Practice was held indoors this morning due to rain. This is basically the last practice before Saturday’s spring game, which will be held at 5 p.m. at the lacrosse field. There is technically a Friday practice but I’m told it’s a walk-through for the spring game and so I don’t plan to attend.
Anyway, here’s what stood out today. There wasn’t as much scrimmage work and really not much contact so meaningful observations are tough to glean.
- As has been the case at basically every practice, I was really impressed with the walk-on wide receiver group again. WR Wilson Long caught a one-handed touchdown from Walter Taylor. Landon Wells caught about a 40-to-45-yard dart from Ken Seals; the coverage was there but the throw couldn’t have been any better and Wells just made the play. I don’t remember Richie Hoskins or Hutch Baird doing much today but they’ve both made plays in fall camp. And it feels like these guys hardly ever drop the ball. Again, Vanderbilt is mostly holding Will Sheppard and Jayden McGowan out (McGowan was out there a small amount today) to keep them healthy and that’s left Quincy Skinner (who had another good day) as the most-productive scholarship receiver. Oh, and Daevon Walker (who I haven’t seen out there as much lately) made a catch or two today.
- What does this all mean? I have covered enough spring ball to know a lot of it is meaningless except to get guys reps and get them comfortable, but I know people want to hear meaning extracted from that. So if I had to give you some takeaways…
1. I really feel like the quarterback room, by Vanderbilt standards, is exceptionally strong. AJ Swann is obviously the starter and has tons of ability, but again, Seals has had a terrific spring and Drew Dickey feels like he could be a playable option if needed. Taylor is talented but needs to work on accuracy but he’s not awful there, either. Bottom line, sometimes the guys throwing the ball just keep putting catchable balls in good spots and I’ve seen a whole lot of that.
2. I think at the same time, it’s fair to ask, when walk-on receivers—and I think several of these guys could play a few snaps in a game and not embarrass themselves. Are the defensive backs out of position? For the most part, no; they’re in the ballpark and the balls are just there.
3. Would I like to see corners make more aggressive plays on the ball? Yes. I feel like this is something that Jesse Minter put an emphasis on that I’m not seeing as much under Nick Howell.
4. Are guys making picks when they get the chance? I’m seeing some catchable balls dropped by defensive backs? Yes, and a lot of times it’s Jaylen Mahoney or De’Rickey Wright getting their hands on balls and not making the catches, though the consolation there is we’ve seen both make plenty of picks in games and practices.
- This was a really pass-heavy day so I can’t really offer much meaningful in the way of the running game.
- Seeing who wins the backup DB spots will be interesting. I feel like the second corners will be Truedell Berry and Gumbo Gaskins. I have felt like the backup safeties will be Steven Sannienola and John Howse IV, but I think Howse has bene out all spring and haven’t seen much of Sannienola, and Savion Riley has been out there a whole bunch (and made a few plays, including a PBU today) and so maybe he grabs a backup safety or nickel role.
- I noticed Matt Hayball getting a little work on special kicking (not punting) situations today, I probably don’t need to be more specific than that but it’s not something I’ve noticed before.
- Can Will Faris win the kicking job? It’s hard to say until Brock Taylor gets to campus. From 20 years of watching practices, one thing that’s almost a given is that you have no idea what you’re getting with kickers until they arrive. I feel like Faris has good-enough leg strength to kick at this level and he’s had a nice spring but he did struggle today with accuracy on kicks that weren’t chip-shots but were certainly make-able.
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