Oregon State football coach Mike Riley was pleased, as expected, with the first workout of the 2010 season. Watch part of his meeting with the media after Monday’s practice above.
QB Ryan Katz and RB Jacquizz Rodgers called the practice average. They were disappointed with how sloppy it got at the end. There were too many fumbles and INTs for the offense.
“It was impressive today with how we started,” Rodgers said. “It amazing how we started, but we go sloppy toward the end. That’s something we’ll address in our meetings (Monday) night.”
Early, however, Katz look strong. His connection with WR James Rodgers is already working. CB James Dockery works against James Rodgers and he had a rough day. He did have a few good breakups, though.
As promised by Riley, there were more scrimmage opportunities than usual during practice. It’s his attempt for the Beavers to be better prepared for the early season.
Talking about scrimmages, the Beavers moved the previously announced scrimmage dates (with officials) to the afternoon of Aug. 19 and 24. They were moved up into the middle of the week because Riley wanted more recovery time leading into the first game.
I was impressed interviewing several players the first day. They openly talked Rose Bowl and conference title more than ever in my seven seasons covering the program.
There were no major injuries the first day. WR Markus Wheaton fell on his left shoulder wrong, which slowed him down temporarily. We’ll see how they come back the second day and how sore they feel.
7 comments
aaron_ says:
May 18, 2012
How did McCants look today? I know it is only the first day but was he able to make cuts and did he show explosion through the line? I think he will be needed this year to give Quizz a breather and keep him fresh. But he needs to come in as the player that OSU thought he was going to be not the timid player he has shown to be. I hope he gets it all together this year a solidifies himself as the #2.
ckirkpatrick says:
May 18, 2012
Good for a first day. He has gotten into great shape. He had a great spring You have to wait until the hitting stars.
LtSpears says:
May 18, 2012
aaron_ – McCants was moving really well like he did in the spring. I did notice him drop a screen pass but that shouldn't be his role this year too much anyway.
I thought Katz and Vaz looked awesome. Mannion really struggled in the beginning, but then threw the best deep ball of the day to Micah Hatfield. Absolutely beautiful.
I was really amazed at how good some of our o linemen look. Phillip looks like he's even bigger, but with VERY little body fat. And Remmers has really become a beast. He's huge.
Play of the day – Jordan Poyer's pick. 10 – 15 yard comeback. JR open, decent throw, but Poyer came out of nowhere to make a diving pick. (ie Keaton Kristick vs. Jake "The Fake" Locker) Big time play. Throughout the day it became clear in my mind that Poyer, Hanford (the JC transfer?) and Reynolds will REALLY push Dockery and Hardin for playing time. Our defensive depth is the best its ever been. I feel real good about our entire 2 deep on defense.
LtSpears says:
May 18, 2012
You can really see the positive results of the off season workouts in a few individuals. Brandon Hardin used to be a CB in a Safety's body. He's now a CB in a linebacker's body. But somehow he didn't lose any speed. The Unga's are enormous. Gabe Miller looks NFLish. His speed and size really stand out.
Interesting – Tuimauinai (sp?) and Collins were the starting safeties with Mitchell running with the 2nd team. Tuimaunai looked great to me. Really moving well.
osbeavs says:
May 18, 2012
How did Tuimauinai look in coverage. I know it is Banker's scheme to turn and run with players, but he is the worst. He is often beat over the top middle deep. He doesn't seem to have the speed to keep with players.
ckirkpatrick says:
May 18, 2012
Very solid. He was doing well last spring, too.
LtSpears says:
May 18, 2012
Agreed. I heard someone say he's actually the fastest of all the safeties. That surprised me because of his struggles last year.