Without Eyes, Tomcat, or BlackKnight in attendance, someone has to pick up the slack, so here goes.

It was a beautiful sunny day in Rochester. I huddled with GoSU, Bees and Bees Jr., LincolnCuse, and Lurker John.

The stadium is a nice venue. It has the look and feel of a good minor league park.

The team ran through 80 plays after a significant warm up and drills. Parts of the scrimmage were broken up into segments- Running offense sets from the same yard line, sets while advancing the yard line, red zone, punting, field goals, 2 point conversions, and 3rd downs.

As was already posted, the following players were not there:

Spruill, Lemon, Burke, Rene, West, Addazio, Moore, Robinson, Lyn, Trudo, Cutler.

The star of the day (as named by GO and seconded by the rest us) was Jerome Smith. The young man is rising to the occasion and taking advantage of a tremendous opportunity. He LOOKS like a running back. He cuts well, takes contact well, and seems to have that extra gear when he turns a corner. Plus, he’s staying lower to the ground.

Prince-Tyson Gulley also got plenty of touches. Some of those touches resulted in good runs (he broke a 30 yarder at one point), while some resulted in head shaking moments (he fumbled twice).
The utility player known as Ashton Broyld was on the field as a running back for two snaps. The first play, Kinder faked to him on an option read. The second time, he lined up as a tailback in an I-formation and picked up a nice nine yard gain. He also took a snap or two at QB, but didn’t throw the ball.

Once again, no one will be challenging Ryan Nassib any time soon under center. He had a Nassib-esque day, completing many passes on short routes, but having no luck down field. The very good-looking Charlie Loeb had a very good-looking long completion to Keenan Hale, but was otherwise inconsistent. Kinder is still not a very good passer, but was much more serviceable during running plays.

It will be a pleasure to have Marcus Sales back. He has great hands and was catching everything thrown to him. The aforementioned Keenan Hale also had a nice day, catching a few passes. Jeremiah Kobena also caught a pass. Seems worth noting. With Lemon and West coming back in the fall, I feel comfortable with the receiving corps.

The offensive line is still a work in progress. Pugh, Chibane, and Macky are all locked in. Foy and Alexander at Right Guard and Right Tackle respectively are still a work in progress. The same must be said for the ad hoc second string unit. Curtis was okay, but the rest of the group (including two walk ons) leaves something to be desired. Hopefully the return of Hickey and Trudo will bolster that unit.

I didn’t pay so much attention to the defense, but here’s what I know. Reddish was really good in coverage, and Welsh and Goggins seem to be comfortable already on the ends of the D-Line.

As for ST, Coach Marrone is trying new things. For one, the starting O-Linemen (minus Macky) were on the field with Krautman, but lined up backwards. Pugh and Chibane were on the right, Foy and Alexander on the left. Even stranger was the punt formation. Not that it was ineffective. Marrone certainly seems to have a plan for it. The oddity is the presence of the very good-looking Charlie Loeb on the secondary blocking line. We assume the coach is trotting him out there to keep the receiving team guessing.

That’s all I can think of for now. It was nice to see this team in action.

Notice those who looked to have added needed weight like DDavis, or Macky or guys that needed to lose some like Foy?

I'm curious what shape the team is in if anyone had made noticeable strides in that regard.

Very excited to hear about the improved WR corps. Lemon, West, Hale, Kobena, and Sales -- been a long time since we've had a unit this potentially solid / deep. It will be nice to be able to have 4-5 guys who can make plays and get open. About time.

All in all good news though seeing that there are still 4 months to work on those that need it. Appreciate it

Really pleased to hear about Brandon Reddish.

He seems like a good kid and a great athlete.

The possibility of Brandon playing in the same secondary with his friend Wayne Morgan is certainly something to look forward to seeing.

Disappointed to hear about the lack of down field passing. if your not gonna do it in a scrimmage then when? Missouri? USC?

Thanks for the report. Really appreciate it.

Everyone seems to be much more solid than they were at the beginning of the season last year. Foy and Sloan have both slimmed down, but not as much as Sweet Lou (wow that kid got in shape). Even the backs and receivers look to be in much better shape than last year. Hopefully this all translates well into next year. Oh, and Mackey is riding at 275 and that seems to be about his max; he will not be a problem this year no matter how you spin it.

Do you think Kurtis is better than Alexander? and will eventually be the starter in fall, if not hickey.

Also. you think it is a matter of time before Lynch starts over Vaughn? I have heard Lynch got huge.

what is the deal with west? injury again? out of shape?lack of focus? i wonder if he really has an upside.his career thus far appears checkered, but then again, i was completely wrong about provo

some kids are injury prone he may be one of them

To answers a few questions-

West has been practicing during the week. He's been wearing a don't-hit-me jersey though. Not sure what's up with him.

Regarding Lynch versus Vaughan, I can't speak with certainty who is first and second string in the linebackers. I wasn't really paying attention, plus guys were being rotated in and out constantly. The only linebacker who actually stood out to me was Coker, and that's because he was actually contributing.

And Curtis vs. Sweet Lou, it's really hard to call who gets the nod in the end. Neither were particularly impressive yesterday.

Burke wasnt injured he has academic issues and hopes to be back soon.

Coker has always intrigued me, he has made some huge hits on special teams. People have said he struggles with the playbook, maybe this is the year the light goes on.

Coker is the LB I've been paying attention to since he arrived on the hill, as well. Would LOVE to see him carve out some PT this year. As you say, hopefully this is the year things snap into place for him.

So if Coker is as good as advertised, 3-4?

I never said he was good. He was competent.

I'm not saying all the time, but enough to give opposing offenses many different looks.

When the team lost Sales it allowed the opposing team to put its best CB on our number two reciever which is Alec. Losing sales and losing Ptg was a huge blow as they are both play makers and we just didnt have enough last year.

Why do you want the 3-4 so badly? There's one guy who has the size to clog the middle in a 3-4 (Crume) and there's no indication he's ready for that kind of responsibility it. Plus, SU has enough problems stopping runs up the middle as it is.

The 3-4 allows our LBs to attack and use their speed and pass rush ability. No to mention it gives the opposing offense more to prepare for.

I refuse to get excited about this group until they actually do something in the fall. I'm not doubting the observers I just feel like it's groundhog day.

Duly noted--you refuse to get excited--completely understand.

I agree that several of these guys are unproven. We'll know come September whether we have multiple playmakers amongst this corps. Lord knows, it's been awhile since we've had 4 or 5 quality WRs, so perhaps your reticence is warranted.

I like the okie, but with the 3-4 we could better utilize Davis and Lynch's pass rushing skills as well

Schafer's LBs blitz like crazy.

I do understand this, but with the 3-4 we will be able to better provide run coverage with the two MLBs playing zone defense over the middle while the OLBs are rushing. With the okie there is that chance to get beat bad by a bigger back if the play turns out to be a run. Also, with the 3-4 it allows us to cover the flats and short middle with more size without sacrificing too much athleticism. They're both very similar and have their positives and negatives. I just feel that with the athleticism of our LBs we can afford to play the 3-4 and maintain better size.