Some quick news items for social media (Instagram and Snapchat) for camp today:
1) A shot shows the top offensive line group working against defensive line stunts. The group of Nijman-Teller-Gallo-Smith is still the same. This time, Braxton Pfaff (#74) is working with that top group. Pfaff started at right guard in the spring game.
2) This is a new one for me...
3) A two on two pass pro drill was shown (snapchat) with TJ Jackson and Austin Cannon going against Emanuel Belmar and I believe J'Brill Glaze. Jackson shows beautiful feet and stays step for step with Belmar on a speed move and shields him behind the pocket. Glaze (I believe) has a quick step to the outside and then cross faces Cannon to get leverage underneath Cannon's right arm and works through to get "the sack" in the drill. If that is Glaze, he looks really quick.
I have no idea if Jackson will be a sufficient run blocker. But, every time I have watched him in a pass protection drill, he looks like an NFL caliber left tackle in pass protection. His balance and light feet make it look easy, in fact it looks almost like he is going half speed while Belmar is working hard. Jackson's hands are a bit low, but when Belmar pushes them down Jackson stays balanced and recovers. That is a good looking repetition for him.
On the next repetition, House Gaines is going against Silas Dzansi and while Kevin Kish is at left guard going against an unidentifiable defensive tackle. (Sorry folks, my eyes combined with snapchat not allowing me to blow up the image is tough). The DT bull rushes right through Kish. Gaines does a speed rush way wide, bends back in like he is going to bull rush, and rips his left shoulder underneath Dzansi. Big Silas really labors to get back, with a lot of arm motion to help him stay with Gaines speed. He will take some time to get comfortable at that spot.
4) All three QBs throw pretty balls- Hooker on a post (hangs it up just a bit and the WR makes a leaping catch), Jackson on a slant (really nice velocity, leads the receiver and keeps it low so he can protect himself), and Bush with a curl. Bush does a nice job of throwing back to the outside even though the receiver curls in because the defender is playing inside leverage. His WR is the only one who can catch the ball in that leverage coverage with where he placed the ball.
5) McLease had a carry against the number 1 defense going 3/4 speed. Floyd is in the right position as the free hitter to tackle McLease in the hole. After the play, House Gaines (who isn't part of the drill) tries to strip the ball. The Instagram note mentions ball protection, so perhaps it is a thing where everyone is trying to knock the ball out from runners any time they have a ball, not just in an active drill. #BallSecruity
6) What looked like a two group defense is shown running off the field. I identified Ladler, Hewitt, Rodgers, Belmar, Deablo and Minor as being part of that group. I didn't get a look at everyone.
Right now, if I had a gun to my head and had to guess, I think this would be the depth chart defensively. Please note, this is a pure guess based on a limited window. Feel free to offer alternative views on the topic. This is also based purely on the groupings I have seen. Not on who I think "looks the best" on video.
DE- 1) Mihota/Hill 2) Minor/Belmar
DT- 1) Walker/Settle 2) Hewitt/Fullwood
M- 1) Motuapuaka 2) Beckett
B- 1) Edmunds 2) Shegog
W/N 1) Newsome (last couple of shots show him withe Floyd and Edmunds) 2) Mook (this is the conclusion I doubt the most
C) 1) Stroman and Alexander 2) Rodgers (Facyson limited)
R) 1) Floyd 2) Deablo 3) Hunter
F) 1) Edmunds 2) Ladler 3) Seisay
Offense is a complete crapshoot right now except for offensive line, and right guard is still a mystery.
Comments
Boxing glove on a stick sighting!!
Looks like it is yours to flash it in front of an line of sight.
Folks will ask about Gaines absence. I don't really have an answer. Either he is a 3, or he is working in the 1 group rotation (which will happen if they expect a player to get 1st team repetitions in the season.) But, when I see the full 2 group, I have seen Belmar and Minor as a pair.
Of course, right after I post this, the twitter account posts some different video. Enjoy!
Denmark show off some nice speed to blow by Quillen and then high point the football on the underthrow. Hazelton drives hard into Rodgers cushion to create separation and then brakes sharply to the inside for an easy catch. You can almost hear Rodgers wincing as Hazelton breaks his ankles with that stop. Quillen gets beaten again, this time by Grimsley, but Quillen does a nice job of recovering and breaking up the throw when Grimsley has to come back for the ball. Denmark looks sharp again with a nice sharp out cut to the left sideline against Rodgers. He sets it up with a hard shoulder fake inside before cutting out and then makes a nice adjustment to catch the ball at full extension before going out of bounds.
In the low camera angle shot (0:49) Mook appears to be in the shot with that top defensive group.
There is a shot of the 2 defense doing some pad popping in team work. This may be the 3rd offensive group. Drake DeIuliis (#15) is shown pulling across and sealing Shegog (#24) inside. Ladler is unblocked as the free hitter and is in position to make the tackle (it doesn't look like they are doing more than forming up on the backs on that play.) The runner is Terius Wheatley, and Hooker is the QB. Demetri Moore is part of the left side of the OL that is blocking for Wheatley.
AJ Bush is shown on a naked bootleg and leads Chris Cunningham a bit on the throw. I believe it is Greg Stroman that comes up and knocks the ball loose late.
Two of the last three reps are the Gaines/Silas and Jackson/Belmar reps shot from a different angle. Sandwiched in the middle is Walker-Hewitt- and a DE vs Gallo, Teller, and Nijman. Only Teller vs Hewitt stays in the shot and Teller wins the rep. Hewitt does a good job of working his leverage but can't shake Teller.
I thought "89 looks good"...check the roster..."dammit, he can't play this year".
Denmark looked very quick. Any chance he plays this year? I haven't heard much about him....mainly Pimp, Kumah, Patterson out of the young guys.
Have there been any clips with James Clark? I don't remember seeing him.
have not seen Clark at all
Ah it's great to watch. Plus, with the cooler temperatures this morning and this evening it just feels like football. I love this time of year.
No way Mook isn't a #1 and highly doubt Hunter is third. Deablo will redshirt IMO.
Just passing along what is on the tape. I think Mook and Newsome will both be on the field at points vs WVU if both are healthy, with Newsome at the very least playing the spot in the 3-3 dime that Shegog played last year.
Hunter will play teams. Right now, he is learning so third group isn't shocking. Keep in mind, that is personnel groupings for working an individual drill on the sled. He may be getting work rotating in with other groups. We have seen next to zero team work besides the incompletion to Cunningham today.
Given our lack of safety depth I doubt Deablo will redshirt
At this point I think the only position I feel anxious about is WR, with everything else seeming to have either fallen into place or is a competition amongst legitimate options. The QB battle is of course, still interesting, but it feels so much different from say 2015 when we were wondering if a viable option would even emerge.
I like what I am seeing from the young WRs. But, the clips don't show their blocking and I'd like to see a bigger receiver that can take the top off the defense. Pimpleton, Savoy, Denmark, and Grimsley have all looked good in very limited screen time. I wish we knew how Patterson, Kumah, Murphy, and Clark were performing. Hazelton I think is going to be really good. He has that air like he knows what he is doing while everyone else is still learning.
It's good to know you can name multiple people who seem to be showing promise, that makes me feel a little better. It's still hard to know with how intentionally tight lipped Fuente seems to be.
Yeah, it's too bad we got to wait a year for Hazelton, but watch out next year!
A few clips of different players doing that tennis ball passing drill.
I gotta say, I'd rather we didn't post clips like this. This is the kind of stuff I'd expect LOLUVa to brag about.
I don't see a problem with it. I'm sure it increases focus, coordination, etc.
I had a soccer coach when I was a teenager that wanted the team to practice with a tennis ball. It definitely helped us improve our skills.
I totally get why they do it and if that's what the coaches want to do then more power to them. I just don't get posting on social media. I mean we mock them playing basketball in football helmets...
People just like making fun of lolva, I wouldn't overthink it.
Is that what UVA is doing? I think different units play different games...
The OL..in HS, my football coach would call it "titty fighting"
The DL..I think thats called "Grab Ass"
I think any 'unorthodox' coaching can raise an eyebrow. The difference is if that coaching translates to 2 or 10 wins. If UVA had a record setting season in terms of interceptions, we wouldn't be laughing (as much) about the basketball. But they didn't, so we can call it a gimmick and get a good laugh at their expense.
Hypothetically speaking...how much would one have to donate to Hokie Club/TKPC to ensure VT wears our practice jerseys for all our games instead of the current game day jerseys we have?
Honestly not that much (in terms of big money) the Nike deal isn't worth that much. So maybe 4 million a year for next ten years.
Let me check my lottery ticket after Tuesday...
Cam is great in the tennis ball passing drill. Just another day at the office.