Practice update from Sat April 2

Harry · April 2, 2016

Good day, great weather... here are some brief thoughts:

- Wow #5 Alec Morris the quarterback impressed the hell out of me. Powerful arm, great touch on the ball... he's the QB we always wanted but never had. Looks like a leader. He's got great size. I like how he wears the lineman,manly-type shoulder pads as opposed to the Garo Yerpremian ones Mini wore. Guy has an attitude and he seemed to be having a lot of fun out there today.

- It's interesting to see Littrell (wearing a grey shirt and whistle) and Harrell work together with the offense. It's a very rhythmical thing - they have music of all types (Rap, county etc) going on loudly in the background and things seems to be moving and going constantly, I only saw Littrell go off once, there are not the huge Chico or Mac blowups, no Simmonds screaming. I did not hear Tommy's scratchy voice during special teams section. Much of a lower tone but intense.

- -There were some amazing throws and amazing receptions today. Morris had the best throws but I though Shanbour had a couple and even Chumley made a couple nice plays. Morris gets double of the reps of the other guys. Unfortunately, Means struggled. He had one really bad long duck that they pulled him out on. He just doesn't seem to have progressed and his arm pales in comparison to Morris. Tee Goree looked taller to me. He was playing a lot with the 1's.

-- Not as much contact as other regimes. In the scrimmage they hit hard but I didn't see the Oklahoma type drills as much. Of course this was one day. All the QB's are wearing red shirts and can't be hit.

-- I wish they would put a red shirt on Jeffery Wilson because he REALLY looks good right now. He had a long TD run around the end where there was not anyone who could catch him.

- Ekelor is very active and loud. I was surprised, he's actually a little shorter than Littrell but sort of looks like Littrell out there. He was working on a lot of technique items with the linebackers. I liked what Courtney Finney and Braelon Schwartz did today.

- Nate Brooks made some nice plays on the receivers and Ashton Preston did as well.

- We have a lot more tall athletic receivers than we have probably ever had.

- Willie Ivery had an amazing over the shoulder long touchdown catch perfectly placed by Morris that had the entire coaching staff congratulating him. There were more catches than drops and better routes and passing than I saw at many Mac practices. Just seems like this staff is letting the receivers play. All the coaching seems to be technique based as opposed to scheme or plays. Everything play wise seems simple and fluid. EVERYTHING is shotgun btw.

- Lines still look small to me, especially d-line. I like the look of Wegeman. I could see him step in for Austin Orr this season. Jareid Combs made a few nice plays.

- Tight end is a work in progress. I like the look and attitude of Dillman. I didn't catch much of Kelvin. Just seem young and low numbers there as opposed to recent years. Then again, will he use a tight end. Seemed to me he was focused more on h-back and fullback today.

- There is a fullback that Littrell seems to like. I think his name is Cameron Maki. I saw him spending a lot of time with him and coaching him etc. Good looking athlete.

Final thought --- really need to keep Morris healthy. He elevates the program to a higher level on his ability alone. After him there is a pretty steep drop off although I think Shanbour won't kill us... it's still an issue to the point of, I am not sure I would let him run too much for fear of having him injured. He is a senior DT right now but with a much higher ceiling because of his accuracy.

Second thought -- this team has some decent players. Mac did not leave the cupboard completely empty, It's still too small and way too thin on the defensive line however. I think the skill positions are very competitive for C-USA. The QB position is a HUGE upgrade with Morris however and that is a good reason to be excited about this season. GMG

EDIT -- I forgot that #11 Thadeous Thompson had a nice long grab that was close to Ivery's in terms of positive response from the coaching staff. He's a another guy that is impressive in pads and seems to have good speed.

jtm0097 · April 2, 2016

Nice write up Harry! Glad to hear Morris looked good. Hopefully I can make it to the spring game.

untcampbell · April 2, 2016

I demand the right to +1 this post, Harry.

Thanks.

GMG

Mean Green 93-98 · April 2, 2016

That's disappointing to hear that about Means. I've been hoping he would turn a corner, but I believe this is his 3rd spring with the team.

Great write-up, Harry--thanks!

SilverEagle · April 2, 2016

Overall impression after watching the PRACTICE......with a little scrimmaging.

-Lots, if not most, of the throws were over the middle. I only remember a few of the 5 yard out patterns that we've been seeing for most of the last five years. And most of the five yrd out's were to the RB's. It's clear that the passing game will be very aggressive.....and the receivers appear to like it that way..

-Ivory got a lot of balls thrown to him, and most of them were 20+ yards down field. None (or extremely few) of those "extended hand-off" throws.

-wilson looked good....as usual. If I had any improvements to suggest for him, it would be "work on making defenders miss rather than physically challenge them so much". There's only so much pounding that any back can take playing D-1 football. Unless of course you are one of those freaks of nature @ Alabama.

-Speaking of RB's Marcell Porter impressed me on one play. He didn't make any yards but no less than four defenders had a go at him and they were NOT able to get him to the ground. Not bad for a 5'7" X 177 RB.

-The DB's and LB's are playing much closer on coverage and much more aggressive than last year. Many catches by receivers today were made with the receiver wearing a DB or LB. Several int's were made and #10 and #36 caught my eye more than once out there.

Morris looks like the real deal alright. He looks every bit of the 233 lbs that he's listed as on the program. Hopefully he won't have to run for his life like the last "real deal" (GV #15 on your program) did back in the Dodge days.

Speaking of moving. Shanbour demonstrated on one play that he is very mobile. He got away from an outside rush and hit a receiver 10-15 yards down field whilst throwing on the run. He also made a lot of nice throws over the middle. AND it should be noted that it was Morris that got one of his passes batted down today......not the much shorter Shanbour. Finally, I was standing next to and visiting with a gentleman who seemed to be a long time follower of the program. About half way through the PRACTICE he turned to me and said "that Shanbour sure has a quick release, Means and Chumley don't " . Chris Walker and I just smiled at that observation..

- the whole OL looked good. I just marveled at Jordan Murry's foot work. The first time I saw him last year the phrase "long time project" came to mind. Glad to be wrong about that.

Greenrex · April 2, 2016

Thanks so much to Harry and SilverEagle for your reviews...just wish I could join you! I'm curious about the number of people who came out to watch?

eulessismore · April 2, 2016

I came and watched the second half from outside the fence; met a very nice gentleman, Anthony, father of A.J. Ezzard, who was there watching along with A.J.'s mother. Basically, I've come to agree with those who consider Shanbour to be the best of those competing for the backup quarterback role. And honestly, I didn't really know who I was watching when I came to that conclusion, just remembered his number. I did notice the quick release, and didn't see a bad looking pass from him.

Ben Gooding · April 2, 2016

All sounds promising.

I am hoping to hear about general "swagger" or a certain kind of confidence from the team. They have to believe they are winners before they can start winning. That starts at this time of year.

GMG

eulessismore · April 2, 2016

5 minutes ago, Ben Gooding said:

All sounds promising.

I am hoping to hear about general "swagger" or a certain kind of confidence from the team. They have to believe they are winners before they can start winning. That starts at this time of year.

GMG

Well, the way it looks in practice, the tighter coverage seems to result in more fighting for the ball between the wr and db. And everyone who had a chance for the ball really seemed to want it, so I think this will bring benefits for both sides of the ball.

UNT Mean Green · April 2, 2016

Observations

ENVIRONMENT: lots of energy from the staff, music playing the entire time, periods seem to be clearly mapped out, it appears players are settling into the new practice regimen

QB: 5 is good, somewhat similar to Jeff Driskel; 19 is a good backup; after these two, it's clear that Means and Chumly are there for merely enough arms to practice

RB: 26 is the best player on the field, and has a chance to have a big year in this offense; 29 is a solid complimentary back who can help in the passing game; not much depth after this; look for the freshman from Arlington Martin to provide immediate depth

WR: 1 has a cast and was not effective; 2 had a good day, seems to be maturing; 3 is probably the best one of the bunch currently, looks similar to Josh Doctson of TCU, had several TD catches ; 11 looked solid inside catching several drag, slants, flats; 80 has upside; after this there's nothing in terms of quality; young recruits (Griffin, Bussey, Wilson) will easily make two deep

OL: first group today is okay with exception of C; 64 plays hard; 67 is decent; 54 and 76 look completely overwhelmed and out of place; no depth here; signing of Cody Hayes is huge and may need another immediate impact guy to help this fall

TE: while it looks like this staff wants use the TE, there's a lot of development needed to have any effectiveness; 86 is the best athlete but looks lost

DE: 7 looked very good, dominating 67 routinely; 30 was solid; didn't notice 56; 94 is quick; 95 appears to have a chance to be best of group; 99 plays with a high intensity

DT: 15 was okay; 34 is a difference maker; 44 wasn't good; 49 was solid; 98 was good

LB: 10 was active; 17 seemed to make plays here and there; 32 was strong; 36 was okay; 37 made some plays; very thin position group that will benefit from addition of top recruits

DB: this is the best group on the team; 16 and 19 made a lot of plays; 21 and 23 were solid; 31 was solid; 34 was good; 41 was a step slow

Wag Tag · April 2, 2016

19 minutes ago, UNT Mean Green said:

Observations

ENVIRONMENT: lots of energy from the staff, music playing the entire time, periods seem to be clearly mapped out, it appears players are settling into the new practice regimen

QB: 5 is good, somewhat similar to Jeff Driskel; 19 is a good backup; after these two, it's clear that Means and Chumly are there for merely enough arms to practice

RB: 26 is the best player on the field, and has a chance to have a big year in this offense; 29 is a solid complimentary back who can help in the passing game; not much depth after this; look for the freshman from Arlington Martin to provide immediate depth

WR: 1 has a cast and was not effective; 2 had a good day, seems to be maturing; 3 is probably the best one of the bunch currently, looks similar to Josh Doctson of TCU, had several TD catches ; 11 looked solid inside catching several drag, slants, flats; 80 has upside; after this there's nothing in terms of quality; young recruits (Griffin, Bussey, Wilson) will easily make two deep

OL: first group today is okay with exception of C; 64 plays hard; 67 is decent; 54 and 76 look completely overwhelmed and out of place; no depth here; signing of Cody Hayes is huge and may need another immediate impact guy to help this fall

TE: while it looks like this staff wants use the TE, there's a lot of development needed to have any effectiveness; 86 is the best athlete but looks lost

DE: 7 looked very good, dominating 67 routinely; 30 was solid; didn't notice 56; 94 is quick; 95 appears to have a chance to be best of group; 99 plays with a high intensity

DT: 15 was okay; 34 is a difference maker; 44 wasn't good; 49 was solid; 98 was good

LB: 10 was active; 17 seemed to make plays here and there; 32 was strong; 36 was okay; 37 made some plays; very thin position group that will benefit from addition of top recruits

DB: this is the best group on the team; 16 and 19 made a lot of plays; 21 and 23 were solid; 31 was solid; 34 was good; 41 was a step slow

Thanks for the info. OL play may take a little time, I am sure these guys have never played a wide gap before. Better have a quick first step! With the linebackers coming in I hope LB can be a strength! Would love to c Ivery motion to the slot from RB and visaversa! Great to start hearing about on the field football! GMG

GOMG2013 · April 2, 2016

53 minutes ago, UNT Mean Green said:

Observations

ENVIRONMENT: lots of energy from the staff, music playing the entire time, periods seem to be clearly mapped out, it appears players are settling into the new practice regimen

QB: 5 is good, somewhat similar to Jeff Driskel; 19 is a good backup; after these two, it's clear that Means and Chumly are there for merely enough arms to practice

RB: 26 is the best player on the field, and has a chance to have a big year in this offense; 29 is a solid complimentary back who can help in the passing game; not much depth after this; look for the freshman from Arlington Martin to provide immediate depth

WR: 1 has a cast and was not effective; 2 had a good day, seems to be maturing; 3 is probably the best one of the bunch currently, looks similar to Josh Doctson of TCU, had several TD catches ; 11 looked solid inside catching several drag, slants, flats; 80 has upside; after this there's nothing in terms of quality; young recruits (Griffin, Bussey, Wilson) will easily make two deep

OL: first group today is okay with exception of C; 64 plays hard; 67 is decent; 54 and 76 look completely overwhelmed and out of place; no depth here; signing of Cody Hayes is huge and may need another immediate impact guy to help this fall

TE: while it looks like this staff wants use the TE, there's a lot of development needed to have any effectiveness; 86 is the best athlete but looks lost

DE: 7 looked very good, dominating 67 routinely; 30 was solid; didn't notice 56; 94 is quick; 95 appears to have a chance to be best of group; 99 plays with a high intensity

DT: 15 was okay; 34 is a difference maker; 44 wasn't good; 49 was solid; 98 was good

LB: 10 was active; 17 seemed to make plays here and there; 32 was strong; 36 was okay; 37 made some plays; very thin position group that will benefit from addition of top recruits

DB: this is the best group on the team; 16 and 19 made a lot of plays; 21 and 23 were solid; 31 was solid; 34 was good; 41 was a step slow

thanks for the details.

I know there's a possibility 34DT may not play, but we cant have two 34s on defense. I see we have a Schilleci sighting...Maybe he's coming for that nickel spot. Was 19 at nickel? If not, who was?

I thought we would hear more about 81 Khan...

cdizzle86 · April 2, 2016

1 hour ago, Ben Gooding said:

All sounds promising.

I am hoping to hear about general "swagger" or a certain kind of confidence from the team. They have to believe they are winners before they can start winning. That starts at this time of year.

GMG

This was the biggest difference between the HoD team and every other team. Great point and hope to see the players develop some swagger.

UNT90 · April 2, 2016

3 minutes ago, cdizzle86 said:

This was the biggest difference between the HoD team and every other team. Great point and hope to see the players develop some swagger.

The difference was talent. Don't kid yourself. Talent at QB, LB, and DL being the glaring, kick your teeth in difference.

I understand the need to feel optimistic, but no competitor wants to lose.

Feel good talk.

SilverEagle · April 2, 2016

36 minutes ago, GOMG2013 said:

thanks for the details.

I know there's a possibility 34DT may not play, but we cant have two 34s on defense. I see we have a Schilleci sighting...Maybe he's coming for that nickel spot. Was 19 at nickel? If not, who was?

I thought we would hear more about 81 Khan...

I looked for him but I didn't see him out there.

GMG24 · April 2, 2016

3 hours ago, SilverEagle said:

Overall impression after watching the PRACTICE......with a little scrimmaging.

-Lots, if not most, of the throws were over the middle. I only remember a few of the 5 yard out patterns that we've been seeing for most of the last five years. And most of the five yrd out's were to the RB's. It's clear that the passing game will be very aggressive.....and the receivers appear to like it that way..

-Ivory got a lot of balls thrown to him, and most of them were 20+ yards down field. None (or extremely few) of those "extended hand-off" throws.

-wilson looked good....as usual. If I had any improvements to suggest for him, it would be "work on making defenders miss rather than physically challenge them so much". There's only so much pounding that any back can take playing D-1 football. Unless of course you are one of those freaks of nature @ Alabama.

-Speaking of RB's Marcell Porter impressed me on one play. He didn't make any yards but no less than four defenders had a go at him and they were NOT able to get him to the ground. Not bad for a 5'7" X 177 RB.

-The DB's and LB's are playing much closer on coverage and much more aggressive than last year. Many catches by receivers today were made with the receiver wearing a DB or LB. Several int's were made and #10 and #36 caught my eye more than once out there.

Morris looks like the real deal alright. He looks every bit of the 233 lbs that he's listed as on the program. Hopefully he won't have to run for his life like the last "real deal" (GV #15 on your program) did back in the Dodge days.

Speaking of moving. Shanbour demonstrated on one play that he is very mobile. He got away from an outside rush and hit a receiver 10-15 yards down field whilst throwing on the run. He also made a lot of nice throws over the middle. AND it should be noted that it was Morris that got one of his passes batted down today......not the much shorter Shanbour. Finally, I was standing next to and visiting with a gentleman who seemed to be a long time follower of the program. About half way through the PRACTICE he turned to me and said "that Shanbour sure has a quick release, Means and Chumley don't " . Chris Walker and I just smiled at that observation..

- the whole OL looked good. I just marveled at Jordan Murry's foot work. The first time I saw him last year the phrase "long time project" came to mind. Glad to be wrong about that.

I think our new OL coach is to thank for that. He really gives it to Murray in practice making each step be perfect before moving to the next rep. They know how huge he will be for the program.

Harry · April 3, 2016

1 hour ago, GOMG2013 said:

I see we have a Schilleci sighting.

I saw him make several good plays on the ball. It's early yet, but he seems to really have matured and could really help us this season.

1 hour ago, SilverEagle said:

I looked for him but I didn't see him out there.

I did not see him either.

NorthTexan95 · April 3, 2016

4 hours ago, SilverEagle said:

Overall impression after watching the PRACTICE......with a little scrimmaging.

-Lots, if not most, of the throws were over the middle. I only remember a few of the 5 yard out patterns that we've been seeing for most of the last five years. And most of the five yrd out's were to the RB's. It's clear that the passing game will be very aggressive.....and the receivers appear to like it that way..

-Ivory got a lot of balls thrown to him, and most of them were 20+ yards down field. None (or extremely few) of those "extended hand-off" throws.

-wilson looked good....as usual. If I had any improvements to suggest for him, it would be "work on making defenders miss rather than physically challenge them so much". There's only so much pounding that any back can take playing D-1 football. Unless of course you are one of those freaks of nature @ Alabama.

-Speaking of RB's Marcell Porter impressed me on one play. He didn't make any yards but no less than four defenders had a go at him and they were NOT able to get him to the ground. Not bad for a 5'7" X 177 RB.

-The DB's and LB's are playing much closer on coverage and much more aggressive than last year. Many catches by receivers today were made with the receiver wearing a DB or LB. Several int's were made and #10 and #36 caught my eye more than once out there.

Morris looks like the real deal alright. He looks every bit of the 233 lbs that he's listed as on the program. Hopefully he won't have to run for his life like the last "real deal" (GV #15 on your program) did back in the Dodge days.

Speaking of moving. Shanbour demonstrated on one play that he is very mobile. He got away from an outside rush and hit a receiver 10-15 yards down field whilst throwing on the run. He also made a lot of nice throws over the middle. AND it should be noted that it was Morris that got one of his passes batted down today......not the much shorter Shanbour. Finally, I was standing next to and visiting with a gentleman who seemed to be a long time follower of the program. About half way through the PRACTICE he turned to me and said "that Shanbour sure has a quick release, Means and Chumley don't " . Chris Walker and I just smiled at that observation..

- the whole OL looked good. I just marveled at Jordan Murry's foot work. The first time I saw him last year the phrase "long time project" came to mind. Glad to be wrong about that.

I was told math wouldn't be required.

Ben Gooding · April 3, 2016

2 hours ago, UNT90 said:

The difference was talent. Don't kid yourself. Talent at QB, LB, and DL being the glaring, kick your teeth in difference.

I understand the need to feel optimistic, but no competitor wants to lose.

Feel good talk.

You're right. Talent in the "role player" positions were superior in 2013. We had a big, nasty D tackle that just kind of went about his business and filled holes. We had a NFL LB. Maybe more importantly than all and still overlooked when talked about that team was a very good WLB in Will Wright. He hid a lot of mistakes on that defense with his athleticism. On O we had a work horse at RB in Byrd and a pure possession guy in Darnell. Those kind of players are always a taken for granted commodity. The common theme with all of those players though was swagger, specifically in the back end on D but they all had it and played with it. It was contagious. UT has a problem with it. They can recruit the players, but the confidence of a winner isn't there and hasn't been for 4-5 years.

UNT90 · April 3, 2016

1 minute ago, Ben Gooding said:

You're right. Talent in the "role player" positions were superior in 2013. We had a big, nasty D tackle that just kind of went about his business and filled holes. We had a NFL LB. Maybe more importantly than all and still overlooked when talked about that team was a very good WLB in Will Wright. He hid a lot of mistakes on that defense with his athleticism. On O we had a work horse at RB in Byrd and a pure possession guy in Darnell. Those kind of players are always a taken for granted commodity. The common theme with all of those players though was swagger, specifically in the back end on D but they all had it and played with it. It was contagious. UT has a problem with it. They can recruit the players, but the confidence of a winner isn't there and hasn't been for 4-5 years.

It's easy to have swagger when you have talent. Sometimes it's easy to mistake one for the other.

4MYMGE · April 3, 2016

59 minutes ago, Harry said:

I did not see him either.

I understand that several players had the flu this week. I could not find Avery Fortenberry and was wondering what if he was one of the flu victims.

drex · April 3, 2016

Is this the first time 'whilst' has ever been used on this board?

greenb.o.g. · April 3, 2016

Wow ... I'm just impressed with the Garo Yepremian reference!

UNT Fan 92 · April 3, 2016

Everybody thanks for the candid comments today.Here is what stood out to me. I was impressed with the defense today. I have not seen a more aggressive UNT defense then I saw today . A lot of blitzing and different defensive formations. I think there would of have been QB sacs today if it were a real live scrimmage. Shanbour showed his dual threat talent when he picked up the corner blitz and threw a strike on the run 15-20 yards on the sideline. I thought Morris ( 2 TDs) and Shanbour (3 TDs) looked the best . One is a prototypical Pro Style QB -- Morris--- and Shanbour being a pure Dual threat QB. Both of which can be utilized in an air raid offense. I also thought Chumley had some good passes--this is the best I have seen him throw. I would love to see how they move or perform in a real game situation ( when the QBs are not protected ) . I am also very impressed with the interaction between the coaches and players.

UNT Mean Green · April 3, 2016

15 hours ago, GOMG2013 said:

thanks for the details.

I know there's a possibility 34DT may not play, but we cant have two 34s on defense. I see we have a Schilleci sighting...Maybe he's coming for that nickel spot. Was 19 at nickel? If not, who was?

I thought we would hear more about 81 Khan...

19 was active in the secondary. Reffett and Ekler seem to like him. Secondary has the most quality and depth. Once Baulkman and Turner arrive, it gets better.

Nickel appeared to rotate between 19 and 41; and this defense does a lot of pre snap movement so it can be hard to tell.

81 went unnoticed. WR is scary thin right now. 1, 2, 3, 11, 80 are it as far as having any talent. Need help here in a hurry.

Topline analysis is that our first team will be solid come Sept 3, but the depth is horrendous. This walk on "system" touted under McCarney is becoming abundantly clear that it's nothing more than clear evidence that the staff was poor at evaluating and developing FBS talent.