Spring Game

[FU3]

Biggest crowd I have seen at a Spring Game .. kudos to those who arraigned it ( lots of recruits as well). Pretty typical football for these events. A few random observations.One thing that was noticeable with our new OC was his interactions with players, really engaged and is always coaching. One player who really stood out on O was Dejuan Bell, made plays all over the field. I have always thought he had lots of talent and was never quite sure why he didn’t seem to be able to put it all together.On D we look fine at LB( lots of depth). Our D backs played well and there appeared to be a real emphasis on being more physical with WRs on release from LOS. D line looked a little thin but we have a couple of starters on rehab with injuries. QB was basically a one man show with JW, he looked comfortable in our new O and made some nice throws. Need our transfer from Presbyterian and our new FR to have a good summer to give us backup. We are loaded at RB. Excited about the upcoming season and I believe we have the talent ( if we stay relatively healthy) to win the Socon.

[cavedweller2]

Am we win?

[FU3]

Rout.

[Afurmanfan]

Anyone know what happened to Landon Whittemore?

[FUBeAR]

From Dan’s brief vids on Facebook, O looked like…

HEAVY diet of single back zone read / RPO. Looked pretty crisp.

Did also see a nifty buck sweep w/both OG’s pullin’ and gettin’ it to lead the RB, which was cool. No FB to lead though.

[AstroDin]

The hit of the game was Ty Youngblood laying hit on a defensive player.
Ty has moved over to TE - he was a very good fullback in HS.
I was impressed with Youngblood and Richter—both played a lot of snaps and caught a good bit of balls.

IMO the star/surprise of the day was Ryan Leavy … dude was booming 60-yard punts.
Ryan kicks a beautiful punt.

[Flagman]

We will need to develop a FG/XP kicker. There were a lot of low kicks.

[gman84]

We have been very fortunate to have great kickers at FU. I can’t remember the last time we had a kicker we could not count on. I also remember two years ago some were concerned about our kicker after Grayson Atkins grad transferred to UNC. The kicks were low yesterday to compensate for the wind.

[The Jackal]

Also noted that Wayne Anderson moved to WR on the roster.

[apaladin]

Also noted that
Wayne Anderson moved to WR on the roster.

Has to be an indication that the coaches feel we need help at WR. He fits our WR MO short at 5’9”.

[AstroDin]

Also noted that
Wayne Anderson moved to WR on the roster.

Has to be an indication that the coaches feel we need help at WR. He fits our WR MO short at 5’9”.

you're a broken record… with your humor!
The reality is Furman has 3 receivers that are 5-9, Bell, Anderson, and Lex Capitano.
Furman has 4 receivers listed as 6-2; Ethan and Joshua Harris, Shiflett, and Miller (I consider Miller a unicorn).

[AstroDin]

reflecting a bit on yesterday…

Kendall Thomas is more involved in the new offense, he had some very nice runs yesterday.
Excited to see KT get more PT.

Hicks was in uniform but didn't play so we got to see a good bit of Grant Robinson.
For a big back, Robinson is explosive, he runs with power, he could be an interesting addition to this offense.

One more running back note… Tyler Reid a PWO from CPA continues to get reps and makes some great runs and catches, also Reid has good size 6-0 198.

added note… Coach Roper made the point of this spring is finding out what we do well, and who can make those plays. Bell looked like a player with a new lease on his football career. He was zigging and zagging all over the field, catching balls in traffic and in the middle of the field.

[The Jackal]

Also noted that
Wayne Anderson moved to WR on the roster.

Has to be an indication that the coaches feel we need help at WR. He fits our WR MO short at 5’9”.

Maybe. My guess is we have too much depth at RB and need another slot receiver.

As anticipated and seen in the spring game, Furman is probably moving away from its traditional "two back" look in favor of a single back scheme. So, we no longer need RB/TB on the field in most offensive sets. The "RB" role will likely go to a TE, and we'll see a lot more 3 WR sets.

So, we're going to need fewer RBs and more WRs. Our roster has traditionally been built the opposite.

Our Running Back group will be pretty stacked. Roberto, Abrams, and Thomas have a good bit of experience. Robinson and Hicks look like they are the real deal. Furman also picked up Jayquan Smith in recruiting, another big back.

With more 3 WR sets, Furman will need to deploy more pass catchers. We lost Deluca, and Bell seems the most likely candidate to step in his flanker spot. We have two WRs in this recruiting class, one appears to be more a split end type, the other a flanker type.

In Quarles' offense, Anderson frequently lined up in the slot. He'll probably have much of the same role this year, but just now be called a WR instead of a TB. He likely won't carry the ball as frequently, but Furman's got plenty of depth at RB to distribute those carries.

While he's not a tall player, Anderson is 200 lbs and can fly. He's fast and quick enough to play the slot, has excellent hands, and is physical enough to get after safeties and linebackers. Seems like a logical move considering he was effectively already playing the position.

[The Jackal]

Im 95% sure that Anderson is the middle receiver in this formation to the left streaking down the field. Doesn't make the play, but you can see how fast he is and how he can clear out defenders for the underneath route.

[AstroDin]

found a post of the Youngblood play…