Good evening all. Another day of spring ball is in the books and some adjustments had to be made with the loss of Troy McCormick for the season. Here is what stood out offensively day 7:
1) Drops were an issue early on in drills today. Both Wilson and Thompson spent some time away from the other quarterbacks practicing the long ball with the receivers and it was a bit of a mixed bag. Over all I thought both quarterbacks threw some pretty catchable balls. (There were a few over throws or under throws but the vast majority were on the money during this particular exercise.) The receivers couldn't hang on to most of them to save their lives. Before there is mass panic though I want to point out that right now the receiving corps are missing Kenneth Scott, Tim Patrick and Raelon Singleton. With the exception of Singleton that leaves a bunch of pretty much unknown and young talent that are still trying get the chemistry down with the quarterbacks. If these guys are going to drop mostly catchable balls now is the time to do it. I expect night and day difference by the end of spring and certainly by the end of fall camp.
2) Per Portland Ute's request I watched Hansen throw a little more closely and to my eye I didn't see anything noticeably different or unusual about his throwing motion or the trajectory. I think his biggest thing is knocking off the last bit of mission rust, learning the plays well, and being confident in making the throws/gaining that raport with his receivers. It seems to me off of observing him a little closer in drills that he throws a pretty nice ball, but when live work comes into play he is still relying heavily on his feet. I do have to say he might be the best quarterback in spring at looking for a play while running though. If he can just gain the confidence to throw it a little more I think his potential is pretty massive.
3) So last practice I gave Wilson a bit of a hard time, I have to say though he stepped up his game today during live work. It didn't start so hot for him. He nearly threw and interception to J. Whittingham and had (I think if I remember correctly 2 batted passes before they went live). After that though he calmed down, looked in control and made some nice plays. My favorite part of his play time was in a redzone drill. Someone ran the wrong route and he threw the ball into empty space expecting someone to be there. He chewed whoever it was out and made the entire offense out on the field aware he was not pleased and then on the next play found Moeai on the post for a touchdown. I don't know why that spunk/confidence comes in waves for Wilson but he needs to learn to be that way consistently. That attitude that he sometimes shows wins games. Sulking off the field when something goes wrong doesn't. He's got it in him, he just has to learn to be that way every day.
4) In case you haven't heard it enough Poole's move to slot receiver is the best thing ever. He's such a good mix of great hands and running back instincts after the catch that he's going to be dangerous and very frustrating to defenses if he can keep up the pace. He's a good guy and it's pretty nice seeing his career have new life to finish out his senior year. Also making the most of the reps they are getting is Tani Leha'uli. He was running with the ones on offense since Booker is not doing live work and McCormick is out and he looked good doing it. If he keeps playing well he may earn himself some play time.
5) Some noteable changes/absentees on offense today included Monte Seabrook moving from wide receiver to running back to help out with the depth there during spring. Seabrook is still trying to find his spot on the team so this will be a very interesting move to watch to see if it sticks. Missing today was Brandon Cox who reaggravated the foot that was bothering him when he initially got to Utah. Good news is that it doesn't sound like he will be gone for too long.
1) Drops were an issue early on in drills today. Both Wilson and Thompson spent some time away from the other quarterbacks practicing the long ball with the receivers and it was a bit of a mixed bag. Over all I thought both quarterbacks threw some pretty catchable balls. (There were a few over throws or under throws but the vast majority were on the money during this particular exercise.) The receivers couldn't hang on to most of them to save their lives. Before there is mass panic though I want to point out that right now the receiving corps are missing Kenneth Scott, Tim Patrick and Raelon Singleton. With the exception of Singleton that leaves a bunch of pretty much unknown and young talent that are still trying get the chemistry down with the quarterbacks. If these guys are going to drop mostly catchable balls now is the time to do it. I expect night and day difference by the end of spring and certainly by the end of fall camp.
2) Per Portland Ute's request I watched Hansen throw a little more closely and to my eye I didn't see anything noticeably different or unusual about his throwing motion or the trajectory. I think his biggest thing is knocking off the last bit of mission rust, learning the plays well, and being confident in making the throws/gaining that raport with his receivers. It seems to me off of observing him a little closer in drills that he throws a pretty nice ball, but when live work comes into play he is still relying heavily on his feet. I do have to say he might be the best quarterback in spring at looking for a play while running though. If he can just gain the confidence to throw it a little more I think his potential is pretty massive.
3) So last practice I gave Wilson a bit of a hard time, I have to say though he stepped up his game today during live work. It didn't start so hot for him. He nearly threw and interception to J. Whittingham and had (I think if I remember correctly 2 batted passes before they went live). After that though he calmed down, looked in control and made some nice plays. My favorite part of his play time was in a redzone drill. Someone ran the wrong route and he threw the ball into empty space expecting someone to be there. He chewed whoever it was out and made the entire offense out on the field aware he was not pleased and then on the next play found Moeai on the post for a touchdown. I don't know why that spunk/confidence comes in waves for Wilson but he needs to learn to be that way consistently. That attitude that he sometimes shows wins games. Sulking off the field when something goes wrong doesn't. He's got it in him, he just has to learn to be that way every day.
4) In case you haven't heard it enough Poole's move to slot receiver is the best thing ever. He's such a good mix of great hands and running back instincts after the catch that he's going to be dangerous and very frustrating to defenses if he can keep up the pace. He's a good guy and it's pretty nice seeing his career have new life to finish out his senior year. Also making the most of the reps they are getting is Tani Leha'uli. He was running with the ones on offense since Booker is not doing live work and McCormick is out and he looked good doing it. If he keeps playing well he may earn himself some play time.
5) Some noteable changes/absentees on offense today included Monte Seabrook moving from wide receiver to running back to help out with the depth there during spring. Seabrook is still trying to find his spot on the team so this will be a very interesting move to watch to see if it sticks. Missing today was Brandon Cox who reaggravated the foot that was bothering him when he initially got to Utah. Good news is that it doesn't sound like he will be gone for too long.
