My takeaways ------
1. Heard was quite impressive in his short to mid passing game. Not only does he have good touch but he is quickly recognizing the open receiver and accurately putting the ball in the right place for the receiver most of the time. In his run acceleration and quickness, he is adding another aspect of the game over TS that the defense has to worry about. In the first touchdown JH showed an instinct and a fast follow through that you do not see from TS. However, JH may still have a little too much "happy feet" and may choose to run more than he needs to . It is difficult to say how JH will do in the mid to long passing game because there was not that much evidence to suggest one way or another. That last long completion in the second half was a nice throw but there were others that could have been miscommunication with the receiver, or he tried to force the ball between two defenders. If you consider that this was his first performance on display, if he continues to progress at this rate, I have no doubt that JH will be the starting QB by mid-season. For a first effort, JH is cool under pressure when faced with pressure from the defense.
2. Swoopes' work in the weight room shows. He has bulked up more and , with his size, will be difficult to bring down. Although the zone read was missing in this game because of the no-touch rules with the QB, TS will bring an added dimension for the defense to worry about when the offense is 5-10 yards from the goal line in the red zone. TS is handling pressure from the defense better than last year, but his passing is still inconsistent, although he is not as much off target as last year. He shows evidence that he has taken it to the next level from what we saw in 2014; but is that going to be good enough to win? Both QBs show a good handle on this up-tempo offense, at least for the simplified version that was shown in this spring scrimmage.
3. The OL was not consistently opening up space for the runners. At times you could not tell whether the Oline was not good or the defensive line was that much better. It is difficult to say which. Foreman is definitely the second string RB now and makes the decision to take him with his brother as a very smart one. Donte looked good in both receiving and running the ball. We will have to wait and see about that new freshman RB coming this fall. Foreman will at least be good competition for Warren.
4. Daje was not being show cased during this game. He looks to have picked up good weight and will be harder to bring down in the fall.
5. There is a lot of hope present with the new DBs. Echols, Bonnie, Hughes, and Freeman were flying around all over the place. Malik is quite an unusual-looking player for someone who is not even a freshman yet. When he has a definite assignment like when he is blitzing, he really looks good. There are times though that he does not yet know what to do and is waiting for the play to develop ---- not sure if they are testing him in a new philosophy now. He still needs time to develop his instinct as an LB. BUT what a physique for a freshman !!
6. Except for the Heard to Lorenzo connection, there did not seem to be a WR standing out as a star today. The Horns still do not have a passing game to the tight ends. The short passing game looks sharper than last year.
7. It is hard to tell about the future of the DL from today. Cottrell -- Cottrell --Cottrell -- WOW !
8. If injuries do not cripple the team in the fall, we will go at least 8-4. However, look out for the inexperience from the youngsters. Real good teams will take advantage of them.
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Last edited: Apr 18, 2015
