Today was the coolest (temperature wise) practice of fall camp. Some of the players even chose to wear long sleeves. However, the energy was again good and overall spirits were pretty high. The rain was gone and the field was dry. I know when the field was installed, there were a handful of grumbles about having turf and not grass for the playing surface, but days like today, where it rained all morning, show how valuable the turf surface is.
— SDSU Football (@GoJacksFB) August 4, 2017
Here are a few things that caught my eye today at practice.
1. Punt return was the same as reported on Tuesday. Rest easy, Jake Wieneke was not fielding punts today. Today the returners were under fire with a coverage team bearing down on them. Coach Arnheim was really working on getting the guys to stick their nose in there with confidence and make a fair catch in a crowd.
2. Kick return was something that I hadn’t seen in a practice I have attended yet. Deyon Campbell, Isaiah Hill, Jacob Brown, Mikey Daniel, Cade Johnson, Isaac Wallace, Brady Mengarelli, and Adam Anderson were all taking turns fielding kickoffs in pairs and working on communication between the two back men.
3. During offensive line drills, Charlie Harmon showed one of the things that make him an All-Conference left tackle; incredibly quick feet for a big man.
4. While competing 1-on-1, defensive backs vs. receivers, Adam Anderson was virtually unstoppable, no matter who he faced. Adam runs incredibly precise routes and has enough wiggle to set-up and separate from the defender.
5. “Catch of the Day” belongs to true freshman Michael Wandmaker. In 7-vs-7, Wandmaker made a great catch in the back corner of the end zone. The defensive back was there, Wandmaker just elevated and made a play over the contesting defender.
6. A few practices ago, I wrote how the depth and quality at the wide receiver position was only going to make the Jackrabbit defensive secondary better. Today that showed. In 1-on-1, Makiah Slade stepped in front of an out cut by a receiver and make a great interception. In 7-on-7, Zy Mosley made a spectacular interception going against Dallas Goedert. He initially tipped the ball and it looked like Dallas would be able to reach back and grab it, but Zy fought through him and picked it off, pumping up the defense. The secondary is playing with a swagger right now that we didn’t see in 2016. For today at least, 7-on-7 belonged to the defense.
7. I didn’t see a single purple jersey at practice and a handful of players returned to practice after being injury the previous few.
8. Great to see Jake Harms still working with the team as a student coach. Jake is a great student athlete and would have competed for a starting linebacker position this year but was forced to retire because of injuries during spring ball. Great job by the coaching staff to keep a great young man involved.
Go Jacks!
-Matt
