I'm not sure how much we learned on Saturday, but I think a few things were absolutely reinforced.
For instance, we already knew that incoming transfer A.D. Mitchell is really good. You don't keep scoring touchdowns in playoff games by accident.
That point was reinforced late in the second quarter when Mitchell made a catch in the end zone that no one in that position grounp was making last year.
Similarly, we came into today with a pretty good idea that sophomore Quinn Ewers is the clear No.1 quarterback in the offense and that was also reinforced on a day when he went 15 of 20 for 193 yards and a touchdown in the first half.
Xavier Worthy is good. Kelvin Banks is also really good. The young quarterbacks were young quarterbacks. The defense is a work in progress.
All things that we came into today knowing. All things that were reinforced. It was kind of a no-surprise Saturday, but that felt like mostly a good thing.
(Other thoughts...)
* I thought Ewers was solid. There wasn't a lot that would make our jaw-drop, but he didn't turn the ball over and he moved the offense up and down the field a few times. It was a rock solid day.
* Maalik Murphy was the best back-up quarterback today. Hell, he might have been the best quarterback on the field. Is that going too far? The young man was 9 of 13 for 166 yards, 1 touchdown and a 201.9 rating.
* Really loved seeing Terrence Brooks battle Xavier Worthy in one on one coverage in the second half. That's exactly what you want to be seeing out of him going into year two.
* It was certainly interesting to see Neto Umeozulu playing with the orange (first-team offense), while Hayden Conner worked with the second-team at center. Perhaps the coaches needed Conner out there at center with the second-team in order to make the game more easily playable. Still, he looked comfortable out there. It was easy to close your eyes and see him out there during the season without any huge issues popping up.
* Kelvin Banks makes Umeozulu look kind of small. It's kind of crazy have quickly he has settled into a total bad-ass that has his position on total lockdown.
* One of the nicest moments in the first-half was seeing Quinn Ewers hook up with Xavier Worthy on a deep ball. More of that, please. There's a lot more where that came from.
* Arch Manning's first scrimmage completion went to... ummmm... Thatcher Milton. Just like everyone drew it up.
* Johntay Cook made going 80 yards for a touchdown look really easy. That young man is taking someone's snap count when this season starts. He might just be as good as anyone on that offense.
* Deandre Moore can't drop that ball. Even in scrimmages, they don't get much easier than the ball he dropped on the play before Cook's touchdown reception.
* That was a really nice job by Murphy to respond to having a dime dropped in the middle of the field by throwing an even better ball on the very next play.
* Ethan Burke flashed a little in the first half with a sack of Ewers. More of that, please.
* One one hand, Jaydon Blue had a 31-yard touchdown run in the second quarter that was exciting enough that it should give him some juice going into the summer. On the other hand, he had a couple of plays in the third quarter that he just didn't go max effort on. I came away with mixed thoughts on Blue's overall play
* Loved seeing Jordan Whittington making plays after the catch.
* Savion Red is going to need to protect much better than he did against Anthony Hill in the third quarter when the true freshman came inside with a pass rush. Still, I thought Red looked solid on a day when he finished with 42 yards on eight carries. I still don't know that I see a player that is going to have a major impact on the field in 2023, but he's got some stuff to work with.
* After all the buzz from the last 48 hours, true freshman CJ Baxter had a fairly quiet day.
* I thought BJ Allen had himself a solid game to go along with a few nice practices down the stretch this spring. He's starting to look like someone that can be something.
For instance, we already knew that incoming transfer A.D. Mitchell is really good. You don't keep scoring touchdowns in playoff games by accident.
That point was reinforced late in the second quarter when Mitchell made a catch in the end zone that no one in that position grounp was making last year.
Similarly, we came into today with a pretty good idea that sophomore Quinn Ewers is the clear No.1 quarterback in the offense and that was also reinforced on a day when he went 15 of 20 for 193 yards and a touchdown in the first half.
Xavier Worthy is good. Kelvin Banks is also really good. The young quarterbacks were young quarterbacks. The defense is a work in progress.
All things that we came into today knowing. All things that were reinforced. It was kind of a no-surprise Saturday, but that felt like mostly a good thing.
(Other thoughts...)
* I thought Ewers was solid. There wasn't a lot that would make our jaw-drop, but he didn't turn the ball over and he moved the offense up and down the field a few times. It was a rock solid day.
* Maalik Murphy was the best back-up quarterback today. Hell, he might have been the best quarterback on the field. Is that going too far? The young man was 9 of 13 for 166 yards, 1 touchdown and a 201.9 rating.
* Really loved seeing Terrence Brooks battle Xavier Worthy in one on one coverage in the second half. That's exactly what you want to be seeing out of him going into year two.
* It was certainly interesting to see Neto Umeozulu playing with the orange (first-team offense), while Hayden Conner worked with the second-team at center. Perhaps the coaches needed Conner out there at center with the second-team in order to make the game more easily playable. Still, he looked comfortable out there. It was easy to close your eyes and see him out there during the season without any huge issues popping up.
* Kelvin Banks makes Umeozulu look kind of small. It's kind of crazy have quickly he has settled into a total bad-ass that has his position on total lockdown.
* One of the nicest moments in the first-half was seeing Quinn Ewers hook up with Xavier Worthy on a deep ball. More of that, please. There's a lot more where that came from.
* Arch Manning's first scrimmage completion went to... ummmm... Thatcher Milton. Just like everyone drew it up.
* Johntay Cook made going 80 yards for a touchdown look really easy. That young man is taking someone's snap count when this season starts. He might just be as good as anyone on that offense.
* Deandre Moore can't drop that ball. Even in scrimmages, they don't get much easier than the ball he dropped on the play before Cook's touchdown reception.
* That was a really nice job by Murphy to respond to having a dime dropped in the middle of the field by throwing an even better ball on the very next play.
* Ethan Burke flashed a little in the first half with a sack of Ewers. More of that, please.
* One one hand, Jaydon Blue had a 31-yard touchdown run in the second quarter that was exciting enough that it should give him some juice going into the summer. On the other hand, he had a couple of plays in the third quarter that he just didn't go max effort on. I came away with mixed thoughts on Blue's overall play
* Loved seeing Jordan Whittington making plays after the catch.
* Savion Red is going to need to protect much better than he did against Anthony Hill in the third quarter when the true freshman came inside with a pass rush. Still, I thought Red looked solid on a day when he finished with 42 yards on eight carries. I still don't know that I see a player that is going to have a major impact on the field in 2023, but he's got some stuff to work with.
* After all the buzz from the last 48 hours, true freshman CJ Baxter had a fairly quiet day.
* I thought BJ Allen had himself a solid game to go along with a few nice practices down the stretch this spring. He's starting to look like someone that can be something.
Last edited:
