The day belonged to the defense as the offense had it's token spring ball failure today. Here is what stood out:
1) Turnovers and sloppy play were the name of the game. The quarterbacks in general were having problems connecting with their receivers, but no one struggled more than Connor Manning which was rather uncharacteristic. I personally expect this to improve drastically on Thursday. Every time the offense has had a really bad day of practice they've always followed it up with a pretty good day.
2) It looked like Wilson, Manning and Hansen were taking most of the reps with Cox thrown in every now and then. Wilson was once again by far the best. Hansen is fantastic on his feet but I really want him to start showing what he can do with his arm more. He really hasn't done that too much yet.
3) The offensive line had problems today. They couldn't really rush or pass protect to save their lives. Give it up to the defensive line- they were amazing at getting pressure, but the O Block is going to have to tighten up in order to protect the quarterback come game time if Utah wants a repeat or better of last year.
4) Naturally with no rush block to speak of the runningbacks looked like mere mortals for the most part. McCormick didn't really do much for the first time this spring, though I will give him props. I think he has put in a lot of work on strength and putting on a little weight. There were a couple of times were he did a decent job of churning his legs for extra yards. Tani Leha'uli also continued to look pretty good.
5) The offense got to run laps while the defense got to leave. One thing to keep in mind is there are a lot of young and inexperienced guys taking snaps on offense. Ups and downs are to be expected but what will be most telling about this group is how they bounce back. The next two practices will be very key.
1) Turnovers and sloppy play were the name of the game. The quarterbacks in general were having problems connecting with their receivers, but no one struggled more than Connor Manning which was rather uncharacteristic. I personally expect this to improve drastically on Thursday. Every time the offense has had a really bad day of practice they've always followed it up with a pretty good day.
2) It looked like Wilson, Manning and Hansen were taking most of the reps with Cox thrown in every now and then. Wilson was once again by far the best. Hansen is fantastic on his feet but I really want him to start showing what he can do with his arm more. He really hasn't done that too much yet.
3) The offensive line had problems today. They couldn't really rush or pass protect to save their lives. Give it up to the defensive line- they were amazing at getting pressure, but the O Block is going to have to tighten up in order to protect the quarterback come game time if Utah wants a repeat or better of last year.
4) Naturally with no rush block to speak of the runningbacks looked like mere mortals for the most part. McCormick didn't really do much for the first time this spring, though I will give him props. I think he has put in a lot of work on strength and putting on a little weight. There were a couple of times were he did a decent job of churning his legs for extra yards. Tani Leha'uli also continued to look pretty good.
5) The offense got to run laps while the defense got to leave. One thing to keep in mind is there are a lot of young and inexperienced guys taking snaps on offense. Ups and downs are to be expected but what will be most telling about this group is how they bounce back. The next two practices will be very key.
