Solid third spring practice for BC

CHESTNUT HILL – I readily admit I’m easily bought when it comes to spring ball.

Now in my seventh year covering the team, any sign of covering a winning season I can get in March and April I’ll take. I covered A LOT of crappy high school sports for a lot of years to get to the point where I could cover competitive, entertaining college football. Last year wasn’t fun for anyone.

So, with almost 30 new faces and new coaches on staff, I was as eager as anyone to see how it all looked in a practice setting starting this week. Overall, day two was certainly smoother than day one.

Well, day three on Saturday morning has sold me on this team’s potential early on.

Having said that, I fully understand I and many others who attend practice over the next four-ish weeks will ride the roller coaster, thinking the team is going to win 10 games one day and four the next. But, there’s an underlying quiet confidence permeating throughout the building that’s hard to ignore.

Saturday had a bunch of recruits on the sidelines – some of them highly-coveted around the country – and nearly 2.5 hours of action that was physical, intense and productive. Referees were in the house too.

Decided to go with an old school regular practice report today. And as always, do not put a ton of stock into the order of the QBs yet, this will change many times between now and August…

Early indy period and run game drill

Good work for the offensive and defensive linemen during a multi-block drill. Veguer Jean-Jumeau can really move people, he’s impressive to watch and not just because of his huge frame. I’m also 99.999999% sure I saw Logan Taylor and Jude Bowry in the house on the opposite sideline too. Both guys are a couple weeks away from Pro Day.

Early 1-v-1s

During that run game drill we got our first taste of 1-on-1s between DBs and WRs, with TEs, RBs and safeties involved too.

-Nolan Ray beats Isaiah Farris for a catch
-Nedrick Boldin Jr. burns TJ Green deep for a catch (ball by Mason McKenzie)
-Max Tucker PBU vs. Brady Clough
-Jackson Wade beats KP Price for a ball on the sideline (from Grayson Wilson)
-Dart from Wilson on a slant to Landon Wright (didn’t catch the defender’s number)
-Carter Davis PBU vs. Michael Landolfi
-Quick slant from McKenzie to Duke Brennan vs. Charleston Coldon
-Zach Schnorrbusch torches Marcus Upton for a catch (from McKenzie)
-Clough draws PI on a ball down the right sideline
-Crosser to Landon Wright vs. Marcelous Townsend (ball from Wilson)
-Boldin Jr. beats Jordan Rodriguez to the sideline (pass from Femi Babalola)
-Incompletion on a crosser to Kaelan Chudzinski with Chandler Jordan in coverage
-Absolute dime from McKenzie to Jackson Wade deep in the back right corner of the EZ
-Almost a repeat throw, this time from Anthony Coellner to Brennan in the back right corner

Quick team period

McKenzie – Hard run by Nolan Ray. False start. QB scramble. Huge run by McKenzie. Another run by McKenzie.

Wilson – Josiah Griffin blows up a pass outside. Short run by Bo MacCormack III. Drop by Evan Dickens. Tip-drill interception for TJ Green (ball deflected by Buffalo transfer Demetrius Ballard).

Babalola – Griffin sack. Quick pass to Schnorrbusch. QB scramble.

Indy period and special teams work

Form tackling special teams drill for most of the team. I could be wrong, but it feels like there’s a few extra drills being implemented than in the last couple years. Like, it’s not one at a time, there’s multiple things being worked on by just about everyone except the QBs, OL and DL during the ST periods. I also think Andy Quinn’s legs got bigger. Sound the ball makes off his foot sometimes echos in the field house (the roof still doesn’t help productivity though…)

Team period

McKenzie – Hard run by MacCormack III. Incompletion. Sack by Chris Marable Jr. Diving PBU by Price. QB run. Bad snap (ground ball back to McKenzie), play dead…interception for Farris vs. Boldin Jr. on a jump ball (pressure forced an underthrow). Short run by Dickens. Completion on the sideline (didn’t see the number). Completion on the sideline to Reed Swanson. Run by Ray. Run by McKenzie.

Wilson – Hard run by Mekhi Dodd. Tough catch over the middle by Clough. Sack by Onye Nwosisi. Two hard runs by Ray. Run stuff by Micah Amedee.

Babalola – Run by Sedric Addison (x2). (Missed this snap). Hard run by Addison. Fumble on the exchange. Short run by Dodd.

Special teams period & FG kicks

First time we saw ‘live’ kicks. I was down the opposite end around the 35, but I think these kicks were all from between 25-30 yards. Luca Lombardo went 3-3 from the left, middle and right hash. I believe Sam Stone was 2-2, although it looked like one might have been left.

7-on-7

McKenzie – Short completion to Zeke Moore. Incompletion. Incompletion (technically a PBU for Price over the middle against Chudzinski. Would have been a huge collision if it were live). Incompletion deep.

Wilson – Slant to Wright (also would have been a big collision over the middle with DB Kameron Howard bearing down). Completion to Brennan on the sideline. Complete underneath to Dodd. Incompletion.

Babalola – Great catch in traffic by Danny Edgehill. PBU by Coldon. Short pass to Brennan. Short pass to RB Tim Longo.

Team period

McKenzie – Incompletion deep for Boldin Jr. with Davis and Cunningham in coverage. Short pass to Moore. Incompletion. Sack by FSU transfer KJ Sampson…Run stuff by Sampson. Sack by Israel Oladipupo. MacCormack III runs for no gain.

Wilson – Short pass to Edgehill. Run stuff by Amedee. Incompletion (things get a little chippy briefly). Run by Ray.

Babalola – Run stuff by LB Kemori Dixon. Short run by Dodd (x2). Run by Addison. False start. Short completion to Dickens.

Team period reset (ball to own 25)

McKenzie – (I missed the first snap). Short completion to Boldin Jr. Hard run by MacCormack III. Incompletion to Chudzinski on the sideline. (Ball moved to the 50)…hard run by MacCormack III. Incompletion over the middle (high) to Wade. Sack off the edge by Kris Jones (would have murdered McKenzie on his blindside). 40-ish yard-TD run for Dickens (crazy pull away speed).

Wilson – Short pass to Edgehill. Sack by Nwosisi. Griffin Collins quickly shuts down a pass to Edgehill with an immediate tackle. Incompletion. (Ball moved to the 50)…sideline completion to Wright. Run stuff by Christian Hudson. Short run by MacCormack III. MacCormack III truck-sticks Coldon along the left sideline, drawing quite a noise from the sideline.

Babalola – Sack by Bryce Lewis. Run by Addison. Batted ball at the LOS by Ballard. Swing pass to Addison (TE DJ Johnson had a huge, long-lasting block on the play against a DB, that also drew a big roar from the offense). False start. Hard run by Dodd. Hard run by Addison. Short run by Ray. Griffin and Amedee combine for a run stuff. Sprints wrap up the day.

Next up

Practice No. 4 is set for Tuesday morning at 9:15 a.m. The Eagles go Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday again this week, with Saturday set to be the first actual ‘scrimmage’ of the spring.