Spring Game/Scrimmage

Overcast and cool, feeling a little like a fall afternoon, over 7,000 black and gold clad Buff fans showed up to Folsom Field as the Buffs wrapped up spring practices with the “official” Spring “Scrimmage” on Saturday.  It all began with a great run from Ralphie V, which also ended up probably being the highlight of the day.  The scrimmage was limited in form and time due to the depth issues, especially on the defensive line, and was truthfully not that exciting outside of a few plays.

§  There were many key players who were not dressed and were roaming the sidelines.  Embree’s main goal for the day was to keep everyone else healthy with no new injuries and he appears to have succeeded in that at least.

§  These players did not participate in the scrimmage at all: QB Nick Hirschman, WR Paul Richardson (looked pretty upbeat on sidelines), RB Malcom Creer, OL Ryan Dannewitz and Kawai Crabb, LB Doug Rippy, DT Nate Bonsu, CB Jered Bell, S Parker Orms, DE Cordary Allen, K Wil Oliver, and a few other walk-ons. Wil Pericak and Chidera Uzo-Diribe (really acted like an extra defensive coach on the sidelines) sat out the scrimmage for precautionary measures while Greg Henderson was at a funeral.  Ray Polk only participated in the 7-on-7 drills and LB Jon Major hardly got into the action.

§  That’s NINE possible defensive starters (with Bell and Major) who were not out there and only DE Juda Parker (4 solo tackles) and LB Derrick Webb actually playing.  Often the defense consisted entirely of players who may (should) never even see the field this year.  So, overall they probably did pretty well.

§  As to be expected then, the Offense basically dominated and moved the ball generally well.  However, with the defense so depleted, it felt like the offense should have dominated even more, especially the offensive line, who really should have never had any trouble against that defensive front.

§  Josh Ford was dubbed “All-time leading Spring rusher” by former teammate (CU and Mullen) Curtis Cunningham, as Ford rushed for 141 yards on only 8 carries and 2 long TDs.  Ford has been phenomenal against Buffs backups but has rarely cracked the field and shown what he can do against the big boys.  He has had some fumble problems in the past, is not a crisp route runner on passes, and has never been a great blocker, but was once again a huge fan favorite in the stands.  He is listed 3^rd on the depth chart.

§  Tony Jones was limited, but 4-23 rushing with a very nice run after a screen catch as well.  DD Goodson and even Justin Gorman all ran the ball well also, but remember who it was against.

§  Likewise, QB Connor Wood looked relatively sharp, going 7-10 for 142 yards, 2 TDs.  However, his passes were not always that crisp and receivers rarely had the ball hit them in stride in their hands.  All 3 incompletes were pretty bad overthrows.  He did have one very nice scramble.  By no means did he look bad, but you can definitely see why they are not ready to hand him the reins yet and will give the others, specifically Hirschman, their chance in August.

§  The receivers, no surprise, had their ups and downs, but the most pleasant surprise of the day was probably the Jarrod Darden sightings.  He has always had the look and size of a prototypical wideout (6’5”, 210) but until recently could not break through.  This week he was listed as the number 2 “X” receiver behind Tyler McCulloch.  Darden had numerous opportunities Saturday and made the most of them.  Although he did have one drop, he had 2 nice catches, including a long TD he had to work for. He also had some nice grabs in the 7-on-7 work.

§  Dustin Ebner also had 2 catches (and a drop) and a TD, plus some more in 7-on-7s; Nelson Spruce also had 2 receptions; McCulloch and Canty one each; Thorton was relatively quiet but had a TD in 7-on-7. 

§  Nick Kasa looks the part at TE but is still not fully comfortable.  He had a great TD grab in 7-on-7s but a bad drop in the scrimmage.  Kyle Slavin also looks like he should be a stellar TE with a nice 3o-yarder but again had a bad drop.

§  Just looking at them, with McCulloch, Darden, Thorton, Kasa and Slavin, the offense should have an unbeatable “tall” red zone lineup as all these guys are 6’4” or taller and have shown the ability to catch.  In a short red zone situation, they just have to go up and get it!  We’ll see how EB and the boys use them down inside the 10.

§  There is not a lot to say about the defensive line.  They did not get much pressure, although they did stop the RB for short gains a few times. Hopefully, very few of these guys ever see the field.

§  Sr. DT Eric Richter did record the only sack of the day on John Schrock (who looked more like a walk-on backup this year).  Richter is going to need to do something or be quickly passed by the frosh in August.

§  FB Clay Norgard had a nice catch and run and seemed to get more reps than Alex Wood.

§  Brian Cabral was able to shuffle his LBs in and out a lot and get the young guys reps.  Brady Daigh and Woodson Greer (Embree said, “you could hear him playing”) both had some nice plays.

§  The defensive backfield also consisted mostly of guys who won’t see the field during the season and had a lot of shuffling. The tackling was not very good on the second level, allowing a few of the touchdowns to happen on what should have been shorter gains.  The receivers were not challenged much in the scrimmage part, although they were in the first segment of 7-on-7s.  Sherrard Harrington had a nice breakup here, although he only played a little with the 3s in the scrimmage.

§  Justin Castor got to try 6 FGs (whenever they scored a TD instead of PAT) and hit 4.  However, his misses were bad: a 48-yd attempt that he shanked badly and 52 that he swung too hard and the ball never had a chance to go 50.  Grossnickle, not Gorman did most of the holding and had a nice catch and place of a high snap.

§  O’Neill and Grossnickle each had 2 decent punts, but there were no live returns.

§  The scrimmage entailed 10 or so plays of 7-on-7s followed by 20 plays of scrimmaging for each “half”, sandwiched around a short break and an interesting kickoff coverage drill, which was the most animated portion of the afternoon.  They lined up going across the width of the field for 7-on-7 kickoffs and the guys were really into it.

§  Overall, the pace was fast-coaches and players alike commented postgame on that often-and the attitude and energy were great.  There was not nearly as much yelling this year as the players know what is expected of them.  There were very few penalties called.

§  It was a good effort with spirited enthusiasm.  The team seems like it plays for each other and most of the guys sitting out were involved in cheering and/or coaching their teammates.  It appears they have developed some strong chemistry.  Now they just have to blend in 28 freshmen personalities.

§  I love watching Embree coach this team.  He is right in the middle of the action, hands on, involved in everything.  He is yelling at kids, both positives and constructive criticism, talking to individuals after almost every play.  His predecessor usually just stood around talking to people and laughing.

§  EB also is fun to watch and really gets into guys’ faces or jumps all over them like a kid after a good play.

§  There were many former players in attendance, including CJ, Alfred, Chad Brown, Cunningham, as well as 50+ junior prospects from all over, incoming recruit QB Shane Dillon and even a few basketball players.