I went to the coaching thing or whatever, here is what I saw

[steve dave]

DT - This group was my most pleasant suprise of the weekend.  I probably spent the most time watching them.  I think OL is the most important part of any team, but because we know what we have their I spent most of my time watching the DL, the unit I feel is the most important on the defense.

When Mo Lattimore was doing drills for the coaches he made the statement that he was going to be a really good coach this year.  I took that to mean his players are going to make him look good.  He did talk about how young the group was, but that they were just going to have to step up and be ready.

Mo said that he had two more Juco guys comming in.  Who else is coming besides Brown?  I couldn't remember.


Reed and Britz were with the ones.

Britz is a stud.  Kid is going to be really, really good for us over the next three years.  He will just countinue to get better and better. 

Reed - He has really come a long way.  Eats up space and clogs things up.  He occupies blockers which can really make your linebackers look good.  He is not flashy and won't post a lot of stats, but he will do his job.

Seiwert - he has some quckness on the inside.  Plays with good pad level.  He could be disruptive.  Hopefully he can continue to add good weight. 

Gates- I remember last year at the clinic I posted that I thought this kid had something.  He was a walkon, but there was just something I liked about his ability.  Then later it was reported he was moving to OL and I really started doubting my evaluation.  Gates was flat out the most impressive player I saw this weekend.  He was dominating our interior OL in the one-on-one and two-on-two drills.  He is really big at 6-3 316 and he moves really well.  I think he could add upper body strength and be even better.  I really like his attitude, intelligence, coachability, and enthusiasm.  Gates and Hood both stood out as guys that were out there having fun.

Demonte Hood - I think he could be really good.  He needs to learn to use his hands better.  He is listed at 6-0 303.  That seemed about right.  Kid is powerful and stocky.  I feel he has tremendous potential.  I used to coach near his high school (Bowie, Arlington, TX) so I chatted him up a little bit.  He seemed really excited for this year.  He seemed confident and said he was gonna be out there making plays this season.  Asked me my name and shook my hand.  Seemed like a good guy. 

I think all five of these guys can play.  Add in two Jucos and I feel a lot better about this group than I did entering last season.

[steve dave]

1st Team

DE Laton Dowling
DT Chaquil Reed
DT Travis Britz
DE ryan Mueller

LB Jonathan Truman
LB Blake Slaughter
LB Mike Moore

CB Dorrian Roberts
CB Kip Daily

S Ty Zimmerman
S Dante Barnett

Randle Evans (nickle) came in for Mike Moore a lot. Probably played more snaps as they they worked on the passing game quite a bit more than the running game.

2nd Team 

DE Devon Nash
DT Matt Seiwert
DT Xavier Gates
DE Marquel Bryant

LB David Smith
LB Will Davis
LB Mike Moore

CB Morgan Burns
CB Carl Miles Jr.

S Travis Green
S Dylan Schellenberg

DB Jonathan Coleman also played quite a bit with this group

[steve dave]

I must start by saying that Coach Dickey is an amazing coach.  We need to do whatever it takes to keep him here a long, long time.  He is such a good teacher and makes things so easy for players to understand.  He drills them so relentlessly that they don't even have to think, their bodies just react when they see what the defense does.  When coach Cox introduced Dickey, he called him the greates offensive line coach he has ever seen.  I didn't take it as Cox trying to flatter him, I thought it was a completely sincere statement.

OL - Probably our best unit.  This group is talented, big, mobile, and deep.  Even without Lucas participating this group looked really good.

Whitehair is the best of them all in my oppinion.  He is fun to watch.  He is so sound fundamentally and just powerful.  I would imagine when Lucas is healthy that Whitehair will slide back to RG and bump Keenan Taylor off the ones.

Taylor to me is a little stiff at times.  When he jogs it looks painful.  I can't imagine what being that big woudl do to your body.  I feel great that if someone goes down you can bring in Taylor and slide Whitehair to the other gaurd or either tackle spot. 

Finney is really good.  Coaches talked about how smart he is and how good he is at seeing pre snap blitzes and making late calls for blitz pickups.

Stiverson - not as athletic as Whitehair, but he is so physical.  Our interior OL is going to be really good for a long time.

Rooks-  I think last year at this time he was listed at 270.  He is listed at 280 now.  I sure hope he keeps adding weight.  Is ten more pounds too much to ask?  I remember last year being shocked at how lean his upper body was.  He does look a little thicker, but still smaller than ideal.  I thought he played really well at the start of last season.  It seemed he wore down towards the end of the year.  Hopefully he will be mroe acclamated this season. 

I really feel good about all of the backups:  William Cooper, Will Ash, Aderius Epps, Drew Liddle, Thomasi Mariner, Matt Kleinsorge.

Ash and Epps particularyly looked good to me.  They both look like they could squat a house.  Just so thick in the lower body.  After Lucas is gone it wouldn't suprise me for one of them to start next year and slide Whitehair to tackle. 

With the fresmen coming in and the early interest we are getting for the next class, I feel very confident in the OL.

[steve dave]

Sean Snyder shared that KSU was #2 in the nation in special teams as a collective group behind Boston College.  Said they were #1 most of the year.

Most amazing stat I heard all weekend:  KSU only gave up 17 yards on punt returns last season.  Sean talked a lot about their spread punt formation and how they get good realeases.  Wants a punter that punt the ball 42 yards with a 4.2 second hang time.  That way they hardly ever get returns against them.

Punt returner - Thompson/Lockett - Both are obviously great

Long Snapper Marcus Heit - Looked really good

Punter - Ethan Hammes - RS Junior out of Butler CC  and Seneca, KS- thought he looked really solid.  Good hang time with decent distance.  Takes short steps.  Looks to fit the mold of what Snyder wants in a punter

Field Goal Kickers- Not overly impressed.  Hard to say who looked the best but I guess I would say Jack Cantele.  Honestly I didn't watch them enough to really make a qualifed evaluation.

Kickoffs - Appeared to be Ian Patterson

[steve dave]

Once again the the KSU coaching clinic was amazing.  Great experience as both a coach and a fan.  I plan on posting my detailed opinions about what I saw.  I'm exhausted so I will just post what I saw as the #1 offense.  I will comment further tomorrow. 

TE  Andre McDonald
LT  Cody Whitehair  (Lucas didn't participate in any drill of any kind.  I did happen to see him in the rehab area riding a stationary bike.  No idea why.)
LG Keenan Taylor
C B.J. Finney
RG Boston Stiverson
RT  Tavon Rooks

WR Tremaine Thompson
WR Tyler Lockett
WR Stanton Weber/Torell Miller - they split time with the ones  (Sexton was also in the rehab area working his left arm/shoulder/collarbone)

RB Robert Rose - Hubert did not participate in any drills and I did not see him anywhere.  Probably doing some minor rehab.

FB - Gronkowski

QB Waters - Sams took reps with the ones, but Waters always took the first snaps with the ones.

[steve dave]

I posted the offense ones last night.  Here is what I saw running with the twos.

TE Cody Small  ( I didn't see Trujillo on the field and there was a tall somewhat hispanic guy in the rehab center on a bike next to Lucas.  Not positive it was Trujillo, but could have been).  Cody had a small cast on his left hand.  Andre Jackson also played some TE with the twos.

LT William Cooper
LG  Will Ash
C Drew Liddle
RG  Tomasi Mariner/Aderius Epps
RT Matt Kleinsorge

WR Stephen Johnson
WR Kyle Klein
WR Dante Barnett

RB  Jarvis Leverett
QB Daniel Sams
FB Z?ach Nemechek

[kim carnes]

I think there is some great potential for this to be the worst defense in the last 20 yrs. 

[steve dave]

I'm glad we play so many spread teams so we will only need two LB on the field most of the time.   Coaches several times talked about how much they wished we still had Arthur Brown.  I think missing on Spaight was huge. 

Jonathan Truman - I really like him.  He is just chisled and looks a lot bigger than last year.He looks bigger than 219 to me.  He plays downhill and fast. He is good in coverage and a player that can play every snap for us.

Tre Walker - He partcipated in all non-contact drills including many that required lateral agility.  I thought he looked fine.  If we had a big game at the end of this month he would be ready to play.  He will surely be a starter for us.  One thing I thought I saw was him linning up at middle linebacker a few plays.  I caught the tail end of it.  Their were different groups working all over the field, but when I turned my attention to the defense I swear I saw him lined up there.  Interesting, but maybe nothing.

Slaughter - Back in the pre Arthur Brown days I never liked Slaughter's play at mlb.  There were a lot of plays that he made the tackle from the side and the guy fell forward for a seven yard gain. It seemed if he had been a step faster he could have squared up on the ball carrier and it would have been a 3 yard gain.  I don't know that I learned a lot about Slaughter's speed yesterday.  It does appear he is firmly in the #1 spot at mlb.  I did notice several times that he was embracing a leadership role.  Getting on guys for not finishing the drill etc...  Who knows maybe he will have improved a lot.  The last time we saw him play much he was a true sophomore.  Now he will be a redshirt senior.  The thing I'm hoping is not just that he has gotten faster, but that the game has slowed down. For a lb making quicker reads makes you faster.  Eliminating false steps makes you faster.  Being confident makes you faster.  Hopefully with two more years of experience these things will happen for Slaughter and he will be a good player.

Will Davis - There's something I like about him. Not the most athletic kid in the world.  I think he starts for us someday.  Just seems like a football player.  He just seemd to be all over the place making tackles.  You can tell the coaches like his intangibles.

Mike Moore - Just dissapointed this kid hasn't added more muscle.  Listed at 217.  His upper body looks like he has never lifted weights in his life.  He does look good when he runs.  He can fly around the field.  I think he plays some OLB this year for us. 

Aaron Norris - I don't believe he is 6'0.  Probably closer to 5'9.  Didn't watch him a lot.

David Smith - I didn't know much about him.  He did get some pt with the twos.  Good looking athlete.  Decent size. 

Tate Snyder - Does not stand out at all.  I don't think he ever plays except for special teams.

Hopefully Johnson come in ready to add depth.  I wouldn't be suprised if we still add someone to this group.

Several KC area coaches I talked to are really high on Nick Rameriz.

[steve dave]

DE. This group did not wow me.  We are going to really miss Meshak coming off the edge and bringing pressure.  We have some solid players in this unit, but I don't see anyone that looks like they will be first team all-league someday.

Dowling and Mueller are both solid players.  They both work hard, fight, play with good fundamentals, etc... I think the coaches love them for those qualities. I just worry that we don't have much suddeness or explosiveness here.

Nash - I was really hoping he would be the savior of this group, but I didn't see it this weekend.  Maybe he is still thinking too much, but he did not really stand out to me.  He has a nice solid frame and looks like he is athlectic, but not necessarily explosive off the edge.  Don't get me wrong, he will play and maybe even start for us.  I just don't see him being a star.

Logan Haug - He looked very similar in build to Nash.  He is a good looking athlete that will probably play for us someday, but I don't think he will play a lot this year. 

Marquel Bryant - He is the one player we have at DE that has some serious speed off the edge.  It shows up at times. Problem is he is still listed at 241.  I think we bring him in on passing situations and he gets a decent rush.  I just think he is not physical enough to be an every down player.

Aluana Finau - Another good, solid player.  Finau will see time on the field.  Again though he is not tremendously athletic or explosive.

Taylor Goodinet - Has some athleticism, but has a long ways to go to be ready fundementally.  I don't think he plays this year.

If we could land a late, quality Juco for this position it would help.

I actually feel really good about our DL from a run perspective.  I also think we might get good pass rush push on the inside which will make things uncomfortable for QBs.  I just wish we had one stud pass rusher to bring off the edge.

[AppleJack]

steve dave (how are you?), if you had to predict how many awesome plays our defense will have this year, what number would you say?

[steve dave]

Maybe, like, 43

[bubbles4ksu]

Thanks for your time, sd. Good stuff as usual.

[steve dave]

yw bubs

[EllToPay]

Thanks, sd. Always look forward to your analysis.

[ChiComCat]

Good to hear.  I just picture Zimmerman/Walker frustrated as crap all the time because everyone screws up around them.  I hope this isn't the case.

[steve dave]

CB. Biggest suprise for me was Dorrian Roberts.  A little undersized at 5-10 168.  I watched him a lot because he was lined up on the side of the field nearest me.  He was usually in coverage on Lockett or Thompson and I thought he played great.  He did come up once and miss a jam on Lockett, but showed nice recovery and was able to disrupt the catch on a slightly underthrown ball.  He was beat.  Immediatly after the play Coach Hayes had a conversation with him and showed him what he did wrong with the jam.  I think Roberts will be a good one.

Kip Daily - Saw time last season.  Not a great player, but solid. Has good length.  Third year player out of Blinn.  I think he will do a good job for us. 

Burns - Has speed and I thought did a great job with the twos.  Didn't watch him a whole lot.

Carl Miles Jr.  - I thought he looked like a prototype corner.  Good length, good size, ran well.  Transfer from Georgia Tech.  Did he play last year?  I don't remember him.  I don't get to watch and rewatch many of our games becasue I'm so busy with my own team during the season.  I think he will play a lot for us.  Good looking athlete.

Randall Evans - 6'0 190  Good looking player.  I thought he was really underated last season.  He is just a really good player for us.  I'm excited that he still has two years for us.

Jonathan Coleman 6-1 205 So Mesquite, TX  - Kid played with the two some.  Wow, this kid looks the part.  Big, long, athletic.  I think he gets on the field this year.  Probably the best looking athlete of the group.

Nate Jackson - Didn't stand out at all.  Didn't get a lot of reps with the twos.  Has good size.  Wouldn't be suprised to see him redshirt if he has one.  Nothing against him, but we have some real quality corners in this group.

I feel really good about our corners.  Lost two good ones, but we have some good depth.  I think Coach Hayes is the real deal.  You look at his resume and it is pretty amazing that we have him here.  He has developed so many NFL players over his career.

[steve dave]

S. Ty Zimmerman - Stud, Stud, Stud.  Great to have his experience and leadership.  He gets everyone lined up in the secondary.  Didn't just miss his ability against Baylor, but more importantly he is the QB of the defense.

Dante Barnett - Sophomore this year.  The coaches really believe in this kid.  I hope he plays iwth more confidence.  He has the tools for sure.

Travis Green- I really liked his size.  I think he plays this year.  Good looking athlete.  Started with the twos

Dylan Schellenberg - Didn't know much about him.  I thought he played well.  Looked very comfortable out there.  I guess he was a redshirt last year?  Listed as a redshirt junior from Blinn.

Just now I looked over the roster for DB I may be overlooking and I noticed Kent Gainous.  I don't think I ever saw him on the field, but I forgot to look for him.  I know he didn't line up with the ones or twos but I don't remeber seeing him anywhere.  Did anyone else see him?  He could have been rehabing.   If you add him to the four listed above I feel realy good about our safeties.

I feel like our safeties and corners are going to be a strength.  Overall on defense I feel like every unit has solid starters and decent depth.  I would just be happier with a playmaker at DE and LB

[steve dave]

I may have some more HFBIQ analysis coming and I may not. I haven't decided yet. Stay tuned in case I decide to though.

[Tobias]

love your reviews steve, good luck with your team this year

[steve dave]

I was talking to three members of a small college coaching staff.  They had been at the KU coaching clinic the week before.  At the KU clinic they also watched two practices.  The head coach of this staff made the comment that he couldn't believe the difference in the practice enviornement.

He said at KSU everything was more oraganized and more uptempo.  No one is ever standing around at the KSU practices. He said that every drill KSU does is done at such a faster rate that the players get twice the reps they get at KU.  He said at KSU the managers all have drills set up from one drill to the next so that players finish one and run to the next and get started.  No downtime ever.  He said the Kstate coaches pay so much more attention to all the fundamental details.  They don't let players get away with imperfection.  The coach was blown away by the difference in intensity, focus, and tempo.  It was really interesting listening to an experienced coach compare the two programs. 

[yoga-like_abana]

sounds like sean is doing a great job, should be a flawless transition

[ChiComCat]

Thanks SD, I appreciate the time and effort these take.

[steve dave]

Thanks SD, I appreciate the time and effort these take.

yw

[ednksu]

SD is smashing it out of the park today.  Nice write ups.

[oodfan]

Thanks SD, I appreciate the time and effort these take.

...AND for putting all this valuable information in one tidy thread!