Morning! Wanted to share my unsolicited (and probably too long) game notes from Kent State:
Team/General Notes:
1. I know nobody on this board wants to hear this (because it’s Oklahoma, right?), but Kent State is a dang-good MAC team. Cephas (WR) could play in the Big12, Cooper and Bradford were nice, physical backs, and Schlee (like every G5 QB we play 😆) made some impressive throws and extended plays with his legs. I’m a huge fan of Sean Lewis and think he will get a nice P5 coaching gig in the next 2-3 years.
2. As bad as the first half was, we still held them to a 3 yard average in the run game, won the turnover battle, and outgained them by 100 yards. Their longest play from scrimmage was a 24 yard catch. Limiting the explosives is a welcomed change for our defense.
3. I don’t think there’s any doubt that the LOS on both sides of the ball was most concerning last night. Defensively, I’m actually much more optimistic right now. I thought Coe, Johnson, and Grimes had great games. Redmond flashed, but I still don’t think he’s consistent enough as he needs to be in order to be a dominant, All conference player (side note, he still looks out of shape).
4. The OL play last night (and really the first two weeks) was baffling. Last week I saw glimpses of good movement and push in the run game. In the first half yesterday we were getting no downhill movement and the zone scheme was being blown up by penetration. The interior OL really struggles with their lateral movement. Each year in the off-season we hear tremendous hype about this unit, then subsequently each year they struggle for the first 4-5 games before kicking into gear. Need to see substantial improvement at Nebraska.
5. At the end of the day, hard to complain with a W. Notre Dame and A&M were beat at home by vastly inferior opponents. Teams like Clemson, Miami, and Georgia didn’t exactly dominate their games as you might expect. Plenty of positives to take away from last night.
6. This offensive scheme makes me nervous. Everything is predicated on a successful and threatening run game, particularly our deep-shot PA, quick screen game, and RPOs across the middle. All of those passing concepts are contingent upon a strong run game, which I’m not confident we have right now. I know it’s been discussed at length, but tempo doesn’t work if you can’t sustain drives.
Player Notes:
1. Stutsman and Bowman are the present and future of this defense. Seeing Bowman come downhill with speed and aggression in run support is a thing of beauty. Stutsman can do it all (blitz, run support inside & out, strong pass coverage). These guys are NFL players and future all Americans.
2. Kanak is going to be special before he leaves here…and sooner rather than later. His closing speed and agility is off the charts, he will be a disaster for OL in space. The potential of he and Stus at ILB next year is special.
3. Saw some nice flashes from DJ Graham last night in the run and pass game. Read and blew up a screen on a big 3rd down. Also kept contain and made a nice tackle on an outside run. No offense to Davis, but that was exciting to see.
4. I don’t love being negative towards players, and I love the kid, but I am worried about Downs. Last night was not his night. He’s a strong kid with a great motor, but his lateral quickness and “twitch” is lacking for an edge rusher. I couldn’t count the number of times last night he was around the ball to make a play but reached, lunged, and whiffed on the ball carrier. Just seems really stiff and almost mechanical. I’m going to be laughed at, but I genuinely wonder if he’s a better fit inside in the future.
5. Not to pile on, but we need to make a move at LG. Mettaur just isn’t the answer right now. He can’t move side to side which is imperative is the zone scheme. I actually understand what Gabe said in his pod last week, it almost looks like Mattaur is injured (I know Mettaur refuted this). He was catching guys in the run game last night, no vertical movement. There was a play where he pulled around the edge and I was genuinely shocked at how slow he was on the pull. We’ve got to roll with Savion, one of the Jake’s, or kick Raym over to G.
Let me know what everyone thinks, happy Sunday!
Team/General Notes:
1. I know nobody on this board wants to hear this (because it’s Oklahoma, right?), but Kent State is a dang-good MAC team. Cephas (WR) could play in the Big12, Cooper and Bradford were nice, physical backs, and Schlee (like every G5 QB we play 😆) made some impressive throws and extended plays with his legs. I’m a huge fan of Sean Lewis and think he will get a nice P5 coaching gig in the next 2-3 years.
2. As bad as the first half was, we still held them to a 3 yard average in the run game, won the turnover battle, and outgained them by 100 yards. Their longest play from scrimmage was a 24 yard catch. Limiting the explosives is a welcomed change for our defense.
3. I don’t think there’s any doubt that the LOS on both sides of the ball was most concerning last night. Defensively, I’m actually much more optimistic right now. I thought Coe, Johnson, and Grimes had great games. Redmond flashed, but I still don’t think he’s consistent enough as he needs to be in order to be a dominant, All conference player (side note, he still looks out of shape).
4. The OL play last night (and really the first two weeks) was baffling. Last week I saw glimpses of good movement and push in the run game. In the first half yesterday we were getting no downhill movement and the zone scheme was being blown up by penetration. The interior OL really struggles with their lateral movement. Each year in the off-season we hear tremendous hype about this unit, then subsequently each year they struggle for the first 4-5 games before kicking into gear. Need to see substantial improvement at Nebraska.
5. At the end of the day, hard to complain with a W. Notre Dame and A&M were beat at home by vastly inferior opponents. Teams like Clemson, Miami, and Georgia didn’t exactly dominate their games as you might expect. Plenty of positives to take away from last night.
6. This offensive scheme makes me nervous. Everything is predicated on a successful and threatening run game, particularly our deep-shot PA, quick screen game, and RPOs across the middle. All of those passing concepts are contingent upon a strong run game, which I’m not confident we have right now. I know it’s been discussed at length, but tempo doesn’t work if you can’t sustain drives.
Player Notes:
1. Stutsman and Bowman are the present and future of this defense. Seeing Bowman come downhill with speed and aggression in run support is a thing of beauty. Stutsman can do it all (blitz, run support inside & out, strong pass coverage). These guys are NFL players and future all Americans.
2. Kanak is going to be special before he leaves here…and sooner rather than later. His closing speed and agility is off the charts, he will be a disaster for OL in space. The potential of he and Stus at ILB next year is special.
3. Saw some nice flashes from DJ Graham last night in the run and pass game. Read and blew up a screen on a big 3rd down. Also kept contain and made a nice tackle on an outside run. No offense to Davis, but that was exciting to see.
4. I don’t love being negative towards players, and I love the kid, but I am worried about Downs. Last night was not his night. He’s a strong kid with a great motor, but his lateral quickness and “twitch” is lacking for an edge rusher. I couldn’t count the number of times last night he was around the ball to make a play but reached, lunged, and whiffed on the ball carrier. Just seems really stiff and almost mechanical. I’m going to be laughed at, but I genuinely wonder if he’s a better fit inside in the future.
5. Not to pile on, but we need to make a move at LG. Mettaur just isn’t the answer right now. He can’t move side to side which is imperative is the zone scheme. I actually understand what Gabe said in his pod last week, it almost looks like Mattaur is injured (I know Mettaur refuted this). He was catching guys in the run game last night, no vertical movement. There was a play where he pulled around the edge and I was genuinely shocked at how slow he was on the pull. We’ve got to roll with Savion, one of the Jake’s, or kick Raym over to G.
Let me know what everyone thinks, happy Sunday!
