Spring Practice

[Jasper]

Spent a hour or so watching the first day of practice. It was naturally somewhat subdued but spirited nevertheless. Hard to tell a lot in helmets and shorts but it was fun to watch the one on one throw and catch drills. We have lots of guys who do both very well I am happy to say. Carson Jones looked good but I paid a lot of attention to the new kid on the block, Trey Hedden. He throws a very tight spiral that is also a very catchable ball. What really impressed me was the catchers though. Colton Hinton (now # 1) looked tremendous. He beat every D back he went against with his speed and burst to the ball on deep balls. Made a few circus catches as well. This kid may be a great one. Ben Ferguson simply catches everything thrown to him and has strong after catch moves as well. I noticed a walk on D back named Jake Pendleton who made 2 great interceptions. I was talking with one of the grad interns who was a receiver for us last year and he said this kid is a superior athlete who is raising eyebrows with the staff. Might be another find. The skill positions on this team appear to be well staffed. More on the other positions when they put on pads and do some hitting. I get the feeling that will be more than a rebuilding year after the loss of 40 or so players. The cupboard is far from bare.

[The Jackal]

Hinton broke into the rotation as a freshman on one of the deepest Furman teams in recent memory. He has a really high ceiling.

[AllTimeFU]

Great report. I was hoping someone would get to practice.

[Jasper]

Hinton broke into the rotation as a freshman on one of the deepest Furman teams in recent memory. He has a really high ceiling.

I should point out that this drill is the real deal. Both receiver and defender are all alone out there and they were fighting like hell for the ball. The intern I was watching with pointed out that Hinton is still making some technical mistakes as far as timing of his break, etc but he’s so fast and has great hands that he makes up for it. I think we will see him on the receiving end of some long bombs this season. If he catches the ball in stride there is no catching up with him either. One other thing I forgot. The O line has a lot more big bodies out there than at this time last year. Can’t speak to the quality as yet but we have a bunch of “big uglies” out there. Also noticed about 5 or 6 yellow shirts recovering from injuries, surgeries etc. no number so I don’t know who.

[FUATT]

Great update. Thanks so much.

[Joe706]

https://twitter.com/PaladinFootball/sta ... 32/photo/1

[cavedweller2]

Hinton broke into the rotation as a freshman on one of the deepest Furman teams in recent memory. He has a really high ceiling.

I should point out that this drill is the real deal. Both receiver and defender are all alone out there and they were fighting like hell for the ball. The intern I was watching with pointed out that Hinton is still making some technical mistakes as far as timing of his break, etc but he’s so fast and has great hands that he makes up for it. I think we will see him on the receiving end of some long bombs this season. If he catches the ball in stride there is no catching up with him either. One other thing I forgot. The O line has a lot more big bodies out there than at this time last year. Can’t speak to the quality as yet but we have a bunch of “big uglies” out there. Also noticed about 5 or 6 yellow shirts recovering from injuries, surgeries etc. no number so I don’t know who.

Sounds like he may have close to Chas Fox speed. Close. We wouldn't be lucky enough for him to have actual Chas Fox speed.

[AllTimeFU]

Hinton broke into the rotation as a freshman on one of the deepest Furman teams in recent memory. He has a really high ceiling.

I should point out that this drill is the real deal. Both receiver and defender are all alone out there and they were fighting like hell for the ball. The intern I was watching with pointed out that Hinton is still making some technical mistakes as far as timing of his break, etc but he’s so fast and has great hands that he makes up for it. I think we will see him on the receiving end of some long bombs this season. If he catches the ball in stride there is no catching up with him either. One other thing I forgot. The O line has a lot more big bodies out there than at this time last year. Can’t speak to the quality as yet but we have a bunch of “big uglies” out there. Also noticed about 5 or 6 yellow shirts recovering from injuries, surgeries etc. no number so I don’t know who.

We know it begins and ends with the big uglies! I bet they will be in a big rotation. They talked a lot about that last year. It will interesting to see if there is a noticeable offensive philosophy change with new QBs.

[apaladin]

Jasper, after watching one practice we need your prediction on who the starting QB will be.

[Jasper]

Jasper, after watching one practice we need your prediction on who the starting QB will be.

You are still in the running, apaladin. I think I will wait until they actually suit up before prognosticating. Let’s say 3 practices?

[dornb]

Spent a hour or so watching the first day of practice. It was naturally somewhat subdued but spirited nevertheless. Hard to tell a lot in helmets and shorts but it was fun to watch the one on one throw and catch drills. We have lots of guys who do both very well I am happy to say. Carson Jones looked good but I paid a lot of attention to the new kid on the block, Trey Hedden. He throws a very tight spiral that is also a very catchable ball. What really impressed me was the catchers though. Colton Hinton (now # 1) looked tremendous. He beat every D back he went against with his speed and burst to the ball on deep balls. Made a few circus catches as well. This kid may be a great one. Ben Ferguson simply catches everything thrown to him and has strong after catch moves as well. I noticed a walk on D back named Jake Pendleton who made 2 great interceptions. I was talking with one of the grad interns who was a receiver for us last year and he said this kid is a superior athlete who is raising eyebrows with the staff. Might be another find. The skill positions on this team appear to be well staffed. More on the other positions when they put on pads and do some hitting. I get the feeling that will be more than a rebuilding year after the loss of 40 or so players. The cupboard is far from bare.

Jasper, do you have any news on Jaquan Smith? I haven't heard anything about him in a LONG time.

[Jasper]

Actually I know both the player and his parents pretty well. We usually tailgate together before the games but we are not close. I saw him after his injury and he appeared to be doing well albeit wearing a leg brace. There are several yellow shirts at practice but no numbers so I assume he is one of them. I will reach out and see if I can find out how his recovery is coming. He is definitely in the mix at RB this year. He is well thought of by the staff .

[FUATT]

Spent a hour or so watching the first day of practice. It was naturally somewhat subdued but spirited nevertheless. Hard to tell a lot in helmets and shorts but it was fun to watch the one on one throw and catch drills. We have lots of guys who do both very well I am happy to say. Carson Jones looked good but I paid a lot of attention to the new kid on the block, Trey Hedden. He throws a very tight spiral that is also a very catchable ball. What really impressed me was the catchers though. Colton Hinton (now # 1) looked tremendous. He beat every D back he went against with his speed and burst to the ball on deep balls. Made a few circus catches as well. This kid may be a great one. Ben Ferguson simply catches everything thrown to him and has strong after catch moves as well. I noticed a walk on D back named Jake Pendleton who made 2 great interceptions. I was talking with one of the grad interns who was a receiver for us last year and he said this kid is a superior athlete who is raising eyebrows with the staff. Might be another find. The skill positions on this team appear to be well staffed. More on the other positions when they put on pads and do some hitting. I get the feeling that will be more than a rebuilding year after the loss of 40 or so players. The cupboard is far from bare.

Talked to someone who has seen both practices and concur. "Tampa Bay Trey" has a G5 arm, can flat sling it. Carson looks very good. Receivers can really run and catch. Offense looks very good early. Agree offense skill is very strong. One caveat to "wow are receivers are great" - we are pretty thin at corner at the moment, have like 3 guys healthy right now I think and they are all FR/SO. Going to be young there this year. Might need to move one of our Safeties to Corner.

[The Jackal]

Spent a hour or so watching the first day of practice. It was naturally somewhat subdued but spirited nevertheless. Hard to tell a lot in helmets and shorts but it was fun to watch the one on one throw and catch drills. We have lots of guys who do both very well I am happy to say. Carson Jones looked good but I paid a lot of attention to the new kid on the block, Trey Hedden. He throws a very tight spiral that is also a very catchable ball. What really impressed me was the catchers though. Colton Hinton (now # 1) looked tremendous. He beat every D back he went against with his speed and burst to the ball on deep balls. Made a few circus catches as well. This kid may be a great one. Ben Ferguson simply catches everything thrown to him and has strong after catch moves as well. I noticed a walk on D back named Jake Pendleton who made 2 great interceptions. I was talking with one of the grad interns who was a receiver for us last year and he said this kid is a superior athlete who is raising eyebrows with the staff. Might be another find. The skill positions on this team appear to be well staffed. More on the other positions when they put on pads and do some hitting. I get the feeling that will be more than a rebuilding year after the loss of 40 or so players. The cupboard is far from bare.

Talked to someone who has seen both practices and concur. "Tampa Bay Trey" has a G5 arm, can flat sling it. Carson looks very good. Receivers can really run and catch. Offense looks very good early. Agree offense skill is very strong. One caveat to "wow are receivers are great" - we are pretty thin at corner at the moment, have like 3 guys healthy right now I think and they are all FR/SO. Going to be young there this year. Might need to move one of our Safeties to Corner.

CB was going to be an issue. I think we lost maybe our top four cornerbacks. It also seems most of our offers are to CBs, so that appears to be a major area of emphasis.

The QB situation will be an interesting one to follow. The QB room is far more robust than it was just a year or two ago in terms of depth and talent.

[FUeveryday]

Hinton broke into the rotation as a freshman on one of the deepest Furman teams in recent memory. He has a really high ceiling.

O line has a lot more big bodies out there than at this time last year. Can’t speak to the quality as yet but we have a bunch of “big uglies” out there. Also noticed about 5 or 6 yellow shirts recovering from injuries, surgeries etc. no number so I don’t know who.

We lost one of the biggest uglies for several months, OL Tex Elliott suffered an Achilles tear. I think a LB also had a knee tear.