Rough basketball finish last night, but a great effort from a great team. Have to wash the taste out by switching back to football...
Looked at the key areas we wanted to see in spring practice, and at the half-way point it seems we have some updates:
1.) QB Consistency
The only thing we can say at this point is that both guys appear to be competing all out for the job. That's the best thing we can possibly have, and hopefully that continues throughout the fall. We'll just have to keep waiting for the actual results in this area
2.) Health
This is what killed ND late in the 2014 season. Updates so far (in general order of importance to the team, imo):
1.) KeiVarie Russell -- Suspended, taking classes at Washington, looks good to return this summer -- Most important "addition" to the team for 2015. Absolutely key.
2.) Jarron Jones -- Still recovering, not participating in spring -- Somewhat concerning imo, mainly because Lisfranc injuries can be tough to recover from
3.) Joe Schmidt -- Still recovering, but everything on track -- Not concerned due to a "standard" injury. It seems like the team has a good read on his recovery
4.) Nick Martin -- Hand is healed, lower body healed, full go --- It's great to hear that Martin has not only healed his hand and moved back to Center, but also is able to start adding back the weight/strength in his lower body. Could get his back to (and beyond) his play as Center in 2013.
5.) Jarret Grace -- Nearly 100%, full go for spring -- REALLY good news if we're able to have him back for 2015. If he's 100% back to 2013 level and as knowledgeable as VanGorder says, he could be our starting MLB and be really good
6.) Drue Tranquill -- WAY ahead of schedule, would be full go if he could make the decision -- Would be great to get back right away as a SS/OLB utility player
7.) Ishaq Williams -- Suspended, and hasn't had a ton of contact with Kelly...not looking great for a return -- Would be really nice to get him back, to have a little more experience, size, and flexobilty at the DE position (could move Rochell around more)
Overall, a generally positive trend on the injuries/suspensions...though we'll have to continue to track all of these throughout the summer/fall (and hopefully no more are added to this list)
3.) Consistent/Organized Safety Play
Kelly has really praised Redfield and Shumate for being MUCH further along that they were last year. He noted the significant improvement during Bowl Practice, and says it's continued. From his comments, they still have a long way to go in vocal communication and knowing/organizing the roles of others, but they're making major strides in understanding/mastering their own roles. Definite step in the right direction...
4.) Edge Pass Rush
It seems like this area has remained a struggle for the DL. All the DL reports have noted good interior strength/movement, several very good interior players (Day, Jones, TIllery, Cage, Rochell, etc.), and good strength and push on the ends from players like Rochell, Trumbetti, and Okwara. But every report notes that there just isn't anything obvious in terms of quick-twitch, edge players to create that speed rush. This could be an issue again in 2015, and we may well need some of the younger players to develop quickly to help here. Best people to watch for developement to help in this area are: Romeo Okwara, Jhonny Williams, Kolin Hill, Grant Blackenship, and Doug Randolph
5.) Consistency in the run game
Things are sounding very positive here, after a very "up and down" performance in 2014. Kelly felt so good about Martin back at Center and Nelson/Bars competing for RG, that all he could do far returning starter Matt Hegarty is promise him a chance to compete for the Left-Guard position...and allowed Hegarty to leave (likely to FSU...so he's a solid player). With improvement of Martin and the addition of better size/power at LG, the interior should really progress. Additionally, McGlinchey looks like the real deal at Right-Tackle and Kelly has noted Elmer is one of the most improved players from 2014...so much so that no one is competing for either the RG or RT positions. That should really help run game consistency. Beyond that, the development of Tyler Luatua sounds very promising as a Blocking TE or H-Back, which again will help. With a bigger emphasis being put on the run game from the QB position (which is clear from every report and video, even when Golson is the starting QB) and the development of the RBs...this definitely seems to be trending in the right direction.
Obviously, lots of other areas to watch and lots more developments to come, but there is definitely some interesting things going on in key areas so far...
Looked at the key areas we wanted to see in spring practice, and at the half-way point it seems we have some updates:
1.) QB Consistency
The only thing we can say at this point is that both guys appear to be competing all out for the job. That's the best thing we can possibly have, and hopefully that continues throughout the fall. We'll just have to keep waiting for the actual results in this area
2.) Health
This is what killed ND late in the 2014 season. Updates so far (in general order of importance to the team, imo):
1.) KeiVarie Russell -- Suspended, taking classes at Washington, looks good to return this summer -- Most important "addition" to the team for 2015. Absolutely key.
2.) Jarron Jones -- Still recovering, not participating in spring -- Somewhat concerning imo, mainly because Lisfranc injuries can be tough to recover from
3.) Joe Schmidt -- Still recovering, but everything on track -- Not concerned due to a "standard" injury. It seems like the team has a good read on his recovery
4.) Nick Martin -- Hand is healed, lower body healed, full go --- It's great to hear that Martin has not only healed his hand and moved back to Center, but also is able to start adding back the weight/strength in his lower body. Could get his back to (and beyond) his play as Center in 2013.
5.) Jarret Grace -- Nearly 100%, full go for spring -- REALLY good news if we're able to have him back for 2015. If he's 100% back to 2013 level and as knowledgeable as VanGorder says, he could be our starting MLB and be really good
6.) Drue Tranquill -- WAY ahead of schedule, would be full go if he could make the decision -- Would be great to get back right away as a SS/OLB utility player
7.) Ishaq Williams -- Suspended, and hasn't had a ton of contact with Kelly...not looking great for a return -- Would be really nice to get him back, to have a little more experience, size, and flexobilty at the DE position (could move Rochell around more)
Overall, a generally positive trend on the injuries/suspensions...though we'll have to continue to track all of these throughout the summer/fall (and hopefully no more are added to this list)
3.) Consistent/Organized Safety Play
Kelly has really praised Redfield and Shumate for being MUCH further along that they were last year. He noted the significant improvement during Bowl Practice, and says it's continued. From his comments, they still have a long way to go in vocal communication and knowing/organizing the roles of others, but they're making major strides in understanding/mastering their own roles. Definite step in the right direction...
4.) Edge Pass Rush
It seems like this area has remained a struggle for the DL. All the DL reports have noted good interior strength/movement, several very good interior players (Day, Jones, TIllery, Cage, Rochell, etc.), and good strength and push on the ends from players like Rochell, Trumbetti, and Okwara. But every report notes that there just isn't anything obvious in terms of quick-twitch, edge players to create that speed rush. This could be an issue again in 2015, and we may well need some of the younger players to develop quickly to help here. Best people to watch for developement to help in this area are: Romeo Okwara, Jhonny Williams, Kolin Hill, Grant Blackenship, and Doug Randolph
5.) Consistency in the run game
Things are sounding very positive here, after a very "up and down" performance in 2014. Kelly felt so good about Martin back at Center and Nelson/Bars competing for RG, that all he could do far returning starter Matt Hegarty is promise him a chance to compete for the Left-Guard position...and allowed Hegarty to leave (likely to FSU...so he's a solid player). With improvement of Martin and the addition of better size/power at LG, the interior should really progress. Additionally, McGlinchey looks like the real deal at Right-Tackle and Kelly has noted Elmer is one of the most improved players from 2014...so much so that no one is competing for either the RG or RT positions. That should really help run game consistency. Beyond that, the development of Tyler Luatua sounds very promising as a Blocking TE or H-Back, which again will help. With a bigger emphasis being put on the run game from the QB position (which is clear from every report and video, even when Golson is the starting QB) and the development of the RBs...this definitely seems to be trending in the right direction.
Obviously, lots of other areas to watch and lots more developments to come, but there is definitely some interesting things going on in key areas so far...
