Nate's Observations
***Sioux Falls (S.D.) Washington offensive lineman Will Farniok was at today's practice and was getting a lot of attention from the staff. 2018 McCook, Neb. linebacker Zach Schlager was also in attendance today.
***It was another spirited practice today, high energy all day long with very little standing around. Very much like the first practice we were able to watch.
***Bob Diaco bring the energy and intensity and everyone else feeds off of it. There is a lot of learning going on all over the place on that side of the ball and it seems to me that the players are really enjoying it and having fun with the change.
***I once again am pretty impressed from what I have seen from the quarterbacks. Tanner Lee and Patrick O'Brien both had pretty solid days from what I could tell. Both of them showed today that they are very good at anticipating routes and finding the open windows in the coverage. I didn't see one interception on the day. Not sure when the last time that happened was.
***Both Lee and POB have strong arms, Lee's release is so quick though. It's pretty impressive to watch.
***Wide receiver Stanley Morgan Jr. had a spectacular one-handed grab on a deep ball. It was a definitely a highlight reel type of play. He's been playing at a very high level so far this spring from everything that I have heard.
***I have been impressed from what I've seen out of wide receiver Keyan Williams so far. He's been getting all the reps at the No.1 slot position and he has more juice than I had given him credit for.
***The offense has needed some wideouts to step up and I noticed guys like Bryan Reimers, Gabe Rahn and Conor Young make some plays.
***There were back-to-back plays where Reimers and De-Mornay Pierson-El caught nice passes from Lee and made big plays on the defense.
***Offensive lineman Cole Conrad has played all across the line in the past, but was taking all the reps at the No. 2 left tackle today.
***The battle at center is going to be a good one between Michael Decker and John Raridon. Decker has been looking really good so far.
***Raridon did have one play where he got to the second level and blocked Quayshon Alexander about 30 yards downfield.
***Speaking on Quayshon Alexander, he was getting A LOT of attention from Diaco. You can tell that they are really trying to bring him along and must think a lot of him.
***Some of the walk-on running backs flashed today. Wyatt Mazour, Austin Rose and Tanner Hass all had their moments today.
***Running back Tre Bryant was getting the first snaps when the No. 1 offense was on the field. I was impressed with his quickness, especially when running routes in the passing game.
***Linebacker Luke Gifford was getting No. 1 reps as the field OLB.
***Before the scrimmage started Diaco had the entire defense surrounding him while he talked to them and he was getting them fired up. Right before they went to the other side of the field where the offense was they did a couple of up-downs and everyone was fired up.
***The defense as a whole is flying to the football and are very vocal and playing with a lot of energy.
***Nose tackle Mick Stoltenberg was unblockable when working against the scout team. I kind of felt bad for the scout team center that had to try and handle him.
***I feel like Jalin Barnett is starting to play better. He was seeing all of the reps at No. 2 left guard today.
***During the scrimmage there were a couple of times the defense got pressure on the quarterbacks. There is a noticeable difference back there when that happens compared to what we've seen in the past with Tommy Armstrong. There was one play in particular where Lee was under pressure and he wisely threw it away though instead of trying to force something. So that was encouraging.
***For the majority of the scrimmage both of the freshman wideouts Jaevon McQuitty and Keyshawn Johnson Jr. were standing with former wideout Brandon Reilly with the play sheet discussing each play. It was good to see that those guys have their heads into the practice even though they aren't able to be out there currently due to their health.
***Running back Mikale Wilbon had a really nice run on an outside zone play during the scrimmage.
***Overall it looked to be another really productive practice all the way around.
Sean’s practice observations
***Found out some interesting weight lifting test out numbers from post winter conditioning. No. 1 in the bench test out was Tanner Farmer with seven reps of 385, while Luke McNitt was No. 2 with eight reps of 365.
Coming in at No. 3 was Michael Decker. I don’t have his rep out numbers, but I think it at least gives you an idea how focused Decker is going into this spring. He’s probably added a good 15 pounds of muscle.
***When you compare Decker to redshirt freshman John Raridon, I think the lower body area is still where Raridon needs to make more gains. Raridon has excellent feet and technique, but physically his body is still developing.
***Lots of local high school coaches were at practice today, including Mike Huffman from Bellevue West, Mark Waller from Lincoln North Star and Blair head coach Bryan Soukup. Wayne State College head coach Dan McGlaughlin was also at Saturday’s practice with some of his assistants.
***I was really impressed with all of the top three quarterbacks on Saturday. They did 48 plays of 11-on-11 no tackle scrimmage work, and I didn’t see one questionable throw or interception. They also were very effective in 7-on-7.
***Tanner Lee had a great touch pass throw to the sideline to Bryan Reimer. That is one of the best throws he makes. He’s really good at hitting the receivers on that deep out or corner route towards the sideline.
I liked how Patrick O’Brien throws the ball over the middle of the field. He does a nice job of sitting in the pocket and delivering.
***I thought both tight ends Matt Snyder and Branden Hohenstein (walk-on from Bishop Heelan) had nice practices. I remember when Hohenstein committed to walk-on, the staff really thought he could make an impact here at some point.
***Freshman linebacker Avery Roberts had a big hit over the middle on Hohenstein, but he still was able to catch the ball. Great coverage, but even a better catch.
***Both Stanley Morgan Jr. and De’Mornay Pierson-El look like what you’d expect. They are the clear top two receivers at this point. Both J.D. Spielman and Keyan Williams had some nice flashes on Saturday. It really hurts that both Keyshawn Johnson Jr. and Jaevon McQuitty can’t go through live work this spring.
***In the lower units, running back Wyatt Mazour had a nice practice. Riley really thinks he can make a run at the kick return job this fall.
***You get the sense that the staff is really high on Antonio Reed. Both Bob Diaco and Bob Elliott spend a lot of time coaching him up.
***On the Avery Anderson and Eric Lee questions, from what I see Lee is a clear No. 2 corner working opposite of Dicaprio Bootle. Anderson looks like the seventh safety after Aaron Williams, Antonio Reed, JoJo Domann, Kieron Williams, Tony Butler and Marquel Dismuke.
***Was told Quayson Alexander is mentally still trying to get comfortable with the scheme. He was pulled out of practice Thursday for some of the repeat errors he was making.
***You see the entire defense do a ton of up-downs with Diaco during portions of practice. On a given practice, word is they could end up doing as many as 100 up-downs from what people have heard from his Notre Dame days. There is even a tall tale of them doing as many as 500 up-downs in one practice at Notre Dame.
***The other thing you continue to notice with Diaco is he is in charge. His finger prints and teaching are all over this thing. There is not one part of the teaching of this defense he’s not involved in. He’s very hands on and on the front lines when it comes to teaching.
***Sioux Falls (S.D.) Washington offensive lineman Will Farniok was at today's practice and was getting a lot of attention from the staff. 2018 McCook, Neb. linebacker Zach Schlager was also in attendance today.
***It was another spirited practice today, high energy all day long with very little standing around. Very much like the first practice we were able to watch.
***Bob Diaco bring the energy and intensity and everyone else feeds off of it. There is a lot of learning going on all over the place on that side of the ball and it seems to me that the players are really enjoying it and having fun with the change.
***I once again am pretty impressed from what I have seen from the quarterbacks. Tanner Lee and Patrick O'Brien both had pretty solid days from what I could tell. Both of them showed today that they are very good at anticipating routes and finding the open windows in the coverage. I didn't see one interception on the day. Not sure when the last time that happened was.
***Both Lee and POB have strong arms, Lee's release is so quick though. It's pretty impressive to watch.
***Wide receiver Stanley Morgan Jr. had a spectacular one-handed grab on a deep ball. It was a definitely a highlight reel type of play. He's been playing at a very high level so far this spring from everything that I have heard.
***I have been impressed from what I've seen out of wide receiver Keyan Williams so far. He's been getting all the reps at the No.1 slot position and he has more juice than I had given him credit for.
***The offense has needed some wideouts to step up and I noticed guys like Bryan Reimers, Gabe Rahn and Conor Young make some plays.
***There were back-to-back plays where Reimers and De-Mornay Pierson-El caught nice passes from Lee and made big plays on the defense.
***Offensive lineman Cole Conrad has played all across the line in the past, but was taking all the reps at the No. 2 left tackle today.
***The battle at center is going to be a good one between Michael Decker and John Raridon. Decker has been looking really good so far.
***Raridon did have one play where he got to the second level and blocked Quayshon Alexander about 30 yards downfield.
***Speaking on Quayshon Alexander, he was getting A LOT of attention from Diaco. You can tell that they are really trying to bring him along and must think a lot of him.
***Some of the walk-on running backs flashed today. Wyatt Mazour, Austin Rose and Tanner Hass all had their moments today.
***Running back Tre Bryant was getting the first snaps when the No. 1 offense was on the field. I was impressed with his quickness, especially when running routes in the passing game.
***Linebacker Luke Gifford was getting No. 1 reps as the field OLB.
***Before the scrimmage started Diaco had the entire defense surrounding him while he talked to them and he was getting them fired up. Right before they went to the other side of the field where the offense was they did a couple of up-downs and everyone was fired up.
***The defense as a whole is flying to the football and are very vocal and playing with a lot of energy.
***Nose tackle Mick Stoltenberg was unblockable when working against the scout team. I kind of felt bad for the scout team center that had to try and handle him.
***I feel like Jalin Barnett is starting to play better. He was seeing all of the reps at No. 2 left guard today.
***During the scrimmage there were a couple of times the defense got pressure on the quarterbacks. There is a noticeable difference back there when that happens compared to what we've seen in the past with Tommy Armstrong. There was one play in particular where Lee was under pressure and he wisely threw it away though instead of trying to force something. So that was encouraging.
***For the majority of the scrimmage both of the freshman wideouts Jaevon McQuitty and Keyshawn Johnson Jr. were standing with former wideout Brandon Reilly with the play sheet discussing each play. It was good to see that those guys have their heads into the practice even though they aren't able to be out there currently due to their health.
***Running back Mikale Wilbon had a really nice run on an outside zone play during the scrimmage.
***Overall it looked to be another really productive practice all the way around.
Sean’s practice observations
***Found out some interesting weight lifting test out numbers from post winter conditioning. No. 1 in the bench test out was Tanner Farmer with seven reps of 385, while Luke McNitt was No. 2 with eight reps of 365.
Coming in at No. 3 was Michael Decker. I don’t have his rep out numbers, but I think it at least gives you an idea how focused Decker is going into this spring. He’s probably added a good 15 pounds of muscle.
***When you compare Decker to redshirt freshman John Raridon, I think the lower body area is still where Raridon needs to make more gains. Raridon has excellent feet and technique, but physically his body is still developing.
***Lots of local high school coaches were at practice today, including Mike Huffman from Bellevue West, Mark Waller from Lincoln North Star and Blair head coach Bryan Soukup. Wayne State College head coach Dan McGlaughlin was also at Saturday’s practice with some of his assistants.
***I was really impressed with all of the top three quarterbacks on Saturday. They did 48 plays of 11-on-11 no tackle scrimmage work, and I didn’t see one questionable throw or interception. They also were very effective in 7-on-7.
***Tanner Lee had a great touch pass throw to the sideline to Bryan Reimer. That is one of the best throws he makes. He’s really good at hitting the receivers on that deep out or corner route towards the sideline.
I liked how Patrick O’Brien throws the ball over the middle of the field. He does a nice job of sitting in the pocket and delivering.
***I thought both tight ends Matt Snyder and Branden Hohenstein (walk-on from Bishop Heelan) had nice practices. I remember when Hohenstein committed to walk-on, the staff really thought he could make an impact here at some point.
***Freshman linebacker Avery Roberts had a big hit over the middle on Hohenstein, but he still was able to catch the ball. Great coverage, but even a better catch.
***Both Stanley Morgan Jr. and De’Mornay Pierson-El look like what you’d expect. They are the clear top two receivers at this point. Both J.D. Spielman and Keyan Williams had some nice flashes on Saturday. It really hurts that both Keyshawn Johnson Jr. and Jaevon McQuitty can’t go through live work this spring.
***In the lower units, running back Wyatt Mazour had a nice practice. Riley really thinks he can make a run at the kick return job this fall.
***You get the sense that the staff is really high on Antonio Reed. Both Bob Diaco and Bob Elliott spend a lot of time coaching him up.
***On the Avery Anderson and Eric Lee questions, from what I see Lee is a clear No. 2 corner working opposite of Dicaprio Bootle. Anderson looks like the seventh safety after Aaron Williams, Antonio Reed, JoJo Domann, Kieron Williams, Tony Butler and Marquel Dismuke.
***Was told Quayson Alexander is mentally still trying to get comfortable with the scheme. He was pulled out of practice Thursday for some of the repeat errors he was making.
***You see the entire defense do a ton of up-downs with Diaco during portions of practice. On a given practice, word is they could end up doing as many as 100 up-downs from what people have heard from his Notre Dame days. There is even a tall tale of them doing as many as 500 up-downs in one practice at Notre Dame.
***The other thing you continue to notice with Diaco is he is in charge. His finger prints and teaching are all over this thing. There is not one part of the teaching of this defense he’s not involved in. He’s very hands on and on the front lines when it comes to teaching.
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