TUESDAY, AUGUST 8 (practice #11)
Some general thoughts on what I saw today and how that connects with some other things that have happened in camp
1. DE Darren Agu left the field today and appeared to be hurt and now we’ll just wait and see on the severity. This would be a pretty huge development because that’s one of the positions where I don’t think there was much debate about whether he was starting there or not. Their backups, IMO, would be DE Linus Zunk and DE Brayden Bapst, probably in that order, though I think Bapst has probably stood out a bit more in camp, so perhaps not. Alex Brown could also see some time in that spot and I saw Ted Gregoire, who’s listed at 6-3, 311 and is every bit of both, also playing some at that spot today. (Haven’t talked much about Gregoire, but physically he’s impressive and has played inside more so far.)
2. WR Daevon Walker moved to corner in mid-practice today. Walker started slowly in camp, played well in the middle part and has been less of a factor lately. The move comes at a time where Vanderbilt lacks much in the way of proven options at corner, but I can’t help but think the fast rise of both WR Logan Humphries and WR Junior Sherrill had a part in this. I keep my own depth chart estimate after every practice and when things seem “tied” I usually lean in the direction of the veteran, but Humphries had clearly been so much better than Walker that I had slotted him ahead of Walker before the move.
3. It’s fall camp and that comes with the usual caveats since there hasn’t been much actual tackling, and sometimes guys are going against walk-ons and such. But after 20 years of doing this, I’m not sure I’ve seen a freshman receiver that at this stage of camp has been better than either of these guys. Humphries can take a top off a defense in a way nobody else on the roster can, and I’m unsure if Sherrill’s being more of a factor is part of the “let’s see what the new toys look like!” Phase of camp (McGowan’s been in the program a year, he’s presumably the starter and they know what he can and can’t do) or a sign that that job is up for grabs.
4. Safeties Jaylen Mahoney and De’Rickey Wright got back on the field some today and funny, it wasn’t quite the track meet it had been in other practices with those two out.
5. I would not count out WR Richie Hoskins making a contribution. He makes nice plays basically every single day and had also done more than Walker.
6. Defensive coordinator Nick Howell confirmed that Bryce Cowan is now playing “anchor,” which tracks with what my eyes had told me. (Earlier, they’d said he was still a linebacker, IIRC, even though I’d seen him mostly at anchor.) I’m not going to say that Cowan is having the camp that CJ Taylor had last year, but he’s been pretty good. This seems like one of those “find a way to get your best athletes on the field” moves. The fact that Jeffrey Ugochukwu has been out almost all of camp (if not all of it) has certainly allowed Cowan to see more time, too.
7. I’ve got Kane Patterson and Langton Patterson penciled in as my starting linebackers for now. I love the way both have played in camp. Both have been all over the field and both may be answers to the “how does Vanderbilt generate more pass-rush?” question. Ethan Barr (who’s been held out recently) will have a say in whether Langston starts or not but if they’re going in favor of athleticism and play-making ability then I think they need to go with the younger player there.
8. After those three, the depth situation at LB is getting dicey. Errington Truesdell is there but hasn’t had a rep all camp. Prince Kollie hasn’t taken many reps and was out there today but not participating in drills or scrimmage reps and I’m starting to wonder about his availability. My guess is that Nick Rinaldi would be poised to see a bump in playing time if some of these situations don’t resolve.
9. It still seems up on the air as to who’ll start at corner. My guess it it’ll be BJ Anderson at one and one of Martell Hight, Tyson Russell or Truedell Berry at the other. Hight is easily the most gifted corner on the roster, probably followed by Berry, but how ready are they? Corner isn’t just about ability, otherwise, you wouldn’t see future NFL first-rounders get burned so often as freshmen, but that’s part of it. I guess they could go Hight and Berry but I’d be surprised if they did, and it feels like Anderson at least offers some steadiness there.
10. Not sure where the kicking battle stands. Special teams coordinator Justin Lustig said it was a three-man competition and mentioned Jacob Borcilla, Will Farris and Brock Taylor as candidates.
Some general thoughts on what I saw today and how that connects with some other things that have happened in camp
1. DE Darren Agu left the field today and appeared to be hurt and now we’ll just wait and see on the severity. This would be a pretty huge development because that’s one of the positions where I don’t think there was much debate about whether he was starting there or not. Their backups, IMO, would be DE Linus Zunk and DE Brayden Bapst, probably in that order, though I think Bapst has probably stood out a bit more in camp, so perhaps not. Alex Brown could also see some time in that spot and I saw Ted Gregoire, who’s listed at 6-3, 311 and is every bit of both, also playing some at that spot today. (Haven’t talked much about Gregoire, but physically he’s impressive and has played inside more so far.)
2. WR Daevon Walker moved to corner in mid-practice today. Walker started slowly in camp, played well in the middle part and has been less of a factor lately. The move comes at a time where Vanderbilt lacks much in the way of proven options at corner, but I can’t help but think the fast rise of both WR Logan Humphries and WR Junior Sherrill had a part in this. I keep my own depth chart estimate after every practice and when things seem “tied” I usually lean in the direction of the veteran, but Humphries had clearly been so much better than Walker that I had slotted him ahead of Walker before the move.
3. It’s fall camp and that comes with the usual caveats since there hasn’t been much actual tackling, and sometimes guys are going against walk-ons and such. But after 20 years of doing this, I’m not sure I’ve seen a freshman receiver that at this stage of camp has been better than either of these guys. Humphries can take a top off a defense in a way nobody else on the roster can, and I’m unsure if Sherrill’s being more of a factor is part of the “let’s see what the new toys look like!” Phase of camp (McGowan’s been in the program a year, he’s presumably the starter and they know what he can and can’t do) or a sign that that job is up for grabs.
4. Safeties Jaylen Mahoney and De’Rickey Wright got back on the field some today and funny, it wasn’t quite the track meet it had been in other practices with those two out.
5. I would not count out WR Richie Hoskins making a contribution. He makes nice plays basically every single day and had also done more than Walker.
6. Defensive coordinator Nick Howell confirmed that Bryce Cowan is now playing “anchor,” which tracks with what my eyes had told me. (Earlier, they’d said he was still a linebacker, IIRC, even though I’d seen him mostly at anchor.) I’m not going to say that Cowan is having the camp that CJ Taylor had last year, but he’s been pretty good. This seems like one of those “find a way to get your best athletes on the field” moves. The fact that Jeffrey Ugochukwu has been out almost all of camp (if not all of it) has certainly allowed Cowan to see more time, too.
7. I’ve got Kane Patterson and Langton Patterson penciled in as my starting linebackers for now. I love the way both have played in camp. Both have been all over the field and both may be answers to the “how does Vanderbilt generate more pass-rush?” question. Ethan Barr (who’s been held out recently) will have a say in whether Langston starts or not but if they’re going in favor of athleticism and play-making ability then I think they need to go with the younger player there.
8. After those three, the depth situation at LB is getting dicey. Errington Truesdell is there but hasn’t had a rep all camp. Prince Kollie hasn’t taken many reps and was out there today but not participating in drills or scrimmage reps and I’m starting to wonder about his availability. My guess is that Nick Rinaldi would be poised to see a bump in playing time if some of these situations don’t resolve.
9. It still seems up on the air as to who’ll start at corner. My guess it it’ll be BJ Anderson at one and one of Martell Hight, Tyson Russell or Truedell Berry at the other. Hight is easily the most gifted corner on the roster, probably followed by Berry, but how ready are they? Corner isn’t just about ability, otherwise, you wouldn’t see future NFL first-rounders get burned so often as freshmen, but that’s part of it. I guess they could go Hight and Berry but I’d be surprised if they did, and it feels like Anderson at least offers some steadiness there.
10. Not sure where the kicking battle stands. Special teams coordinator Justin Lustig said it was a three-man competition and mentioned Jacob Borcilla, Will Farris and Brock Taylor as candidates.
