Howe: Observations from Hawkeyes' West Des Moines Practice
- Thread starter RobHowe
- Start date
I wonder if the academic issues J Smith has is something that can get cleared up by fall... When Vandeberg went down (again) for who knows how long he kinda became the defacto leader of that group. Now there's just a couple of guys who've hardly caught any passes with a group of newcomers all together... BF has his work cut out for him with that's for sure.
DMLadyhawk
Well-Known Member
I was there last night and it was a lot of fun. Practice went til after 8 by which time it was pretty chilly for that kid's clinic. These practices are mostly drills but there was little light scrimmaging at the end. Like everybody else, I was watching the receiver group with no Smith. I thought Nick Easley looked good. DeVonte Young and Adrian Falconer also caught some balls. Also impressed with Toren Young - he looks fast and strong. Akrum Wadley was snagging balls for the punters and did drills only but you could see his smile from the bleachers. To my eyes, Fant and Beyer were good.
Hard to tell in this setting, but there was a noticeable difference to me between Stanley and Wiegers. Stanley appeared to have better accuracy and he has a zip on his ball. Cook looked better than last year. The offensive line seems further along than the defense but I expected that as there were several dlinemen who did not play due to injury. Looks like they are trying to figure out who the backups will be on the line from several candidates.
Nelson was there on crutches as was Vande Berg and both spoke to the crowd about how excited they will be to play again.
No worries at linebacker. It will be so fun to watch them in the fall. Rob - I looked for Alaric Jackson and did not see him. Was he there? All in all it was fun to see the team and pick out the new coaches. Brian was running all over the field and it was good to see O'Keefe work with the qbs. Kirk was making notes on his knee as usual.
Hard to tell in this setting, but there was a noticeable difference to me between Stanley and Wiegers. Stanley appeared to have better accuracy and he has a zip on his ball. Cook looked better than last year. The offensive line seems further along than the defense but I expected that as there were several dlinemen who did not play due to injury. Looks like they are trying to figure out who the backups will be on the line from several candidates.
Nelson was there on crutches as was Vande Berg and both spoke to the crowd about how excited they will be to play again.
No worries at linebacker. It will be so fun to watch them in the fall. Rob - I looked for Alaric Jackson and did not see him. Was he there? All in all it was fun to see the team and pick out the new coaches. Brian was running all over the field and it was good to see O'Keefe work with the qbs. Kirk was making notes on his knee as usual.
MoseSchrute
Well-Known Member
Sounds like we will be riding the defense and running game....again.
It's been two weeks, plus defenses always look better in spring ball. It's a little early to write off the passing game.
DMLadyhawk
Well-Known Member
I specifically mentioned receivers and tight ends in my post because I was interested in seeing some of the younger guys. Realizing that this is not a game situation and it is very early: I think Falconer will step up, He caught quite a few passes and ran away from one db. I also thought Young and Easley were good. Certainly not hopeless at this stage.
Agreed. Plus with Vandeberg coming back, freshmen coming in, and rumblings of J Smith's situation being temporary, we still have the chance to improve. If we're being completely honest with ourselves, ANY improvement will be better than last year, but from what I'm hearing, I think it will be an average to slightly above average passing game, which is still a great complement to a strong run game.
Adam
Well-Known Member
The timing that QB's were getting rid of the ball was excellent. O'Keefe has wasted no time in putting his fingerprints on the passing game. The routes the receivers were running were simple routes that were completely predetermined. The whole read react passing game is officially toast. It won't matter who the WR's are this year. This passing game is more encompassing of timing and check downs. The QB's appear competent and were all exceptional with internal clocks. The vast majority of the throws were in great sync and the ball was leaving as the WR was coming out of the break. This passing offense will be much more competent and if we get a healthy Meerkat and somebody else steps up to effectively stretch the field we could be pretty good. Either way I am expecting to not be embarrassed by this year's passing game. That leaves me a lot of room to be impressed by what we actually produce out there.
HuckFinn
Well-Known Member
Beyer, the kid from CR Kennedy, was given a compliment on Hawk Central for a catch he made in Des Moines. I saw him play twice last fall and was really impressed with his athletcism, that he played several roles for Kennedy, and he seemed to have a lot of football speed. Kind of reminds me of the Meerkat. I am absolutely not a talent scout so grain of salt, please. Anyone else familiar with Sean?
DMLadyhawk
Well-Known Member
He did well at Friday practice. Caught a pass way over his head and got a cheer from the crowd. He got a lot of reps along with Fant.
