8/22 Fall Scrimmage thoughts

Most already here know this but Nijman started at left tackle. Teller played with the ones and twos. Ford, Phillips and Fuller did not scrimmage and Nicholas played just a handful of snaps. Also, Lawson was live this scrimmage. I was late arriving and missed the first few plays of the scrimmage but right as I got there McMillian ripped off a 15-yard run off ride side playing with the 1st team offense. Most of the 1 offense vs 1 defense matchups came later in the scrimmage but I will go by the matchups as opposed to the chronology of the plays.

1st Offense vs 1st Defense: On the first play that I saw of this matchup Brew hit Caroll for about an 18-yard catch and run. Deon Clarke slammed him to the ground at the whistle and then pushed him as the two got up after the play. Small little incident and no real harm done on the play. The very next play saw Brewer hit Kevin Asante for about 8 yards on a slant working against Donovan Riley. On second-and-two Maddy got pressure on a Brewer rollout and forced a throwaway and there was also offensive holding on the play. The next play saw Asante drop a short hitch route and then on third-and-long Brewer attempted a deep pass to Hodges in double coverage. Not a great decision but it was actually a pretty good ball that Hodges could not come down with. Bucky seemed to hurt his shoulder a bit on the play and did not come back in. After a penalty the offense decided to for it on 4th and 22 and Brewer heaved up a deep ball that was intercepted by Adonis Alexander.

Another drive saw McMillian break a 70-yard TD on the first play of the drive. The run was over left side. Teller and Nijman did a great job of recognizing the slant. Teller was able to pick up the crashing DE and instead of chasing the slant, Nijman let him go and got upfield to make a solid block on the playside LB. McMillian was untouched on the play. It was a combination of a perfectly-timed play call against a stunt and a good job up front.

They did some goal line work as well and the 1st team defense was able to come up with the stop inside the 5-yard line. On first down they tried a fade to Asante but Riley had blanket coverage and forced the incomplete pass. Ekanem got a sack on second down and then pressure forced a throwaway on third down. I didn't get to see all of the plays in this matchup, these were just the plays I was able to take notes on.

1st Offense vs 2nd Defense (Motley at QB): On first down Mihota and and McKinnon combined to tackle Motley for a loss on a QB keep from zone read. On second-and-fourteen the offense faked the jet sweep and Meyer was WIDE open for a 34-yard TD. This was a blown coverage by the defense. It actually took Motley a little bit too long to see Meyer and he almost ended up leading him out of the EZ.

The next drive featured the same lineups and started at the opposing 30-yard line. On first down Motley kept the ball on a zone read off the right side for a 24-yard gain down to the 6. Two plays later Motley kept it again for a 6-yard TD running right. The offensive line looked terrific this drive.

The next drive in this matchup had Brewer back at QB and he hit Malleck over the middle for 18-yards on the first play. The next play he threw an accurate deep ball to Asante in the endzone but Terrell Edmunds recovered to break up the throw. This was probably pass interference but nothing was called. On the next play they tried a speed out to Asante and it looked to me like he was pretty late getting his head around and didn't expect the pass, which was a little bit short and fell incomplete. He redeemed himself on third-and-ten as he connected with Brewer for an 11-yard completion on a curl route. The next play from inside the redzone saw Brewer hit Knowles for 8-yards to set up second-and-two from the opposing four-yard line. They went single back, shotgun with Sam Rogers in the backfield and gave that man the damn ball for a 4-yard TD. Good push by the interior OL on the play.

These units matched up for one drive in a goal line situation. On first down Sobczak and Walker completely dominated inside and blew up the play for a 4-yard loss. Then on second down Brewer was able to scramble up the middle for a 9-yard TD run.

2nd Offense vs 1st Defense: On 1st down Marshall sacked Motley on a rollout. The next play saw Clark and Ekanem bring pressure and force a throw away. On third-and-long Motley tried to hit a quick slant pass to get into FG range but Riley broke on it and broke it up, very nearly getting the INT. They still tried a long FG (About 52-yards) and Slye was just short on the attempt.

They kept the same units on the field after the FG attempt and on first down the offense went play action and Motley had good protection and tried to hit Asante about 55-yards downfield on a post. Riley was trailing by about a step but was able to recover and break up the pass. Then on second-and-ten Ekanem came free for another sack and he wan't done as the very next play he was coming with pressure and forced a Motley throw away. The punt team came out and Hughes absolutely bombed one. I believe he only punted two times but both of them were HUGE and both times Terrell Edmunds was downfield to make the tackle quickly on Stroman, though the plays weren't 100% live.

Another drive featured Dadi Nicholas with the starting group and the first play of the drive he was able to sack Motley. On the following play Motley completely misdiagnosed the coverage and threw a long pass that was easily intercepted by Riley.

1st Offense vs 3rd Defense: The drive opened up with Sobczak eating up J.C. Coleman for no gain. On second down Brewer hit Hodges on a drag route off of playaction for a fifteen yard gain on a perfect throw. The next play saw a chop block on the offense to make it first-and-fifteen. Brewer quickly hit Malleck for a 19-yard gain over the middle. Following that, Sobczak was able to bring down Coleman for a short gain and there was also holding on the offense to make it second-and-sixteen. Brewer hit Asante for five yards on a hitch on a ball that was thrown a bit late and Mook Reynolds closed quickly for the immediate tackle. On third-and-eleven Brewer did a good job moving in the pocket and right before he hit the LOS he tried to hit Trey Edmunds out of the backfield. Edmunds dropped the pass (Definitely heard footsteps) and it forced a fourth down conversion attempt. Again, it was Sobczak that was able to break through on a rip move for the sack of Brewer.

3rd Offense vs 1st Defense: This was pretty hard to watch and not very competitive. On first down AM and RVD combined to sack Lawson, who again was live this scrimmage. On second down Clarke was bringing down Lawson and Desmond Frye came in and delivered a big hit to force a fumble that the defense recovered.

The next drive started with Lawson getting hit on the release by Ekanem and Clarke for an incomplete pass. On second down Lawson overthrew a wide-open CJ Carroll in the flats. This brought up a passing situation on third-and-long and Clarke came quickly on the blitz which flushed Lawson out of the pocket (Clarke actually lost contain on the play) but Ekanem was able to come from the backside and record what I believe was his fourth sack of the scrimmage.

The final time this matchup was on the field McMillian was able to pick up 3-yards on a zone read the first play before Chuck Clark came up to make the tackle. The next play Lawson gained two on a play that he should have lost two. He moved about four defenders backwards and it was very impressive to watch. On third down he hit McMillian in the flats for a short gain and set up a fourth-and-three. Lawson made a good ball fake and hit McMillian in the flats but Desmond Frye closed QUICKLY and made a tackle for no gain and a turnover on downs.

2nd Offense vs 2nd Defense: The offense DOMINATED this drive. The offense started out with two runs behind the left side, including Jonathan McLaughlin for about seven yards each play with Shai McKenzie carrying the ball. The very next play they ran and Edmunds went virtually untouched for a 35-yard TD.

Then these two units went against each other on Goal line and Rogers just decided to come check in and catch a four-yard TD pass in the flats from Motley. He is a man who does what he wants, when he wants.

I didn't take very many notes in regards to the 3s vs 3s or the 4s vs 4s.

Players notes:

Ken Ekanem: Completely unstoppable today and had at least four sacks on the day.

Steve Sobczak: Was the most dominate interior player on the field. This has been the case the last three times I have seen the team scrimmage. He SHOULD be the 3rd DT in the lineup right now based on what I have seen.

Terrell Edmunds: Had a VERY good day. Quality pass break ups, some big hits coming up in run support and did a great job covering punts.

Mook Reynolds: Closed well on a couple of short passes and looks very sound technically.

Donovan Riley: Had several pass break ups and an INT. He also tackled well on the day. He is a guy that we can count on at multiple positions right now for depth.

Deon Clarke: Again came on a lot of blitzes and got a lot of pressure. Also looked good making tackles in the open field.

Greg Stroman: Good job in coverage on slot receivers. Gave up one 14-yard completion on a slant to Carroll in man-to-man coverage but the play was well short of the first down.

Adonis Alexander: Looked to be in good position all day and came up with an INT.

Desmond Frye: Really stood out in this scrimmage. He closes FAST when he is coming up to tackle.

AJ Huges: Bombs...

Chuck Clark: Solid and in good position all day. I actually don't worry about the FS position at all.

Eric Gallo: Great job recognizing fronts and blitzes. Did a great job physically as well. It is nice to have a center that can actually move people off the ball.

Yosuah Nijman: Already a terrific pass blocker and was much better in the running game this scrimmage. Very smart player that doesn't ever look lost on the field. Still needs to get a bit better with his hands in the running game.

Augie Conte: Had a very good day and looked just as good as Teller.

Ryan Malleck: Good job blocking and had some very big gains as a receiver. If he stays healthy, he will have a big year.

Michael Brewer: I thought he made sound decisions and put the ball in some very tight windows. Even though the deep balls were not complete, the throws themselves were very good and he looks like he has more arm strength than he did a year ago.

Travon McMillian: Extremely dangerous in space and had over 100-yards in the scrimmage. Looks like a very good receiver out of the backfield as well.

Trey Edmunds: Showed his second gear on a long TD run.

Luther Maddy: Going to be tough to run on. Looks healthy and quick off the ball.

C.J. Carroll: Right now, I would say he is our third-best receiver. He can be a productive slot guy for us.

Brandon Facyson: Was a blanket all day and never got challenged with a throw.

Also of note: We worked a ton of different defensive formations and fronts, including a double eagle. I think this was a classic case of trying to give Ohio State too many looks to be able to prepare for. Even though our formations and alignments were diverse, we were pretty vanilla in terms of blitz variations. The offense didn't show much in terms of formations and new plays. We clearly were trying to find that third receiver today and even though Asante made a few plays, right now if we have a three wide receiver set, it needs to be Carroll in the slot. I have not seen Asante work as a Z receiver at all so it looks like he will be spelling Phillips and Ford outside. Teller worked mostly with the ones but also ran a few plays with the twos. Settle was a little bit better off of the ball than last scrimmage but really only came give good effort for two plays at a time right now. I still think he takes the RS.