Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

Why couldn't we have had last weekend's weather this weekend?  Here's what I thought of last night's Spring Scrimmage.

A few general observations:

• Hearing from Jerry Robinson, Bruce Davis, Terry Donahue and Dick Vermeil during the evening was tremendous. It feels like the entire Bruin family has returned to the fold under Skippy.
• We have a defense. A really, really good defense. Yes, the first team was playing against what's left of our already questionable offensive line and a bunch of very young skill guys. However, the talent level, particularly in the back seven, is undeniable. Each defensive unit has a major stud leading it, and Price, Carter and Verner seem to have gotten a whole lot better since December.
• Dang, we're young. It won't be unusual this year to see over half of the players on the field be underclassmen. It's not hard to picture ATV taking a play off, leaving us with a secondary made entirely of last year's recruits.
• The offense looked okay...just as soon as the 1st string defense hit the bench. I think it was less a matter of incorporating elements of the spread than taking Price, Siewierski, Carter, Ayers, and Verner out of the equation.

Quarterbacks -  All we keep hearing is how they'll developing timing and a relationship with the receivers during 7-on-7's.  They'd better.  Interesting reminder of where we've been: of the three QB's who played at the last spring scrimmage, one is relegated to the Bruin equivalent of Siberia, and the other two are now receivers.

• Kevin Prince - He made a few good throws, but most of the time, he reminded me of Drew Olson's early years. He definitely knows how to move, which is always a plus with our o-line, and he seems to throw much better on the run.
• Richard Brehaut - For a kid who can't possibly know what he's doing back there, he sure looks comfortable. I wonder if he might be ready sooner rather than later.
• Kevin Craft - There's a comic strip character I vaguely recall who has this black cloud over his head that follows him everywhere. Apparently, he now wears #3 and plays quarterback in Westwood. The whole crowd was pulling hard for him, but it seems like, even when he does something good - scrambling 50 yards into the end zone, making a nice pass - something bad - happens. Even his clean handoffs led to subsequent fumbles.

Running Backs - No Christian Ramirez, so there's no way to compare the putative #1 to everyone else, but there were some interesting things.

• Milton Knox - Two words: Maurice Drew. Every time he touched the ball, something electric happened.
• Derrick Coleman - He looks like Derrick Coleman. If it's possible for a guy to be called "Old Reliable" after one year, he should be the guy.
• Aundre Dean - We saw some flashes of the potential we keep hearing about, but he doesn't look like he's put it all together yet.
• Johnathan Franklin - We saw plenty of the speed and potential we keep hearing about. I wouldn't play him ahead of Knox, but I'd play him a whole lot.
• Raymond Carter - He had one nice run against the third-string D, but whether it's the knee injury or whatever, he's clearly behind the pack.
• Tobi Umodu - Yes, Tobi Umodu. He looked pretty good coming out of the backfield - and not just on his one (touchdown) catch.

Receivers - The established players - and that includes Cory Harkey - didn't play much.  I'd love to know exactly how many balls got dropped.  At least half a dozen times, I found myself thinking, "Taylor Embree would've held on to that."  Get well soon, Taylor.

• Terrence Austin - We didn't get to see much of him, but he looked great when he was on the field.
• Morrell Presley - They were using him as an H-Back. While he's no doubt going to be special one day, right now he's a kid who drops too many balls.
• Jerry Johnson - After reading about his being in the doghouse again and again, I was surprised to see him make a number of remarkable plays. For one night at least, he was the best receiver on the field.
• Antwon Moutra/Nelson Rosario - We didn't get to see too much of them, but both look really really impressive.
• Nate Chandler - Mr. Chandler is bigger than some small condominiums. On a team that needs all the blocking it can get, I'm looking forward to seeing him in the Fall.

Offensive Line - Apparently, we now have one.  It's just injured or playing out of position.  Here's hoping everyone's healthy by August.

Defensive Line - I barely noticed the ends, which isn't healthy, but that may be more of a reflection of what was going on in the middle of the line.  Jerzy Siewierski looks much improved, and frankly, so does Jess Ward.  Oh, and so does Brian Price.  At some point this year, someone is going to shut Mr. Price down.  That will be a very remarkable play when it finally happens.  In fact, it will probably be a one-of-a-kind play.

Linebackers - Reggie Carter also looks much better, and again, that's said with full knowledge of how good he's looked when playing in the middle in the past.  He should have a huge senior year.  Speaking of huge, from the stands Akeem Ayers didn't look as massive as we've read he is.  That having been said, he looked like a guy who creates a lot of chaos.  He and Carter are going to be a phenomenal tag team.  Another guy who made a lot of plays - after doing that on special teams last year - was Sean Westgate.

D-Backs - ATV didn't see the field too much, but on his one interception, he had the play read the whole way, and his runback was vintage ATV.  Hester, Dye and Woods all made a few very nice plays and looked exceedingly promising.  Combine them with Rahim Moore, and however inexperienced the secondary is, the talent level is just through the roof.  Speaking of which, Courtney Viney may be small, but he's hellaquick and he's got a tremendous feel for things. 

Special Teams - No Coach Gansz meant no real special teams work, though on one field goal attempt and three extra points, it was nice to see there were no issues with Jeff Locke holding.