I only saw the Cats once all spring, so take these with a grain of salt, but here are some observations:
- Nathan Fox is BIG. He looks more like a DE than a LB, and I wonder if he's going to eat himself to playing with one hand on the ground.
- Joe Gaziano looks the part. Very impressive body for a RSF DE. To me, he looks ready. Trent Goens still looks a little skinny.
- Jordan Thompson already looks a little thicker in the middle. NU is going to be talented and deep at DT, especially once Kuhar gets back.
- Godwin looks a little thinner to me, and I think that may be a good thing. Traveon got a little too big, in my opinion, so I think being lighter and faster could help Godwin. We know he hits a ton.
- Keith Watkins is SCRAPPY. He's very physical and aggressive and one of those guys that always seems to be looking for a fight. He shoved Charlie Fessler, but after squaring off, Fessler wanted no part of him.
- Fessler is a big kid. NU has a lot of big guys on the outside, with him, Cameron Green and Andrew Scanlan (Macan Wilson didn't practice). My concern is whether they'll be able to beat man coverage and get separation. But they should be able to go up and get the ball, and Fessler looks like an athlete.
- I think NU has plenty of playmakers on the inside, though. Flynn Nagel, Jelani Roberts and Solomon Vault can all make plays, as can John Moten, Auston Anderson, Warren Long and Justin Jackson out of the backfield. Anderson and Moten both showed some burst today.
- Thorson looked about the same to me. He threw some good balls and missed on some too. But Mick McCall says his fundamentals have greatly improved and he's much more accurate this spring. I freely admit that I'm no expert when it comes to that stuff. He threw a pick to Cam Queiro (another player who caught my eye) and then tried to make the tackle in his return. I thought the coaches were going to have a heart attack, but luckily Queiro went down before Thorson got a shot at him.
- Matt Alviti was out there in this strange white plastic brace on his left thigh. He had hip surgery so was relegated to signaling in plays. Fitz and McCall both talked about how important it is to get him back. I agree. I only saw one Big Ten QB out there today.
- DT Fred Wyatt is a load. He's another DL that looks the part, though he's just a RSF.
- Marcus McShepard looked pretty comfortable at wide receiver and made a couple nice catches. As McCall said, though, he's got a ways to go mentally to be a contributor. But he definitely has the athleticism and skills.
- Some of these number changed drive me crazy. Why did Matthew Harris change his number to 11 after three years with 27? Jayme Taylor is wearing 19.
- Superback was a MASH unit today. Garrett Dickerson and James Prather were not dressed and Taylor wasn't scrimmaging. So walkon Eric Lutzen was getting a lot of reps and NU ran a lot of four-wide sets.
Shoot me some questions and I'll see if I can answer them.
- Nathan Fox is BIG. He looks more like a DE than a LB, and I wonder if he's going to eat himself to playing with one hand on the ground.
- Joe Gaziano looks the part. Very impressive body for a RSF DE. To me, he looks ready. Trent Goens still looks a little skinny.
- Jordan Thompson already looks a little thicker in the middle. NU is going to be talented and deep at DT, especially once Kuhar gets back.
- Godwin looks a little thinner to me, and I think that may be a good thing. Traveon got a little too big, in my opinion, so I think being lighter and faster could help Godwin. We know he hits a ton.
- Keith Watkins is SCRAPPY. He's very physical and aggressive and one of those guys that always seems to be looking for a fight. He shoved Charlie Fessler, but after squaring off, Fessler wanted no part of him.
- Fessler is a big kid. NU has a lot of big guys on the outside, with him, Cameron Green and Andrew Scanlan (Macan Wilson didn't practice). My concern is whether they'll be able to beat man coverage and get separation. But they should be able to go up and get the ball, and Fessler looks like an athlete.
- I think NU has plenty of playmakers on the inside, though. Flynn Nagel, Jelani Roberts and Solomon Vault can all make plays, as can John Moten, Auston Anderson, Warren Long and Justin Jackson out of the backfield. Anderson and Moten both showed some burst today.
- Thorson looked about the same to me. He threw some good balls and missed on some too. But Mick McCall says his fundamentals have greatly improved and he's much more accurate this spring. I freely admit that I'm no expert when it comes to that stuff. He threw a pick to Cam Queiro (another player who caught my eye) and then tried to make the tackle in his return. I thought the coaches were going to have a heart attack, but luckily Queiro went down before Thorson got a shot at him.
- Matt Alviti was out there in this strange white plastic brace on his left thigh. He had hip surgery so was relegated to signaling in plays. Fitz and McCall both talked about how important it is to get him back. I agree. I only saw one Big Ten QB out there today.
- DT Fred Wyatt is a load. He's another DL that looks the part, though he's just a RSF.
- Marcus McShepard looked pretty comfortable at wide receiver and made a couple nice catches. As McCall said, though, he's got a ways to go mentally to be a contributor. But he definitely has the athleticism and skills.
- Some of these number changed drive me crazy. Why did Matthew Harris change his number to 11 after three years with 27? Jayme Taylor is wearing 19.
- Superback was a MASH unit today. Garrett Dickerson and James Prather were not dressed and Taylor wasn't scrimmaging. So walkon Eric Lutzen was getting a lot of reps and NU ran a lot of four-wide sets.
Shoot me some questions and I'll see if I can answer them.
