EVANSTON-If it rains on Saturday night during their game against Nebraska, the Wildcats will certainly be prepared.
After practicing in the rain yesterday, the Wildcats were once again outdoors in a chilly drizzle on Wednesday morning. But the annoying, persistent mist certainly didn't dampen the team's enthusiasm during a spirited two-hour workout.
The Wildcats wore their new "Northwestern Gothic" helmets during practice, with a flat black matte finish and the gold school arch in the back. The N decals were not yet on the sides of the helmets. (My take: the arch looks a little ornate for a football helmet, but I like the matte look. The Gothic lettered pullovers the coaches were wearing are sharp.)
One of the guys I was watching today was Solomon Vault. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald said yesterday on the coaches teleconference that Vault was "close to 100 percent" and will be an integral part of the offense moving forward. The freshman running back is returning from an injury and was visibly tired. In 7-on-7s, quarterback Trevor Siemian couldn't find anyone open and scrambled around for a long while before finding Vault for a touchdown in the corner. Vault, who was running back and forth in the end zone the entire time, took his helmet off, gasped for air and jogged slowly back to the sideline. Running backs coach Matt MacPherson shouted, "You're out of shape!" He needs conditioning but he looked good, and a Wildcat offense starving for big plays can use his explosiveness.
Overall, my biggest impressions were how good the first defense is in pass coverage and how sharp the quarterbacks looked.
There were several times during 7-on-7s and full scrimmages where the scout team quarterback just couldn't find anyone open and the play had to be whistled dead. Just about any completion made was a cause for celebration. Nick VanHoose looked very good once again and drew some praise from Fitz after practice.
Siemian looked to be wearing about five pounds of athletic tape today, and he had both[/I] of his ankles taped heavily. It certainly didn't hamper his accuracy. On one three-play sequence in 11-on-11, he hit Kyle Prater on a post for a long gain, threw a strike to Tony Jones on a deep out, and then threw a good ball to Mike McHugh on a seam route that the receiver couldn't quite reel in.
After last week's shaky showing, Zack Oliver looked impressive today, too. He threw a perfect fade to Austin Carr in the corner of the end zone in red-zone drills and made the best throw of the day, from the right hash to the left sideline, to Shuler. He also threw a rainbow deep ball to Tony Jones on a blown coverage for a touchdown. I've always thought that Oliver threw the best deep ball of the bunch.
Both Siemian and Oliver throw the corner route in the end zone very well. We haven't seen it in games, but they have both shown the ability many times in practice.
Matt Alviti also looked good, dropping a teardrop in to Pierre Youngblood-Ary on a long out pattern. He also put an ankle-breaking stutter-step on Deonte Gibson on a scramble.
Here are some notes:
- The defensive sideline was all over tackle Eric Olson today, chanting his name three different times and riding him throughout the scrimmage session. I'm not sure what the reason was, but they were having a lot of fun with it.
- I only noticed one set of down-ups today, by the offense for a Hayden Baker snap the sailed over the head of Zack Oliver. Mick McCall jumped all over Baker for that one.
- Offensive line coach Adam Cushing must run two miles during every practice. He watches the play, runs up to the line to chew someone out, shout encouragement or give out a high-five, and then sprints back. No wonder the guy has been able to keep off the weight he lost.
- Chi Chi Ariguzo had the only interception that I saw in the scrimmage, but the first defense did a great job blanketing receivers.
- Dean Lowry showed his athleticism on one play when pressuring Clayton Thorson outside of the pocket. Thorson tried to throw over him but Lowry leapt and batted it down. Thorson, though, caught it in the air and took off running. Lowry has some impressive hops for a big man.
- The highlight for the scout team was in goal-line, when Corey Acker ran over Drew Smith and barreled in for a touchdown. The entire offense left the sideline and mobbed him in the end zone.
- Siemian threw a go route to Andrew Scanlan and it sailed on him, hitting the fence and bouncing into a neighbor's yard. I've never seen that happen before.
- Fitz was a little testy after practice today when talking about his Leadership Council. He said he was disappointed by the way the team started the season, but praised the LC for responding and bringing about the change in practices. He said it's necessary because "top-down leadership doesn't work" with this generation. He then went into a mini-rant (not angry but passionate) about how spoiled this generation is with "all their toys." He had a funny line about kids complaining: "You got a B? No one cares. Stop being a nerd. Be a man!" For whatever reason, the question struck a nerve; something was clearly under the coach's skin.
- Fitz downplayed the affect that the special uniforms might have on recruiting. "Whatever," he said. He did say that he valued Under Armour as a partner, though, and appreciates everything they do for the program.
Let me know if you have any specific questions.
After practicing in the rain yesterday, the Wildcats were once again outdoors in a chilly drizzle on Wednesday morning. But the annoying, persistent mist certainly didn't dampen the team's enthusiasm during a spirited two-hour workout.
The Wildcats wore their new "Northwestern Gothic" helmets during practice, with a flat black matte finish and the gold school arch in the back. The N decals were not yet on the sides of the helmets. (My take: the arch looks a little ornate for a football helmet, but I like the matte look. The Gothic lettered pullovers the coaches were wearing are sharp.)
One of the guys I was watching today was Solomon Vault. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald said yesterday on the coaches teleconference that Vault was "close to 100 percent" and will be an integral part of the offense moving forward. The freshman running back is returning from an injury and was visibly tired. In 7-on-7s, quarterback Trevor Siemian couldn't find anyone open and scrambled around for a long while before finding Vault for a touchdown in the corner. Vault, who was running back and forth in the end zone the entire time, took his helmet off, gasped for air and jogged slowly back to the sideline. Running backs coach Matt MacPherson shouted, "You're out of shape!" He needs conditioning but he looked good, and a Wildcat offense starving for big plays can use his explosiveness.
Overall, my biggest impressions were how good the first defense is in pass coverage and how sharp the quarterbacks looked.
There were several times during 7-on-7s and full scrimmages where the scout team quarterback just couldn't find anyone open and the play had to be whistled dead. Just about any completion made was a cause for celebration. Nick VanHoose looked very good once again and drew some praise from Fitz after practice.
Siemian looked to be wearing about five pounds of athletic tape today, and he had both[/I] of his ankles taped heavily. It certainly didn't hamper his accuracy. On one three-play sequence in 11-on-11, he hit Kyle Prater on a post for a long gain, threw a strike to Tony Jones on a deep out, and then threw a good ball to Mike McHugh on a seam route that the receiver couldn't quite reel in.
After last week's shaky showing, Zack Oliver looked impressive today, too. He threw a perfect fade to Austin Carr in the corner of the end zone in red-zone drills and made the best throw of the day, from the right hash to the left sideline, to Shuler. He also threw a rainbow deep ball to Tony Jones on a blown coverage for a touchdown. I've always thought that Oliver threw the best deep ball of the bunch.
Both Siemian and Oliver throw the corner route in the end zone very well. We haven't seen it in games, but they have both shown the ability many times in practice.
Matt Alviti also looked good, dropping a teardrop in to Pierre Youngblood-Ary on a long out pattern. He also put an ankle-breaking stutter-step on Deonte Gibson on a scramble.
Here are some notes:
- The defensive sideline was all over tackle Eric Olson today, chanting his name three different times and riding him throughout the scrimmage session. I'm not sure what the reason was, but they were having a lot of fun with it.
- I only noticed one set of down-ups today, by the offense for a Hayden Baker snap the sailed over the head of Zack Oliver. Mick McCall jumped all over Baker for that one.
- Offensive line coach Adam Cushing must run two miles during every practice. He watches the play, runs up to the line to chew someone out, shout encouragement or give out a high-five, and then sprints back. No wonder the guy has been able to keep off the weight he lost.
- Chi Chi Ariguzo had the only interception that I saw in the scrimmage, but the first defense did a great job blanketing receivers.
- Dean Lowry showed his athleticism on one play when pressuring Clayton Thorson outside of the pocket. Thorson tried to throw over him but Lowry leapt and batted it down. Thorson, though, caught it in the air and took off running. Lowry has some impressive hops for a big man.
- The highlight for the scout team was in goal-line, when Corey Acker ran over Drew Smith and barreled in for a touchdown. The entire offense left the sideline and mobbed him in the end zone.
- Siemian threw a go route to Andrew Scanlan and it sailed on him, hitting the fence and bouncing into a neighbor's yard. I've never seen that happen before.
- Fitz was a little testy after practice today when talking about his Leadership Council. He said he was disappointed by the way the team started the season, but praised the LC for responding and bringing about the change in practices. He said it's necessary because "top-down leadership doesn't work" with this generation. He then went into a mini-rant (not angry but passionate) about how spoiled this generation is with "all their toys." He had a funny line about kids complaining: "You got a B? No one cares. Stop being a nerd. Be a man!" For whatever reason, the question struck a nerve; something was clearly under the coach's skin.
- Fitz downplayed the affect that the special uniforms might have on recruiting. "Whatever," he said. He did say that he valued Under Armour as a partner, though, and appreciates everything they do for the program.
Let me know if you have any specific questions.
