Camp Ruidoso
- Thread starter pay4dirt
- Start date
I thought it was to give more local fans the chance to see the team (I think it was in one of the ELP times videos w/Dimel). Could be wrong
Went to the "scrimmage" today here are some thoughts and observations....
So it wasn't a scrimmage like the Kugler days were they go at it for two hours in game situations, basically another practice with an added period where they went team, no to-the ground tackling so hard to get a good overall feel but....
I walked away feeling very encouraged with Brandon Jones, he was excellent in 7 on 7 work and is building a nice chemistry with Justin Garrett. We might be okay here without Kai, get to that in a bit....
Canales used multiple formations, lots of under center, not much shotgun for this practice in the team portions, with heavy play action and off-set I-formation with an H-back lined up to the strong side in team work, very little spread formations, very pro-style approach today probably by design which is cool, the focus was clearly on the passing game out of those looks though not very many runs were called during the team segment.
Again Jones looked solid in every drill, very polished, sharp reads, sharp decision making and he didn't have one bad throw for the hour and a half I was there nor any pre snap penalties, very smooth. Talking to folks he's been the star of camp.
Also the JUCO QB transfer from NMMI could be a future stud, I am his biggest fan, the kid is a true gem and I applaud Dimel and Canales for finding him, and most you know I've been a huge Dimel critic.
Alan Busey made a crazy, body adjusting leaping grab along the sidelines on a deep ball from Jones in team work, Richie Rodriguez looked good running short routes and I was actually really impressed with Garrett on his ability to get open in the middle of the field on crossing routes we haven't had that in a long time.
With Garrett, Arizona transfer (haven't learned his name yet), Busey, Wolf, Dawn, Keynan Foster, the freshman player we just added H/T Bloomquist, and Rodriguez we might actually have something there. Tre Wolf was quiet today but was out there with the 1's. Lots of Jones throws came from the pocket he didn't scramble much in team work that was good to see.
I asked Dimel about that their skill position depth chart and its going to change week-to-week early in the season until people step up but a lot of these guys look so much faster and in tune than they did in the spring.
RB rotation will be fluid behind Hughes, Hankins got his looks and Walter Dawn will be all over the place. Hankins learning curve to get more carries will be mental, the dude is absolutely shredded and looks the part of a future NFL prospect from his body frame. Keep an eye for the former Ysleta Indian Rey Flores, he was getting mad reps with the 1's today and looks like he could a surprise talent, he can do a lot out of the backfield. Really liked him since his high school days and you can see he has worked hard on his physical shape and speed, good developing story.
The transfer kid from Arizona also has some good speed as advertised, he was targeted two or three times on deep balls from the X-spot and showed some separation you can tell he's behind conditioning wise but he could end up becoming a regular starter by week three or sooner.
Dimel is trying to build depth so the second team defense went against the first team offense and the first team defense went up against the 2's and 3' on offense. It was a weird mix at linebacker at times but we don't have any depth after Parsee, VanHook, Toupu, JJ Smith, and Griffin at linebacker, otherwise I like our depth in the secondary and defensive line, but linebacker depth is very worrisome if we start having injury issues again here.
Secondary looked lost at times, but that is expected just week into practice with so many new players, chemistry and working on communication errors will be key over the next few weeks but there are some good looking athletes out there. Cox has to figure out his rotation of guys who understand what's going on, but its early in camp and I like the athletes they've recruited in the secondary.
Chris Richardson forced a fumble, Kai didn't see the field at all and has not taken a rep all camp so far according to folks that are around, that could change next week.
I actually like what I saw overall it was a loose practice and the kids were playing really hard today, I saw improvement and clean offense. Coaching staff has a lot to figure out in terms of personnel groupings for their packages on both sides of the ball, but I feel much better with Jones at quarterback and seeing some of these skill guys try to really figure themselves out with consistency and earn a starting spot early in camp was also encouraging.
Jones is our guy, if they practice like they did today for the next two weeks, we might not has shitty as I thought, it was a smooth practice, there was good practice football today if that makes sense. Will it lead to wins? Who knows, but I liked what I saw today......
So it wasn't a scrimmage like the Kugler days were they go at it for two hours in game situations, basically another practice with an added period where they went team, no to-the ground tackling so hard to get a good overall feel but....
I walked away feeling very encouraged with Brandon Jones, he was excellent in 7 on 7 work and is building a nice chemistry with Justin Garrett. We might be okay here without Kai, get to that in a bit....
Canales used multiple formations, lots of under center, not much shotgun for this practice in the team portions, with heavy play action and off-set I-formation with an H-back lined up to the strong side in team work, very little spread formations, very pro-style approach today probably by design which is cool, the focus was clearly on the passing game out of those looks though not very many runs were called during the team segment.
Again Jones looked solid in every drill, very polished, sharp reads, sharp decision making and he didn't have one bad throw for the hour and a half I was there nor any pre snap penalties, very smooth. Talking to folks he's been the star of camp.
Also the JUCO QB transfer from NMMI could be a future stud, I am his biggest fan, the kid is a true gem and I applaud Dimel and Canales for finding him, and most you know I've been a huge Dimel critic.
Alan Busey made a crazy, body adjusting leaping grab along the sidelines on a deep ball from Jones in team work, Richie Rodriguez looked good running short routes and I was actually really impressed with Garrett on his ability to get open in the middle of the field on crossing routes we haven't had that in a long time.
With Garrett, Arizona transfer (haven't learned his name yet), Busey, Wolf, Dawn, Keynan Foster, the freshman player we just added H/T Bloomquist, and Rodriguez we might actually have something there. Tre Wolf was quiet today but was out there with the 1's. Lots of Jones throws came from the pocket he didn't scramble much in team work that was good to see.
I asked Dimel about that their skill position depth chart and its going to change week-to-week early in the season until people step up but a lot of these guys look so much faster and in tune than they did in the spring.
RB rotation will be fluid behind Hughes, Hankins got his looks and Walter Dawn will be all over the place. Hankins learning curve to get more carries will be mental, the dude is absolutely shredded and looks the part of a future NFL prospect from his body frame. Keep an eye for the former Ysleta Indian Rey Flores, he was getting mad reps with the 1's today and looks like he could a surprise talent, he can do a lot out of the backfield. Really liked him since his high school days and you can see he has worked hard on his physical shape and speed, good developing story.
The transfer kid from Arizona also has some good speed as advertised, he was targeted two or three times on deep balls from the X-spot and showed some separation you can tell he's behind conditioning wise but he could end up becoming a regular starter by week three or sooner.
Dimel is trying to build depth so the second team defense went against the first team offense and the first team defense went up against the 2's and 3' on offense. It was a weird mix at linebacker at times but we don't have any depth after Parsee, VanHook, Toupu, JJ Smith, and Griffin at linebacker, otherwise I like our depth in the secondary and defensive line, but linebacker depth is very worrisome if we start having injury issues again here.
Secondary looked lost at times, but that is expected just week into practice with so many new players, chemistry and working on communication errors will be key over the next few weeks but there are some good looking athletes out there. Cox has to figure out his rotation of guys who understand what's going on, but its early in camp and I like the athletes they've recruited in the secondary.
Chris Richardson forced a fumble, Kai didn't see the field at all and has not taken a rep all camp so far according to folks that are around, that could change next week.
I actually like what I saw overall it was a loose practice and the kids were playing really hard today, I saw improvement and clean offense. Coaching staff has a lot to figure out in terms of personnel groupings for their packages on both sides of the ball, but I feel much better with Jones at quarterback and seeing some of these skill guys try to really figure themselves out with consistency and earn a starting spot early in camp was also encouraging.
Jones is our guy, if they practice like they did today for the next two weeks, we might not has shitty as I thought, it was a smooth practice, there was good practice football today if that makes sense. Will it lead to wins? Who knows, but I liked what I saw today......
Thanks for the report Bigwood!
I saw that Broaddus tweeted that the USC transfer is still in play as well. I have been posting about him on this board since April trying to figure out who he is.
I saw that Broaddus tweeted that the USC transfer is still in play as well. I have been posting about him on this board since April trying to figure out who he is.
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Trussell, the tight end from Purdue also looked good catching a deep pass over the middle of the field during team. I agree with Bigwood, #8 had a nice day at quarterback. Dimel mentioned to me that their O-line depth is looking really good at the moment. While the loss of Wadley hurts, he feels that the offensive line can open up lanes for these running backs to get good production. He also said that Gatewood is still not 100% but is getting there.
We are one of the worst teams in the FBS the last two years. This outflow of positivity is good and productive but I still jump in my office chair when I nod off and zombies in "NAU" helmets come for my head while I'm gulping down a Coors Light in my dreams. So while Dimel is a honest good man, I am not buying until the wins start.
A)UTEP has a history of great practice players who all look like Vinny Testaverde. We lost to NMSU twice, so.....whatever.
B)Canales abandons the run when it is a locomotive and goes airborne when opposing secondaries are locked in. We made WKU look like Clemson last year.
C)This is a no name receiving squad that has a walk on as its leader and a 'zona transfer who, albeit fast, untested and a history of making bad off field decisions.
D)One positive is productive rb's but unless catches are made under live fire and UTEP qb's stop staring down theirs 1st option, UTEP opponents will stack it. The first goal of any football defense is to stop the run first. This means secondary will stay shallow. UTEP has no break away players so what happened? UTEP was the most unproductive offense, points wise, on offense in all of FBS.
E)I'm going to say it now; Canales ouster will grow by end of October. Good recruiter but eh play caller. He was thrown out of Denton. Think about it?
F)Everyone except UTEP and Rice is coming in with attitude. CUSA had a good bowl season, the best college qb in Texas is in our division and CUSA focus from being more competitive against bigger OOC teams is coming into fruition, UTEP went backwards the last two years. So...
F.i) Tackling. Tackling.Tackling. Crisp, slobber knocking better improve.
F.ii) Efficient offense. A dropped or bad pass kills a play. Two dropped passes or throws in same series stalls drives. UTEP compounded on that and lost games they could've won. One game was against the conference champ.
F.iii) As above, Canales needs to mix it up better. This offense does work but only with a good mix. When KSU had speedy rb's and excellent wr's (Lockett comes to mind), it moved the chains.
F.iiii) Limit opponents big plays. UTEP's opponents made big plays in critical drives. UAB and NMSU are a good examples.
F.v) Disciplined, technical savvy play wins games. La Tech beat UTEP the last two to three years because when it was late in the 4th, they were the better disciplined team even though UTEP played solid for three and a half quarters.
F.vi) You can play and be satisfied by the end of the day. You can improve every week and desire to win a title and be proud the rest of your life.
A)UTEP has a history of great practice players who all look like Vinny Testaverde. We lost to NMSU twice, so.....whatever.
B)Canales abandons the run when it is a locomotive and goes airborne when opposing secondaries are locked in. We made WKU look like Clemson last year.
C)This is a no name receiving squad that has a walk on as its leader and a 'zona transfer who, albeit fast, untested and a history of making bad off field decisions.
D)One positive is productive rb's but unless catches are made under live fire and UTEP qb's stop staring down theirs 1st option, UTEP opponents will stack it. The first goal of any football defense is to stop the run first. This means secondary will stay shallow. UTEP has no break away players so what happened? UTEP was the most unproductive offense, points wise, on offense in all of FBS.
E)I'm going to say it now; Canales ouster will grow by end of October. Good recruiter but eh play caller. He was thrown out of Denton. Think about it?
F)Everyone except UTEP and Rice is coming in with attitude. CUSA had a good bowl season, the best college qb in Texas is in our division and CUSA focus from being more competitive against bigger OOC teams is coming into fruition, UTEP went backwards the last two years. So...
F.i) Tackling. Tackling.Tackling. Crisp, slobber knocking better improve.
F.ii) Efficient offense. A dropped or bad pass kills a play. Two dropped passes or throws in same series stalls drives. UTEP compounded on that and lost games they could've won. One game was against the conference champ.
F.iii) As above, Canales needs to mix it up better. This offense does work but only with a good mix. When KSU had speedy rb's and excellent wr's (Lockett comes to mind), it moved the chains.
F.iiii) Limit opponents big plays. UTEP's opponents made big plays in critical drives. UAB and NMSU are a good examples.
F.v) Disciplined, technical savvy play wins games. La Tech beat UTEP the last two to three years because when it was late in the 4th, they were the better disciplined team even though UTEP played solid for three and a half quarters.
F.vi) You can play and be satisfied by the end of the day. You can improve every week and desire to win a title and be proud the rest of your life.
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Hankins making some noise this week. According to Dimel via EPTimes.com he worked his but off over summer, he is in great shape for being just a true freshman and says he is more than capable of carrying a heavy load of reps as of right now. Sounds Kulger-esque when Jones showed his skills at Sul Ross camp some years back when Kugler said "He's a special player".
