After Kevin Sumlin decided to cancel Friday night's practice in favor of some Top Gold, the team got back to work Saturday with a scrimmage. The media wasn't allowed to watch any part of it but there were some things we got to talk about with Jeremy Springer and Dylan Klumph with afterward so here are a few notes after the Wildcats wrapped up their second week.
- First and foremost, I'm not allowed to talk about injuries specifically as instructed by the team but just know there are a lot of guys not practicing right now and almost all of them are meaningful players who would otherwise be playing key roles for the team. Now, Springer did say that the team is being a bit more cautious with some guys to prevent injury but just know there were a pretty good handful of players who are/were either starters or part of the two-deep depth chart who were not on the field today. We'll see how long those players will not be on the field, but if a game had to take place tomorrow there would be some issues.
- I know there have been some questions about JJ Taylor and his health because of Gary Brightwell running with the first unit and Anthony Mariscal running with the second group last week during the previous Saturday scrimmage, but do not fret the running back group looked intact today. Taylor, Brightwell, Mariscal and Nathan Tilford all practiced. The team put out a video after the scrimmage showing freshman Bam Smith make a nice run during the scrimmage as well.
- Got some word today that Jamarye Joiner has put together a solid showing as of late and could be more in the battle for the second spot than I initially thought. I will say he has surprised me when I've been able to watch practice with how much power he has behind his throws. There is certainly some velocity there and right now he has done a good job of showing the staff what they want to see. If he can continue to grasp the offense and show that he can get it done with his brain, too, it will be interesting to see how things go behind Khalil Tate this year.
- Springer mentioned that the field goal kicker competition is ongoing and he will not make a determination on that until sometime in the next week. He mentioned that both Josh Pollack and Lucas Havrisik are doing "good" and everything is going smoothly to this point. As far as the other specialists go, he has not yet figured out what he will do with the kick return unit just yet and the punter situation is one he wants to see become more consistent.
The punters didn't get a chance to do their thing during the scrimmage so they stayed back with Springer for about 45 minutes or so after practice to work on some things. Klumph said it wasn't a good day bu the is confident the group will be ready to go for the season.
- Springer mentioned players like Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, Tony Fields II, JJ Taylor and Shun Brown as being good examples on special teams for his group. He said some of those guys won't end up getting used on special teams during the season, but those more veteran players have been helpful to him as he has put together the special teams units.
- First and foremost, I'm not allowed to talk about injuries specifically as instructed by the team but just know there are a lot of guys not practicing right now and almost all of them are meaningful players who would otherwise be playing key roles for the team. Now, Springer did say that the team is being a bit more cautious with some guys to prevent injury but just know there were a pretty good handful of players who are/were either starters or part of the two-deep depth chart who were not on the field today. We'll see how long those players will not be on the field, but if a game had to take place tomorrow there would be some issues.
- I know there have been some questions about JJ Taylor and his health because of Gary Brightwell running with the first unit and Anthony Mariscal running with the second group last week during the previous Saturday scrimmage, but do not fret the running back group looked intact today. Taylor, Brightwell, Mariscal and Nathan Tilford all practiced. The team put out a video after the scrimmage showing freshman Bam Smith make a nice run during the scrimmage as well.
- Got some word today that Jamarye Joiner has put together a solid showing as of late and could be more in the battle for the second spot than I initially thought. I will say he has surprised me when I've been able to watch practice with how much power he has behind his throws. There is certainly some velocity there and right now he has done a good job of showing the staff what they want to see. If he can continue to grasp the offense and show that he can get it done with his brain, too, it will be interesting to see how things go behind Khalil Tate this year.
- Springer mentioned that the field goal kicker competition is ongoing and he will not make a determination on that until sometime in the next week. He mentioned that both Josh Pollack and Lucas Havrisik are doing "good" and everything is going smoothly to this point. As far as the other specialists go, he has not yet figured out what he will do with the kick return unit just yet and the punter situation is one he wants to see become more consistent.
The punters didn't get a chance to do their thing during the scrimmage so they stayed back with Springer for about 45 minutes or so after practice to work on some things. Klumph said it wasn't a good day bu the is confident the group will be ready to go for the season.
- Springer mentioned players like Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, Tony Fields II, JJ Taylor and Shun Brown as being good examples on special teams for his group. He said some of those guys won't end up getting used on special teams during the season, but those more veteran players have been helpful to him as he has put together the special teams units.
