to The Plan, it would be this: Make “Crisp” The Goal.  I haven’t seen “crisp” in Memorial Stadium since Juice ran over a Northwestern linebacker at the goal line.  I want crisp.

Derek Dimke makes a 44 yard field goal… and then proceeds to knock the kickoff out of bounds.  The Orange offense gets the ball near midfield with 2:00 left in the half… and goes backwards.  And the second string offensive line was tumbling backwards all day long.  That doesn’t speak well of our depth (or our future).

Crisp.  I want crisp.

+ Other negatives:  Troy Pollard hesitating on kickoff returns.  (Hit the hole!)  Longest pass play was 22 yards.  (We have to stretch the field at some point.)  Poor tackling by the second string D (they’ll all be playing at some point, and soon.)  Corey Lewis’ knee injury exposed just how thin we are at offensive tackle (Ryan Palmer switched to an orange jersey, and the new tackle for the Blue team – some walkon whose name escapes me – done got clowned by Michael Buchanan.)

Overall I have this to say:  Ugh.  If it wasn’t for LeShoure’s burst and Nathan Scheelhaase’s two downfield blocks (the type of play that tells you all the stories you read about the kid being the best leader and competitor on the team are absolutely true), I would have left the stadium really, really depressed.  It was a solid C- performance on a day where I really, really wanted to see a B+.  If we were playing Penn State today, I have a feeling the halftime score would have been 24-0 them, not 3-0 us.

I know I’m still in won’t-get-fooled-again mode.  If I wasn’t, I’d probably be pretty pleased with the “look” of the revised defense.  But overall, there was no buzz in the stadium.  The looming rain clouds at the end seemed prophetic.  We have a lot of work to do in Rantoul.

I’m behind you, Nathan.  But you have a giant task ahead.  Better set that alarm earlier.

2. The key to Zook’s D, of course, is the middle linebacker.  So it looks like we’ll go into the 2009 season with the key to the entire defense being Martez Wilson.  The good news? He’s probably one of the 10 most gifted athletes in college football (height, weight, speed, agility, etc.).  He’ll be a freak at the combine in two years.  The bad news?  He did a whole lotta thinkin’ last year.  As in, hesitate for 3/4ths of a second trying to remember your assignment when the guard is pulling… and by the time you react, the ball carrier is gone. I really, really want to stay positive, realizing that junior year J Leman was light years ahead of early sophomore year J Leman.  But the 40 yard run broken off by Mikel LeShoure in the video I linked in the last post?  Guess who missed him in the hole.

3. In the secondary, the two halves balance themselves out.  As excited and bullish as I am towards the cornerbacks, I am equally scared and bearish on the safeties.  Dere Hicks really came on last year, but Garrett Edwards really faded at the end of the year.  Tavon Wilson could be Vontae II (except with actual interceptions), but Donsay Hardeman too often thinks big hit and missed at least 3 floating INTs last year.  Miami Thomas could provide a fantastic 3rd DB in our nickel scheme, but the most probable 3rd safety is yet-to-play-a-down-back-there Supo Sanni.  Travon Bellamy brings his on-field experience back to the cornerback position, but Bo Flowers keeps trying to tackle like the :24 second mark of this video. Three steps forward, three steps back.

4. If Jerry Brown can keep his grades in order (a huge IF, if you believe the smoke signals), we could actually improve at Defensive End, even though we lost Will Davis and Derek Walker.  Pilcher is essentially a returning starter, Antonio James showed he can be a run stopper from the DE position, and Brown + Nurse could be a pretty lethal 3rd down pass rush tandem.  Same goes for the D-Tackles.  Corey Liuget only has 2 more years before he’s off the the NFL, Josh Brent might join him in that same draft, and Sirod Williams – if he’s fully recovered from his ACL surgery – could be a huge factor on 3rd and goal from the 2.

5. See a theme here?  The word “if” is showing up all over the place.  Never a good sign.  Something as simple as Jerry Brown not making grades, Donsay Hardeman choosing to not risk another neck injury, and Josh Brent getting behind the wheel again, and I might slash 2 or 3 wins off my season prediction.  Razor thin.  But if Hardeman is healthy and Tez lives up to his athleticism at MLB…….

2. Probably because he was from the Metro East, I was a Jason Ford guy last year. I’ll always have a soft spot for EastSyyyde football.

But I’m a LeShoure guy now. I’ll dig out my son’s #5 jersey, see if it still fits him, and make him wear it to a game next year. He just looked different this spring, both on video and in person. Watch the run at the 1:48 mark of this video and tell me he’s not ready to be a feature back:

3. I think that Juice and the wideouts are the most known entity going into a season that we’ve had in a long time. Juice will be great, not outstanding. He’ll hit 6 of 7 passes on a 48 second touchdown drive, and then skip a pass to an open Benn on third and 5 the next drive. But, overall, he’ll have his best season. And last year was pretty good.

As for our receivers, they’re a great mix of size (Cumberland, Hoo-man), strength (Benn), shiftiness (Jenkins, Duvalt, Ramsey), and YAC (Fayson). I’m not worried about the position at all.

4. Offensive line is the position that keeps me up at night, worried about my 10-2 prediction. So much is unknown.

- I wasn’t an Eric Block fan last fall. Will he improve?

- I wanted Randall Hunt to be starting over Block, but when he was asked at a press conference, Zook said he’s “not there yet”. I certainly hope he’s there this year.

- How will the tackles shake out? As of now, it looks like Allen at LT and Palmer at RT. How strong will they be? Is Corey Lewis ready to go if either gets injured?

- The only known entity is Jon Asamoah. I stated on after the PSU game in ’07 that Asamoah would be First Team All Big Ten his senior season. I still believe that.

5. Overall, I’m encouraged. It’s been a long time since we’ve had this much experience coming back on offense. If I’m an outsider being told that Illinois will be have a senior staring his 4th year at QB and talented, experienced depth at wideout and running back, I’d think that you’d have a pretty consistent offense. Add in that you have a couple receivers who will be playing on Sundays and, well, it looks pretty good on paper.

6. 184 days.

- It was crazy windy.  Worst wind I can remember in a long time.  Like one of those games from the 90s where we would burn two timeouts before the end of the quarter to force the other team to punt into the wind. Because of that, I’m not sure if the lack of deep throws was because of the wind, or because of Mike Schultz’s obsession with the short passing game. Probably some of both.

- Because of that, I’m going to stay positive and not look at the punting average. Santella had to punt into it nearly every punt, so he was forced to kick some Dejuan Warren specials. He had a nice 9-iron from 45 yards away that he could give a good swing – it checked up at the three. Yelton got the benefit of kicking with the wind most of the time and was horrifically gawd awful. I honestly believe I could have done better. Seriously. I’m that guy who gets a sore arm when throwing to his kids so he starts punting the ball. I can get some leg into it.

- They did the split-teams thing, so it was hard to get a read on much. Juice was just OK, but he didn’t have Benn or Cumberland (or Fayson) to throw to. Tez looked great in spots, but he was shedding the block of Craig Wilson. So grain of salt. Kind of.

- I spent the first half watching the offense, and the second half watching the defense. So if you are wondering about a second half play (“did you see Charest overthrow Benn?”), the answer is no. I was watching Garrett Edwards’ hips.

In no particular order…

+ Corey Lewis and Jeff Allen were on the same “team”. And Allen was at LT while Lewis was at RT. I think that was the most significant thing I saw all day. Jeff Allen, you get Juice’s blind side. And Charest’s. And Scheelhaase’s.

+ I’m still liking LeShoure to be our feature tailback this year. He just looks smoother this spring. Hits the hole, makes a move, delivers a devastating blow (on his TD). I’m not trying to go too far with this, but he reminded me of Shonn Greene today. Not nearly as good as Greene was last year, but similar running style. I like.

+ Duvalt was Juice’s top option on the Blue team, but he ran some awful routes. One in particular, he curled in an out pattern. Juice threw it to the spot – Duvalt curled back 4 yards too shallow. He’s really athletic, but he’ll need to run better routes than the ones I watched.

+ Tavon Wilson will get several pass interference calls this year, but he’ll also probably jump a couple routes and grab some INTs. He’s very aggressive on short passing routes (which means he’ll probably be burned on a pump fake at least once early in the season). Overall, he stood out today.

+ I missed Frierson’s INT because I was watching Jeff Allen for a couple plays. And on that play, he absolutely enveloped Antonio James. Just picture perfect pass blocking. I’m excited that he’s only a sophomore.

+ Jason Ford missed a block on Ashante Williams that could have sprung Troy Pollard for 40 yards. The play was blocked well, Pollard got the corner, and the only thing standing in his way was a safety taking an angle. Ford was there and… whiff. Point LeShoure.

+ To those Zook clock management haters, you got some great fuel today. Juice took a knee just before halftime to run out the clock and go to the locker room. Then Zook called a timeout and ran one more play. Knee, then TO. Awesome.

+ Jerry Brown stole Ryan Palmer’s lunch money a couple times. I hope that is an indication that Brown has finally put it all together and not that Palmer isn’t ready for Lawrence Wilson.

+ I watched Tez quite a bit during the second half. He looked comfortable at MLB. Barking out signals, hopping up to the line to readjust a DT, staying patient on passing plays. This wasn’t the Mizzou game, so there is much to be proven, but I didn’t have any “Tez, do SOMETHING besides standing there thinking!” moments like last year.

+ Ian Thomas moved around to different spots, but mostly played MLB on the Orange team (Tez was the MLB for the Blue team). Further goes to show that Zook’s D doesn’t really have the traditional Sam-Mike-Will positions. He grooms his LBs on the outside, and then moves the best guy in. And, in the nickel, the MLB is the weakside guy and the second LB is the strongside guy. I think it’s pretty set that Tez and Thomas are those two guys, and the third LB is still up in the air.

+ Corey Liuget absolutely OWNED Mike Garrity on one play. “Get out of my way, son. I need to make a 5-yard TFL.” We’ll really enjoy Liuget’s last two years. Yes, 2.

+ Poor Dustin Jefferson. He missed the tackle on the game’s final play, allowing DD to score the last touchdown. And, if I’m not mistaken, he was also the one bowled over by LeShoure on the first touchdown.

Impressed
Jerry Brown
Jeff Allen
Garrett Edwards
Mikel LeShoure
Corey Liuget
Tavon Wilson
Jacob Charest
Eddie McGee catching

Just OK
Juice
Rejus
Jason Ford
Ian Thomas
Doug Pilcher
Supo Sanni
Bo Flowers
Nate Bussey

Umm…
Punting
Ryan Palmer
Eddie McGee passing
Cordale Scott giving up on routes
Dustin Jefferson
Kyle Yelton’s fake attempt
Kyle Yelton in general
the wind