It's raining and that means Arizona using its indoor facility. Practice took place both indoors and outdoors today, but for a lot of the first portion of practice the work was inside as the players made use of the new facility. As a gift, Kevin Sumlin also let the media watch a little more of today's practice meaning we were able to see some one-on-one drills and get a better feel for the team.
Here are some quick thoughts on what I saw tonight while I wait to go back in the facility for the interview portion.
- One position change has already been made as big man Zach Lord has moved from working with the tight end group to working with the offensive line. Jon Jacobs was his personal teacher today as the former basketball player learns what to do at his new spot. He looks exactly like what you want an offensive tackle to look like, so if he can learn the game some more and get a better feel there is some upside there. He definitely looked lost on his first day working with the group, but it's something to keep an eye on moving forward.
- I watched the two lines again quite a bit today and there was some good and some bad. The one-on-one portion of practice that the media watched was definitely fiery with Kyle DeVan having to stop the drills more than a few times to prevent any dust ups. To me that's a good sign, but DeVan didn't want anyone getting hurt on the third day so he was quick to jump into any potential situation there.
As for the drills themselves I was definitely impressed by Myles Tapusoa and Jalen Harris. That tandem was working together during the times I was watching the group and that duo looked both stout and impressive. They were strong during their reps. Trevon Mason was solid when he was up as well winning the reps I saw him take part in. JB Brown was another strong performer on the defensive side. On the offensive side Jordan Morgan was having some trouble with controlling his man so he'll have to work on things some more.
- At the skill positions I mostly watched the linebackers and running backs going through the one-on-one portion. Day Day Coleman had a nice PBU during the part I watched. Colin Schooler also made some nice plays. JJ Taylor looked great going through his matchups and his speed and shiftiness were just too much for any linebacker he was getting matched up against.
I also took a look at the other group a bit as well. Xavier Bell had a nice PBU during one of his matchups and overall it felt like the defense was having the better performances today. Both sides have "won" a practice so far so we'll see how things start to shake out but today it felt like the defense was getting the job done.
- Today was also a glimpse into the work that goes on after the media usually leaves practice. There was a lot of cross training going on today with the defensive group, in particular. The position groups were taking turns working on different elements of the game with different coaches. So the cornerbacks would work with John Rushing on creating fumbles while the linebackers would go work with Marcel Yates on pass coverage.
- The special teams group was highlighted in the first part of practice and it was mostly Brian Casteel returning punts. He looked pretty good in that spot today. What I was most impressed by was the kicking. Lucas Havrisik was kicking a good ball today and they had him working all over the field, so that is positive to see. He's had issues with shorter kicks in the past but it looks like he has started to get over that hurdle now.
I'll update this thread with anything else that comes up once we talk with the two players speaking with the media today -- Cedric Peterson and JB Brown.
Videos
Here are some quick thoughts on what I saw tonight while I wait to go back in the facility for the interview portion.
- One position change has already been made as big man Zach Lord has moved from working with the tight end group to working with the offensive line. Jon Jacobs was his personal teacher today as the former basketball player learns what to do at his new spot. He looks exactly like what you want an offensive tackle to look like, so if he can learn the game some more and get a better feel there is some upside there. He definitely looked lost on his first day working with the group, but it's something to keep an eye on moving forward.
- I watched the two lines again quite a bit today and there was some good and some bad. The one-on-one portion of practice that the media watched was definitely fiery with Kyle DeVan having to stop the drills more than a few times to prevent any dust ups. To me that's a good sign, but DeVan didn't want anyone getting hurt on the third day so he was quick to jump into any potential situation there.
As for the drills themselves I was definitely impressed by Myles Tapusoa and Jalen Harris. That tandem was working together during the times I was watching the group and that duo looked both stout and impressive. They were strong during their reps. Trevon Mason was solid when he was up as well winning the reps I saw him take part in. JB Brown was another strong performer on the defensive side. On the offensive side Jordan Morgan was having some trouble with controlling his man so he'll have to work on things some more.
- At the skill positions I mostly watched the linebackers and running backs going through the one-on-one portion. Day Day Coleman had a nice PBU during the part I watched. Colin Schooler also made some nice plays. JJ Taylor looked great going through his matchups and his speed and shiftiness were just too much for any linebacker he was getting matched up against.
I also took a look at the other group a bit as well. Xavier Bell had a nice PBU during one of his matchups and overall it felt like the defense was having the better performances today. Both sides have "won" a practice so far so we'll see how things start to shake out but today it felt like the defense was getting the job done.
- Today was also a glimpse into the work that goes on after the media usually leaves practice. There was a lot of cross training going on today with the defensive group, in particular. The position groups were taking turns working on different elements of the game with different coaches. So the cornerbacks would work with John Rushing on creating fumbles while the linebackers would go work with Marcel Yates on pass coverage.
- The special teams group was highlighted in the first part of practice and it was mostly Brian Casteel returning punts. He looked pretty good in that spot today. What I was most impressed by was the kicking. Lucas Havrisik was kicking a good ball today and they had him working all over the field, so that is positive to see. He's had issues with shorter kicks in the past but it looks like he has started to get over that hurdle now.
I'll update this thread with anything else that comes up once we talk with the two players speaking with the media today -- Cedric Peterson and JB Brown.
Videos
