Fall Camp Review: Practice #19


The Jackrabbits moved practice indoors on Wednesday because of the rainy weather.  After walking through the sheets of rain to get from the parking lot to the SJAC, it really makes me appreciate how awesome that facility is for South Dakota State University.  I was amazed that the team was still able to spread out and got through their position group drills.  They may not have had as much room as they do in the stadium, but they certainly had enough to get the work done.

Here are a few thoughts on practice...

1. The team was working on onside kicks as both the kicking and receiving team.  It's amazing what kickers can do to get the ball to hop and bounce funny.  For the most part, the receiving team members did a good job of handling the crazy hops with only a few slipping through and getting  loose on the turf.

2. It seems like the rest of the team is getting healthy as most position groups were at, or near, full-strength.  However, that isn't the case for the linebacker position group.  They are dinged up right now.  I previously shared that Kyle Tuttle has been lost for the season but the Jacks are also currently without Jessup Workman, Preston Tetzlaff, and Levi Brown.  Thomas Hopp has been moved back to linebacker from fullback to help fill the void.

3. Watching the cornerbacks go through the press-coverage progressions was fun to see.  They are such an athletic group and Coach Jackson broke down the technique in such tiny portions; where the weight should be shifted and where the eyes should be were interesting details to hear.

4. In a fun drill, the running backs and full backs went 1 on 1 against an oncoming blitzing linebacker.  There were two linebackers, running backs coach, John Johnson, would point at which linebacker would blitz and the running back would have to adjust to the rusher and protect the quarterback (Johnson) from the on-coming rusher.  For the most part, the running backs owned this drill.  Maybe the most impressive showing was from true freshman Pierre Strong he won three consecutive rounds.  On his last rep he completely stonewalled the hard charging Dalton Cox who had blitzed right up the middle.  It was a great showing by the young back and it certainly pumped up the rest of his position group.

5. One of the things that is underrated in Jake Wieneke's game is his willingness to block for other receivers and running backs.  Coach Arnheim ran the entire position group through blocking drills.  It was great to see them working hard at this.  Last year the Jacks had a huge amount of yards after the catch (YAC) and downfield blocking was a big reason why.

6. A consistent trend across the team is that the freshmen are starting to "get it."  They are catching on to the drills, they are playing faster, they know where they are supposed to be and how they need to perform.  There were a number of examples that stood out to me yesterday.  The most humorous is from freshman cornerback, Malik Lofton.  During a 7 on 7 drill, cornerbacks coach, Dan Jackson, was coaching Lofton on his alignment and making sure he was making the right adjustments to the pre-snap read.  Lofton, in a confident but not cocky way said, "Coach, I know, I got it." This caused the rest of the cornerback group to laugh.

7.  For the second time in three practices, All-American linebacker Christian Rozeboom had a pick six in 7 on 7 drills.  He has great hands for a defender and just has a nose for the football. There were also a few other near interceptions and one forced fumble and recovery for the defense.

8. Maybe I have been underselling it but the defense has been playing really really well.  At Saturday's scrimmage, they only allowed one touchdown and four field goals.  They are forcing turnovers, getting sacks, and just making receivers uncomfortable.  I would be concerned about our offense, but we know they are good.  Right now the timing might just be slightly off but a lot of that can be credited to the defense's excellent effort.


9. One drill that had the quarterbacks a bit flustered was rolling to the left and throwing to a receiver who was also running left.  The whole quarterback room is right handed so this was certainly a challenge as a few balls skipped to the turf or went flying over the head of grad coach Lujan.  By the end of the drill they were all consistently competing the pass though.  I suppose that's why you practice those things.
  
10.  The Jackrabbits extended an offer to 2018 recruit, Michael Littleton Jr. from Derby, Kansas.  Littleton projects as a tight end in college.


Go Jacks!
-Matt

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