Saturday Scrimmage Thoughts

If it wasn't for the 35 mph gusts of wind, it would have been a beautiful day in Blacksburg. 

Overall, I wasn't too impressed with the scrimmage but the team is definitely coming together and our first string units are full of talent.  Depth is a little shaky at this point but thats expected with so few seniors and so many Jr's and So's.

Quarterbacks:

Tyrod was his usual impressive self.  His highlight reel play of the day came on a bad snap when he bolted to his right, grabbed the football, reversed field behind a few coaches and players and darted a strike to (I believe) Jarrett Boykin for a 15-20 yard gain.  It was a thing of beauty. 

JuJu Clayton struggled today and I honestly believe the wind was a big cause for that.  A lot of his balls seemed to float a bit and its clear that he just doesn't have the arm strength that Logan and Tyrod have.  He threw 3 interceptions and two of them we're just bad throws. 

Logan Thomas didn't fare much better but the Brookville product showed off his wheels some, breaking off a few 10+ yard runs on the day.  At this point, Thomas is our backup QB.

Running Backs:

No Williams or Wilson today.  Darren Evans looked ok and he's definitely back to his usual self.  The offensive line just didn't open a lot of holes for him today.

Tony Gregory looked good but the running game as a whole really struggled in this scrimmage.

Wide Receivers:

Danny Coale is our best pure wideout.  He didn't drop one single pass today in warm-ups or in the scrimmage.  He had two big catches in the scrimmage and led the way with I believe 81 yards today.

Boykin and Roberts are solid... nothing new here.

Marcus Davis still plays like he's afraid of contact.  Dropped a couple easy catches and at this point I don't know what you want to do with him.  He has all the talent in the world but plays like he's scarred to get hit.

Didn't notice anybody else but Patrick Terry got an earful from Coach Sherman at one point in today's practice.

TE's/Offensive Line

Eric Martin is going to be a dependable TE for us down the road.  Doubt he can contribute much this season but he definitely has that "Jeff King" look to him. 

Andre Smith will be an excellent TE this year if he catches the ball.  That's my only concern with him right now.

Didn't notice Dunn or any of the others any. 

The 1st string OL is solid from left to right.  Nosal struggled but he had his shoulder examined by Mike Goforth during the scrimmage.  Hopefully he is ok.

Our backups struggled but then again most of our 2nd string OL is missing due to injury.

Defensive line

1st string DL played well but Friday has yet to really turn it on from the rush end position.  Losing Jason Worilds hurt and that could be the one piece that keeps us out of an MNC or a BCS bowl this year.  Hopkins and Battle are going to be an excellent this fall.  They both were very disruptive today.

Joe Jones impressed me a lot.  He's skinny but he's quick and was in the backfield on a few different occasions.

Linebackers

Bruce Taylor has won the starting job at MIKE LB as long as Rivers remains sidelined with his injury.  Even then I'm not sure Rivers will have enough time to get back to 100% before the beginning of the season.  Taylor is showing why he was such a coveted prospect back in 2008.

Did pay attention to any of the WHIPs or Backers.

DBs

Eddie Whitley is going to have a BIG year this year.  He's not the fastest, nor the biggest, but he may be the toughest.  His diving interception today would have made Sportscenter's top 10 if this was a game. 

Hosely had a great scrimmage and is going to be a rich, rich man one day.  That is all. 

Carmichael and Morgan conclude what is going to be the best defensive backfield in the ACC this fall. 

Exum still has a ways to go mentally but physically he's ready to contribute. 

Special Teams

Sucked.  Ok that's a little unfair because the conditions we're terrible for kickers but each kicker missed a field goal, most of them wound up short. 

Brian Saunders boomed about a 50+ yard punt at one point but Hosely caught it inside the five and if the whistle didn't blow, he would have taken it back for a touchdown. 

Overall I liked what I saw.  First string is solid and will just need some fine tuning in the fall camp period before the Boise game.