The Jackrabbits had their fifth day of practice in a row and ended on a high note before they enjoy a one day break on Monday. Again, the energy and intensity was high throughout practice. Players were moving and the competition within and between position groups was fierce. It is clear that the players realize that there are a lot of snaps and travel roster spots that are up for grabs. It’s great to see the players compete and then help each other up or give a younger player a word of advice.
— Jackrabbit_Illstrtd (@JackIllustrated) July 30, 2017
Here are a few random observations.
1. We will start previewing offensive position groups later this week, so I don’t want to give too much away, but wow, the Jackrabbits are talented and deep at the skill positions. At running back, Mikey Daniel, Isaac Wallace, and Brady Mengarelli all made sensational plays through out practice.
2. There were a few candidates for “catch of the day” but the winner goes to Jacob “Grandpa” Menage. It was a high, back-shoulder, pass against great press coverage. Menage went up, high-pointed the ball and secured the pass with the defender trying to rip it away. The best part about this, besides the reaction from his teammates, was that Coach Arnheim had ran the receivers through a drill that simulated this precise play earlier in practice. Great application from drill to game.
3. The tight-ends also had a big day with Dallas Goedert catching a couple passes that would have been long touchdowns. The young tight ends were also impressive with Skyler Cavanaugh corralling a couple passes with tight coverage surrounding him.
4. This morning, I released the position preview for the Safety group. I really tried to watch them today and they were super physical and were flying to the ball. The seniors are really doing a good job leading by example and coaching the younger guys.
5. There were a handful of players who were limited in practice or did not participate at all and received therapy. The purple jerseys returned. The purple jersey signifies a player who didn’t meet an expectation.
6. It felt like the offense and defensive lines played each other pretty even. The offense controlled the line at times and the defense likewise. Chase Kern certainly adds a level of intensity and physicality that may have been missing last season.
Stay low pic.twitter.com/kWMN9yvcDt— Jackrabbit_Illstrtd (@JackIllustrated) July 30, 2017
7. Kyle Tuttle made a couple of nice plays from his linebacker position during 11 on 11. First, he sniffed out a screen and made the tackle for a loss. A few plays later he stuffed a run over the right side. Tuttle is battling for the starting weakside linebacker position so this was a big day for him.
8. The coaches are a fun group. Each brings his own personality to the position group and team. I enjoyed my interviews with each coach while I wrote the position analysis. After watching a couple practices it is evident that Coach Arnheim is incredibly active and animated. He seems to always be talking and coaching up a player. Coach Eck wrapped up practice by running sprints with the offensive and defensive linemen. Coach Rogers coaches the linebackers with the same intensity that he brought to the field as a player. Maybe someday he’ll bring back the long hair.
9. One of the funniest things at practice was offensive lineman Matt Clark letting out a “Game of Thrones” type of battle cry before every offense vs defense session of practice. It seemed to raise the intensity level and was pretty funny to watch for me.
10. Today was also C-Day (Commitment Day). It was great to see the verballed players and their families in person. There were also players who are still on the fence with their college decision but it sounds like SDSU showed them a good time, based on the twitter reactions. The class of 2018 is shaping up to be another outstanding class for the Jackrabbits.
I’ll try to make it out to a few more practices this week and give updates. This week, watch for position previews for the defensive line and we will start the breakdown of the offensive side of the ball.
Go Jacks!
-Matt
