I thought I'd just share a few things I saw from my perspective.
Guy's that have taken that "next" step:
- Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste (brings the thump that Bethune did)
- Josh Celiscar (dude goes hard on every rep, that's hard to do with his consistency. Great work ethic.)
Keep an eye on Matthew Alexander at DT, he looked pretty solid in drills.
The regular cast of Flash, O'Keefe and Bowser all looked the part as expected. Jordan McDonald is a big RB, it will be cool to see him go from HS body to D1 over the next 2 years or so. I thought the DBs looked pretty strong throughout, seems like we have a lot of quality depth and athleticism in that group. Lee Hunter looks big but I noticed a fair bit of technique coaching, he'll play for sure but we should remember, he's effectively a freshman. A certain coach with big influence mentioned Nakai was "different." Said he expects him to play this fall if he continues to progress. Seemed to hint at he's the real deal from an athletic standpoint.
On to the QB battle. It seems like it's sort of a 1A/1B situation from what I can see. Edge to Keene. Keene still throws the same, so for people expecting him to go from where he was last year to the previous few QBs we've had aren't in touch with reality. I do think he's gained confidence and probably a much better game manager, experience is huge. You can absolutely see that JRP has special running ability. His throws seem a bit softer and the type that DBs will feast on in general terms (floaty and not as accurate). I thought he was pretty magical when plays broke down, he makes some great short throws in scrambles but I didn't see someone who was going to beat out Keene from a pure passing standpoint. He's a gamechanger though, I just don't know if he's good enough throwing the ball to be the guy. Keene seems like the reliable choice, slightly better in the passing game but doesn't have that "it" factor to change the game. I expect them to use JRP a bit if Keene is the guy. Castellanos looks like he might have some very good upside. He's got that JRP type of running ability and sort of point guard to him. I think he throws a pretty good ball. It's quite obvious he's an incoming true freshman though. Given Keene and JRP, I don't see him playing this year unless there's an emergency or a blow out to get him some reps. He's a guy that could be "the guy" in the future with some more development. He's got a good skill set to work with.
My ridiculous "I saw a practice and will now predict the season" thoughts:
I think if we remain healthy, we will take that next step and have a really good season. I see an opportunity to compete for the AAC title. I don't feel like we have that special QB to give me the confidence that we're going to run the table but we have a lot of pieces and a favorable schedule. I think our offensive line got better, the running game should do well and defense should be better overall (still think we need a LB transfer). I think what separates us from maybe a 10-11 win season to undefeated is really going to be the passing game. I feel good about the short game and creativity. I'm sure we'll connect downfield a little but I don't get the Bortles/KZ/DG feel of with a little time they can pick things apart. I feel it's more we got guys who can run the system...they'll make some plays and they'll miss some, etc.
Recruiting notes, quite a few folks out there today (a big group from Wekiva) . T-will mentioned they feel very good about this class and think they can land a lot of talent. My translation of that would be expect 3-5 4* guys this year if we can get the ones they think they can get.
Guy's that have taken that "next" step:
- Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste (brings the thump that Bethune did)
- Josh Celiscar (dude goes hard on every rep, that's hard to do with his consistency. Great work ethic.)
Keep an eye on Matthew Alexander at DT, he looked pretty solid in drills.
The regular cast of Flash, O'Keefe and Bowser all looked the part as expected. Jordan McDonald is a big RB, it will be cool to see him go from HS body to D1 over the next 2 years or so. I thought the DBs looked pretty strong throughout, seems like we have a lot of quality depth and athleticism in that group. Lee Hunter looks big but I noticed a fair bit of technique coaching, he'll play for sure but we should remember, he's effectively a freshman. A certain coach with big influence mentioned Nakai was "different." Said he expects him to play this fall if he continues to progress. Seemed to hint at he's the real deal from an athletic standpoint.
On to the QB battle. It seems like it's sort of a 1A/1B situation from what I can see. Edge to Keene. Keene still throws the same, so for people expecting him to go from where he was last year to the previous few QBs we've had aren't in touch with reality. I do think he's gained confidence and probably a much better game manager, experience is huge. You can absolutely see that JRP has special running ability. His throws seem a bit softer and the type that DBs will feast on in general terms (floaty and not as accurate). I thought he was pretty magical when plays broke down, he makes some great short throws in scrambles but I didn't see someone who was going to beat out Keene from a pure passing standpoint. He's a gamechanger though, I just don't know if he's good enough throwing the ball to be the guy. Keene seems like the reliable choice, slightly better in the passing game but doesn't have that "it" factor to change the game. I expect them to use JRP a bit if Keene is the guy. Castellanos looks like he might have some very good upside. He's got that JRP type of running ability and sort of point guard to him. I think he throws a pretty good ball. It's quite obvious he's an incoming true freshman though. Given Keene and JRP, I don't see him playing this year unless there's an emergency or a blow out to get him some reps. He's a guy that could be "the guy" in the future with some more development. He's got a good skill set to work with.
My ridiculous "I saw a practice and will now predict the season" thoughts:
I think if we remain healthy, we will take that next step and have a really good season. I see an opportunity to compete for the AAC title. I don't feel like we have that special QB to give me the confidence that we're going to run the table but we have a lot of pieces and a favorable schedule. I think our offensive line got better, the running game should do well and defense should be better overall (still think we need a LB transfer). I think what separates us from maybe a 10-11 win season to undefeated is really going to be the passing game. I feel good about the short game and creativity. I'm sure we'll connect downfield a little but I don't get the Bortles/KZ/DG feel of with a little time they can pick things apart. I feel it's more we got guys who can run the system...they'll make some plays and they'll miss some, etc.
Recruiting notes, quite a few folks out there today (a big group from Wekiva) . T-will mentioned they feel very good about this class and think they can land a lot of talent. My translation of that would be expect 3-5 4* guys this year if we can get the ones they think they can get.
