Spring game on Saturday....what will you be looking for the most?

[crazzymark]

1) I wish it was broadcast on tv..WJBC will have to do..2)60,000 where at the FSU spring game. 3)Looking forward to seeing how the LB's and WR's are progressing.

 

[RedbirdSoxFan]

Warmer weather!!!

 

[fourthandshort]

Offensively .... WRs and QB/pass game. I have no concerns anywhere else on offense.

Defensively ... most worried about DL, but simply looking forward to seeing if defense is coming together and can hold their own. I plan to be patient .. just need to be ready by September.

Lastly .. OC Beathard. Not that they would seriously open up the playbook for spring game too much, but offense needs to establish some confidence and an identity .. passing anyway.

But I mainly want to see what a difference the OC change makes. Work in progress should be expectation at this point ... going to guesss the pass game confidence and execution is slowly coming around. I also expect our run game to be much more consistent this year .. last year, it was maddeningly inconsistent .. from bad/abandoned one week (NAU, SIU), to overpowering/demoralizing the next (YSU, USD). Or the tale of two halves .. dominate 1st half, nothing 2nd half ... InSU and WIU games. Some teams seemed to figure us out and we had no counter punch. I think that changes this season.

 

[MadBird]

Kinda quiet on here for Spring Showcase day!! I hope that's because a lot of the regular posters are on their way to Hancock to take in the festivities (I will not be heading down from Madison unfortunately). Total Red, you have nothing to say about the wrap up of spring practice!!??

Good article today on Kolbe in the Pantagraph, on all the QB's and Beathard too. There's probably some sentiment out there among some fans for one of the "back-ups" to move ahead of Kolbe, but this article makes it sound like he's pulled it together and one would have to conclude Beathard has been a good influence on him having a solid senior season. Interesting that it seems the #2 role isn't settled yet, would speak highly of Hatfield and Smith I spose.

Looking forward to seeing what the #1 D looks like, am hoping for a steady group to get going from the start in the fall and anchor the team. Will Kirk take the lead? How will the LB corps look? Will Vandenburgh start? He and Deforest inside together? Our biggest inside duo in quite a while.

I may listen in for a while.

 

[rdt99]

I listened to the last half hour and Spack was very excited with the Spring practices. He said it was the best Spring in the ten years he's been here. Anyone at the scrimmage should give us an opinion of what they saw. The new turf starts going in tomorrow!

 

[MadBird]

Ended up not listening to one minute, so looking forward to any reports!

 

[ISUBU]

Of course he isn't on the current staff so his opinion is just an opinion. But he has a lot more experience evaluating football players than most observers, and WJBC color commentator Ted Schmitz thinks that Hatfield might be a bit ahead of the other two QBs for the backup job.

 

[RedbirdSF67]

Beautiful weather, decided to come out. Here is my report. RBs- wow, add Birch to the mix, we might have not just two of the best with Robinson & Smith, Birch looked sleek and fast. This is the strength 9f this team.
QB - kind of windy, so didn't really see anything special in the passing game. Nice long run by Hatfield. Schnell was out, so just seem like the passing game wasn't clicking. Although they seem to find Robinson open a lot beyond the line of scrimmage, definetly looking to incorporate him more. Guessing it's because the O line did a great job against the pass rush allowing james to slip thru for drop off passes.
Oline. Seemed solid, nice holes to run thru, good protection, huge. Himmilman is a giant, Maggeson is a people mover, Oday is huge, Hirsch looked good, others looked good, we are at least 8 deep there.
Receivers struggled today. No Scnell, saw several receiver in plain clothes, we have low numbers there.. Not much TE action today.
Defense look solid, grinders and lots of blitzing. Dline looked really good, Ridgeway NT is huge and was solid early involved in a lot of tackles, Harris and Swain were busy on the ends, and lots of big bodies in the middle.. they should holy their own. Secondary looked solid nice pick, several other opportunities, lots of guys coming in and out. Same for linebackers, probably the biggest change defensively, seem like the have a lot more action and responsibilities. Two big takeaways, Birch and Ridgeway. Punter was strong too, bohlken.

 

[fourthandshort]

I listened to the last half hour and Spack was very excited with the Spring practices. He said it was the best Spring in the ten years he's been here. Anyone at the scrimmage should give us an opinion of what they saw. The new turf starts going in tomorrow!

I'm just going to guess the overhauled coaching staff has gone as well as anyone could have hoped ... fresh minds with fresh ideas and styles .. players bound to be more on their toes and engaged. At the time the changes wre being announced, I was guarded but very optimistic about how quickly Spack re-assembled 6 coaching positions and seemingly didn't have to "settle" for any of the guys he got ... everyone of them brought playing and coaching experience at their position.

Still need to play the game on the field .. but been liking what I've been hearing so far. Players appear to be buying in from day one. That is huge factor. And with OC Beathard's calming influence ... it may get very interesting on offense this year.

 

[cpacmel]

RBs- wow, add Birch to the mix, we might have not just two of the best with Robinson & Smith, Birch looked sleek and fast. This is the strength 9f this team.

Good report. I agree about the RB’s. All 3 are impressive.

Worried about WR’s. Schnell was in a sling.

Defense....no Horton or Brees.

 

[fourthandshort]

RBs- wow, add Birch to the mix, we might have not just two of the best with Robinson & Smith, Birch looked sleek and fast. This is the strength 9f this team.

Good report. I agree about the RB’s. All 3 are impressive.

Worried about WR’s. Schnell was in a sling.

Defense....no Horton or Brees.

So the defense was down to just 1 returning starter .. DE Jason Harris ??

Liking most of what I've heard except the WR group is very very thin right now. Need to see some progress there. Did the Indiana transfer play much ? How did he look running routes and blocking ?

 

[MadBird]

Have to also assume the "track guy" WR didn't play? Is it Patterson?

 

[Virginia Redbird]

The Pantagraph article about the spring game. Spack comments on the passing game and that it will improve through the summer and into the fall. Kolbe is the starter for now. No real surprise there. 3 way battle for backup QB. Running game looks solid. Quite a number of players being held out with injuries which is pretty typical for the spring season. Defense we will have to wait until the fall to see where that group is at.
Video highlights posted on goredbirds.com.


http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/football/hatfield-s-long-run-highlights-isu-spring-showcase/article_09b9176c-fa5a-569b-8c53-cd519da12318.html

The turf gets ripped out starting Monday. Curious if there will be some photos or video of the installation. Can't keep it a secret much longer since it is out there for all to see!

 

[RedbirdSF67]

For defensive line, roster weights are off, Reinhardt tweeted Ridgeway is 320, they show him as 285! He looked 320, huge and hard to move. Swain did a nice job too, still thin though. Podkowski is listed as 290, thinking that's wrong too guessing over 300. Galindo is listed as 285, he looked big too, not sure 300 and 57 isreal is well over 300, Powell was in that mix, he looked more like a McCowen type, 275. Biggest dline I can ever remember here. I heard spack on wjbc say he is happy with all aspects but most happy about dline improvement this spring.

Problem with the receivers is many had the penny's on playing both ways and could not see numbers. Yea, Spack seemed to say that is where we are most thin, but 7 guys are coming in the fall he said.

 

[MadBird]

I see Patterson listed in the box score, one catch for 5 yds. I think.

 

[DaveBird10]

The D-line really impressed going up against am interior O-line that should be pretty good. Wasn't sure what I'd expect but the d-line was big and impressive. Was also impressed with the linebackers w/o Horton. Tuvone Clark looked really impressive, DeForest and even Vandenburgh is gonna be really good.

On offense the o-line and running backs should be really good. The recievers didn't show much although one kid who looks like he will be solid is transfer Braxton Haley. He has good size and caught a few balls. As for Hatfield he's the future, if he can learn the passing game he will be #2 by the start of the season.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[birds_will_b_dancing]

I could be looking into this to much, especially this early in the season but it seemed odd to me that they have kanugh doing punt and field goal. Do the coaches not have the faith in backups to fill those spots? Especially field goal. It just makes me wonder about your comment "8 deep". Are we really that deep?

Beautiful weather, decided to come out. Here is my report. RBs- wow, add Birch to the mix, we might have not just two of the best with Robinson & Smith, Birch looked sleek and fast. This is the strength 9f this team.
QB - kind of windy, so didn't really see anything special in the passing game. Nice long run by Hatfield. Schnell was out, so just seem like the passing game wasn't clicking. Although they seem to find Robinson open a lot beyond the line of scrimmage, definetly looking to incorporate him more. Guessing it's because the O line did a great job against the pass rush allowing james to slip thru for drop off passes.
Oline. Seemed solid, nice holes to run thru, good protection, huge. Himmilman is a giant, Maggeson is a people mover, Oday is huge, Hirsch looked good, others looked good, we are at least 8 deep there.
Receivers struggled today. No Scnell, saw several receiver in plain clothes, we have low numbers there.. Not much TE action today.
Defense look solid, grinders and lots of blitzing. Dline looked really good, Ridgeway NT is huge and was solid early involved in a lot of tackles, Harris and Swain were busy on the ends, and lots of big bodies in the middle.. they should holy their own. Secondary looked solid nice pick, several other opportunities, lots of guys coming in and out. Same for linebackers, probably the biggest change defensively, seem like the have a lot more action and responsibilities. Two big takeaways, Birch and Ridgeway. Punter was strong too, bohlken.

 

[RedbirdSF67]

Olineman:
Himmilman
O'Day
Maggeson
Mikkelson
Kanaugh
Hirsch
Rientz
Anderson

Lots of experience with this group. Plus some nice young guys not even mentioned here. We are deep.

 

[RedbirdSF67]

Oh, to keep the travel squad at 60 players for valley games, your second string guys have to fill those special teams roles. That's why you see potential starters double duty on special teams.

 

[birds_will_b_dancing]

So who come fall who do you guys see as projected starters?