Just got back from Auburn and the TU Day. Watched the practice/scrimmage at JHS and then toured the new basketball arena. Buzz was up there so I await his take when he gets back. Quick observations.
1. The practice, including the mock scrimmage was really just working on all conceivable situations with a strong emphasis on special teams early on. Chris Todd ran all day with the ones and Rollison got one series all day. It was the Chris Todd show. The only other QB to play was a guy named Poole I believe who was running all the scout team snaps. No other QB played. There was no tackling at all and numerous first teamers were held out.
2. Chris Todd's arm is definitely stronger. As I told Buzz, this means he's going to be able to throw it to the other team a lot quicker. He did make some very good throws, but all in all, if today was any indication of what we can expect....we are in deeeeep shit.
Now, having said that, I will admit that he didn't have all his weapons. Billings and Zachary did not play, Tate and Fannin sat and two starting linemen were out as well. But, they weren't tackling him and allowed him to throw every play. He just plain got worse as the day wore on. What I am about to say is the most important part of my armchair QB rant. Our entire season rests on the starting QB play. PERIOD. We have weapons...lots of them. We have athletes on both sides of the ball. We have direction. The offense is well conceived and mixes it up very well. A QB that simply distributes the ball on target will make this Offense a fucking machine. Chris Todd made me want to throw up 4-5 times today. I hope he had a bad day and things will be much better in two weeks.
3. Onterrio is a unbe-frickin-lievable. He's the real deal in every sense of the word. Fast, smooth, dynamic....He will make some highlite reel memories at Auburn...early. Think Carnell but much faster. Don't know how he takes a hit but I guess you've got to hit him first to find out.
4. The receiving corp is a 100% improvement over last year. Emory Blake didn't really get involved but DeAngelo Benton is a good looking kid and Anthony Gulley was probably more involved in the entire offense than anyone with the exception of Onterrio. Walk on, Jay Wisner, did some really good things out there. Jean Claude Van Damm Phillipe III was listed as #42 in the handout. However, there was a #6 (Not listed) who I'm 99% sure was him, got in and looked pretty damn good. Caught the ball well. Trott did not play, nor did McKenzie. Lutzenfrichenschteiner played a lot but they didn't throw to the TE. This guy is a beast. Serious size at 6'4" 264.
5. Defensively, hard to tell since they weren't allowed to tackle. Bates ran with the ones at safety and they ran a lot of nickel packages due to the lack of LB depth. Nosa Eguae is a fast ass human being coming off the edge. He worked Ziemba over several times. Defensive Holdouts for injury were:
Zach Clayton: Looked good running on the sidelines.
Eltoro Freeman: Cast ont he hand and obviously stretching the hammy. On a side note..this fuckers motor never stops running, even when he's not playing. He was on the bike dancing his ass off the whole time.
D'Antoine Hood: Ankle, I believe. He's not running well at all.
Adam Herring: He did a lot of running and stretching. He looks to be moving pretty well and hopefully can get back soon.
Spencer Pybus: Did not dress out.
6. Overall...My opinion hasn't changed. This team has some studs on both sides of the ball at the starting positions. After that..it's a bit dicey. The offense has more true weapons than we've had in some time but they'll be useless without a QB to run the show. Again, Todd had better show more than he did today because we're 4-8 if that's his best. To be fair, he did make some seriously good throws and looked like a leader. But more than half of his plays were teh sux. Defense looks fast and athletic. Just keep the LB's healthy. Coaching...a LOT of it. TOTAL difference from years past. These guys are vocal and consistently on top of everything. Chizik, totally unlike Tuberville, is right in the middle of it at all times. Good to see.
The new basketball arena will obviously be some top shelf shit. To be honest, when you walk in the actual arena, it looks incredibly small. But then, 8600 ain't that big. It's Duke size. If they put some fannies in the stands, it should be loud and right on top of the action. Looking forward to the completed product.
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