First Fall Scrimmage Adds Layer to Evaluation Process
8/10/2022 2:51:00 PM | Football
Norvell gets look at a host of players new to program
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Just like every other day, Wednesday was about evaluation. Different than every other day in camp so far, this was a scrimmage.
The pads were on. It was full speed and full contact. Colorado State football coach Jay Norvell wanted to test his players because eventually they will play games. At that time, he and his staff have to know what they have and who can be counted upon. Who lines up right and knows their assignments. Who will rise to the occasion.
"We have a lot of players we haven't seen live very much. So, we wanted to see them," Norvell said after the Rams ran through roughly 110 plays on a hot day, about 30 snaps more than what he anticipated. "They've done a lot of things in practice pretty well, but it's like (facing) Mike Tyson -- everybody has a plan until they get hit. We found some things out about some guys and in really competitive situations. We have a lot of decisions to make at our skill positions. We have a lot of young players who are really talented, and a lot of kids did some good things today. We have a lot of decisions to make before we solidify our top units."
There were some really good plays throughout, but with officials on the field, there were too many penalties for Norvell's liking. They can clean that up. Some young guys made some really good plays, starting with a one-handed grab in tight coverage in the end zone by freshman wideout Justus Ross-Simmons.
Good or bad, there will not be an overaction either way, but when it was good, it does provide some confidence for a player or unit moving forward. Such is the case for the defense, which put some pressure on the quarterbacks all day.
"We had a good day defensively. We did a lot of good things on film, executed," nickelback Tywan Francis said. "We can't be complacent. We made some mistakes on film, so we've just got to go in and correct them."
The days started with the offense taking snaps on the 1-yard line, looking at a long field. It was a test to put them in rough field position to start. After two days of the offense playing well in practice, quarterback Clay Millen said the defense did get a bit of payback, but even that can be good for the offense. A few struggles weren't going to deter what he's seen build up so far, saying the offense is feeling like a real group to him. The day also gave them a chance to test some new things they've been working on, which gives them a better idea of what to continue to rep and what possibly to move forward without.
"It was good to be out there and be in a live scrimmage. The last time we've had that was the spring game, so I would say at practice every day, we try to take away what we did and put it into the scrimmage," Millen said. "I thought we had some good stuff today, I thought we had some stuff we need to obviously work on."
The scrimmage was also the first step toward determining how depth is developing for the roster. Again, there are 59 new players to the program and as Novell noted, they've coached a few of them but none of them have all played together. Not in any position group, let alone an entire unit. As the season progresses, a good number of them will be called upon.
"I think it's going to be a work in progress throughout the season," Norvell said. "We're going to start playing games here in about three weeks, so we've got to find out as much as we can before then, and even once we start, games are different than scrimmages. We'll find out a lot about players in games, too. We'll be a work in progress. We're trying to stretch them as far as we can to find out what we have before we start playing with live bullets."
They'll need them, and because of what happened Thursday, some changes are likely take place on the depth chart. And next week, when the Rams scrimmage again the second time, more changes will be forthcoming. The players sense some developing, but it's an ever-changing process with no expiration date.
"I do see the depth starting to develop, but you know, it can change at any moment in time at any given point of the season," receiver Ty McCullouch said. "Last year I wasn't starting until game four, but one guy goes out and another pops up and we all have to be ready. That's why we're so deep at receiver right now."
Thursday was nothing more than the first step. Next week's scrimmage will answer even more questions, and the two weeks which follow will start to gear more toward the polishing the performance of the upper levels of the depth chart as game preparation starts to take shape.
Full pads or not, evaluation is a continuing process, especially for a team swimming in so much new.
The pads were on. It was full speed and full contact. Colorado State football coach Jay Norvell wanted to test his players because eventually they will play games. At that time, he and his staff have to know what they have and who can be counted upon. Who lines up right and knows their assignments. Who will rise to the occasion.
"We have a lot of players we haven't seen live very much. So, we wanted to see them," Norvell said after the Rams ran through roughly 110 plays on a hot day, about 30 snaps more than what he anticipated. "They've done a lot of things in practice pretty well, but it's like (facing) Mike Tyson -- everybody has a plan until they get hit. We found some things out about some guys and in really competitive situations. We have a lot of decisions to make at our skill positions. We have a lot of young players who are really talented, and a lot of kids did some good things today. We have a lot of decisions to make before we solidify our top units."
There were some really good plays throughout, but with officials on the field, there were too many penalties for Norvell's liking. They can clean that up. Some young guys made some really good plays, starting with a one-handed grab in tight coverage in the end zone by freshman wideout Justus Ross-Simmons.
Good or bad, there will not be an overaction either way, but when it was good, it does provide some confidence for a player or unit moving forward. Such is the case for the defense, which put some pressure on the quarterbacks all day.
"We had a good day defensively. We did a lot of good things on film, executed," nickelback Tywan Francis said. "We can't be complacent. We made some mistakes on film, so we've just got to go in and correct them."
The days started with the offense taking snaps on the 1-yard line, looking at a long field. It was a test to put them in rough field position to start. After two days of the offense playing well in practice, quarterback Clay Millen said the defense did get a bit of payback, but even that can be good for the offense. A few struggles weren't going to deter what he's seen build up so far, saying the offense is feeling like a real group to him. The day also gave them a chance to test some new things they've been working on, which gives them a better idea of what to continue to rep and what possibly to move forward without.
"It was good to be out there and be in a live scrimmage. The last time we've had that was the spring game, so I would say at practice every day, we try to take away what we did and put it into the scrimmage," Millen said. "I thought we had some good stuff today, I thought we had some stuff we need to obviously work on."
The scrimmage was also the first step toward determining how depth is developing for the roster. Again, there are 59 new players to the program and as Novell noted, they've coached a few of them but none of them have all played together. Not in any position group, let alone an entire unit. As the season progresses, a good number of them will be called upon.
"I think it's going to be a work in progress throughout the season," Norvell said. "We're going to start playing games here in about three weeks, so we've got to find out as much as we can before then, and even once we start, games are different than scrimmages. We'll find out a lot about players in games, too. We'll be a work in progress. We're trying to stretch them as far as we can to find out what we have before we start playing with live bullets."
They'll need them, and because of what happened Thursday, some changes are likely take place on the depth chart. And next week, when the Rams scrimmage again the second time, more changes will be forthcoming. The players sense some developing, but it's an ever-changing process with no expiration date.
"I do see the depth starting to develop, but you know, it can change at any moment in time at any given point of the season," receiver Ty McCullouch said. "Last year I wasn't starting until game four, but one guy goes out and another pops up and we all have to be ready. That's why we're so deep at receiver right now."
Thursday was nothing more than the first step. Next week's scrimmage will answer even more questions, and the two weeks which follow will start to gear more toward the polishing the performance of the upper levels of the depth chart as game preparation starts to take shape.
Full pads or not, evaluation is a continuing process, especially for a team swimming in so much new.