Positive Things I Saw:
-Zeke Walker was a DOG! He was the most dominant DL of the group on the field, played with burst, strength, and leverage.
-Derrick Hall was right behind him! Hall dominated the big LT with speed off the ball, and transitioned to power with great arm extension and violent hands
-The open field tackling by the entire defense was tremendous, demonstrative of how much athleticism exists on the second and third levels.
-Wooden recovered quickly from a slight elbow hyper-extension, my heart stopped briefly
-Moultry played with a ton of power, a good first step, and stayed on side all night
-Big man game out of Burks on the inside! Moving much better and with much better pad level than last season.
-Mason pretty much lived in his 2DT 2Edge front, very effective vs zone scheme teams, and teams that aren't going to muscle you off the ball. Will be huge vs OM down the line
-Kaufman covers a ton of ground
-Nix looked, mechanically, like an entirely different human being. Quick progressions, faster release, worked UP INTO THE POCKET, and threw strikes from a balanced platform. The TD he threw to Hudson he threw off one leg, like he did all last year, and even after a TD HARSIN RIPPED HIS ASS
-We knew Tank would be good, but the scheme is going to make him better. How bout 4TEs on the field in 32 I Formation on the goal line to let him punch it in! Yes sir! 14 personnel!!!!
-The scheme fits Shivers much better and makes him more effective as a down-hill weapon. Vision is is weakness, and the staff is doing a good job not to make him need it. Get his speed going north, defenders can't match his pad level at the same velocity.
-Every 4th and 1 should be a QB sneak with Finley, that's a gimme! Was great to see something so simple and obvious executed so well.
-They used Shenker alot as a receiver, TE, and FB and he was effective in all three roles, he's a dude! Bobo will make him a focal point all year, he loves those kind of guys!
-Jarquez Hunter is a DUDE, he will be RB1 once Tank is a millionaire, and be damn good. His speed pops in real time, and he's strong enough to break tackles.
-Shed Jackson really did take the WR1 role and run with it, happy for that guy, he's a team first guys and has worked his ass off for four years
-The offense ran a TON of plays for an opener, they put a metric sh** ton of things on film for defenses to have to prep for, I knew Harson was a volume guy, but I expected vanilla ice cream week 1, he brought all 32 flavors!
Negatives
-Bydarious Knighton got lost in space a few times, leading to their only points. Penn State will use motions to put him in a bind, and make him match their best WR in the middle of the field. It's how they got their only 2 scores vs Wisky, he has to get better.
-JJP looked up tight at NT, like he was playing not to make a mistake and never really exploded out of his stance, I expected him to have a few Fairley-esque plays
-Hudson still hasn't remedied his drops, he played fast, blocked well, and had a few grabs, but also had a drop on a gimme that has to be converted into a big play to win in the conference games or in Happy Valley.
-Finley isn't on the same level as Bo. He looked uncomfortable and was overthrowing/aiming the ball.
-Frasier isn't an adept blocker at TE, he's a reach and grab guy who isn't moving his feet to make his length effective
Conclusion:
Yes it was a bad Akron team, but AU couldn't have handled it any better. Gus teams were clunky in those games, remember Jax State, Mercer, etc..... Offensively AU looked crisp, disciplined, and insanely multiple and diverse. It wasn't much of a test for the OL, but they didn't show any glaring holes either.
Conversely, it's never as good as it seems either. Knighton has to be more accurate with his reads in the secondary, Fair, JJP, and company will have to man up more in the middle in the big boy games when the body blows start flying.
I enjoyed what I saw very much, am very encouraged, and look forward to seeing it evolve as the season goes on.
-Zeke Walker was a DOG! He was the most dominant DL of the group on the field, played with burst, strength, and leverage.
-Derrick Hall was right behind him! Hall dominated the big LT with speed off the ball, and transitioned to power with great arm extension and violent hands
-The open field tackling by the entire defense was tremendous, demonstrative of how much athleticism exists on the second and third levels.
-Wooden recovered quickly from a slight elbow hyper-extension, my heart stopped briefly
-Moultry played with a ton of power, a good first step, and stayed on side all night
-Big man game out of Burks on the inside! Moving much better and with much better pad level than last season.
-Mason pretty much lived in his 2DT 2Edge front, very effective vs zone scheme teams, and teams that aren't going to muscle you off the ball. Will be huge vs OM down the line
-Kaufman covers a ton of ground
-Nix looked, mechanically, like an entirely different human being. Quick progressions, faster release, worked UP INTO THE POCKET, and threw strikes from a balanced platform. The TD he threw to Hudson he threw off one leg, like he did all last year, and even after a TD HARSIN RIPPED HIS ASS
-We knew Tank would be good, but the scheme is going to make him better. How bout 4TEs on the field in 32 I Formation on the goal line to let him punch it in! Yes sir! 14 personnel!!!!
-The scheme fits Shivers much better and makes him more effective as a down-hill weapon. Vision is is weakness, and the staff is doing a good job not to make him need it. Get his speed going north, defenders can't match his pad level at the same velocity.
-Every 4th and 1 should be a QB sneak with Finley, that's a gimme! Was great to see something so simple and obvious executed so well.
-They used Shenker alot as a receiver, TE, and FB and he was effective in all three roles, he's a dude! Bobo will make him a focal point all year, he loves those kind of guys!
-Jarquez Hunter is a DUDE, he will be RB1 once Tank is a millionaire, and be damn good. His speed pops in real time, and he's strong enough to break tackles.
-Shed Jackson really did take the WR1 role and run with it, happy for that guy, he's a team first guys and has worked his ass off for four years
-The offense ran a TON of plays for an opener, they put a metric sh** ton of things on film for defenses to have to prep for, I knew Harson was a volume guy, but I expected vanilla ice cream week 1, he brought all 32 flavors!
Negatives
-Bydarious Knighton got lost in space a few times, leading to their only points. Penn State will use motions to put him in a bind, and make him match their best WR in the middle of the field. It's how they got their only 2 scores vs Wisky, he has to get better.
-JJP looked up tight at NT, like he was playing not to make a mistake and never really exploded out of his stance, I expected him to have a few Fairley-esque plays
-Hudson still hasn't remedied his drops, he played fast, blocked well, and had a few grabs, but also had a drop on a gimme that has to be converted into a big play to win in the conference games or in Happy Valley.
-Finley isn't on the same level as Bo. He looked uncomfortable and was overthrowing/aiming the ball.
-Frasier isn't an adept blocker at TE, he's a reach and grab guy who isn't moving his feet to make his length effective
Conclusion:
Yes it was a bad Akron team, but AU couldn't have handled it any better. Gus teams were clunky in those games, remember Jax State, Mercer, etc..... Offensively AU looked crisp, disciplined, and insanely multiple and diverse. It wasn't much of a test for the OL, but they didn't show any glaring holes either.
Conversely, it's never as good as it seems either. Knighton has to be more accurate with his reads in the secondary, Fair, JJP, and company will have to man up more in the middle in the big boy games when the body blows start flying.
I enjoyed what I saw very much, am very encouraged, and look forward to seeing it evolve as the season goes on.
