Training camp

[Total Red]

Transfers transfer to play but "not so fast" in the hypercompetitive Redbird secondary. We lost some DBs to the portal but we gained some back, good ones too.
Dabney, Tracy and Lamont are all quality transfers, but they aren't just stepping into starting positions. We have returning players with some starting experience. The 1st unit is made up of returning players - Safeties Gearhart and Jackson and Corners West and Price. Dabney and Tracy will challenge Gearhart and Jackson and Lamont will compete with Price. Franky West is the one sure thing. He's certain to stay a starter because he shuts our receivers down cold and that's not easy in this heat.
All is not lost at WR. The starters are starting to come into focus - Carter and Bailey. If we have a big play receiver it is Carter. Bailey contorts his lean frame into whatever position is necessary to make the catch and he plays with the consistency of a veteran. The Slot receiver position is still murky and there is a new option that was not available in the spring. Brock Annexstad is a larger option as a Slot (6'2), so receiver Annexstad makes a good target for QB Annexstad. Brock can get open and grip it so he's more than a punter returner. He's a legit option as a Slot. Of course, if we want quickness in the slot, then no one is quicker before or after the catch than Carr.
WR Sobkowicz is another one showing a consistent grip on the ball. He'll have to get on the field at some point.

 

[fourthandshort]

Nice report. I mean, it's not like we all of sudden don't know how to recruit WRs .. though, might be getting harder to land them as we increasingly struggle in pass game. But my guess is they will emerge if our pass game starts to come together.

Was just saying to Birdswin off line ... Ive giving our pass game a "soft" deadline of Sept 3rd for Wisconsin game .. giving us 4 weeks to figure this out somewhat.

But I also figure that we will likely go 2-1 in OOC to start the season, no matter how we do in pass game ... we will dial down pass game as needed to ensure we go 2-1. Keep it basic in pass game .. just enough to keep EIU and Valpo honest in our run game, and we win these easily in trenches. We even did this with Tre Roberson in 2014 until he started to figure things out.

Week 4 is conveniently a bye week for us. So we have until Oct 1st against SIU at home to get some semblance of a pass game threat to take pressure of run game and get us moving chains and chewing clock more consistently .. very unlike last season. I think SIU game is one we can steal, since Spack will have 2 full weeks to prepare and he knows their team .. we did very well last season until we wore down later in game.

So our hard deadline for pass game is Oct 1st MVFC opener against SIU ... this gives us 8 weeks to bring things together.

 

[MadBird]

Wisconsin's D has traditionally been very good, but the weak link has tended to be the secondary (but especially the LB's but the whole front seven will usually smack you in the head). They lost two starters and brought in 3 transfers in the DB, but maybe, just maybe it will be "easier" to get the pass game going against the Badgers? Annexstad won't likely be intimidated in a Big 10+ stadium. We/I can hope.

 

[Total Red]

The football roster has updated player weights. It's always interesting to see who has gained or lost. Backup QB Jackson Waring is quite the physical specimen now at 6'3 230. That's 20 lbs. more than starting linebacker Cade Campos who can't seem to get to above 210. He may not need to, he's highly effective at that size. I think this roster sets the record for the widest range of player weights in Redbird football history. It goes from a high of 365 lbs. (OL - Nate Borders) to a low of 145 lbs. (WR - Eddie Kasper).

https://goredbirds.com/sports/football/roster

 

[MadBird]

The football roster has updated player weights. It's always interesting to see who has gained or lost. Backup QB Tyler Waring is quite the physical specimen now at 6'3 230. That's 20 lbs. more than starting linebacker Cade Campos who can't seem to get to above 210. He may not need to, he's highly effective at that size. I think this roster sets the record for the widest range of player weights in Redbird football history. It goes from a high of 365 lbs. (OL - Nate Borders) to a low of 145 lbs. (WR - Eddie Kasper).

https://goredbirds.com/sports/football/roster

Noticed that my "homey" Jeremiah Jordan from Madison is shown as losing 10 pounds, down to 225 from his outside rushing spot. Gettem J!!

 

[Total Red]

Noticed that my "homey" Jeremiah Jordan from Madison is shown as losing 10 pounds, down to 225 from his outside rushing spot. Gettem J!!

The outside backers, Vandenburgh and Jordan, are really good.

 

[fourthandshort]

The football roster has updated player weights. It's always interesting to see who has gained or lost. Backup QB Jackson Waring is quite the physical specimen now at 6'3 230. That's 20 lbs. more than starting linebacker Cade Campos who can't seem to get to above 210. He may not need to, he's highly effective at that size. I think this roster sets the record for the widest range of player weights in Redbird football history. It goes from a high of 365 lbs. (OL - Nate Borders) to a low of 145 lbs. (WR - Eddie Kasper).

https://goredbirds.com/sports/football/roster

A few years ago, I started to notice Spack, et al going after more undersized "athletes" .. moreso on offense and special teams, but a little bit on defense too ... all presumably to keep up with teams who are more speed oriented. For years, we were consistently one of the biggest FCS teams, and were sort of "fast enough" at most positions. LBer was great example .. we always had a lot of 235-250 lb LBers who were fast for their size, but not fast like other top defenses in MVFC. We would outweigh NDSU, SDSU, UNI LBers by 10-30 lbs .. but they were just as good playing fast as we were playing big with great gap & assignment discipline.

Anyway ... i think this move to small/fast started like 3 years ago.

 

[jbird]

A few years ago, I started to notice Spack, et al going after more undersized "athletes" .. moreso on offense and special teams, but a little bit on defense too ... all presumably to keep up with teams who are more speed oriented. For years, we were consistently one of the biggest FCS teams, and were sort of "fast enough" at most positions. LBer was great example .. we always had a lot of 235-250 lb LBers who were fast for their size, but not fast like other top defenses in MVFC. We would outweigh NDSU, SDSU, UNI LBers by 10-30 lbs .. but they were just as good playing fast as we were playing big with great gap & assignment discipline.

Anyway ... i think this move to small/fast started like 3 years ago.

Reminiscent of the Denver Johnson quote that on the Discovery Channel, it's not so much of the bigger animals eating the smaller animals as it is the faster animals eating the slower animals.

 

[Total Red]

A few years ago, I started to notice Spack, et al going after more undersized "athletes" .. moreso on offense and special teams, but a little bit on defense too ... all presumably to keep up with teams who are more speed oriented. For years, we were consistently one of the biggest FCS teams, and were sort of "fast enough" at most positions. LBer was great example .. we always had a lot of 235-250 lb LBers who were fast for their size, but not fast like other top defenses in MVFC. We would outweigh NDSU, SDSU, UNI LBers by 10-30 lbs .. but they were just as good playing fast as we were playing big with great gap & assignment discipline.

Anyway ... i think this move to small/fast started like 3 years ago.

Agreed, Braydon Deming is the smallest of our down D-linemen. He's also the best.

 

[Dmills]

For those who didn't know, walk-on QB Patrick Brennan, the son of AD Kyle Brennan, has transferred to the New Mexico Military Institute. Must have happened a couple of months ago.

QB Depth chart is something like:
1. Annexstad
2. Waring
3. Dorsey
4. Rittenhouse
5. Makuh (RS)

 

[fourthandshort]

Reminiscent of the Denver Johnson quote that on the Discovery Channel, it's not so much of the bigger animals eating the smaller animals as it is the faster animals eating the slower animals.

Plus the bigger slower animals couldn't catch the smaller faster animals anyway .... wait .. what were we talking about ????

 

[fdbird83]

For those who didn't know, walk-on QB Patrick Brennan, the son of AD Kyle Brennan, has transferred to the New Mexico Military Institute. Must have happened a couple of months ago.

QB Depth chart is something like:
1. Annexstad
2. Waring
3. Dorsey
4. Rittenhouse
5. Makuh (RS)

Obscure trivia for us old timers. Drake star, Lewis Lloyd started at New Mexico Military Institue before going to Drake.

Lewis Lloyd - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Total Red]

The outside backers, Vandenburgh and Jordan, are really good.

I continue to be amazed by the depth at linebacker. Damien Jackson and Jordan are locked in an intense battle at outside LB'er. All three could play in pass rush situations. Third team LB'er Bellizzi would be first string if every play was a running play because he's ultra-tough against the run. McCoy also making some noise at inside backer. The secondary is also very deep. The DL is the one area on defense that we're not as deep as I would like. Bryson Deming plays at a high level but there is a drop off after that.
On offense I think we will get our wish to see plenty of 2 TE alignments. We could even see 3 TE's or 2 TE's and a FB. TE's can line up tight and even to the OT, they can line up a 1/2 step behind, or they can line up with some separation in a slot position. It remains to be seen if variety leads to more scoring, but the offense can show a lot of different looks.
One more thing - OT Asche is more than his listed 305.

 

[Dmills]

Jalen Carr giving Illinois State offense a speedy kick

Carr is returning from a shoulder injury.

pantagraph.com

Battle for QB2 is interesting. Hopefully it means guys are over-performing rather than under-performing.

 

[fourthandshort]

I continue to be amazed by the depth at linebacker. Damien Jackson and Jordan are locked in an intense battle at outside LB'er. All three could play in pass rush situations. Third team LB'er Bellizzi would be first string if every play was a running play because he's ultra-tough against the run. McCoy also making some noise at inside backer. The secondary is also very deep. The DL is the one area on defense that we're not as deep as I would like. Bryson Deming plays at a high level but there is a drop off after that.
On offense I think we will get our wish to see plenty of 2 TE alignments. We could even see 3 TE's or 2 TE's and a FB. TE's can line up tight and even to the OT, they can line up a 1/2 step behind, or they can line up with some separation in a slot position. It remains to be seen if variety leads to more scoring, but the offense can show a lot of different looks.
One more thing - OT Asche is more than his listed 305.

TR .. sorry to burst your bubble (yet again) as our resident football expert. But I'm pretty certain we can only field one Tackle Eligible at a time.

 

[Total Red]

Who's moving up? Okolo at DT. He could start. Jeff Bowens is trying to elbow his way into a crowded secondary. I already mentioned Bellizzi at inside linebacker. The receiver group is firming up. Bailey, Annexstad and Carter at the front with Carr and Sobkowicz close behind. I had Khepra listed as a starter before camp started, but he has been sidelined with an injury.

QB Competition? Everybody is competing hard, but I think 1-2 are clear - Annexstad, Waring.

Walk-on to watch - Jalan Gaines is very quick on the D-line.

 

[Total Red]

DaveBird10 - You were at practice yesterday, any thoughts?

 

[MadBird]

DaveBird10 - You were at practice yesterday, any thoughts?

While waiting for DaveBird's response, the reports on the football website confirm Total Red's reports that brother Brock Annexstad seems to be grabbing for some PT at WR, and also I've noticed true freshman David Connors from Minneapolis getting some receptions, and wondering if he starts to factor in.

 

[DaveBird10]

DaveBird10 - You were at practice yesterday, any thoughts?

Not really as I have seen I really like our depth on the d-line and the secondary. Young guys in the secondary got playing time last year and then as you bring in the transfers that has made our secondary with guys pushing each other for playing time. Same kinda goes with the d-line experience and depth along that part.
On offense I am optimistic about the offense. I think we have receivers who will step up, got good depth at tight end and everyone knows how deep we are at running back. As I mentioned to people yesterday the d-line really how experienced they are I hope they are pushing the o-line around and making them better and continue to improve. With Wisconsin, then Valpo and EIU at home game reps and practice reps vs our d-line should improve the o-line.
Looking forward to watching the scrimmage tomorrow morning, if anyone wasn't sure the scrimmage got pushed up to 9am tomorrow because the rain/weather.

 

[Dmills]

Scrimmage notes and thoughts:
- I didn't think Annexstad played all that well, though I'd have to see the stats. It was raining towards the end of the scrimmage. I think he has a good feel for the pocket, but there was a play where he would've taken a nasty hit from the blind side.
- Rittenhouse was playing with the 2nd team offense. Threw an interception on the first play of overtime simulation on a deep ball to the end zone into double coverage. Was a decent ball I suppose, but the decision making might not be there at the D1 level quite yet. Still shows some potential though
- Scotty Presson had a very nice run after catch on a throw from Rittenhouse. Not what you want to see from the defense, but he made a good move.
- Waring was put in on the punt return team and 3rd team offense. His instagram bio now lists him as QB/ATH. I wouldn't think we would be trying our second string QB at other positions. Maybe he really is penciled in at 3rd string after all?
- Wenkers Wright is going to be fun to watch
- I'm a little nervous about our special teams (K/P). We were extremely fortunate to have Bohlken, Bresnahan too.
- Micah Jones, Timothy Dorsey, and Jimmy Makuh all dressed but did not play to my knowledge. Could be wrong though
- Kobe Rios was not dressed, apparently due to injury