Danny's Spring Football

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DAY 4-no video
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An additional name at RB-Deontez Thompson.Good to see.

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The first three practices focused very heavily on the teaching aspects of the game with a pair of new coordinators and a slew of young players sliding into more advanced roles. On Thursday, however, the Spiders spent much of the afternoon going head-to-head, offense vs. defense, in both seven-on-seven and full squad action. Contact remained minimal despite being in pads for a second-straight practice.

The defense had a great day. All-American DB David Jones (97 tackles, 9 interceptions in 2015), who was wearing a red jersey as he continues his recovery from an elbow injury suffered in the season finale at North Dakota State, collected a batch of interceptions to go with a variety of breakups. With the departure of Ayo Ogunniyi via graduation, Jones will be the clear-cut leader in the defensive backfield flanked by Jarriel Jordan (29 tackles, one interception) who had a breakout season in 2015, and Micah Keels (16 tackles) who was impressive as a freshman in the fall.

The defensive line, anchored by Winston Craig (59 tackles, 4.5 sacks) and Andrew Clyde, got great push and bothered the quarterbacks all afternoon. Even the second and third lines of defense had good showings against the potent Richmond offense.

On the offensive side of the ball, the bright spots on Thursday were the running backs. Gordon Collins (157 yards, 2 TD) broke through the line with authority and multiple occasions with Jay Palmer and Deontez Thompson making headway as well.

Richmond returns to the turf on Saturday, March 26 at 7 a.m. to continue spring practice and will follow that up on Tuesday, March 29 at 4:30 p.m.

 

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DAY 5-no video
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Early morning practice before Fred Hardy T&F Invitational Day 2 gets underway at the Brickhouse.


Spiders worked on techniques and individual drills before getting into a heavy dose of 7-on-7 and full offense vs. defense drills.

Spider Standouts:

- Junior QB Kyle Lauletta continued to carry momentum over from his all-conference fall performance, connecting on 11-of-14 passes in the team drills.

- Redshirt senior WR Will McCombs had a strong day on the outside, connecting on two long pass plays from David Broadus.

- Sophomore RB Deontez Thompson looked good out of the Spider backfield with a handful good reads and cuts, as well as showing his versatility in the receiving game.

- Senior LB Selton Hodge had a strong day at the linebacker spot, getting into the offensive backfield on several occasions.

- Junior DB Brendan Coniker had two INTs for the Spiders’ defensive unit.

- Senior LB Madison Day had a strong day in coverage, knocking down a handful of passes and nearly picking off two more.

 

[AnnapSpider]

32 good reporting. Any of the red shirt freshmen look like they may have some time playing
In the fall? I always love when as they say "we have deep depth"

 

[32counter]

32 good reporting. Any of the red shirt freshmen look like they may have some time playing
In the fall? I always love when as they say "we have deep depth"

Reports are summarized cut and paste.Not neurosurgery but thanks.Deontez
will be a redshirt freshman.He's a sleeper.

 

[AnnapSpider]

You could have kept quiet and most of us on here wouldn't have known. LOL

 

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Geraghty does pigskin and diamond ball:

UR's Geraghty doing spring double-duty: football and baseball
BY JOHN O'CONNOR Richmond Times-Dispatch|2 hours ago

University of Richmond tight end Will Geraghty ran a pass pattern down the middle of Robins Stadium's artificial surface and made a reception in a scrimmage situation early Thursday evening.

As he caught the ball, a roar could be heard from Pitt Field, the UR baseball facility on the opposite side of the Robins Center, where the Spiders were playing Saint Joseph's.

The timing of the cheer was appropriate. Geraghty is a member of both the UR football and baseball programs.

Geraghty, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound freshman from Atlanta, attends Richmond on a football scholarship and takes part in all football activities, including the 14 spring practices that lead into the April 16 spring game. He is also a right-handed pitcher with promise who reports to baseball workouts and games when possible.

"We like him. Big kid. Throws strikes. Knows how to pitch," said UR baseball coach Tracy Woodson.

As a reliever, Geraghty (rhymes with rarity) has made two appearances in games. Woodson said he hopes that Geraghty can make an impact as a starting pitcher before this season ends.

Geraghty keeps his spring schedule in his phone, in a binder and in his head. With very few exceptions, he is athletically booked every day while spring football, which started March 17, is in session. Before that, Geraghty was involved with football winter workouts while also preparing for baseball.

On some Saturdays, he goes from football practices to home baseball games. Geraghty's social life is on hold.

"School first, then football and baseball," he said.

Geraghty, a Richmond native who moved to Virginia Beach as a child and then attended high school in Atlanta, chose UR in part because of the opportunity to play both sports on the Division I level, with football being the priority. Heading into the upcoming football season, Geraghty is expected to be Richmond's third tight end and a special teams player.

"When we recruited Will, we certainly recognized he had an interest in doing both, but he's here on a football scholarship, so he's here to get an education and play football," said UR coach Danny Rocco. "I may have allowed the (baseball) opportunity here a little earlier than I originally planned, in terms of his first year.

"The original plan may have been, 'Later in your career, go ahead and do both.' But I have a great relationship with (Woodson) and I want to support everybody the best that I can. (Geraghty) is a football player and when he can contribute to the baseball team, it's an added bonus for our athletic department. But it's football first."

When engaged in football practice, Geraghty says he doesn't think about protecting his right arm or otherwise avoiding the physical nature of the sport. For an athlete in his situation, getting adequate rest through spring football is imperative, as is treatment for unavoidable bumps, bruises and soreness.

"I feel great right now," he said after Thursday's football practice. "But sometimes I have a worn-down body."

 

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DAY 6 -no video
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UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – There wasn’t a cloud in the sky above Robins Stadium on Tuesday afternoon but there was plenty of wind swirling when the University of Richmond football team took the field for its sixth practice of the spring.

The Spiders began Tuesday’s practice split into groups. The two largest groups canvased the main part of the field and focused heavily on special teams scheme and execution, headed up by Special Teams Coordinator Dave Legg. WR’s Porter Abell, Tyler Wilkins and Caleb Drake, along with RB Gordon Collins took the bulk of the reps receiving kick offs with an experienced group covering.

After a stretch session, the two sides of the ball separated the two sides of the field. On one side, the defense put an emphasis on corners and safeties making plays on deep balls. Linebackers coach Manny Rojas and long-snapper Graham Latham lofted balls into the defensive backfield and the likes of David Jones, Jarriel Jordan, Charles Mack and others drifted back and collected would-be interceptions.

On the opposite side of the field the offense took reps working through the playbook as various receivers ran routes while the offensive line covered the various blocking schemes.

Both sides then met at the 35-yard line for more offense vs. defense work. The first play from scrimmage was an end-around hand off to Drake. Kyle Lauletta later hit Brian Brown deep down field and RB Jay Palmer received the bulk of the reps on the first offensive possession.

After some more drill work the two sides met again for more offense vs. defense. The first teams took the first few reps but the second teams had their opportunities at this juncture. Palmer and Collins took the early snaps in the backfield but this time Ganon Hingst was awarded some reps as well. DB Jacob Roberson made a nice play on a deep ball to Dashon Tibbs to earn a breakup and David Norris made a clean play on the ball to break up a pass as well.

 

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DAY 7 ( no video)
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At the halfway mark of spring practice, the Spiders met the media before session seven began in earnest on a warm Thursday at Robins Stadium. Head coach Danny Rocco, new defensive coordinator Chris Cosh and rising senior all-conference linebacker and captain Omar Howard were informative in their media opportunities, and, at times, lighthearted in their observations of spring ball.

Coach Rocco was asked if he’d ever had new offensive and defensive coordinators in the same season, as he is experiencing this year with John Garrett running the offense and Chris Cosh leading the defense.

“Yeah,” deadpanned Rocco, “in my first year as a head coach.” The ironic statement drew laughter from the gathered media. “I’ve enjoyed it to this point,” continued Rocco. “We all value the same things. I like what they bring. I talk with John and Chris each day in the office to make sure they’re hearing me. We’re in a good spot. They’re both outstanding mentors and leaders.”

On offense, the Spiders are showing similar schemes to last year, but with a twist. “We’re doing a lot of stuff out here,” said Rocco. “Our defense is chasing its tail out here a little bit just trying to stay up with the formations and the shifts and the tempo.”

Rocco admitted the number one question of the spring was the running back position, where the Spiders must fill the void of seniors Jacobi Green and Seth Fisher. “I lean on Coach (Sparky) Woods. He did a great job last year with those guys.

“Jacobi was great. But if Gordon (Collins) had those carries, he would have had a lot of yards rushing, too. He might not have been as special as Jacobi, because Jacobi was special, but Gordon would have 800 or 900 yards. I feel good about where he’s at. But he’s one of those guys who has to recognize a new level of responsibility. He’s got to be able to step up and do that.”

Defensively, “our structure is more similar than different. Our language is more similar than different. Chris has offered some nuances that are making us better. He’s taking us to our next step on defense.”

Kosh, with 31 years of coaching experience, realizes he’s the new guy in the room. “With an experienced staff and me being the only new guy, I’m the one adjusting. It’s a great group of kids and staff.

“A lot of things are the same. If you change too much, it slows growth. I can adapt. We won 10 games last year. They put a lot of hard work in the past couple years to get where they’re at. It’s not maintaining it, it’s getting it better.”

Sentiments echoed by defensive leader Omar Howard. “He’s adapted to our style of play and to our packages and terminology. He’s fit right in. We’re fine tuning things instead of restarting. Not having to restart our whole scheme is great for the learning curve, because the learning curve is already accelerated from last year.”

And, continued Howard, the Spiders learned from their last game of last year in the national semifinals. “We know we have to be great every day. That North Dakota State game is motivation for us. A lot of us have embraced having to play at the top level. To be at the top, we have to play great. It points to the end goal to be playing in January and not have our season end early. We’re taking that to heart.”

Howard took some good-natured exception to his head coach’s observation that the defense “was chasing its tail out here.” “No,” insisted Howard with a laugh. “I don’t know where he got that from. But the offense does have a lot of things they’re throwing at us. They’re an explosive offense. We’ve seen everything under the sun. All sorts of motions and formations. Playing against them prepares us for what other teams may throw at us.”

So will the return of all-conference defensive back David Jones, who is recovering from a gruesome broken arm in the North Dakota State game. He’s wearing the red jersey alerting players to avoid contact, but Cosh has already noticed there isn’t much more that will keep Jones out of the game.

“David loves football. It’s the highlight of his day to be out here at practice. He finds the football. He’s been aggressive. We’re trying to protect him a little bit but he’s eager to get out there day-in and day- out.”

And from day-in and day-out to the big picture, Coach Rocco looks at his Spiders as a whole, and he sees a team ready to step up yet another level from their lofty status as national semifinalists in 2015. “In a perfect world, North Dakota St. is exactly what we needed to see. I go back to two years ago at Coastal Carolina. We got better because of the experience we had at Coastal. That North Dakota State game is the ultimate experience at this level, playing in that environment against that team. The bar doesn’t get any higher. That’s greatness – sustaining success at the highest level.”

And with that Thursday’s 4:30 practice started with the whistle blowing at exactly 4:30, with the players’ refrain of “Let’s go to work!” echoing loudly through Robins Stadium.

NOTES: Thursday’s practice included some special teams work with kickoffs and several offense vs. defense series in which, true to Coach Rocco’s words, the Spiders showed multiple formations and looks. And true to Howard’s words, the number one defense enjoyed several impressive stops. The Spiders will scrimmage Saturday morning at 8:00 in Robins Stadium. It is open to the public.

 

[MolivaManiac]

Any observations from any practice watchers on how the Right Tackle position battle is coming along?

 

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Mo

I know who you don't want to get the starting nod and I for one am in agreement.Maybe one of the incoming frosh surprises.No word on the kid from U of Buffalo.Seems like he went underground after St Pat's Day and has been fishing down here and going to Spring pro baseball games.

 

[MolivaManiac]

Mo

I know who you don't want to get the starting nod and I for one am in agreement.Maybe one of the incoming frosh surprises.No word on the kid from U of Buffalo.Seems like he went underground after St Pat's Day and has been fishing down here and going to Spring pro baseball games.

i'll be over there in the AM and will report back.

 

[MolivaManiac]

Observations:

-Great energy and no major holes apparent. Amazing how far we've come from where we were at this point just several years ago.
-Lauletta's leadership is apparent. he has a real command of the team.
-Jake Clise is a player. Nice arsenal of quarterbacks can make each other better.
-Jay Palmer is a load. Appears to me that he's the pretty clear cut #1 at RB.
-Klibert still manning RT with the 1st team. I thought he did a reasonably good job out there. Needs to improve more, going into the fall but there are other options there like Yarbrough, Markham.
-Waller was impressive on the DL. Can we keep him healthy for a full season is the big question.
-Defensive backfield may be a spot where a true freshman or two play.
-Rubin working with the 1's in the Trevor Jones role. I think he'll be a hell of a player there.
-Where is Yoder?
-Also didn't see Kieran Gregory or Norris, the UAB transfer.
-Paul Queally walked on the field with his dogs during the practice.

 

[iSpider]

I have heard that one or two of the incoming freshman may push Palmer for time at running back. Both Xavier Goodall and A.J. Hines are highly touted.
Any idea as to the role Broadus will play this year?

 

[MolivaManiac]

I have heard that one or two of the incoming freshman may push Palmer for time at running back. Both Xavier Goodall and A.J. Hines are highly touted.
Any idea as to the role Broadus will play this year?

I'm sure he'll still be used in that short yardage package some and there are probably some other ways we can utilize him. Big boy.

 

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Mo-Great summary.Thanks.

Glad to hear Clise from LSU looks like a contributor.He appears to be about the same size as Kyle.

Palmer will be a RsFr.He's gotten much bigger during his redshirt.Size wise looks like Gaskins.

If Kilbert has gotten quicker feet that will be a tremendous help especially at 6-7,325

Rubin was great last year and has gotten bigger.Tough kid.

Gregory #41 was on sidelines DAY 7 picture.Norris was mentioned on DAY 6 .

Queally bought a house 5 minutes from campus.

 

[MolivaManiac]

Queally bought a house 5 minutes from campus.

Noted. I do know alot of Spider supporters / dog owners that live in close proximity to campus. Never seen any of them walk leashed dogs on the field during live practice.

 

[WebSpinner]

know one hound dog who has to be jealous

 

[32counter]

Noted. I do know alot of Spider supporters / dog owners that live in close proximity to campus. Never seen any of them walk leashed dogs on the field during live practice.

On his way to "check out the Westhampton side" and even check on the progress of his new Information Center where they will have 2 inviting fire hydrants for any 4 and sometimes 2 legged friends.

 

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DAY 8(no video)
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WRIC :

http://wric.com/2016/04/01/spiders-football-fairing-well-in-spring-practices/

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – Cloudy skies didn’t damper the enthusiasm on day eight of spring ball for the University of Richmond football squad on Saturday morning at Robins Stadium.

For the first time this spring, the Spiders threw on the pads and squared off with officials on the field for all of the offense vs. defense drills.

It was one of the loudest, most energized practices so far for the Spiders with just two weeks to go before the annual Spring Game on April 16.

“We’ve only got a couple more weeks to work on the field together so it’s important for us to bring consistent energy every time we come out her,” senior linebacker Omar Howard said.

Expanding and Enhancing

When John Garrett took over as the Offensive Coordinator, both Garett and Head Coach Danny Rocco talked about how the pro style of offense that was run last year by Charlie Fisher with Kyle Lauletta at the helm would remain much the same.

While much of the offense remains the same, there will be some new wrinkles to the Spiders unit this fall with several new formations and sets that will expand Richmond’s play calling.

“I think it’s always important to constantly look on ways to improve and enhance at any level and at any occupation and that’s exactly what John has come in and done here,” Rocco said.

Getting Defensive

With Garrett has thrown in some wrinkles offensively, the defensive unit had plenty of highlights on Saturday with several takeaways including a nice pick from Brendan Coniker and a forced turnover by freshman linebacker Billy Caughell.

The Spiders defense was able to put pressure in the backfield throughout the morning workout and didn’t give up any big yardage plays at all.

Fresh Face

Redshirt freshman Jay Palmer has been a pleasant surprise out of the backfield for the Spiders this spring.

The all-state dual-threat quarterback from Princeton, West Va. came to Richmond as a running back after totaling over 3,000 career rushing yards in high school.

His load has continually improved throughout the spring, including some first team carries over the past week of practices.

Tempo, Tempo, Tempo

Anybody on Richmond’s campus could’ve heard Coach Rocco on Saturday and his most consistent message being delivered was “tempo, tempo, tempo.”

“It’s important that we bring energy and enthusiasm to everything we do and if we keep a good tempo and pace to everything we do out here, we have a better chance of keeping up that consistent energy and enthusiasm,” Rocco added.

 

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DAY 9(no video)
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UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – With less than two weeks until the annual Spring Game, the University of Richmond football squad hit the field at Robins Stadium on a cool Tuesday afternoon for the ninth practice of their spring season.

There was plenty of energy during the practice that between offense vs. defense situations, focused on techniques, special teams and terminology.

“These spring practices are really important when it comes to implementing and new wrinkles in our systems and I’m pleased with what we’ve been able to accomplish so far,” Head Coach Danny Rocco said.

Drake Steps On Stage

No, not that Drake, Caleb Drake. The rising sophomore had a big day on Tuesday with several really nice catches, along with a great TD reception in short yardage situations. His speed has allowed Garrett to use him as a deception in the running game on reserves and movement on the outside.

Drake is one of several in the Spiders’ receiving core that has allowed Garrett to fine tune some adjustments and add some wrinkles into the offense that might open up the felt for Richmond this upcoming fall.

Along with All-American Brian Brown, Drake will be lining up with Porter Abell, Dashon Tibbs and Jarmal Bevels, who all have had solid showings in spring practices so far.

Big Men Up Front

Andrew Clyde and Winston Craig showed the damage they could do up front last year for the Spiders and this spring has been no different. Both Clyde and Craig continued to get into the backfield and disrupt the offensive flow on several occasions.

Brandon Waller, who missed 11 games last year due to injury, has looked back to form this spring and will be valuable re-addition to the defensive line depth.

 

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1:1 Bob Black and Chris Cosh DC

 

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DAY 10(video)
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UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – The final practice, prior to next weekend’s Spring Game, with refs brought out a ton of emotion and enthusiasm on Thursday afternoon at Robins Stadium for day 10 of spring football for the University of Richmond.

“I liked the enthusiasm, energy and emotion that we had today, but we have to have better composure from everyone,” Head Coach Danny Rocco said. “If we’re going to take that next step as a program, having composure when the game is on the line is going to make the difference.”

The spirited practice featured position-by-position technique drills, followed by offense vs. defense full scrimmage drills, intertwined with some 7 v. 7 drills, in which the interior lineman worked against each other on the sidelines.

Just three more practice remain before next Saturday’s Spring Game at Robins Stadium. The Spiders will hit the field on Saturday, April 9th (9:30 a.m.), Tuesday, April 12 (4:30 p.m.) and Thursday, April 14 (4:30 p.m.).

Brandon’s Back

After missing the majority of last season with a knee injury, rising junior Brandon Waller has returned to the Spiders’ defensive line with a vengeance.

Waller was impressive on Thursday, constantly getting into the backfield and disrupting the offensive flow.

In the one-on-one drills, Waller continually beat his man with strength and speed and looks to be a force going into the fall.

Griff Looks Good

Rising sophomore kicker Griffin Trau was the star of Thursday’s practice, going perfect in field goals and extra points.

Trau, who was used solely for kickoffs last season for the Spiders, will step into the leading kicking role this fall. In Thursday’s practice, the Culver, Ind. native booted two field goals from 40+ to send the offensive unit into a frenzy.

 

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THE RETURN OF DAVID JONES:

 

[DTSpider]

Odd comment from Rocco concerning composure. Not a great sign for a veteran team. Hopefully I'm overreacting.

 

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DAY 11(no video)
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UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Richmond football team took to the Robins Stadium turf on Saturday morning with a chill in the air and even a little bit of snow swirling from time to time.

The offense spent much of the early parts of practice working some more complicated sets like tosses and receiver hand-offs. Ganon Hingst and James Pavik were involved heavily in the blocking schemes from the fullback position and even got involved catching passes out of the backfield. Pavik caught seven passes for 74 yards and a touchdown last season.

QB Kyle Lauletta, keeping the theme from last season, often hooked up with Brian Brown during offense vs. defensive secondary drills but he also showed some heavy favor to Jarmal Bevels, returning from an injury that kept him out during the 2015 season. The continued creativity of coach Garrett showed when QB David Broadustook snaps under center, out of the backfield and even at the tight end position, running some routes. He was even targeted on a couple of occasions.

With both full units on the field going head-to-head, DL Brandon Waller showed speed off the edge, hurrying Lauletta more than once. The rising junior even had to face a double-team from the Spider line a couple times.

Broadus showed strength with his arm by beating the secondary with a deep ball to Caleb Drake and looked good making a pitch to Deontez Thompson who found a hole and made a nice burst up field. All three running backs lined up beside both Lauletta and Broadus on various occasions.

David Norris had a great day in the secondary and his teammates were not shy about letting him know it. He capitalized on multiple opportunities to jump routes and nearly came up with a pair of interceptions. Norris had 16 tackles last season and appeared in all 14 games.

Just two more practice remain before next Saturday’s Spring Game at Robins Stadium. The Spiders will hit the field on Tuesday, April 12 (4:30 p.m.) and Thursday, April 14 (4:30 p.m.).

 

[SpiderRick]

Good to hear about Broadus, I was hoping the coaches could find other ways to get him on the field

 

[32counter]

The statement about David Broadus in the practice summary says more about John Garrett than it does David Broadus.

OC Garrett has realized,as we too over the past few seasons,that Broadus' athleticism along with his size has been underutilized.

If we see more of this 6-4,230 kid playing a versatile role on offense,good for us.Having QB Clise,the LSU transfer do well,allows greater potential use of Broadus' versatility.

 

[SpiderK]

Good to hear about Broadus, I was hoping the coaches could find other ways to get him on the field

Tightend is perfect for Broadus. That's position is so under utilized in the college game. NO ONE ever covers the tightend over the middle.

 

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With spring games Saturday, UR, W&M, JMU have questions, answers
BY JOHN O'CONNOR Richmond Times-Dispatch|7 hours ago

Richmond, William and Mary and James Madison, the three teams that shared the 2015 CAA Football championship and seem like the league's top three heading into 2016, simultaneously will hold spring games Saturday afternoon.

Richmond comes off a 10-4 season in which it advanced to the FCS semifinals, James Madison hired Mike Houston as head coach, and William and Mary brings back the CAA's top returning rusher, Kendell Anderson.

Questions and answers for the Spiders, Dukes and Tribe:

RICHMOND

With a new coordinator, what will Richmond's offense look like?

New coordinator John Garrett, the older brother of Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett, will carry over a pro-set system with junior Kyle Lauletta returning at quarterback. But the Spiders will be without Jacobi Green (1,595 yards), who led the CAA in rushing last year, and will look to junior Gordon Collins and others to fill that gap.

Brian Brown, a senior from Hermitage High, is one of the FCS's best receivers after making 76 catches for 1,450 yards last year.

Who are UR's playmakers to watch on defense?

Senior safety David Jones shared the FCS lead in interceptions (9) last season. His year ended prematurely with a broken arm on a punt return in the FCS semifinal at North Dakota State. Jones has participated in spring drills. Senior linebacker Omar Howard (Midlothian High) ranked second in tackles among CAA players and is known for his infectious energy. The new defensive coordinator is Chris Cosh, a former Virginia Tech linebacker.

What's the Spiders' primary concern?

Peter Yoder made 13 of 17 field goal attempts last season as a junior. He left the program for personal reasons before the start of spring ball, leaving place-kicking duties to 5-foot-8 sophomore Griffin Trau.

The Spiders open at Virginia on Sept. 3. In addition to the 1 p.m. spring game Saturday afternoon, UR's baseball team continues a three-game series against Davidson at Pitt Field and the men's lacrosse team at Robins Stadium meets Bellarmine at 3:30 p.m.

 

[MolivaManiac]

Why would O'Connor mention Trau's height? Is that somehow relevant to his kicking or is he just stuck on Mooney only having short players and forgetting that we're over to football now?

 

[32counter]

JOC is 5-7 including his mustache and has 4 years of eligibility remaining.Maybe he thinks he's got a shot.

 

[CarolinaSpider]

Why would O'Connor mention Trau's height? Is that somehow relevant to his kicking or is he just stuck on Mooney only having short players and forgetting that we're over to football now?

Johnny Jones from the 70s was under 5'8 and one of the best kickers we have ever had with everything from
creative kick offs to +50 yard range on FGs. Height has nothing to do with a kickers ability.

 

[Spideroldie]

Just visited Gainesville Florida to see UF's spring game. It was dominated by a new kicker recruit, who hit one 56 -yard FG and one other over 50 years out. The kicker actually had the crowd chanting "Eddie-Eddie-Eddie" before each kick. I have never seen a fan base so embrace a new kicker, but it has a lot to do with a disastrous last year in the kicking game. Hope our "little guy" has an impressive spring game too. The 56-yarder cleared the bar by at least 10 yards too, so UF may now have one of the best kickers to hit the college game in a decade or more.
I also saw a video in which a Florida player (the new starting QB, DelRio) was very complementary of our new OC, who apparently coached at UF last season, in some capacity. If Garrett can develop our QBs like he did DelRio (who completed 10 of 11 passes in the spring game), we will be in very good hands!

I look forward to seeing both our new kicker and our QBs in our upcoming Saturday game.

 

[32counter]

Luke DelRio is the son of Jack DelRio,Raider head coach.Young DelRio
attended Oregon State where John Garrett was its OC.When the Beavers had coaching changes young DelRio transferred to Florida as did Garrett.Garrett was working as a quality control specialist with the Gator offense last year.

 

[spiderbacker]

"Eddie-Eddie-Eddie"

Gators' new kicker Eddy Pineiro - 20 year old former soccer player (initial academic non-qualifier) with a MONSTER leg -- never kicked a field goal in a football game -- high school or college! Will be interesting to watch his performance in the SEC...

 

[Spideroldie]

Thanks for the added info on the Florida QB and kicker. Both were the "stars" of the spring game, with the kicker's 2+ 50+ yard FGs was the biggest draw for the fans. The fact that Garrett, our new OC was closely connected to Florida's new starting QB, DelRio, definitely suggests that we have a "winner" as a new OC.

The key now will be to keep this coaching staff together, and for Garrett to have the same impact on UR as he had, in just one season as a "quality control" coach, at UF. If you had listened to the interview with DelRio, Florida's new starting QB, about Garrett, you would have been smiling about the hire that DR has made. I believe we have an OC who can actually be more effective than last year's OC. And, the same may be true of our new DC, although I have no "inside" info on him.... The spring game, this Saturday, will likely tell us a lot about the team. For what it's worth, Florida's biggest change (not sure how much it has been influenced by Garrett) has been to pass much more to the RB's and to make them the de-facto last-resort on each passing play. You have to have RB's who can catch the ball to make this work, but if we have RB's with good hands, this is a very effective offensive schem. I hope UR will bring this "tweak" in offensive strategy, from Florida, to UR. And, if your RB's are fast, and elusive, this can turn these screen-plays into big plays, on a regular basis. I hope to see this on Saturday too.

 

[I-M-UR]

Tightend is perfect for Broadus. That's position is so under utilized in the college game. NO ONE ever covers the tightend over the middle.

that is great news, he has the size and running ability, (I guess the hands) and we'll be the only team I know of with the potential for a tightend flea flicker.

 

[I-M-UR]

Johnny Jones from the 70s was under 5'8 and one of the best kickers we have ever had with everything from
creative kick offs to +50 yard range on FGs. Height has nothing to do with a kickers ability.

Johnny kicked the perfect onside kick as well he dropped a couple into team make hands as if it was a great pass.

 

[32counter]

Kyle's interview on 950am reviewing team progress.Sounds ready and prepared.

http://cdn.stationcaster.com/stations/wxgi/media/mpeg/4_13_16_Kyle_Lauletta_Interview-1460584790.mp3

Danny's interview on 910am in preparation of Spring game.

http://m.foxsportsrichmond.iheart.c...D=629561&SPID=91932&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=26800

 

[Spideroldie]

The weather was great for the Spring game today. The one thing I was most interested in, the battle for the starting and back-up running back spots, was a bit disappointing. Looks like Gordon Collins (#35) is currently the "starter," with Deontez Thompson (#22 or 48, wore #48 today, but listed as #22) in a fight with Jay Palmer (#27) as back-ups. I was disappointed by what I saw from all of them, but the passing game was the focus of this game, so who knows?

Looks like we have a strong and deep set of WRs, and Garrett Hudson looks like he could be very good as a starting TE. Kyle looks like the very clear QB starter, but the back-up situation looked unclear to me, with Clise, the transfer fumbling once and not looking real comfortable yet. Kevin Johnson (#7) even got quite a few minutes, near the end.

The defense, as expected looked ahead of the offense. Am hoping that someone can add to these observations...