1) Russell looked good. He was hitting the deep balls he missed on last year. Some of that has to do with our atrocious safety play. Dak looks the part, and he appears comfortable in the pocket. He still throws some ducks, though.
2) If Nickoe doesn't come back 100% by the start of the season, we are screwed at safety. Screwed. Like others have said, Slay or Broomfield would have to see time at safety. Wells is back there now, and he certainly looks the part, as does Dee. We really need one of them to be able to play a significant amount of reps. I don't expect much from Hughes or Watson.
3) WRs look better. Morrow is going to make a big difference. Guy is simply different than anyone else we have. Some people have been hyping up Robert Johnson, but I heard several people at practice say they didn't think he would ever contribute. Not going to say who this was coming from. He is another guy who looks the part, though. Warren moves pretty well to be a big guy. He is another recruit no one wanted who will be a solid player before all is said and done. Malcolm Johnson may not ever have a definite position, but he is a football player.
4) Zack Jackson was playing RB. I'm guessing this is due to Robinson and Milton both being out with the flu.
5) As has been said many times on here, McKinney is huge. His has tons of upside, and he should see a fair amount of playing time next year. Good find by the coaches. He has the potential to develop into the prototypical 3-4 LB that NFL teams loves so much. And yes, I know we don't run a 3-4. Skinner and Lawrence are both vocal leaders and poised to have a good year, but Lawrence may be the smallest LB in the SEC. He still looks like a SS.
6) DEs are tall and rangy with the exception of Eulls, but they still have a long way to go. McCardell has continued to gain weight, but he was limping pretty bad for much of the day. Smith will be solid before all is said and done, but he still needs to gain another 10-20lbs. Autry wasn't quite as big as I expected, but he is quick. Needs to bulk up some as well. John Harris is a long way from ever playing. Still needs to gain tons to weight. Basically, we need Autry to step up and seize the starting role opposite Eulls, which I'm sure will happen eventually.
7) Boyd is obviously the anchor of the DL and one of the leaders of the defense. Jones is going to be good. Probably the most explosive DT. Quay looked lost and exhausted. He has a long ways to go. Cherrington has slimmed down....some. He will be in the rotation this year. I don't remember seeing Virges out there.
8) Corners are fine. Nothing really needs to be said there. Jamerson Love is looking pretty good, though. Once again, another player Ole Miss fans made fun of us for signing who will be a solid player before he leaves.
9) Perkins is the same player. Great in the open field, but he isn't a #1 running back. We were using him in the passing game a lot more than I remember us doing at any practice last year. Griffin is a beast. Some MSU staffers agreed. He made some great runs when we scrimmaged at the end of the practice. He has the best combination of size, power and speed of any running back we have had in a while. Of all of the guys on the team, he probably "looks the part" the most. Not to sound like Yancy, but Griffin just looks like a bad m'fer.
10) Our offensive line is going to struggle mightily. Again. The coaches were really mixing and matching, so I wouldn't read too much into anything at this point. Damien Robinson still scares the **** out of me. He is in the best shape he has been in, but I'm just not convinced he can ever start in the SEC. Siddoway was playing back-up RT, and he looked pretty good. Trapp was our #2 LT. That speaks for itself. It is a good thing Holley is a center, because he is undersized. Malone is massive. He has a chance to be pretty damn good one day. As a whole, the unit has a long, long ways to go. Everyone involved with the program seems to be rather worried about trotting this unit out there to attempt to block anyone.
11) We're going to throw the ball more. We have don't have a choice. Expect to see more four wide next year.
And lastly, supposedly Chief Brown hates it at Ole Miss and did in fact run consecutive 4.77s at Big Dawg Camp. Just throwing that out there.
Oh, and we have a smoking hot blonde working at practice in some capacity. Megan Mullen is also pregnant again.
2) If Nickoe doesn't come back 100% by the start of the season, we are screwed at safety. Screwed. Like others have said, Slay or Broomfield would have to see time at safety. Wells is back there now, and he certainly looks the part, as does Dee. We really need one of them to be able to play a significant amount of reps. I don't expect much from Hughes or Watson.
3) WRs look better. Morrow is going to make a big difference. Guy is simply different than anyone else we have. Some people have been hyping up Robert Johnson, but I heard several people at practice say they didn't think he would ever contribute. Not going to say who this was coming from. He is another guy who looks the part, though. Warren moves pretty well to be a big guy. He is another recruit no one wanted who will be a solid player before all is said and done. Malcolm Johnson may not ever have a definite position, but he is a football player.
4) Zack Jackson was playing RB. I'm guessing this is due to Robinson and Milton both being out with the flu.
5) As has been said many times on here, McKinney is huge. His has tons of upside, and he should see a fair amount of playing time next year. Good find by the coaches. He has the potential to develop into the prototypical 3-4 LB that NFL teams loves so much. And yes, I know we don't run a 3-4. Skinner and Lawrence are both vocal leaders and poised to have a good year, but Lawrence may be the smallest LB in the SEC. He still looks like a SS.
6) DEs are tall and rangy with the exception of Eulls, but they still have a long way to go. McCardell has continued to gain weight, but he was limping pretty bad for much of the day. Smith will be solid before all is said and done, but he still needs to gain another 10-20lbs. Autry wasn't quite as big as I expected, but he is quick. Needs to bulk up some as well. John Harris is a long way from ever playing. Still needs to gain tons to weight. Basically, we need Autry to step up and seize the starting role opposite Eulls, which I'm sure will happen eventually.
7) Boyd is obviously the anchor of the DL and one of the leaders of the defense. Jones is going to be good. Probably the most explosive DT. Quay looked lost and exhausted. He has a long ways to go. Cherrington has slimmed down....some. He will be in the rotation this year. I don't remember seeing Virges out there.
8) Corners are fine. Nothing really needs to be said there. Jamerson Love is looking pretty good, though. Once again, another player Ole Miss fans made fun of us for signing who will be a solid player before he leaves.
9) Perkins is the same player. Great in the open field, but he isn't a #1 running back. We were using him in the passing game a lot more than I remember us doing at any practice last year. Griffin is a beast. Some MSU staffers agreed. He made some great runs when we scrimmaged at the end of the practice. He has the best combination of size, power and speed of any running back we have had in a while. Of all of the guys on the team, he probably "looks the part" the most. Not to sound like Yancy, but Griffin just looks like a bad m'fer.
10) Our offensive line is going to struggle mightily. Again. The coaches were really mixing and matching, so I wouldn't read too much into anything at this point. Damien Robinson still scares the **** out of me. He is in the best shape he has been in, but I'm just not convinced he can ever start in the SEC. Siddoway was playing back-up RT, and he looked pretty good. Trapp was our #2 LT. That speaks for itself. It is a good thing Holley is a center, because he is undersized. Malone is massive. He has a chance to be pretty damn good one day. As a whole, the unit has a long, long ways to go. Everyone involved with the program seems to be rather worried about trotting this unit out there to attempt to block anyone.
11) We're going to throw the ball more. We have don't have a choice. Expect to see more four wide next year.
And lastly, supposedly Chief Brown hates it at Ole Miss and did in fact run consecutive 4.77s at Big Dawg Camp. Just throwing that out there.
Oh, and we have a smoking hot blonde working at practice in some capacity. Megan Mullen is also pregnant again.
