Now that Spring is over, I got to thinking of some things we learned, and also some things we didn’t learn, that are carrying over to Summer.

Questions:

1. Obviously, QB is THE position everyone looks at. It seemed that the position was settled 2 weeks ago, but after the O/W game, it’s going to be hard to put a leader out there. I’m looking for someone to come out and establish themselves the 1st 2 weeks of Summer camp. It will be interesting to see if Stephens can get back to full strength and get in the chase, b/c as of right now, he’s trailing quite a bit, through no real fault of his own.

2. The OL. The defense has dominated the Spring, especially at the LOS. Is the DL that good, or is the OL that bad? Is it a little of both? There were several players moved to different positions to try and get the best mix of an OL possible, we’ll see when Summer starts, after those guys have had a lot of down time to prep for that, who steps up and makes the coaches happy there.

3. Quentin Hancock has stepped up big this Spring, but a down the field playmaker has yet to emerge. Denarius Moore has always shown flashes, but has dropped some balls. He was encouraging to watch in the Spring game, going up and making plays, but he needs consistency. There are a couple of Freshman who are going to come in and push this group, namely Nu’Keese Richardson, and I expect this to possibly be the group you see the biggest difference in.

4. Linebackers. Nick Reveiz has emerged as one of the team favorites. Every player you talk to raves about him, his leadership and hit grit. I think Nick’s spot is pretty solid, and Rico is surely a starter, but the SLB spot is wide open IMO. I think Lemarcus Thompson is the odds on favorite, but he’s in a “learning” mode at that position right now, so we can’t know yet.

5. The system. All the way until the O/W game, coaches are still having to call plays in the huddle and adjust people at the line, and the offense is only 50% installed or so. Can the staff get everyone, including the freshman, on the same page and be able to really have a productive summer.

Answers

1. The Defense. I don’t think anyone was “worried” about the defense, but it appears it’s going to be everything you could imagine talent wise and scheme wise. This staff leans towards being a defensive staff, and it shows. The development of all the players has been nice to see, and some like Chris Walker, Montori Hughes and Art Evans really stand out.

2. Discipline. Through the Spring, a couple of guys have dropped off, most notably Demetrice Morley. There has been an obvious effort by this staff to get some of the guys out of here. They knew from Day 1 there’d be people drop, and I’m sure they still think some are coming. They set out to change the culture and have been successful.

3. Competition. Everything they have done, all Spring, has been about competition. There is never a second to rest, get lazy or complacent. They score almost every drill, every scrimmage, everything. When they interview, you almost always here “so and so won”, “the defense won”, someone has to “win”. Creating that environment is going to induce increased expectations from the players, and that has show in the frustration you see from both sides when something doesn’t work.

4. Quentin Hancock/Brandon Warren. Although I put the WRs as a question as well, I think these two have both stepped up as 2 guys the staff feels are going to be big playmakers. Both have always had talent and been raved about, but never showed too much result on the field. They’ve made it clear that will, in all probability, change this season.

5. It’s been apparent, based on who has gotten in, that almost everyone has had a chance to win a spot. Toney Williams and T. Poole have played well and have gotten the most reps as a result. Hughes has stepped in and won snaps b/c he’s made an immediate impact, and the same can be said for Cody Sullins. All this tells me that though no starters are “decided”, that the staff is rewarding the guys who make a good impact regardless of their past performance or contributions, just like they said they would.