Spring is in the air and that means football! Well kinda. It is a bit watered down but it's awesome. Today's spring opener was significantly different than some of the spring practices in years past. Last years was border line circus atmosphere with Norm Chow and the Pac-12 season upcoming. It seems that every spring ball has a sense of newness to it. This years, offensively anyway, had an unfinished business feel to it.
Day One break down:
Quarterbacks: Jordan Wynn looks like Jordan Wynn again. His arm has zip to it again. He has bulked up a bit and seems ready to finish some business. I'm excited to see him progress with this tweaked offense of Brian Johnson. Travis Wilson... is tall. He looks like a Pac-12 QB with the stature in the pocket. His delivery is a little awkward and he is a bit of bean pole but he does throw a pretty ball and was hesitant at times, which is to be expected. Chase Hansen was shaky today. He throw quite a few ducks and fumbled the snap two or three times. I expect him to improve dramatically, he just never look comfortable to me. He is a bit shorter than I thought but good build for a QB.
Running Backs: Juan Blanco was his usual awesome self. The one I was watching was JC transfer Kelvin York. He is stacked. He kind of reminds me of Quinton Ganther. He will truck someone this year I predict. He has decent speed, and his knee still appears to be on the mend as well. Can't wait to see him popping people in pads. Harvey Langi still appears that the game is still to fast for him, I want to see him red shirt.
Wide Receivers: Devonte Christopher almost seemed board at times. He made a DB drop his jock on a double move for a TD in a drill, and was a nightmare for the D the whole day. Quinton Pedroza had a nice day catching almost everything, including a vertical one handed stab at a deep ball. Drez Anderson had to many drops and U Fan Cast man crushes Kenneth Scott and Anthony Denham had nice days. This group is deep and explosive.
Defensively: Ryan Lacy got beat once by DVC but with his great speed was able to close and contest the catch. Lacy looked good overall today. I watched converted safety to corner Keith McGill a lot today and liked what I saw. He wasn't ever beaten and he put himself in some nice positions to make a play. He had DVC covered on a deep ball perfectly but couldn't find the ball to make the play. He reminded me a lot of Sean Smith, tall and athletic, he just needs to learn the position better. Day 1 was good for him. Nate Fakahafua is bigger, much bigger. This kid is going to be a beast and NFL scouts are going to love him in a couple years. He was in the back field all day and will be fun to watch him progress through this spring.
All-in-all a very business like day. I get the sense that this spring is more of a formality for this squad, but all the same it will be fun to watch everything gel.