I was able to attend the first 2 practices and heres a short rundown of what happened, things i noticed...etc. - young DB's look great. Chykie Brown is looking like our best DB right now, he's all over the field. Wells and Thomas are the first team safeties right now during 7-7. 11-11. - the backup QB's have a way to go. they made some good throws and some pretty bad throws. Colt looks pretty good considering the lack of time he's had with the newer WR's - Malcolm Williams is definitely starting to separate from the pack. I don't know if i've ever seen a 6'3" 225 lb WR run like that. - Buckner looks good too, made some nice catches today (Saturday). - First team defensive line consisted of Houston, Miller, Alexander, and Orakpo - On friday, Muschamp ran a 4-2-5, Nickel look almost the entire time rotating LB groups. Group 1 was Muck and Bobino. Group 2 was Norton and Robinson. - Keenan Robinson has grown and certainly passed the eyeball test, the man was stellar in coverage. - Shipley looks like hes finally gotten his first injury-free offseason, you can definitely tell he's improved a lot. - Cody Johnson looks like a TANK - Fozzy has shown tremendous speed and agility while looking bigger as well. But you can definitely tell that McGee is the best 'back on the team. - Beasley looked great in coverage as well. If you're looking at just the last 2 practices, Palmer is the third corner right now. Chykie was covering Quan and he had absolutely no way of getting by him. STUD - INJURY REPORT: Curtis Brown had arthroscopic knee surgery a couple days ago, it's not serious as he was seen walking around during practice. However, he did have a limp. Mack has said he'll be back for the last 8 practices. - The Lb's look like they will not be a problem this year as Muschamp sent Robinson, Muck, and Norton as the "first" team for Saturday's 11-11's That's all for now, feel free to ask questions, i'll do my best to answer.
Muschamp didn't like one of the DBs effort today during 11 on 11 and screamed at him to buckle his chinstrap and that he better get into his man. When he didn't react quick enough he told him to drag it off the field. About 15 minutes later when the same DB made a great play way down the field he was the first one down the field congratulating him. Another time he got right in the face of a starting LB and tore him up when he got sucked inside and Colt ran up the middle for a big gain. I think he means it when he says if they aren't going to bring it, they won't be playing.
With Kindle out for the spring that provides a great opportunity for Robinson to get more reps. I am earnestly awaiting to see how Earnest looks bulked up as well.
So from what Austin said, Muschamp is just like Akina has been for years. Highly motivated, quick to make instant correction with authority and yet the very first to reinforce positive behavior or actions. Excellent!
Here's another little nugget about Muschamp... During Friday's practice, Roddrick Muckelroy picked off Colt and ran it back for a touchdown. Will Muschamp trailed the defense down the field and got right into the middle of the celebration. We've got a keeper.
MVP, Completely agree on Chykie and Malcolm Williams. I have a feeling they are going to be bigtime for us this year.
Hearing the positive comments about Chykie is great! I was starting to think he was a bit of a bust. But if he is finally turning the corner and will challenge for a starting spot this year....well that would be just huge and amazing. DE, DT, and LB has the talent there. at DT we are just looking to identify who will be the 2nd starter and who among the backups will stand out. Then at LB we are just looking to see how the talent develops and if Will finally puts makes the best 3 LB's starters. But at DB there is a much bigger unknown which makes this position the most exciting to watch during the spring. How do Thomas, Scott, and Wells step in after redshirting? Does Beasley finally win that starting spot? How do Monroe and Williams fit in when they arrive in the summer? I think this unit could easily be the most improved on the team this year.
Along with the Allen question, how is the O-Line in general right now? I haven't heard anything about where people are expecting to play after so much changing last year? Chiles on the field?
The original poster's observations matched much of what I saw. I also watched the kickers. Tucker has a big time leg. He gets the ball up faster and has better height and distance than Bailey and Lawrence. And, better accuracy in practice kicks although he did miss on Saturday with the whole team lined up. They didn't do kickoffs, but he may be the answer there this year, but I suspect he'll be a very good kicker for us. We haven't had someone with this strong a leg since at least Stockton. On the OL Dockery looked truly healthy for the first time in years, and was moving real well. With Ulatoski Out, Allen was lining up at LT. Allen has a big gut and is slow sealing protecting the corner, not a good option for us at tackle in my opinion. Greg Smith looked healthy as well and has bulked up enough to possible help at tackle. I hope someone can backup at tackle and allow Allen to move inside. He also was handling kick snaps, and while he won't be confused with Loeffler, he should do a good job. Of the early enrollees, Snow looks very good and may have a shot at adding some depth to the guard spot this year. Buchanon is probably a red shirt candidate, as he needs to grow into the position more. Buchner runs great routes and shows great hands when running for the WR coach, and is far ahead of where Sweed was as a freshman, but he had some drops Saturday. He is about 1 1/2 inches taller than Williams. Buckner did seem to have trouble getting to the ball on deep routes, so he may not have elite speed, but it should be good enough. He had typical freshman WR problems fighting off corners, getting pushed off his route or slowing down causing an overthrow. After a summer of work I think he can fill Sweed's role nicely, if Williams falters. Williams practice routes are sloppier than Buckner and his hands aren't quite as good, but put him in 7 on 7 or 11 on 11 and he looks outstanding. He is definitely the surprise at the WR position, and may be able to start at SE allowing Cosby to move back to Flanker with Shipley in the slot. Collins and Kurkendal are coming along OK, but get pushed off their routes by physical corners. I really like Fitzhenry in the slot. He looks like our fastest WR, although it could just be the turnover rate of his feet. He is learning the position, but should do good things down the road. Defensively Robinson was very impressive, as others have said. He may start at SLB and was practicing with the first team a lot. He has great height and speed and is great in coverage against the TEs. He wil be a huge upgrade in the LB corp as far as pass coverage is concerned. The corners look set with Palmer and Beasely staring and Chykie coming in at corner in the nickel, with Palmer moving over the slot. It looks like we will see more man coverage of the slot receiver than we have seen recently. It should help. Ishie is sidelined so Thomas and Wells were handling the safety spots. Wells is much better in coverage but Thomas looks promising. He has a real low center of gravity, and cuts well, but needs to work on his coverage skills. Fitzhenry beat him badly a couple times on Friday in 1 on 1 pass catching drills. In the nickel we actually practiced with 3 LBs about a third of the time in position drills, so I expect to see more 3 DL formations in obvious passing situations. I am afraid that Alexander is too undersized and won't command double teams. After only seeing 2 practices the second tackle spot is the biggest question mark on the whole team as far as I am concerned. I really like some of the changes Muschamp has brought. He has spent a lot more time than previous DCs, lining the LBs and DBs up and running walkons or receivers, backs and TEs against them, working on coverage responsibilities. The drills he has designed look much more effective than what I have seen in the past. Akina has made similar changes, which should help our inexperienced safeties. I also like that Muschamp has been having the LBs go against the blocking sleds learning basic techniques for taking on and shedding blockers. It's the first time I have seen that drill at Texas and I've been attending practice since they were opened in 92. He also has a significant field presence, even more than Akina. I expect a big improvement on defense this year based on what I have seen so far. And lastly, Fozzy is extremely fast and hits the hole quicker than any back I have seen here in many years.
I didn't get to see much of the RB's on Saturday, but I've heard a lot of talk about Fozzy. Can't wait to see what he can do in pads.
The HB rotation in practice was Obannaya, McGee, Fozzy, Newton and Hills. At FB it was Tieman then Cody. Cobb was sidelined. I did not see Cody line up at HB during the two days, but I can't claim to have seen every play.
Screw playing on Sundays. I want to see some of these guys bring in on Saturday and one particular Thursday next year.
True enough CN. Those guys also had something inside that I think is just as important and I want to see that again in Austin!
