@mshelton33 will be writing a notebook feature about today’s practice, but I thought I’d write some notes about what we saw on the field.
Here are a few takeaways:
The DL shined: There’s no question that the defensive line is far ahead of the offensive line right now. They had several sacks. Michael Kilbane looks like a beast: he added some weight in the offseason and was putting pressure on QBs regularly. Richie Hagarty is lightning fast off the ball and offensive linemen just couldn’t stay in front of him. Those two were among the most impressive players to me.
One of the reasons the DL looked good was because the offensive line is undermanned and guys were playing out of position. They had just eight guys dressed and playing today. The first team was Tiernan and Wrather at tackle, Herzog and Thompson at guard, and Carsello at center. McGuire, Birsa and Edwards were the other three rotating in. McGuire was playing out of position at right tackle, for example, and Kilbane made him look like a turnstile a couple times.
I talked to Bill O’Boyle (cool guy) after practice, and he said not to put any stock into all of the player movement on the OL. It was done out of necessity just so they could make it through spring ball. So most of the guys will be moving back to their original positions by fall.
O’Boyle said that incoming grad transfer Jack Bailey will play guard or center, while Matt Keeler will be a tackle. He said they’d also like to add one, maybe two more tackles in the portal.
I also talked to Tiernan and will be writing a feature on the OL.
NU still needs a QB: The quarterbacks had what I’d call a tough day. Some of that can be attributed to the defensive line dominating and putting pressure on them almost immediately for much of the scrimmage. A pretty strong wind was blowing in off the lake, too, which definitely affected some of longer throws.
Sullivan didn’t take a whole lot of snaps; they know what they have with him. Lausch is still a work in progress as a passer; I’ll leave it at that. He did have a good throw to Lang for a touchdown in red zone drills. Hilinski looked like Hilinski. As the least mobile QB, he had the most trouble with the rush.
I was impressed by Aidan Gray. He certainly looks the part, with good size at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds. He made what I thought was the best throw of the day for a touchdown into a really tight window on a crossing pattern. I believe the receiver was Covey. Gray offers some hope for the future, but I doubt he’s ready to contribute this season.
Regardless, I think NU needs to land a quarterback to either take the starting job or, at the very least, push Sullivan. Gronowski is the top choice, but even if he decides to stay at SDSU, they need a veteran transfer.
Matt requested to interview Lujan and Sullivan, but Lujan didn't want to talk to the media and Sullivan left after conducting a couple TV interviews. So he didn't get either of them.
The offense has some playmakers: Henning was one of the standouts at practice. He caught a short swing pass in the flat from Sullivan, turned on the jets and took it the distance. He has a gear that no one else out there does. He’s going to be a much bigger factor this season.
Joseph Himon really showed some burst, too. He took an inside zone, made a cut and broke it for a long gain, right up the middle. He looked explosive.
With those two and Kirtz, NU has some big-play potential on offense, something we don’t often see in Evanston. The offensive line needs to come together and quarterback is a concern, but the Cats have some guys who can run.
A lot of backups got a lot of reps: This is an annual rite of spring, as there were a lot of key players out who didn’t take part in the scrimmage. So a lot of backups logged a lot of playing time.
Among running backs, Porter barely played and Komolafe was on a scooter with his lower leg in a cast. So Arthurs got a bunch of carries and was the Mr. April workhorse. Kunickis also got quite a bit of playing time.
Knox was out on the OL, but O’Boyle said he would be back in about four weeks and should be fully healthy by fall.
At linebacker, Mueller and Uehlein hardly played, so Brus, Metz and Soares were in there a lot.
At corner, Johnson was out for personal reasons and Adeyi didn’t play. So guys like Shivers, Braeden Turner, Smith and Fussell got a lot of reps. Fussell is another one of those physically impressive guys. Shivers is a feisty, physical corner who had a dustup with Covey at one point and the two had to be separated.
At safety, Coco and Turner didn’t play, so Fitzgerald, Lewis and the gigantic Wallace all played a lot.
The stadium was a big topic of conversation: There was a pretty good turnout of fans and family today in the stands of Martin Stadium, and there was a lot of buzz about what the new stadium would look like.
From what I heard, the stadium will not look at all like the crude drawings we saw on social media. The program wasn’t happy that the crude renderings got out there.
Most of the seats will mostly be in the end zone out of necessity. Sources also said that stands would be built on top of the existing sideline stands at Martin, which can only hold maybe a couple thousand people. They will include a press box, as well as luxury suites. They don’t have a lot of room behind the stands on which to build, so I’m interested to see what the drawings will look like.
Braun took the mike after the game to say a few words to the fans. He mentioned that they are playing in their future home for the next two years, and that drew a cheer from the crowd. People are excited about it. (Except for
@gocatsgo2003, of course.)
It was cold out there today, with temps in the low 40s and the wind coming off the lake. When the sun dipped behind the clouds, it felt like November. Imagine what it will feel like when it’s really November. So it’s a good thing that they will likely play their last two games, against Ohio State and Illinois, at other venues. However, I heard a rumor that the Oct. 16 game against Wisconsin will likely be played on the lakefront. We'll see.
Let me know if you have specific questions and I'll try to answer them.
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