* Of course biggest news announcement on Jordan Smallwood. He'll miss the rest of spring & possibly the first and second games of the year.
* Really good stuff with Lincoln Riley ... We'll have the video highlights up later. He seemed happy about the general direction.
* Couple descriptors used for Mark Andrews ... 'gamechanger' ... 'mismatch nightmare' ... Durron Neal, Sterling Shepard sang the praises of Andrews ability.
* Talking to Alex Ross it seems the change in offense has been something he welcomed with opened arms.
* Consensus from the guys we spoke with tonight ... Joe Mixon is really, really good at football. Real good.
***************************************************************************************************************************************
Added some Lincoln Riley tidbits from today ...
* If there was one thing we got out of talking with Lincoln Riley and players it would be that Jordan Smallwood is known as one of the 'hardest workers on the team' ... felt like a lot of people were really taking the Smallwood injury news pretty hard. Seems like a guy that everyone within the team has a great appreciation for b/c of the way he shows up to go to work on a daily basis.
That's good to hear. You really need those type of guys in the program. Nor should it be a surprise.
* Riley said 'there's a real edge to the guys on the team and a hunger' from the players on the offensive side of the ball.
* Riley said Sunday's mini-scrimmage (Riley did offer that they did not tackle players during the scrimmage) was really good for everyone on the offensive side of the ball ... especially when it comes to getting the headsets out for the coaches, making substitutions, etc.
* Riley said they've thrown a lot the four quarterbacks 'to see what we have' ... said all four of the guys have handled it really well. They done this to see what they have.
"I think they're all handling it well. We're repping those guys equal. We're getting a ton of reps ... their arms are hurting right now ... which they should be," said Riley. "And I said when I got hired and I believe it even more now. We've got everything we need in that room to be a really pretty good offense."
* This was just our second opportunity to talk with Riley and I walked away thinking what most have said in their meetings with the new OC on campus. He carries himself with a certain level of confidence. I suppose some would describe by saying ... 'you can just tell he gets it ...'.
* all four QBs are taking 'equal reps' ... Riley was asked what he'll be looking for ... what does he need to see from a QB to know 'that's the guy'?
-- Riley said it's all really cut & dry to him ... look at who's moving the offense. Who is taking care of the ball? Who has a prescence in the huddle?
* Riley said the WR group is handling the change offensively well but did admit it's been hard on them as a group. Not because there isn't talent at the position. That's not the case. It's more literal than anything. There simply aren't enough players at the position to keep up the fast tempo pace of practice - or atleast the speed Riley would like to be moving.
"We don't have the numbers for these guys quite yet. So there's been a lot of reps on these guys. We have some good talent. We're starting to figure out what these guys can and can't do. In the beginning you try to peg some guys in these positions not knowing exactly their whole skill set. I would guess we'll be moving some guys around as we learn more about them," Riley said.
-- However, Riley did add he really liked the youth at the position.
* Riley talking on the tight end position ....
"Oh yeah to me the tight end, to me, is one of the greatest weapons in all of college football. The hardest thing is finding good ones. It's easy to find receivers. It's not too hard to find running backs. The tight end ... the guys like the Gronkowski's of the world that can put their hand down. Can be in the backfield. That can flex out. That can not limit you are great players," said Riley.
-- Riley added where he has not liked TEs in the past is when you have a guy that can only put his hand on the ground.
"We've got some guys with versatility that we can use."
* The addition of Dennis Simmons seems to be going over well ... Durron Neal said he was laid back in comparison with Jay Norvell.
- Riley added that he thought Simmons' knowledge of the offense was going hand-in-hand with how smooth the new offense was being implemented.
This post was edited on 3/30 9:20 PM by Eddie_Rado
* Really good stuff with Lincoln Riley ... We'll have the video highlights up later. He seemed happy about the general direction.
* Couple descriptors used for Mark Andrews ... 'gamechanger' ... 'mismatch nightmare' ... Durron Neal, Sterling Shepard sang the praises of Andrews ability.
* Talking to Alex Ross it seems the change in offense has been something he welcomed with opened arms.
* Consensus from the guys we spoke with tonight ... Joe Mixon is really, really good at football. Real good.
***************************************************************************************************************************************
Added some Lincoln Riley tidbits from today ...
* If there was one thing we got out of talking with Lincoln Riley and players it would be that Jordan Smallwood is known as one of the 'hardest workers on the team' ... felt like a lot of people were really taking the Smallwood injury news pretty hard. Seems like a guy that everyone within the team has a great appreciation for b/c of the way he shows up to go to work on a daily basis.
That's good to hear. You really need those type of guys in the program. Nor should it be a surprise.
* Riley said 'there's a real edge to the guys on the team and a hunger' from the players on the offensive side of the ball.
* Riley said Sunday's mini-scrimmage (Riley did offer that they did not tackle players during the scrimmage) was really good for everyone on the offensive side of the ball ... especially when it comes to getting the headsets out for the coaches, making substitutions, etc.
* Riley said they've thrown a lot the four quarterbacks 'to see what we have' ... said all four of the guys have handled it really well. They done this to see what they have.
"I think they're all handling it well. We're repping those guys equal. We're getting a ton of reps ... their arms are hurting right now ... which they should be," said Riley. "And I said when I got hired and I believe it even more now. We've got everything we need in that room to be a really pretty good offense."
* This was just our second opportunity to talk with Riley and I walked away thinking what most have said in their meetings with the new OC on campus. He carries himself with a certain level of confidence. I suppose some would describe by saying ... 'you can just tell he gets it ...'.
* all four QBs are taking 'equal reps' ... Riley was asked what he'll be looking for ... what does he need to see from a QB to know 'that's the guy'?
-- Riley said it's all really cut & dry to him ... look at who's moving the offense. Who is taking care of the ball? Who has a prescence in the huddle?
* Riley said the WR group is handling the change offensively well but did admit it's been hard on them as a group. Not because there isn't talent at the position. That's not the case. It's more literal than anything. There simply aren't enough players at the position to keep up the fast tempo pace of practice - or atleast the speed Riley would like to be moving.
"We don't have the numbers for these guys quite yet. So there's been a lot of reps on these guys. We have some good talent. We're starting to figure out what these guys can and can't do. In the beginning you try to peg some guys in these positions not knowing exactly their whole skill set. I would guess we'll be moving some guys around as we learn more about them," Riley said.
-- However, Riley did add he really liked the youth at the position.
* Riley talking on the tight end position ....
"Oh yeah to me the tight end, to me, is one of the greatest weapons in all of college football. The hardest thing is finding good ones. It's easy to find receivers. It's not too hard to find running backs. The tight end ... the guys like the Gronkowski's of the world that can put their hand down. Can be in the backfield. That can flex out. That can not limit you are great players," said Riley.
-- Riley added where he has not liked TEs in the past is when you have a guy that can only put his hand on the ground.
"We've got some guys with versatility that we can use."
* The addition of Dennis Simmons seems to be going over well ... Durron Neal said he was laid back in comparison with Jay Norvell.
- Riley added that he thought Simmons' knowledge of the offense was going hand-in-hand with how smooth the new offense was being implemented.
This post was edited on 3/30 9:20 PM by Eddie_Rado
