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Showing results for tags 'spring 2016'.
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1). I was pleasantly surprised with the turnout. I was shocked to see the parking lots mostly full. We ended up having to park in the Victory lot. I do think there were some other events going on, perhaps a softball game etc that contributed to this. My point is they had the greek letters out, there was some limited tailgating and a pretty decent group walking up. It was a nice day, hot in the sun and many of the fans took to the upper level seats which remained in the shade. The Talons managed the canon very effectively and it was damn loud. Plenty of concessions open, no lines, no nazi attendants managing the aisles. Everything in terms of the game presentation was first rate. 2). I thought it was a fairly tough day for Morris at QB. He didn't seem to ever get a good rhythm. He stayed in the pocket a long time and had some issues when the option 1 receiver was covered up. I just felt like all of the QB's with the exception of Shanbour were taking way too long to get rid of the ball. Part of this is a byproduct of the fact they are wearing red jerseys and can't be hit. I think it really psychologically affects the play in scrimmages like this. Honestly, I would give Morris a C+ today. He clearly has the tools above and beyond every other QB we have. The defense today was surprisingly aggressive with multiple looks and blitzes and it definitely caused Morris to struggle at times. The good news is this is exactly what he will face against SMU and every team we play this season so it's a good thing to let him experience this and work on it in the offseason. 3). In terms of the other QB's I really though Shanbour had the best day of all of the QB's. He surprised me with his speed on a couple of keepers. His release is the fastest we have had at the position. He is small (listed at 6-0 probably 5-10) but good feet and has a nice zing to his ball. I really don't see Chumley and Means factoring in for us at this position. You need 4 QB's, and these guys have given their best but I do not see them being able to help us. Morris got the lionshare of the reps with Shanbour well behind him and frankly Means and Chumley received very few. I did not see them do much with the few they got. I think that Chumley needs to change positions, and perhaps Means as well, although Means may decide to go somewhere where he can play. I say that wanting the best for him because he is a great kid. I certainly would welcome him to stay if he wants to get his degree at UNT or could perhaps play another position. 4). I was struck at the overall lack of numbers we had on the field. Yes, I know we have 20+ coming in the Fall, but it just seems like this program is paper think at some key positions, namely QB. We need more QB's and fast. I can't help but think they are wooing a graduate transfer as I type this. If Morris doesn't work out, or gets injured, we have an adequate journeyman who sat out last season with an injury and has never played in a college game and that is about it. Still better than last season (ouch) but not at all where Littrell wants thing thing to be. 5). On the good side of things, I think our defensive secondary could be pretty good. McClain really stood out to me today. He looks like a man among boys. I also saw some real nice things from Ozougwu the lean defensive end who grey shirted. He needs more size and that will come in time, but he is extremely quick and was very hard to block. I also thought Muenster Monster Andy Flusche was very active and successful today. I loved the 3-3-5 and attack mentality of the defense. They had the offense on their heels all day long with blitzes from every direction. I also like the juco defensive end Joshua Wheeler. He seems like he could help us. Good size and speed. I also think Jareid Combs could provide an impact. 6). As much as I liked the overall defense, I think we are average at linebacker and d-line overall though. I ran into Booger Kennedy at the game and couldn't help but think, what name players do we have? There are no Boogers or Adrian Awasomes or Jonas Buckles or Craig Jones or Marcus Trice's or Zach Orr's... hopefully these will develop. Depth is a concern. I saw a fair amount of walk-ons at the linebacker spot today. Of course help is on the way. My hope is that our aggressive scheme will help us play up as we work to develop our players and bring in more talent. Final thought, I do not think that we will have to suffer through watching our defense die by a thousand cuts as it seemed in the last two years. We will be aggressive and take chances. 7). Field goal kicker Trevor Moore got a fair amount of work and he looks pretty solid. Not a huge leg but very consistent. He missed one barely but other than that I thought he looked very good. That could pay dividends in some close games this year. Sam Rice looks like he will be very solid at center although he did have a few high snaps. I really like the young lineman Elex Woodworth... he looks like a legit D-1 body and moves very well. I felt a little bad for big Jordan Murray who is behind Tech transfer Trey Kennan at tackle. But you can see why. Keenan is undersized at 270 but he is quick. The line has huge splits compared to the Mac days when they were shoulder to shoulder. Keenan is quicker off the ball and moves his feet faster once he connects with a defender. These are things big Jordie can work on and he's still so very young. 8). #27 WR Derris Praeter is a walk on but may have a little something. Tee Goree made some nice plays and seems to be excelling in this system. We are not near deep enough at running back, but I did like what I saw out of Southlake's AJ Ezzard. He has good speed and determination with the ball. My favorite receiver of the day was freshman tight end Kelvin Smith as he was a favorite target of Morris. I really shouldn't call him a tight end as he lines up more like an H-back or split out. He just seems to have that "it". He wants the ball and he seems to step up his game when the lights are on. A very nice pickup. 9). Littrell's coaching style is interesting. He really delegates all of the direct interaction with the players through his assistants. For instance, at the start of the scrimmage, it was Graham Harrell out in the circle of players in the middle of the field barking out instructions and firing everyone up. Littrell would stand directly behind the defense, with his eyes directly at the center of the line. It seems like he is allowing his assistants to develop a relationship with their players out of respect for their abilities and is constantly assessing things in a Macro way. In a weird way, he sort of reminds me of Tom Landry... very stoic, analytical and focused. He stands and soaks it in. The main movement and interaction he had would be at 4th downs when he would let the officials and coaches know where he wanted the ball and whether he wante dthe 1st or 2nd teams in. You don't see the Mac pacing up and down the field. He doesn't do the Dickey whistle spin. He doesn't do the Dodge arm band and hand signals. He doesn't scream out things or say a whole lot. The positive effect is that when he does speak it gets noticed. I did see him low five a player after a good play once. Perhaps this will change in time, but these were my impressions from today. 10). Interesting note, there was a mix tape of just about every kind of music you could think of... I mean I heard a lot of Rap, Van Halen, Pop... country.. anyway it seems to be a LIttrell trademark, because the music played through the entire scrimmage over the stadium loud speakers. I had seen that at the practices as well, but I found it interesting to have the announcer announcing over this steady steam of music. It wasn't too loud though. Actually I think I like it. It sort of gives a rhythm to a somewhat monotonous stop and start scrimmage. I also saw a fair amount of recruits and high school coaches at the game which is a positive thing. Overall a fun day. gmg
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- unt football 2016
- seth littrell
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