Scrimmage #1

Well, I went to the scrimmage last night. Its hard to tell much from a scrimmage but I will give you a quick hit list of things that I saw.  I want to preface this by saying that not everyone was wearing the correct jersey, so some names I'm not sure on. The team has only been practicing together for a week now - and it shows. The execution of plays was a little rough at times. Definitely need some time to knock off the rust, there were some issues with getting the right personnel in at times as well as just the overall substitution was not good. But that is to be expected - its not something that you practice in 7 on 7 drills over the summer.

Offense was kinda hard to tell how things are progressing - there were several key personnel that sat out this game: namely Simmons, Franklin, and Hinchey. But from what I saw, the offense looked good. Trevor Adams was ofcourse the starter. He looked really good - I didn't see any bonehead plays on his part. Seals and Bolles played with the 2's. Bolles actually saw a lot more action than Seals did. It would not surprise me if he ends up as the #2 QB, but Seals did seam to know and understand the offense better. Bolles looks a lot like his brother out there - just with more meat on his bones, and his legs don't go up to his nipples, just above the belly button. The Oline looked good - but the second string Center (not sure on name) needed some work - there were a lot of bad shaps. There were some missed assignments on blocking - esp with the 2's & 3's. I remember TE Joel Gantz (I believe) totally missing a block, but then on the next play he scored a TD - so I wasn't quite as upset! The RB transfer Robert Burton III showed that he may have some potential as being a thumper type back. The receiving corps looked pretty good. Shaw had an great catch when Adams threw a great ball down the sideline - reminded me of a Dickey to Brown catch that has been haunting me for sometime! Shaw has put on some muscle and he no longer looks like a track guy playing football. Young had a great catch too that I remember, but he also had one go threw his hands! Overall I think that this offense has the potential to put up some really good numbers!

The defense is still a work in progress. The dline still needs a lot of work. Starters last night were Longacre, Meyer, Chappelier, Meinert. But there were lots of substitutions, so I don't know what the final starting roster will be in 2 weeks. At times the dline showed flashes of being really good - and other times not so much. The LB corps looks really good, but no surprise there. They were the strength of the D last year. DJ Gnader will definitely be the leader of this group. The secondary looks much improved. The Dixon brothers will be great I think. Brandon is currently with the 1's and Brian is with the 2's, but I don't think it will be long before they are both starters. Manning was playing safety and he looked good. True freshman DeAndre Thomas looked really good @ safety. It seemed like he was always in the right place at the right time. I have no idea if he'll even play this year, but I would not be surprised to see his red-shirt pulled.

As far as special teams go, Goodburn had a couple of really good punts, and Adolf hit a 50yrd fg.


There are some rules that will need to be adjusted to this year, here is a quick list.

All rule changes for 2012:

1) Kickoffs will be moved up to the 35 yard line from the 30, mirroring a similar change by the NFL in the 2011 season and rescinding a rule change made in the 2007 season

2) The kicking team will only have a five yard running head start on kickoffs, again mirroring the NFL changes in 2011

3) Touchbacks will move from the 20 yard line to the 25 yard line only on kickoffs and free kicks after a safety. Touchbacks on punts rolling into the end zone or fumbles into the end zone will remain at the 20 yard line.

4) Players will be forbidden to leap over other players when blocking punts.

5) Players who lose their helmets during a play (except when caused by fouls such as grabbing the facemask) will have to stop playing that play and leave the field for one play.

6) Offensive players in the tackle box at the snap who are not in motion are allowed to block below the waist legally without restriction. All other players are restricted from blocking below the waist with some exceptions (i.e. blocking straight-on), modifying a rule change from the 2011 season

7) Returners are allowed a 1yard halo in front of them to catch the ball. Also, receiving teams can call for a fair catch on onsides kicks that are driven directly into the ground but that don’t bounce a second time.

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/ncaa/resources/latest+news/2012/august/rules+changes+will+affect+fall+sports