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Practice Report 2/23

Posted by ChrisApplewhite on February 23rd, 2008 under Football

The morning started out with my walking up the ramp to the Angels, with the intention of scoring a roster. I walked up, put my game face on, and the lady stared right through me like I wasn’t even there. I did not get a roster.

Bitches.

Anyway, I made due. The first hour was worthless in terms of current players. You can’t learn anything from warmups, unless you’re AlanZ, and if you actually enjoy watching that shit then you need your head checked.

Any fun I did have in the first 45 minutes was centered entirely around getting as close as I’ve ever been to Geoff Ketchum’s earring, and trying to figure out who the recruits in attendance were. Johnathan Miller sported easily the nicest hair of the bunch, and his dad, and I mean this as a compliment, looked like he slung rock in the 70s. If I had to pick one recruit’s dad to back me in a fight, I’m taking Mr. Miller, easy. Tough looking dude who knew how to dress.

Kenny Hyder and Jeremy Moore were there decked entirely in purple. Gotta like the school pride, even if it is LBJ school pride.

Roderick Goodlow was wearing a Bill Cosby sweater vest, and spent a few moments lingering in front of a large crowd looking like he wanted to be recognized. I can’t verify that, but I can verify that the man knows his sweater vests.

Ryan Swope is from Westlake. How can I tell? Blonde hair dovetailing out from under a baseball hat. I bet he drives a Yukon, too.

Austin Moss made me question my sexuality. That kid will not have any problems pulling in trim at whichever school gets him. He has an underwear model’s body. I don’t think I can root for this kid, comfortably anyway.

Recruits aside (they all took off via bus before the good parts of practice anyway), the first thing I saw when I got there was the OL, since I was standing up at the top field.

Huey has either lost weight or moved it to the right places, as he’s definitely looking a lot better than last year. Burnette is still heavy, especially in his thighs and midsection. Allen and McGaskey both looked great. Hall and Tanner are still too small. But they were starting so what do I know? The starters were Allen-Tanner-Hall-Huey-Hix.

The QBs and WRs ran a bunch of routes vs. air, and all it proved was that Phillip Payne has hands of stone. I’ll chalk it up to a bad day since I’ve never seen him before and it’s a new position, but if he puts up another day or two like this one, you can pretty much write off Brock Fitzhenry as the next Wes Welker. If his name weren’t burned into my brain I would not have been able to tell him from the walkons.

After that mildly interesting part, they moved to 1 on 1s, the best part of the show. And let me impart three truths to your eyeballs:

1. Ben Wells is the fucking truth. Never forget this.

2. Brandon Collins is the best WR on the team at this juncture. He is a carbon copy of pre-injury Shipley, right down the the way he snatches the ball out of the air. I had to see it before I believed it, and I believe it.

3. Malcolm Williams had a surprisingly strong day. Probably doesn’t start if we play tomorrow but he’s easily the first one off the bench.

As for the rest of the group, there were ups and downs from everyone other than Beasley, who pretty much pwn3d all day. You can really only tell two things from these practices, when a player is either consistently good or consistently bad, and only a few players landed in either category:

Good – Wells, Beasley, Collins, M. Williams, Shipley, Chy. Brown
Bad – Fitzhenry, Kinne, Payne

And that’s it. Everybody else earns an incomplete. If a pass was overthrown by 5 yards, it was a pretty safe bet you would look back to the huddle and see Kinne walking back. At some point you have to not worry about hitting the WR in the hands, just hitting him at all. I would say it’s pretty safe to write him off at this point.

Payne, despite struggling all day, did somehow end up making the play of the day. He juked somebody while somehow only covering 2 yards, then managed to pluck a ball up from inches off the ground drawing a deserved smattering of applause. I think his next attempt hit off his facemask.

I didn’t get to watch Earl Thomas as closely as I wanted because it took too long to figure out what number he was (thanks Texas Angels), but once I figured out who he was I saw him get roasted by Shipley twice in a row. He did well enough on everybody else though, and he was in the starting lineup again with Wells to start team drills. I expect that combo to run through the spring as the starters.

Chykie Brown was only doing things well when I watched him. His celebration after one break up looked like he was grabbing his balls while taking a dump. I can get behind that. He was really on his guy every snap and showed really good ball skills. He really has great speed to be able to run with guys like that despite looking for the ball, and he really displayed a lot better field awareness than I thought he would. I hope the coaches can fit the scheme around him this year, instead of vice versa. If I have to watch the CB equivalent of Eric Hall just because Chykie doesn’t always know where to stand, then my head might explode.

Speaking of the CB version of Eric Hall, Ryan Palmer managed to sandwich in one good play in between a bunch of mediocrity. He is, depending on how good the injured Curtis Brown is, our 4th best corner. We really couldn’t find someone else to start last year? Really?

The highlight of the practice for me was the matchup between Blake Gideon and Brock Fitzhenry. Blake dominated the early matchup while all the Texas fans stared at the ground and shuffled their feet uncomfortably, only a few managing to sputter praise under their breath.

The OL and RBs won’t show anything until pads come on. Fozzy Whitaker made a really nice catch on a wheel route, and if he can prove to be a weapon in the passing game then he’s almost got to be the backup.

The defense mostly practiced down at the far end, to be dicks I presume, so obviously I didn’t really get to see anything there outside of the DBs. I was really interested in seeing what type of scheme we’d run, but the only thing I could make out from Idiotfanville was the D working on some alignment and man coverage responsibility stuff. We did seem to be running a lot of nickel, if that means anything.

A few stray thoughts to tie it up:

Ryan Swope had a crush on his hostess. I learned this because his mom told her.

I think Charlie Tanner is as big as he’s ever going to get. We may have another Dallas Griffin situation. For all the hoopla over our recruiting the undersized, quick-footed kids, our best guys sure do seem to be the all-everything big strong guys. We just switched the Terrance Youngs for the Charlie Tanners.

Dan Buckner isn’t playing this year.

I’m concerned about Chiles. He has a lot of arm action going on, but he still has the quickest release on the team, I’d say. The problem is that all of that arm speed is being wasted. I didn’t watch him throw a whole ton, but he seems like he has the Quincy Carter syndrome where the QB throws the ball more like a baseball than a football. His passes just seem to die halfway to where they’re going and there isn’t much spin on the ball. Harris throws a much nicer ball, by comparison. I don’t think it’s an athletic thing, so it must be mechanical. My best guess based on watching him throw a dozen passes from 40 yards away is that he’s using too much shoulder and not enough wrist. He isn’t “snapping” the ball. Like I said, is arm speed isn’t the issue. I’m no QB expert, but that is my guess.

There is accurate, then there is NFL accurate. Colt is accurate.

Oh, and play of the day #2 was a really impressive catch by Malcolm Williams on the sideline, nabbing a high pass while being draped in coverage. You can’t really get much out of one good play here and there, but it did top off a really nice day for him. He looked really comfortable out there.

I got some pictures on my phone and I will try to add them.

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18 Responses

  1. DrkBgrk said:

    February 23rd, 2008 at 10:23 am

    “His celebration after one break up looked like he was grabbing his balls while taking a dump. I can get behind that.”

    i bet you would.

  2. Texas Angel said:

    February 23rd, 2008 at 1:31 pm

    You smell like beer and you’re not nice. No programs for you.

    If you wore an earring like that cute Geoff Ketchum, maybe that would help. Probably not.

  3. Whatever said:

    February 23rd, 2008 at 6:11 pm

    Every year we get these reports on days 1-2 with shorts, and every year they mean….N a d a.

    But they are fun to read. Thanks.

  4. Capt. Insano said:

    February 23rd, 2008 at 9:42 pm

    The Texas Angels were wonderful to me and gave me a roster without any problems. Maybe it’s you.

  5. Capt. Insano said:

    February 23rd, 2008 at 10:40 pm

    I’ll add a few things:

    Huey looks great and if Dockery doesn’t step it up, I think he’ll end up losing his job to Huey.

    The effort I saw out of Allen and Dockery today was pretty pathetic. I was hoping for some more intensity, but I wasn’t getting that from either OL. Both were sucking wind, but they weren’t really doing much. My chick was wondering why they looked so out of breath. I said because our conditioning program is top notch.

  6. Capt. Insano said:

    February 23rd, 2008 at 10:40 pm

    I saw Malcolm Williams tearing shit up today. He will be our next great WR and Buckner made a bad-ass Roy Williamsesque 1-handed catch today that got everybody pretty excited.

    Jordan Shipley is an average receiver and not very fast. I didn’t really notice Brandon Collins. I did see Kirkendoll making plays. Quan Cosby looks to have average speed, not the Holy Shit speed he had coming out of HS.

    I think you are being a little harsh on Fitzhenry. For what it’s worth, I never saw him drop a ball once and considering it’s his second practice with the team, the coaches had him involved and he wasn’t sitting on the sideline at all. I think he’ll contribute to this team, but maybe not this year. Easily, he will fill a Ramonce Taylor role in the future. We knew he wasn’t big when we recruited him, so it’s no surprise he looks like he’s still in middle school.

  7. Capt. Insano said:

    February 23rd, 2008 at 10:41 pm

    I’d say our area of concern is at DT. We are fat, slow and out of shape. Nothing to say. Ellis was sucking wind and I’m not sure he actually was taking snaps. Ben Alexander looks like he’s maddog in 5 years from now and short. Some of the Freshmen and RS-Freshmen may make an impact, but I’m concerned.

    Our LB’s- We have at least 4 NFL quality LB’s on our team. Norton was disruptive all day and was in on every play. He would have killed some guys today and Muschamp was all over him. Muck is still a machine and Sergio wins the award for most impressive physique on the team. Sergio will probably get drafted just because he looks like a fucking animal. After those we have Keenen Robinson. I thought for a minute DJ was back at Texas, but it was Robinson and he was making plays and earning the praises from Muschamp. Dustin Earnest is no Reed Boyd. Earnest can play ball and I expect we’ll see him more this year. Bobino is still Bobino and got his ass chewed out by Muschamp today.

  8. Capt. Insano said:

    February 23rd, 2008 at 10:41 pm

    Beasley got his ass chewed out by Muschamp. It was funny because it was obvious by Beasley’s body language he thinks he’s the Shit, but Muschamp called his ass out in front of everybody. It was a breath of fresh air. Beasley did make some great plays though and a nice interception during team drills.

    Blake Gideon will contribute and I think he will contribute this year. I know folks are excited about the other DB’s coming in, but Blake was on the field, getting coached up by Muschamp and Akina. He was involved, not afraid to make mistakes and physically he looked as good as any of our other DB’s.

    DB’s look incredible. I see another 5-6 NFL caliber guys out there and we have a foundation at DB to win another MNC. Not a doubt in my mind, we just need to be patient. But when I see them, I see our 2004-2005 secondary in their early stages. Every one is physically impressive, clearly they all have an over abundance of confidence and they all have ability coming out of their ears. They are an impressive group to look at and we will be better and happier. PS- I’m not sure why, but Palmer talks a ton of shit. He is non-stop.

  9. Capt. Insano said:

    February 23rd, 2008 at 10:42 pm

    Colt looks like a good college QB. Harris looks pretty damn good and Chiles is about even. Kinne- Why did we recruit him? Well, he did only throw 1 interception his Senior year and like 45 TD’s. That’s fucking good.

    Vondrell will be our undisputed starter and I believe he’ll easily hit 1000+ rushing. Look for Fozzy to be the #2 running back. He is physically taller and bigger than advertised. I was really surprised to see that, because I was expecting him to be a small dude. But, not so much. He can play ball and take punishment. He is fast as hell and appears to have damn good vision. Cody Johnson will never be a TB at this University. He is on the Maddog diet for sure and he does have some big-ass legs, but he’s already a FB and the sooner he embraces his new position, the better he will be and so will our offense. He can also catch the ball out of the backfield. Pretty impressive.

  10. Capt. Insano said:

    February 23rd, 2008 at 10:42 pm

    TE’s- Marshall looks just like Finley and he can catch the ball too. He runs fast as hell, so I think we won’t miss Mr. 27-inch vertical jump, as much as he would like to think we’ll miss him. Irby is our started for the next 3 years. For what it’s worth, he dropped some balls today that David Thomas would have caught. Irby is still young, so I’ll give him a pass. Ian Harris and Ahmard Howard both are impressive physical specimens. Both are tall, lean and have plenty of ability. However, they look like they are still trying to get comfortable. Once the light clicks for these guys, TE will be a position of strength.

  11. Capt. Insano said:

    February 23rd, 2008 at 10:43 pm

    Oh, I almost forgot. One BAS-ASS blonde. She made my knees weak and I could have cared less about Austin Moss.

  12. ChrisApplewhite said:

    February 24th, 2008 at 1:44 am

    “The Texas Angels were wonderful to me and gave me a roster without any problems. Maybe it’s you.”

    I have absolutely no doubt that this is true.

  13. ChrisApplewhite said:

    February 24th, 2008 at 1:50 am

    “Our LB’s- We have at least 4 NFL quality LB’s on our team. Norton was disruptive all day and was in on every play.”

    How can you say that? There were no pads or intense running drills. It’s just a show at this point.

    “I think you are being a little harsh on Fitzhenry . . .”

    Fitzhenry has two things working against him. One, he’s been a QB his whole life. Two, he’s at his best with the ball in his hands surrounded by defenders trying to tackle him, so drills and 1 on 1’s aren’t his forte, I would say. I’ll still give him time, but I wasn’t impressed today. The QBs were overthrowing him just like the walkons, so I question his speed.

    “DB’s look incredible. I see another 5-6 NFL caliber guys out there and we have a foundation at DB to win another MNC.”

    Yep.

  14. retrobater said:

    February 24th, 2008 at 9:56 am

    hows that Kool-aid tastin’ boys? Lets see how they do
    against the Arks and OUs of the world this fall. Hope
    your right, but personally I want to see more…….

  15. RansomStoddard said:

    February 24th, 2008 at 10:14 am

    Nice to hear that Maddog is doing his usual ‘fatten em up and slow em down’ routine.

  16. BrickHorn said:

    February 25th, 2008 at 6:52 am

    “Austin Moss made me question my sexuality. That kid will not have any problems pulling in trim at whichever school gets him. He has an underwear model’s body.”

    Jesus. I’d hate to see how excited you get flipping through the Sunday Dillard’s circular.

  17. Tanner Roberts said:

    February 25th, 2008 at 7:18 am

    When i saw Cosby in practice this week i jizzed my pants.

  18. Alessandra Klayman said:

    January 15th, 2010 at 1:04 pm

    I wanted to thank you for this nice post. I surely liked every little part of it. I have you bookmarked and will be reading more.

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