Penn State opened the gates to the Lasch Football Complex Wednesday afternoon and, despite passing thunderstorms through the State College area, the media was able to catch a few minutes at the start of the Nittany Lions' midweek preseason practice session outside.
Just as a little opening disclaimer for those of you who have been following our practice coverage through the tenures of Bill O'Brien and James Franklin, this year is shaping up to be a little bit different in that it appears that Penn State is going to move all of its "open" availabilities for practices to the start, rather than the finish, of practice. That means, naturally, we're coming in on a little bit of a different part of how they run their practices, and so instead of a live portion that we had been accustomed to, now we're getting individual sessions.
There are some pros and cons to each, the pros here being that we're being permitted to stick around for a little bit longer, grab a little more usable B-roll and get more photos, and the cons being that we're not seeing much, if any, red meat in terms of 11 on 11 football, whether its ones vs. scout or otherwise.
So with that in mind, the entirety of the Blue White Illustrated staff was able to be at this afternoon's session, which I believe lasted about 25 minutes before everyone got the boot. I'll share some thoughts and observations here and then the other guys will chime in with some of what they saw, as we were all stationed around the field in different places.
Without further ado:
1) Quarterbacks. Working. Snaps. Under. Center.
I'm kidding around with you guys a little in making this point No. 1 but, for all that we've talked about it for the past few years, it's literally the first thing that jumps out in the two practices we've seen now under the offensive direction of Mike Yurcich.
Order of the QBs was to be expected: Sean Clifford, Ta'Quan Roberson, Christian Veilleux, Mason Stahl.
2) This is probably bold - and wrong - to list this as any sort of indicator of a depth chart at running back, but take it for what it's worth in the order snaps were taken in the handoff drill with the quarterbacks:
Noah Cain, Keyvone Lee, Caziah Holmes, Devyn Ford, John Lovett, Tank Smith
Would you be surprised if that was the pecking order right now? I don't know, so I hesitate to give this anything resembling the appearance of gospel, but I wouldn't.
3) I'm going to talk about this a little bit more later, but I had the occasion to watch Ja'Juan Seider and Phil Trautwein coaching a little more closely this afternoon, and get a little bit of a sense of their styles.
And really, their demeanors off the field match their style on it.
Just a for instance, but KeAndre Lambert-Smith had a fumble running through the ball security line, with Seider acting as the American Gladiator-style brute trying to knock the ball away. Lambert-Smith was obviously ticked off about it and gave a, "How did that happen?" response to Seider, not as an excuse but as a legitimate question.
Cool as ever, Seider just said hey, that's what happens when you don't have the ball covered up, and then offered instruction for where the tip of the ball needs to be in the crook of the elbow. It was a minor moment, but I think it offers some insight into the way he goes about his business, particularly in contrast to some of the guys who are barkers.
4) I'm going to pound this drum so far into the ground that you're going to get tired of it, but it was also interesting to see Trautwein at work. People talk about him as a technician (John Scott Jr. also gets that tag a lot), but to see him work is reminiscent, to me, of a golf instructor.
The drill I was watching was pass protection, individually, with players going through their drops while holding a heavy bag on their parallel arms. After a set of reps, then, the bag was removed and they'd do it again.
For every player that went through it, Trautwein had something to say, and not in a passing way but as an actual, constructive, center of gravity, hands placement, foot position type of way. @Thomas Frank Carr would have loved it.
5) No surprise here, but if we're extrapolating some probable depth, tight end looked about as I'd expect.
Brenton Strange, Theo Johnson, Tyler Warren, Grayson Kline, Khalil Dinkins.
Sounds about right.
Bonus) In passing drills with the quarterbacks and receivers, much like you'd see in pregame with the lines and two quarterbacks on a side working in opposite directions, Roberson had a beauty of an over-the-shoulder teardrop to Parker Washington at the pylon, with Washington completing the reception.
It's passing on air, so let's absolutely not get carried away, but if I had to take a stab at the vibe, to my absolutely uneducated eye, I'm seeing a few things at the position.
Cliff is in command.
Roberson is flashes of good but inconsistent.
Veilleux throws a nice, zippier ball, but also is inconsistent.
*********
Going to leave it at that for now. Should have some photos coming here soon and, later tonight, we'll have a zoom with Franklin, Anthony Poindexter, Joey Porter Jr., and Sean Clifford, so we'll continue to have full coverage throughout the night and into tomorrow.
The other guys will be chiming in here shortly and as always, please don't hesitate to give your own comments, questions, and concerns here.
Just as a little opening disclaimer for those of you who have been following our practice coverage through the tenures of Bill O'Brien and James Franklin, this year is shaping up to be a little bit different in that it appears that Penn State is going to move all of its "open" availabilities for practices to the start, rather than the finish, of practice. That means, naturally, we're coming in on a little bit of a different part of how they run their practices, and so instead of a live portion that we had been accustomed to, now we're getting individual sessions.
There are some pros and cons to each, the pros here being that we're being permitted to stick around for a little bit longer, grab a little more usable B-roll and get more photos, and the cons being that we're not seeing much, if any, red meat in terms of 11 on 11 football, whether its ones vs. scout or otherwise.
So with that in mind, the entirety of the Blue White Illustrated staff was able to be at this afternoon's session, which I believe lasted about 25 minutes before everyone got the boot. I'll share some thoughts and observations here and then the other guys will chime in with some of what they saw, as we were all stationed around the field in different places.
Without further ado:
1) Quarterbacks. Working. Snaps. Under. Center.
I'm kidding around with you guys a little in making this point No. 1 but, for all that we've talked about it for the past few years, it's literally the first thing that jumps out in the two practices we've seen now under the offensive direction of Mike Yurcich.
Order of the QBs was to be expected: Sean Clifford, Ta'Quan Roberson, Christian Veilleux, Mason Stahl.
2) This is probably bold - and wrong - to list this as any sort of indicator of a depth chart at running back, but take it for what it's worth in the order snaps were taken in the handoff drill with the quarterbacks:
Noah Cain, Keyvone Lee, Caziah Holmes, Devyn Ford, John Lovett, Tank Smith
Would you be surprised if that was the pecking order right now? I don't know, so I hesitate to give this anything resembling the appearance of gospel, but I wouldn't.
3) I'm going to talk about this a little bit more later, but I had the occasion to watch Ja'Juan Seider and Phil Trautwein coaching a little more closely this afternoon, and get a little bit of a sense of their styles.
And really, their demeanors off the field match their style on it.
Just a for instance, but KeAndre Lambert-Smith had a fumble running through the ball security line, with Seider acting as the American Gladiator-style brute trying to knock the ball away. Lambert-Smith was obviously ticked off about it and gave a, "How did that happen?" response to Seider, not as an excuse but as a legitimate question.
Cool as ever, Seider just said hey, that's what happens when you don't have the ball covered up, and then offered instruction for where the tip of the ball needs to be in the crook of the elbow. It was a minor moment, but I think it offers some insight into the way he goes about his business, particularly in contrast to some of the guys who are barkers.
4) I'm going to pound this drum so far into the ground that you're going to get tired of it, but it was also interesting to see Trautwein at work. People talk about him as a technician (John Scott Jr. also gets that tag a lot), but to see him work is reminiscent, to me, of a golf instructor.
The drill I was watching was pass protection, individually, with players going through their drops while holding a heavy bag on their parallel arms. After a set of reps, then, the bag was removed and they'd do it again.
For every player that went through it, Trautwein had something to say, and not in a passing way but as an actual, constructive, center of gravity, hands placement, foot position type of way. @Thomas Frank Carr would have loved it.
5) No surprise here, but if we're extrapolating some probable depth, tight end looked about as I'd expect.
Brenton Strange, Theo Johnson, Tyler Warren, Grayson Kline, Khalil Dinkins.
Sounds about right.
Bonus) In passing drills with the quarterbacks and receivers, much like you'd see in pregame with the lines and two quarterbacks on a side working in opposite directions, Roberson had a beauty of an over-the-shoulder teardrop to Parker Washington at the pylon, with Washington completing the reception.
It's passing on air, so let's absolutely not get carried away, but if I had to take a stab at the vibe, to my absolutely uneducated eye, I'm seeing a few things at the position.
Cliff is in command.
Roberson is flashes of good but inconsistent.
Veilleux throws a nice, zippier ball, but also is inconsistent.
*********
Going to leave it at that for now. Should have some photos coming here soon and, later tonight, we'll have a zoom with Franklin, Anthony Poindexter, Joey Porter Jr., and Sean Clifford, so we'll continue to have full coverage throughout the night and into tomorrow.
The other guys will be chiming in here shortly and as always, please don't hesitate to give your own comments, questions, and concerns here.
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