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Greenstein Practice Observations

I am personally shocked to see Drake Anderson as a contender for playing time, given his late commitment and relatively light offer list. That’s exciting, given the depth that’s already at the position.

I wonder if there’s significance in listing Skowronek then Lees then Nagel. They’re not alphabetical. Obviously, all will play a ton, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Skowronek to lead the pack. It would be surprising if Lees saw more snaps/targets than Nagel.


Starting with a conference game is awesome.
 
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This part was music to my ears "There’s probably no greater setting for a college football practice."

Yes, we are talkin' 'bout practice.

Considering that these kids spend a ton of time practicing, this type of vibe can only help recruiting, assuming recruits pick up on it.

But a "beautiful practice setting" are words I never thought I would hear uttered about NU football. Now it is becoming common.
 
I am personally shocked to see Drake Anderson as a contender for playing time, given his late commitment and relatively light offer list. That’s exciting, given the depth that’s already at the position.

I wonder if there’s significance in listing Skowronek then Lees then Nagel. They’re not alphabetical. Obviously, all will play a ton, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Skowronek to lead the pack. It would be surprising if Lees saw more snaps/targets than Nagel.


Starting with a conference game is awesome.

I don't know that he's saying Anderson is a contender for playing time, but that he'll push the #2 and #3 guys. Given that we took two RBs last year, it would only make sense to have at least one of them redshirt and Bowser seems more physically ready. Anderson would have to be sufficiently better than Brown (a little odd that he didn't get any mention) right now to merit giving up a fifth year down the line.

Of course the four-game redshirt rule changes the traditional thinking. Perhaps you see Larkin as RB1, Moten as RB2, then a rotating cast of Anderson, Bowser, and Brown as the "flight deck" guys, perhaps even using Bowser selectively in four games as game scenarios dictate (i.e. short yardage situations where a bigger back might be helpful)?
 
I am personally shocked to see Drake Anderson as a contender for playing time, given his late commitment and relatively light offer list. That’s exciting, given the depth that’s already at the position.

I wonder if there’s significance in listing Skowronek then Lees then Nagel. They’re not alphabetical. Obviously, all will play a ton, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Skowronek to lead the pack. It would be surprising if Lees saw more snaps/targets than Nagel.


Starting with a conference game is awesome.

We are really deep at WR. I expect several guys not even mentioned to be strong contributors.
 
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It was nice to see mention of Thorson’s summer work on mechanics. I remember posting shortly after his injury that an unfortunate outcome of it, even if he were to be ready early in the season, would be the loss of time to correct some mechanics inconsistencies that had crept into his game. I clearly did not understand the ins and outs of the rehab process, and it is great to hear he was able to accomplish this work.
 
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So who do you guys think will start at QB against Purdue? I'm guessing we won't see Thorson, if only to mitigate any risk of re-injuring his knee which would wipe out the season for him. If we can get by with a well-managed game by the backup (Green?) and exploit Purdue's inexperienced defense, that would seem to be the best (conservative) scenario. Of course if we fall behind by a couple of scores early and have trouble passing, then we might see Thor come on in relief in the second half.

Of course if the doc gives Thor the green light, he could start the game. But I'm expecting more a conservative approach.
 
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Honestly, it's almost too optimistic. I wish there were a bit more skepticism.

(cue GCG saying "this is why we can't have nice things")

I liked everything I read, and I largely agree. Confirms a lot of what we thought was true about the third LB spot, the starting safeties, and the top WRs. And I realize that Teddy has a word count that he has to hit, and can't get as in depth as we all would like. But...

Several players are competing for the No. 2 spot behind superback Cam Green (who? Pugh and who else? Seemed like it was Pugh's job to lose, frankly.)

Freshman JJ Jefferson, a 167-pound speedster from Houston, could have a huge impact. (How exactly? What did you see to make you say this, while Vault just "will get his chances"?)

The O-line looks solid with four returning starters (sure, but any fresh color from them or Fitz about how they'll avoid awful starts like the past two years?)

(yes, I know, we need real football badly)
 
So who do you guys think will start at QB against Purdue? I'm guessing we won't see Thorson, if only to mitigate any risk of re-injuring his knee which would wipe out the season for him. If we can get by with a well-managed game by the backup (Green?) and exploit Purdue's inexperienced defense, that would seem to be the best (conservative) scenario. Of course if we fall behind by a couple of scores early and have trouble passing, then we might see Thor come on in relief in the second half.

Of course if the doc gives Thor the green light, he could start the game. But I'm expecting more a conservative approach.

Wow...your'e guessing we won't see Thorson? I'd be hugely disappointed if this were the case. All the tea leaves appear to be pointing to CT starting vs. Purdue. What am I missing?
 
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We are really deep at WR. I expect several guys not even mentioned to be strong contributors.

Surprised Jalen Brown wasn't mentioned. He was supposed to be one of Oregon's top WRs had he not transferred. Of course, there's that injury he was recovering from, but still...
 
Surprised Jalen Brown wasn't mentioned. He was supposed to be one of Oregon's top WRs had he not transferred. Of course, there's that injury he was recovering from, but still...
Me too. His Mom said earlier this summer he was doing well with his rehab and added some needed pounds of muscle.
 
So who do you guys think will start at QB against Purdue? I'm guessing we won't see Thorson, if only to mitigate any risk of re-injuring his knee which would wipe out the season for him. If we can get by with a well-managed game by the backup (Green?) and exploit Purdue's inexperienced defense, that would seem to be the best (conservative) scenario. Of course if we fall behind by a couple of scores early and have trouble passing, then we might see Thor come on in relief in the second half.

Of course if the doc gives Thor the green light, he could start the game. But I'm expecting more a conservative approach.

Thorson. Purdue is a "must win" if we want to be in the running for the B1G West.
 
Surprised Jalen Brown wasn't mentioned. He was supposed to be one of Oregon's top WRs had he not transferred. Of course, there's that injury he was recovering from, but still...

It's a 12-bullet point-by-point. Teddy isn't going to be able to mention every single guy.
 
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It's a 12-bullet point-by-point. Teddy isn't going to be able to mention every single guy.

No, but in discussing the WR corp including who was going to have impact, he named six players, and one of them wasn't Brown.

If you're going to be snarky (which I guess goes without saying), try to have it make a little sense.
 
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No, but in discussing the WR corp including who was going to have impact, he named six players, and one of them wasn't Brown.

If you're going to be snarky (which I guess goes without saying), try to have it make a little sense.

MOAR!!!

(It's one dude's observation of one practice... doesn't mean Jalen isn't in a position to contribute)
 
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I can't recall such pre-season optimism. Not even iffy here and there. I'm having trouble sustaining the angst... might last all the way to kickoff...
 
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Surprised Jalen Brown wasn't mentioned. He was supposed to be one of Oregon's top WRs had he not transferred. Of course, there's that injury he was recovering from, but still...

Good point, forgot about him. Which is a reflection of how NU has so many potentially solid WRs for the first time in years.

I wouldn't read too much into it, but I'm still wondering what specifically Teddy saw in JJJ.
 
Good point, forgot about him. Which is a reflection of how NU has so many potentially solid WRs for the first time in years.

I wouldn't read too much into it, but I'm still wondering what specifically Teddy saw in JJJ.

Have heard a couple different people say he looks dynamic out there with a different gear than we’ve usually seen, which is a little surprising as he looked more “quicker than fast” on tape.
 
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Wow...your'e guessing we won't see Thorson? I'd be hugely disappointed if this were the case. All the tea leaves appear to be pointing to CT starting vs. Purdue. What am I missing?
If Thorson isn’t playing, look for me to be the guy carried out on a stretcher from the last row of Ross-Ade.
 
MOAR!!!

(It's one dude's observation of one practice... doesn't mean Jalen isn't in a position to contribute)

Which is irrelevant to my point. No one is talking about Jalen not being in a position to contribute. Again, I'm surprised he wasn't mentioned when one dude talked about the WRs and mentioned 6 other players and not Brown.

The MOAR schtick works better when it's on target too. A bit nonsensical to use it here, since it has nothing to do with wanting more from the team. What's wrong with you today? It's like you're Robocop after getting his ass kicked and your targeting mechanism is way off.
 
Surprised Jalen Brown wasn't mentioned. He was supposed to be one of Oregon's top WRs had he not transferred. Of course, there's that injury he was recovering from, but still...
We have a long track record of high profile transfers who we expect to be stars who just don't pan out. Not saying that will happen here, but I've stopped assuming that a high profile transfer will instantly be a hit for us - except for Hunter J. I've fallen into that trap completely and expect him to win the Heisman.
 
Doesn’t look to me like Thorson is even wearing a brace in that clip. Looks like some sort of knee wrap. Am I missing something?
 
We have a long track record of high profile transfers who we expect to be stars who just don't pan out. Not saying that will happen here, but I've stopped assuming that a high profile transfer will instantly be a hit for us - except for Hunter J. I've fallen into that trap completely and expect him to win the Heisman.

Speaking of Hunter...

 
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It will be interesting to watch the Big Ten report today from their bus tour. Let's see if they are upbeat. They've been pretty upbeat with just about everyone Purdue Nebraska Minnesota Etc.
 
Doesn’t look to me like Thorson is even wearing a brace in that clip. Looks like some sort of knee wrap. Am I missing something?

There's definitely a metal structure in it, but it's pretty slim... certainly not the big, bulky kind of brace he would be wearing if he needed additional stability.
 
There's definitely a metal structure in it, but it's pretty slim... certainly not the big, bulky kind of brace he would be wearing if he needed additional stability.

Yes. Much less bulky and cumbersome than braces I've seen other QBs wearing after coming off of knee injuries. Encouraging.

By the way, per a Revsine tweet, the first airing of the NU Bus Tour stop has been moved to 6pm EST (5pm CST) tonight.
 
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Yes. Much less bulky and cumbersome than braces I've seen other QBs wearing after coming off of knee injuries. Encouraging.

By the way, per a Revsine tweet, the first airing of the NU Bus Tour stop has been moved to 6pm EST (5pm CST) tonight.
Per another Revsine tweet, Slater and OL looking good.....

 
Yes. Much less bulky and cumbersome than braces I've seen other QBs wearing after coming off of knee injuries. Encouraging.

By the way, per a Revsine tweet, the first airing of the NU Bus Tour stop has been moved to 6pm EST (5pm CST) tonight.
Likely to be pre-empted by new scandals at PSU and OSU (it IS Thursday, right?).
 
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It will be interesting to watch the Big Ten report today from their bus tour. Let's see if they are upbeat. They've been pretty upbeat with just about everyone Purdue Nebraska Minnesota Etc.
They were upbeat with Minny? One of the kinder things they said was that it would be a rebuilding year...
 
I wonder if there’s significance in listing Skowronek then Lees then Nagel. They’re not alphabetical. Obviously, all will play a ton, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Skowronek to lead the pack. It would be surprising if Lees saw more snaps/targets than Nagel.
.

Surprising but not impossible to my thinking and it would be a really good sign for NU. Nagel is pretty good, I'm a fan but Lees was a QB with a lot of athlete talent. I could see him making a more dramatic improvement at WR year to year than Nagel. We have had some great success with converted QBs Ebert to name one.
 
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