Practice Observations

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John Galt

John Galt

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Just got back from attending the first open practice tonight. Attendance was pretty good and I appreciated that they even added some bleachers for the fans to sit on. Here are some observations:

1. Rhoda seemed to get more snaps with the 1's than Croft. Neither one jumped out to me, but Croft had a few bad throws and Rhoda was consistent. Seth Green ad Morgan also looked solid and I don't think there is that much separation between the 4 of them. Based on what I saw tonight, I think Rhoda is the starter at Buffalo.
2. Starting o-line appeared to be Greene, Olson, Weyler, Calhoun and Connelly. 2nd team was Schleuter, Oseland, Dovich, don't remember the RG, and Andries.
3. Brooks broke off some really nice runs. I love what Smith did last year, but I think Shannon is naturally more gifted. McCrary will also get some touches, he looks huge and showed some really good power. Femi-Cole also impressed. We're stacked at RB.
4. Top 2 WR's were Still and Johnson. I think Tyler will be really good at getting YAC. Carter appeared to be the current #3. Chris Bell and Demetrius Douglas showed some flashes and I bet both play this year.
5. No big surprises on the d-line. Winston D will be the right DE and Coughlin was playing on the left side in a stand up role. OJ Smith was dressed but I didn't see him participating. Richardson, Jackson and Stelter all played with the 1s.
6. Celestin looked really fast and bigger than he has in the past to me. Martin and Barber played a lot with the 1s. Cashman was dressed but I don't think he played.
7. Safeties were Duke McGhee, Jacob Huff and AWjr. Ken Handy-Holly played a lot with the 2nd team.
8. Corner looked okay, but it's going to be a step below what we have been used to the last few years. Shenault and Thomas appear to be the starters but both looked shaky at times.

When we arrived at practice, the music was blaring and PJ was miked up and constantly running around, encouraging players, and calling out when it was time to move to the next drill. After about an hour, they shut the music off and players got together with their position groups, took a knee, and were given popsicles and PowerAde. It was basically a 5 minute recovery break during practice. It caught me off guard as I don't think I've ever seen that before.

Overall, the players had a lot of energy and appear to have completely bought in to the new staff.
 

Thank you John. Much appreciated!


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Thanks JG. Great post.


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Lol...just thinking about my Oline Coach in High School handing me a popsicle. Not in a million years. Now grabbing my the facemask and lifting me off the ground, all 270#s of me...that I remember. But no popsicles.
 



Thank you.

It really worries me for whatever reason when I hear how little separation folks feel there is between the QBs as generally speaking I think it is pretty unlikely we have four good QBs... and a whole lot more likely we just don't. I want to belive, but oh man I'm nervous.

Man please Johnson break out this year at WR.
 


Thanks John. This was on Facebook earlier tonight.

Minnesota Football

1 hr ·

Attention #Gophers! Coach Fleck wants you to come to our practice at 3:30 pm tomorrow and he wants you to bring diapers for our diaper drive. Help us make a difference and provide diapers to �� and families in need!
 






Johnnyboy18 said:
I assume Wright was injured?
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I'm with you JB, I thought Wright we be the next guard but I must say Daniel House said no, it was going to be Olson. Looks like he's right for now anyway.

Bummer to hear about the QB play...need one to step up. Figured the corner play would be down a little bit but was hoping Shenault would take a step and Durr would come back sooner than later. Hope Kiondre can take that next step now that the redshirt is off.
 




Hate to sound redundant, but the QB is the biggest factor why this team will have a difficult time repeating last year's success.
 

Last year we won inspire of inconsistent QB play. This year we will need to win in part because of good QB play. These reports are not encouraging. But it's only the 4th day of practice. No reason to get our knickers ina knot just yet. Two weeks from now, we've got a big problem.
 

I agree with everything John said. I heard Carter Coughlin being interviewed after practice and he raved about the differences between Fleck and Claeys in terms of how they practice. He said they ran something like 95 plays and that is amazing in such a short time. He thinks that the real games will be a slowdown for the team, which is good. The spirit shown by these players and coaches is amazing. I have never seen a practice like this. PJ really praised Winfield. Several players stood out but Winfield seemed to be everywhere. I thought there were more passes thrown than any practice I've seen. The QBs to me didn't seem so bad. The receivers looked great. Still is going to be dominant and I think Douglas will stand out. Richardson looks incredibly bulked up. A fan up on the roof of a building overlooking the field kept yelling "I'm smelling roses" and chanting "Pasadena." PJ said it was like the Wrigley Field building beyond left field.
 

ncgo4 said:
Last year we won inspire of inconsistent QB play. This year we will need to win in part because of good QB play. These reports are not encouraging. But it's only the 4th day of practice. No reason to get our knickers ina knot just yet. Two weeks from now, we've got a big problem.
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You just called a three year starter, whom Rhoda and Croft were unable to unseat as starter, and team leader, "inconsistent QB play" .
 



Re: the QB play. Fleck keeps talking about "mastery" of the system. He has said one of his big concerns is how long it will take for the QB's to really master the new system. So, the fact that they don't look polished after a couple of practices should not surprise anyone. this is going to be a work in progress. Fleck was on with Mackey and Judd the other day, and was talking about the time it will take to have the entire offense installed. That is why the non-conference games take on new importance - the non-conf games are going to be the first on-field dry run with the new offense. I suspect we will see different plays and wrinkles being added as the season progresses.

again, if we're going to be concerned about QB play, it would be when the B1G season starts.

also - food for thought - if Fleck & Co were coaching last year, who is to say whether Leidner would have been the QB? Different system - different requirements. So, the idea that "Croft and Rhoda couldn't beat out Leidner last year" means almost nothing when evaluating the QB play this season. It is truly an apples to oranges comparison.
 



Nice recap John...very much appreciative.
 

Face The Facts said:
Hate to sound redundant, but the QB is the biggest factor why this team will have a difficult time repeating last year's success.
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Statistically, it will be incredibly easy to replace his production.

Mitch was awful last year.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Re: the QB play. Fleck keeps talking about "mastery" of the system. He has said one of his big concerns is how long it will take for the QB's to really master the new system. So, the fact that they don't look polished after a couple of practices should not surprise anyone. this is going to be a work in progress. Fleck was on with Mackey and Judd the other day, and was talking about the time it will take to have the entire offense installed. That is why the non-conference games take on new importance - the non-conf games are going to be the first on-field dry run with the new offense. I suspect we will see different plays and wrinkles being added as the season progresses.

again, if we're going to be concerned about QB play, it would be when the B1G season starts.

also - food for thought - if Fleck & Co were coaching last year, who is to say whether Leidner would have been the QB? Different system - different requirements. So, the idea that "Croft and Rhoda couldn't beat out Leidner last year" means almost nothing when evaluating the QB play this season. It is truly an apples to oranges comparison.
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Players can improve from one season to the next, but it absolutely means something that Croft and Rhoda couldn't beat out Leidner last year. At a minimum, it means they aren't unbelievably good...

And the QB play will absolutely matter when we play Oregon St on the road. It will go a long ways to deciding whether we win or lose. The NC games in college football count, they aren't pre-season NFL games.
 

So much for "No posting comments regarding practice information (specific players, plays, injuries, etc.) online or any form of social media,"
 

ruppertflywheel said:
Thanks JG....Did you notice any position changes ?
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It was announced earlier but Umlor is now with the DE's. Estes got a few snaps at QB as expected, but I didn't see nearly enough to form an impression. Bursch is now playing guard. Coughlin is basically a defensive end as he will be rushing the passer from the left side. I think Winfield will be our nickel corner this year as he is one of the better cover guys on the team. Huff and McGhee appear to be the safeties when we're in a nickel package. Weyler and Dovich were both at center, which is a new position for each of them.
 

Not surprising the QBs look rough 4 days into a new system. Did Mitch look perfect in camp? I doubt it.

I think we all have our favorite horses in this race based on different factors...J.G. Has stated several times in the past he's watched Croft in practice and he didn't throw well. However, we all saw the spring game where he had a stronger arm than Rhoda and was at least equivalent in accuracy.

it's going to be really interesting to see what evolves over camp and the first third of the season. Based on repeated statements I fear Fleck looks at this as a possible throwaway year while he installs his culture. Could he go with the true freshman? Stay tuned.

Fleck hasn't completely ruled out the possibility of an ongoing QB battle into the preseason...
 

Face The Facts said:
You just called a three year starter, whom Rhoda and Croft were unable to unseat as starter, and team leader, "inconsistent QB play" .
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We had terrible play from our qb last year and won 9 games. It's tough to imagine being worse at that position, at least for me anyway. Decent qb play would have beaten Iowa at home easily. Thank God he didn't have a chance to screw up the game at Maryland and we don't even need to mention his performance in Madison.
 


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