re: 2015 Spring Practice Thread

Posted on 4/7/15 at 9:05 pm to Russvegas Dan

Posted by TheCheshireHog

Cashew Chicken Country

Member since Oct 2010

41352 posts

Posted on 4/7/15 at 9:05 pm to Russvegas Dan

I know we all poke fun at "Ugly Uncle" but I will give the guy credit that he actually puts some effort in to his practice reports which he does for free.

This is what Ugly Unlce posted on todays practice that was open to the media:

It was fun to be out in the sun today watching the Hogs practice. The practice was moved inside the stadium because of the high winds.

Got to watch the kickers kick early in practice. They were kicking with the wind, but all of them showed pretty good legs.

Adam McFain missed from 45 and 52, so Bielema had Hedlund kick from those distances. He made the 45 yarder, but pushed the 52 yarder wide, but it had plenty of distance. Again, it was with the wind though.

I really watched the QBs today.

The reason that Brandon Allen is BY FAR the number 1 QB has to do with his confidence and footwork (IMO). He has no wasted motion in anything that he does. He keeps his feet still and delivers the ball on time. Austin is much the same but doesn't seem to have the rest of the game down like Brandon does.

Today made me really want to like Rafe as the number 2. He has the most live arm of the bunch. So much zip on the ball. Austin seems to have a better understanding of the offense (getting people lined up, getting the team in the right call/place) so that probably gives him an edge. Austin also had a great practage (what I call Bielema's scrimmages because they don't scrimmage as much as work down and distance plays) on Saturday, but I thought Rafe had the better practice today.

Austin showed a bit of inconsistency on some passes today, then he would make a throw that would just wow you. He made a throw to the front corner of the EZ today, while he was on a full run about the 25 that hit the receiver right in the hands with a DB hanging on him. It was a thing of beauty.

I really will not be overly concerned if Brandon goes down with these two backing him up.

Ty Storey has a lot of work to do. He is a VERY good QB for his age and experience, but no where near the other three. His ball just doesn't have very much getty up to it. His passes don't get in a hurry to go anywhere. I would like to see him really turn one loose and he hasn't done it yet. He also still has happy feet back there.

That being said:

I have personally watched the practices of freshmen QBs back to Casey Dick coming in. Ty Storey is probably the finest I have seen yet. I'm not counting Ryan Mallett because he was a transfer when he arrived. Mitch Mustain had a bigger arm but probably not as accurate, and Tyler Wilson was nearly as accurate as Storey but not as polished. I think the sky is the limit for this kid. I just don't agree with others that think he is fighting for the number 2 spot.

Denzell Evans was not out there today. I don't know where he is.

Kody Walker looks good as a number 3. He got quite the work out today running plays at FB then switching to RB.

Speaking of FBs, Kiero Small was out there today. Talked to him for a minute. What an amazing man he is.

Alex Collins worked at Kick off return today. During punt drills I was standing just behind him and J. Wil and heard J. Will try to talk him into going with him to get back there and catch punts. He was like, "no way man, not me." They were just goofing around.

Dan Enos really ran the offensive side today. He was still coaching up the QBs, but he was also letting other players and positions know where they were suppose to be and what they were suppose to be doing. He once stopped a play to show the FB where he was suppose to line up in one of the formations and more than once talked to the receivers about splits and routes.

Keon was still out today. He was out there but not dressed out.

Duwop looks so good. He made a shoe string catch today at full speed that was a thing of beauty. Although, it looked like Michael Smith was on to him for running the route to deep which caused the throw to be around his ankles.

Enos also stopped to coach the receivers to tell them to turn the direction the ball is thrown. Like on a come back route. If the ball is thrown to the outside shoulder, turn to the outside. If the ball is thrown to the inside shoulder, turn to the inside. He told them that their QB would throw them out of trouble. I know it seems simple, but it was interesting to see that he has that much confidence in the accuracy of our QBs.

Jo Jo is an unbelievable athlete. Where he is behind is in knowing his splits and where to line up. Again, it is Spring and a new OC that likes things done a little bit different than what he is probably used to. Once he gets that down he will be electrifying. Still, he had to be corrected 3 or 4 times today on his splits.

When the 2nd team OL was out there Jalen Merrick was playing Right G instead of Left Tackle. I thought that was interesting. I believe it was Johnny Gibson that was in there at Left tackle on the second team.

On the defensive side of the ball:

Rohan Gaines was back with the 1s. Coley is running with the 2s.

Jeremiah Ledbetter was lined up at DE for much of the day. During the scrimmage part he was also rotating in as DT. One play when we blitzed he picked up the TE in coverage and ran step for step with him across the field. I'm more and more impressed him with him everyday.

Josh Harris is not very tall, but he can really run. I watched him running with the 2s at LB and he has great instincts and was able to close quickly even on some of our faster WR.

Santos Ramirez laid a big hit on Hunter Henry today to break up a pass. Hunter was a little bit slow to get up after that hit. I thought the coaches would yell at him because they weren't really hitting anywhere else, but no one said anything. Other than Santos that is...LOL. The kid seems to be coming into his own and adapting to playing safety.