Me and some of my fellow coaches made the trip to Mt. Pleasant to take in practice on Thursday so I figured I'd give you my observations.
- Coach Bonamego is every bit as great and personable as he's been made out to be. He made a point to talk to all of us, was more than happy to explain a couple questions we had about some drills he was running. The whole staff is very personable and we were even invited to watch film with the staff and talk football with them (had to decline this time due to time issues but you can believe we'll take them up on it one day). The only other staff that gave us this option in our travels over the years was Toledo and believe me, this will go a looooooong way in recruiting.
-The pace of practice is awesome. It is very up-tempo and station to station with no wasted movement or down time. It reminded me a great deal of the Jones' era practices which is a VERY good thing in my opinion. Players were constanty engaged and there was very little standing around.
-This will shock many (sarcasm) but special teams is emphasized heavily and they cover all situations. Coach Bonamego is very hands on and really gets his hands dirty in all of the drills (as my school's special teams coordinator, this was a flat out Master's course for me).
-Throughout practice, Coach Bonamego is very high energy. Is constantly bouncing to different stations and coaching up different points. He really does a nice job of walking that fine line of letting your coaches coach but also having a hand in everything that is going on.
-Offensively, it looks like we are going to be very up-tempo. The playbook and terminology is going to be very similar but it appears the offense is going to look similar to what you all saw in the 4th quarter of the bowl game. Up-tempo and a good deal of throwing.
-Cooper Rush looks gooooooooooooood. That is all.
-Maurice Shoemaker-Gilmore and Martez Walker both looked very good at runningback. Both are super shifty with great vision. Add Spalding to that mix and this position group is going to be flat out fun to watch.
-At WR, yes Titus Davis will be missed because he was a great player. No, the cupboard is not bare. Jesse Kroll looks very good. Also, between Mark Chapman, Corey Willis, and Eric Cooper, you have three guys with the capability to take a short route to the house at any given time. I'm really excited for those three to step into prominent roles.
-The O-line looks good but typically, if you can pick out individuals, it's for all the wrong reasons so not any names to drop here.
Defensively, the switch to the 4-3 looks to be a good one. This group really appears to be playing with instincts and just flying to the ball. I love what Coach Colby brings to the table. He is fiery and very constructive. He is able to teach at a very fast pace. One of my old head coaches once told me you typically have 5 seconds in between plays to coach a player up and fix something and this whole defensive staff seems to be very good at that concept.
Overall, I walked away from this practice feeling very positive about the direction this program is heading in and actually feel pretty good about this upcoming season.
I'll happily attempt to take on any questions you guys may have.
- Coach Bonamego is every bit as great and personable as he's been made out to be. He made a point to talk to all of us, was more than happy to explain a couple questions we had about some drills he was running. The whole staff is very personable and we were even invited to watch film with the staff and talk football with them (had to decline this time due to time issues but you can believe we'll take them up on it one day). The only other staff that gave us this option in our travels over the years was Toledo and believe me, this will go a looooooong way in recruiting.
-The pace of practice is awesome. It is very up-tempo and station to station with no wasted movement or down time. It reminded me a great deal of the Jones' era practices which is a VERY good thing in my opinion. Players were constanty engaged and there was very little standing around.
-This will shock many (sarcasm) but special teams is emphasized heavily and they cover all situations. Coach Bonamego is very hands on and really gets his hands dirty in all of the drills (as my school's special teams coordinator, this was a flat out Master's course for me).
-Throughout practice, Coach Bonamego is very high energy. Is constantly bouncing to different stations and coaching up different points. He really does a nice job of walking that fine line of letting your coaches coach but also having a hand in everything that is going on.
-Offensively, it looks like we are going to be very up-tempo. The playbook and terminology is going to be very similar but it appears the offense is going to look similar to what you all saw in the 4th quarter of the bowl game. Up-tempo and a good deal of throwing.
-Cooper Rush looks gooooooooooooood. That is all.
-Maurice Shoemaker-Gilmore and Martez Walker both looked very good at runningback. Both are super shifty with great vision. Add Spalding to that mix and this position group is going to be flat out fun to watch.
-At WR, yes Titus Davis will be missed because he was a great player. No, the cupboard is not bare. Jesse Kroll looks very good. Also, between Mark Chapman, Corey Willis, and Eric Cooper, you have three guys with the capability to take a short route to the house at any given time. I'm really excited for those three to step into prominent roles.
-The O-line looks good but typically, if you can pick out individuals, it's for all the wrong reasons so not any names to drop here.
Defensively, the switch to the 4-3 looks to be a good one. This group really appears to be playing with instincts and just flying to the ball. I love what Coach Colby brings to the table. He is fiery and very constructive. He is able to teach at a very fast pace. One of my old head coaches once told me you typically have 5 seconds in between plays to coach a player up and fix something and this whole defensive staff seems to be very good at that concept.
Overall, I walked away from this practice feeling very positive about the direction this program is heading in and actually feel pretty good about this upcoming season.
I'll happily attempt to take on any questions you guys may have.
