The Hokies scrimmaged inside of Lane Stadium today. The "behind the quarterback" view of the scrimmage work is difficult to break down without the view of what is happening down the field. Here are some initial thoughts.
In uncovered throwing drills, Josh Jackson throws a play action slant just a bit behind his receiver. AJ Bush then does a throwback boot deep to the sideline and hits the receiver in stride. He has to put a little bit of loft on the ball, but that is an NFL-caliber throw. Bush also seems to have a slightly quicker release. The one thing I have not seen from Bush is a play where he works through progressions quickly. I think, if Bush wins the job you are going to see more quarterback runs and more one read progressions like we saw with Evans. If Jackson wins the job, you can expect more traditional drop back passing where the quarterback works through multiple progressions. It is a difficult balance, as the wide receivers are likely more suited to Jackson, but the need for a running QB may offset that. Both quarterbacks continue to get repetitions with the top group.
In the scrimmage work, it is pretty clear that defensive end (with no Hill, Mihota, and Gaines) is a worry. Inside runs were bouncing off tackle when the current group of ends couldn't maintain their fits. Peoples had a run bounce off the left side behind a really nice seal out by Nijman. Peoples slipped in the hole. McMillian and Peoples both get reps with the 1 and 2 group. Nijman is consistently getting movement on the left side. Braxton Pffaf was working as both the 1 and the 2 at right guard in the clips. I wonder if Chung got dinged earlier in the day. Chung then reappears with the 2 OL later.
Bush found a seam on either a quarterback draw or a one-read pass where his receiver wasn't open and broke a long run off tackle to the right side. Motuapuaka had a chance at Bush right behind the center, and Bush broke away fairly easily. Pfaff did a good job of running the defensive tackle well wide of his rush lane to create the hole for Bush.
Later, Bush scored a touchdown on a traditional read option (inside zone left, quarterback right) that we didn't see much of last year. The defensive end crashed hard on the dive. Bush pulled the ball and beat the inside pursuit around the edge. Chris Cunningham is moving from his original alignment as an HBack on the left side to the right. He whams the edge player on the right side and creates a lane for Bush to get through. Great block by Cunningham.
Hooker also is getting the Evans treatment, with one read and go and lots of quarterback runs. He is very quick when he goes. On his first run, Dalton Keene gives Hooker a nice lead block. If Plantin could have maintained his block on Tavante Beckett, Hooker breaks it. Beckett gets off the block (Plantin could have been called for holding) and pulls Hooker down.
Josh Jackson was only in one clip of scrimmage work. He stands tall in the pocket despite a good interior rush from Tim Settle and throws a beautiful fade route down the right side. I can't tell if the catch is made, but the throw was on target.
Tavante Beckett absolutely stuck McMillian from the backside on an inside zone left where the boundary side defenders jammed everything up. Beckett found the cutback bubble and fitted it, leaving McMillain nowhere to go.
Bush sticks a quick curl right into the receiver's chest. Again, one read and out.
Comments
looks like we found a new RB...runs circles around the current players
Awesome review French.... thoughts on Fu's Spring game plan? Will we break 45k in attendance this year?
I can't imagine that the game plan will be more than vanilla. Not being on TV is likely a Fuente decision and last year they showed very little. They won't be live with QBs so the running game will not be a good reflection of what we will see vs WVU. I expect a ton of simple pass pro and screens. More than anything, the spring game should tell us who the 3-5 WRs are. Everything else with a handful of exceptions is pretty set for opening night va WVU, I think.
Long term, I hope we get some opportunities to see Farley in one on one coverage, and I think keeping a close look at Dalton Keene and Chris Cunningham's blocking will be telling as well.
Fullwood seemed to be disruptive on the Snapchat today. Hopefully he is stepping up.
Thanks so much for your insight French... let me know next time you head to OBX. My best friend runs the OBX Adventures airboat tours and I'm going to hook you up with a sweet little back country tour.
much obliged. Probably July this year.
Definitely interesting QB comp going on. Seems like they're all making some
good plays. The AJ Bush sideline throw was sweet.
I'm going to go ahead and throw my name in the hat for AJ Bush as QB1.
His footwork is fantastic. His release is quick, especially on the run. And he is the best runner we've had at the position since Tyrod.
I personally think that our young WRs are more suited for a one read QB at this point, and with no stud at RB, I think Bush is too good of a runner to not use on the ground.
I haven't really been paying attention to snapchat, but after what I watched today, I would have to agree on Bush.
That being said, I wasn't very high on him after his JC film. I felt confident that Jackson would win the job.
Hooker looked pretty good as well. I was impressed.
If Bush is what you all are saying, and considering the talent we have on offense, it seems to me that he would have the advantage, picking up the slack for our lack of depth, talent, and experience elsewhere on offense.
If Josh Jackson is the only QB that seems to be adept at multiple reads, that will help us more once we get a more established group of receivers, but to be able to see and hit the secondary receiver on a play is always a good thing, especially once a play breaks down. Nobody seems to talk about Jackson's running ability - how is it, or have we just not seen him run enough to make an opinion. I thought he was classified as a read option-type QB when he was recruited, so it seems like he'd have some decent running skills, or is it maybe that his running skills aren't in the same league as Bush or Hooker?
Jackson was recruited as a pro style QB
His HS film shows he can run. Just because you're pro-style, doesn't mean you can't run. I don't think Fuente is concerned about his running ability.
Agreed
{insert Andy Dalton running all over Clemson gif here}
That was the birth of the modern spread inverted veer.
Yea it's funny there are tons of articles out there about that game for that reason. With how difficult it is to be innovative these days I feel like that was one of Fuente's more under the radar achievements.
Yep, Kevin Steele (the Clemson DC at the time) who is a solid DC and has put out great defenses at several top programs essentially said he got blindsided and couldn't figure it out in time. Steele has a bad rep here in the upstate because of the WVU debacle at Clemson, but he's a good DC and it speaks to Fuente's coaching to completely dumbfound a guy like that.
I don't disagree. Just explaining that he wasn't labeled as a "dual-threat" style QB by recruiting services, more because of his more polished passing skills than his lack of running skills.
I expect JJ to be able to scramble but not as a lead on the goalline like Evans was (and Bush probably can be).
I'm more concerned about how Bush can pass. His film didn't show much. Can he pass better than Motley?
This. We won't see nearly as many designed QB runs if JJ is the QB and he won't make it through the first few games if he was used like Evans was. I don't think any of the QBs on the roster can be used the same way.
Having 3 good QBs is a good problem to have. Just remember, there are factors besides their individual ability at play...
- how good is the base running game without the QB as a secondary or primary running threat?
-do the wide receivers neee time and rubs to get open, or can they win one on one? Can they take advantage of play action?
- how well with the secondary check down guys contribute?
All three QBs have seemed to perform well. As I noted, Bush and Hooker are looking at a read and going (although given how Pfaff was on his toes, the first long Bush run was a QB draw all the way), where Jackson is more comfortable with progressions. This may come down more to what Fuente needs to make there rest of his players shine more than just who is the most talented QB.
Didn't he pretty much say that recently. More worried about who are playmakers than who is QB?
He did, of course with how he said it you could take it half-a-dozen different ways and still not know exactly what he meant.
I hope the lack of anything at end doesn't stunt the growth of our offensive tackles.
Yosh is a known quantity on the left side, and he has been solid. Tyrell is playing a new position, and while you want to see him handle your top competition, giving him some early confidence as he learns the technique can be a good thing. I can say from personal experience that switching from the left side to the right side and moving from guard to tackle can be a huge adjustment. I always preferred the left side in terms of angles and the footwork, but the teams I played for flipped sides based on the strength (tight end went right, that is where your strong side guard and tackle went and your "quick side" OL went the other way) so we got experience with both sides.
Any sign of your guy TJ Jackson?
Second team left tackle (No 71). For some reason Hokiesports.com has not changed the number.
Uploaded the Snapchat practice clip in case anyone wants to watch that doesn't have the app. Sorry its a little laggy in some spots...thats Snapchat for you.