Sunday Scrimage

Went out to Spaulding for yesterdays scrimmage as it was a gloomy and windy day. Although that didnt stop RN from shmoozing with all the recruits before practice began, it really is a sight to see this guy in action. He even came up to me and my buddy to shake our hands and thank us for coming. And there were a whole gang of rectruits in attendance, most of which I did not recognize and some of which I did. Notables were  the Vander Wal kid from Oaks and Blackwell from Mater Dei. Blackwell is a must get along with the QB at Mater Dei Max Wittek, hopefully both come as a package deal. Its good to hear that guys like DeAnthony Thomas were in attendance although I just dont see him signing with us, but its good to get those names out at Spaulding.

Before I get into the specifics of the practice I will say that this was a very very sloppy practice for the offense. Mistakes ranged from players missing assignments to just plain poor throws. And I know when attending practices to take everything with a grain of salt since it is in fact a practice, as you never know if your watching them run a play for the first time. And then most of the time, the defense knows what is coming, since they play against this offense everyday. With that, this is what I observed.

Kevin Prince - Is far and away the most effective quarterback we have on the roster, and is no way really being challenegd for the starting spot. In fact, from talking to people close to the program, he is the only one with Pac 10 talent, which is somewhat concerning considering his history with injuries. Maybe we need to bring in Joe Girardi to teach him how to slide. But overall, I thought he looked ok during the scrimmage, as the offense did in fact sputter in the early going of the scrimmage. But he does look comfortable in his role and seems to know what is going on within the offense.

Damien Thigpen - This guy is having a little trouble figuring out his role in the offense. In some sense he has a lot talent but not enough direction to put to use his physical skills. He dropped a pass right in front of me before getting thudded by Jared Koster, which got a huge rise out of the defense.

Derrick Coleman - Consitant is the word I would use to describe this dude. When we need to get three or four yards, we got to get this guy the rock. He is always falling forward and gaining an extra yard or two. He is not going to hit the home run for us as it is not his specialty but he can keep the chains moving and wear on defense throughout a game if given the opportunity. It would be a huge disappointment to see this guy used as a FB.

Keenan Graham - Stud, absolutle stud. Keenan is going to be a force throughout his career and will probably impress a lot this year. I know Jon Gold is trying to blow him up and now I know why. It is going to be fun to watch this guy develop.

Patrick Larimore - Pat made a lot nice plays and was getting into the mix on nearly every play. He really knows how to bring the wood and from what I hear he is a little on the crazy/fearless side. This guy should be the starter come time for Kansas State.

Andrew Abott - It has always bothered me that this guy is not on scholarship. He is on the field contributing to the team, I know lifes not fair but it just bugs me. In talking to someone close to the program, I was told the reason Bret Downey got a scholarship was because RN knew there was a possibilty of XSF was going to leave or that he did leave. I dont know what happened first. But the issue with Abbot is that UCLA has plenty of cornerbacks at its disposal. He did however get the only INT of the day towards the end of the scrimmage.

Leaving the scrimmage I was thinking that there is no way this team is going to be able to win any more than eight games this year. In fact seven wins seems more realistic as 9-4 would be a pipe dream. Although getting one more win than last would do a lot for the program in terms of preception and recruiting.