Starting on offense, here is what I saw of the first day depth chart:
Offensive Line: The first team was left tackle Jon Cochran, left
guard Josiah Vinson, center Alex Fletcher, right guard Mikal Brewer and right
tackle Jeff Edwards. Cochran and Edwards are right where they finished
2004, but the other three positions have changed. Fletcher is of course
the only true freshman, which is a big responsibility thrown onto his shoulders.
In an offensive line with 15 healthy bodies, it is a testament to his
athleticism and talent that he takes the lead at center on the first practice of
the Walt Harris Era, and Fletcher indeed was the only true freshman on the first
team at any position, on either side of the ball. He showed a good command
on the offense with his playcalls, and maybe more notably, his snaps were on
target. If he had one weakness last fall, it was his snapping at times.
Vinson had played right guard previously on The Farm but has apparently been
moved to the left side - that was a surprise for us. On the right side,
Brewer has made a big jump and leapfrogged last year's other starting guard...
The second team was manned by left tackle Mike Macellari, left guard Bobby Dockter, center Tim Mattran, right guard Ismail Simpson and right tackle David Long. The third team showed left tackle Ben Muth, left guard Preston Clover, center Mikal Brewer, right guard Amir Malayery and right tackle Allen Smith. Several interesting notes here. Mattran as the next center
behind Fletcher was a little surprising, given his history of playing in the
interior and ultimately being moved last year outside to tackle. Simpson
is the player who was passed by Brewer, and that should get your attention given
that "Ish" has started 22 games coming into this season. Dockter ahead of
both Clover and Malayery is noteworthy, with a true freshman initially set ahead
of two second-year guards. I also think that expectations are high for
both Muth and Smith, with their athleticism. Though they are just frosh in
their first spring ball, they will challenge and push older players.
Finally, Brewer appears twice on this depth chart, and it took its toll.
Late in practice, he was gassed from taking the repetitions of both the first
and third teams, such that walk-on Merlin Brittenham had to take some of his
snaps with the first team at guard toward the end of practice. Based on
that result, I would be surprised if the coaching staff does not modify Brewer's
snap count and role. On the one hand, they would like him to have some
work at center to help the depth at that position, but they also don't want to
sabotage his play at guard, where he is currently running first string.
Running backs: There are a host of bodies in the offensive
backfield who somewhat fluidly are taking snaps with the various offensive
units. It does appear that at least initially, Kris Bonifas and J.R. Lemon
have the lead at the fullback and tailback positions, where they both are the
most seasoned and experienced veterans. The "second team" backfield was
Emeka Nnoli at fullback and Ray Jones at tailback. But there was plenty of
work as well for Nick Frank at fullback, and Jason Evans, David Marrero and
Gerald Commissiong at tailback. I'll save comments on the backfield for
another day, other than initial observations of Frank. He is brand new to
offense after spending the last two years playing in the defensive line
rotation. I expected him to be a big and powerful blocker, and a somewhat
menacing "bowling ball" threat carrying the ball - neither disappointed.
But my surprise was watching him in the receiving game. He looked
surprisingly fluid catching the ball out of the backfield, including a couple
receptions on the run. I honestly would have expected him to be a little
more stiff. Granted, he does not excel in routes deeper down the field,
but that is not at all what you want out of your fullback.
Tight ends: Though I ran a feature story yesterday on Matt Traverso as an emerging player to watch this spring at the tight end position,
it was Patrick Danahy who was the lone offensive player given one of four awards
by the coaching staff during winter workouts. Thus it was not a big
surprise that Danahy has the early nod at tight end, running with the first
team. Traverso is right behind with the second unit. Of the
remaining tight ends, Michael Horgan had the standout play of the day with an
athletic and smooth reception deep down the middle of the field late in
practice.
Wide receivers: Mark Bradford was in attendance but spent the
day on the exercise bike rather than with the wideouts, which probably distorts
the repetitions and depth chart to start the spring. Receivers are much
like the backs in that they can be loosely employed with different offensive
units, but it looked to me like the two first teamers were Evan Moore and Justin McCullum. Next were Marcus McCutcheon and Gerren Crochet, with converted
quarterback Kyle Matter seeing a good amount of time.
Quarterbacks: No surprise to see Trent Edwards take the lead,
followed by T.C. Ostrander and finally Garrett Moore. There is a heated
competition between Edwards and Ostrander, with a big drop-off to Moore.
The quarterbacks were heavily coached by Walt Harris, who is their position
coach. This is a time not only to install a new offense, which is being
implemented in phases, but also a time to coach the techniques and minutiae of
the position - all the way down to how to hand off the ball and how to execute
play-action fakes. In the latter parts of practice when seven-on-seven and
11-on-11 competition was held against the defense, the better balls were being
thrown on Friday by Ostrander. All of the quarterbacks looked upbeat and
excited, as you could expect with their opportunity under Harris.
Over on defense, we have more "open" jobs from graduated seniors. Here
is how that depth chart shook out on Friday:
Defensive backs: Lots to replace here, with three seniors
graduated. T.J. Rushing has a lock on one cornerback position, and the
opposite spot was held on Friday by another veteran - Calvin Armstrong.
Rushing hinted to me in the off-season that Armstrong was hungry and one to
watch in the spring. The competition is heated, however. Nick Sanchez and Carlos McFall are manning the second team, with Sanchez on Rushing's
side and McFall behind Armstrong. The third unit had Wopamo Osaisai behind
Sanchez/Rushing and Tim Sims behind Armstrong/McFall. The safety positions
are led by the two players with the most experience: Trevor Hooper at free
safety and Brandon Harrison at strong safety. David Lofton is in his first
spring at safety and will push hard behind Hooper, while Bryan Bentrott is
second team behind Harrison. On the third team is Aaron Smith at free and
Peter Griffin at strong.
Linebackers: As we wrote in the "Eve of Spring" article,
Emmanuel Awofadeju moved across the field to the weakside "rush" outside
linebacker position, where he is running first team. Classmate Udeme Udofia has grown into the "Sam" outside linebacker position and leads there.
The depth is supplied on the second team by Taualai Fonoti at "Sam" and John Solder at the "rush" position. The inside positions have Kevin Schimmelmann moved now to the "Mike" position, which is his fourth position in
his four years at Stanford. It has been quite a progression from safety to
outside linebacker to "Will" inside linebacker to now the "Mike" inside
position. Behind him is Landon Johnson. The "Will" linebacker where
Schimmelmann played last year is now manned by Michael Okwo on the first team
and Mike Silva on the second team. Though you look for speed in the
outside 'backers, this inside group has fantastic speed, and it was on display
Friday. Okwo remains an explosive ball
hawk and had a fantastic interception returned for a touchdown on one of the
first plays of 11-on-11 competition.
Defensive line: There is no mystery with the starting group
here, given three seniors with loads of playing experience and then a group of
completely untested underclassmen behind them. Your starting trio is
strongside end Casey Carroll, nose tackle Babatunde Oshinowo and weakside end
Julian Jenkins. All three looked in great shape, though Jenkins probably
caught my eye the most as a playmaker on Friday. The real intrigue is in
the second unit, which will be a battle to supply the rotating backups for the
starters. Running second team on Friday was Chris Horn, Matt McClernan and
Pannel Egboh. Egboh was somebody I highlighted for you to watch, and he
indeed was a load for the offensive tackles to handle in his defensive line
debut.
After practice, I had a chance to chat with rising fifth-year senior Kevin Schimmelmann, who has made yet another position switch, moving from the "Will"
inside linebacker to the "Mike" inside linebacker that David Bergeron manned the
last three seasons. Schimmelmann is a different player with different
strengths, and there is no question that speed is an area he can upgrade at the
position...
What are the primary differences for you in learning this new "Mike"
position?
"We're still learning the system right now, but the two inside 'backers
really need to be interchangeable. Right now we're learning both.
Nothing is really set. They're just working us at a position right now to
see how we do. The Mike is actually doing more coverage on a lot of things
right now, where last year the Will was doing more coverage. This year's
Mike has more coverage responsibilities than last year's Mike. The two
positions are pretty interchangeable right now."
What is different in how you see they are handling you as a "Mike"
backer?
"I think they recognize that we are a fast bunch of linebackers, and we have
a lot of speed. They're going to use us actually in a lot of nickel and
dime situations - keep us in the nickel and dime packages to cover. They
might not bring in a DB this year. They understand we're pretty fast
guys."
How about your role as a senior?
"Obviously I have more of a leadership role this year, and I'm taking that
on. Trying to get everybody on the same page. Everyone has a real
good attitude. Practice is really fast-paced. It's real up-tempo,
and everybody has handled it well."
Where are you focused individually this spring?
"I'm just focusing on finishing every drill - during sprints, chasing the
ball. Just making sure I'm working harder than everybody else."
Any technique that you would like to improve to help you be a better
play this fall?
"Footwork is a big deal. Coach [Darrell] Patterson has us working on not
crossing over and being more lateral - use lateral movements to change direction
faster. I think that will really help us with the cutback play we got beat
on a lot last year. Having better footwork laterally will help us out a
lot."
What are your first impressions of your new position coach, Darrell Patterson?
"He's a straight shooter. He's a real smart guy. He talks fast in
meetings, and he knows what he's talking about. Obviously, he played in
the pros for a long time. He has a lot of experience of a lot of different
coaching to bring to the table. He's a real straight shooter and will tell
you like it is. He likes competition. I think he's going to bring
some different techniques to the table that will really help us."
Et cetera notes
- Former Rose Bowl Cardinal quarterback Todd Husak is back on The Farm, as a graduate
assistant. He is taking the first steps toward a coaching career after
finishing his pro playing days, as we initially reported last year. As
is a parallel barrier familiar to so many hopeful high schoolers, Husak needed
to gain admission - this time to a Stanford graduate program - to become a
graduate assistant. "I fooled 'em twice," Husak says in commenting on
his admission to The Farm, this time with the School of Education. Husak
replaces Danny Ragsdale, who has moved onto an assistant coaching position in
the Midwest. Husak brings a lot of experience and knowledge to the
offense, and one area he can help in practices in particular is with the tight
ends. Tackles/tight ends coach John McDonell ostensibly has that group,
but with Husak helping coach the passing game, McDonell can focus more on the
blocking aspects of the position.
- A host of recruits were in attendance, from all corners of the country.
Two of the most distant travelers were East Coast offensive linemen, both with
noteworthy scholarship offers to their name already. 6'7" tackle Sam Young came from Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas High School and has
offers from elite programs in every BCS conference. 6'4" guard Andrew Phillips trekked to The Farm from Seneca (Md.) Georgetown Prep and has
reported offers from Maryland, Syracuse, Duke and Louisville. We will
get in touch with both soon to get a download on their trips out West.
- Several players were not participating in drills on Friday and instead
spent the bulk of their time conditioning with strength coach Ron Forbes.
Jon Alston, Timi Wusu, Michael Craven, Mark Bradford and Brian Head. As
we previously reported, Head is coming off repair surgery on his knee and is
not cleared for contact in spring practices, but he did get himself involved
by snapping balls to the quarterbacks in a number of passing drills.
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