I went back and re-watched part of the spring game.
-While our OL definitely sucked, most of the worst offenders likely either wont' see the field or won't have to play that position. Pretty much every drive with Urquidez was a lost cause. Omenihu and Hager absolutely ate him up almost every time he was in. I know they wanted to try Kerstetter at C and move guys around but they made the offensive drives with him in there more or less pointless for the rest of the guys on the field. He was that bad. Imade didn't get flat out beat a ton, but he gave up way too much space in pass pro for a guy with his strength and missed some assignments in the run game. Okafor can't hold up on the edge. He gave up a sack or two and had a holding penalty. Urquidez and Imade almost definitely wont see the field, while Okafor will (fingers crossed) not have to take any snaps at OT this year. If we suffer any injuries at OT this year, it will get bad like last year.
-For some of the guys who will be starting, Vahe is the same guy as always, amazing on the move. Decent in zone running. Not great blocking a DT straight up, below average at straight pass blocking and you can beat him on a stunt or delayed blitz almost everytime (see the third gif in this post). Shack and Rodriguez are similar. They won't straight up blow an assignment but they won't execute it well, either. They don't get good push in the run game and can often get beat and they both get pushed back too far in pass pro. We need one of Hudson, Grandy, or Okafor to win the RG spot if we want to have much of a running game this year. Putting Rodriguez and Shack next to each other will mean we can't run to A or B gap on the right side much at all. Rodriguez is fine as depth all along the OL, but he shouldn't be starting.
-The drives where our OL most closely resembled a starting OL, they held up ok and Sam and Shane made some nice throws when they had time. Gives me a little bit of hope for the offense this year. Crazy how even average OL play makes the rest of the offense look way better. Sam especially made some really good throws, like the deep bomb to Duvernay and the post route to LJH near the north endzone.
He still had some bad reads where he missed open guys and that fumbled snap can't keep happening, but he is progressing. Sam also missed a couple easy throws. On one drive, he missed LJH down the sideline, Leitao open down the seam and an out to LJH. This is one example of a throw Sam absolutely has to make, no excuses:
-One play calling aspect I did like a lot was how much we motioned RBs in to the backfield. It can confuse the defense and give the threat of running to either side when we're in shotgun. Also, with guys like LJH, Duvernay, and Heard, you want the ball in their hands as much as possible.
-Shane doens't seem to be progressing much. He's good at outside routes where he can release the ball quick and not think, but he gets scared at the first sign of pressure and makes some really dumb throws. Both of his missed to Burt were utterly inexcusable. Burt was wide open. On the first one (16:16), Shane had a bit of pressure in his face but not so much that he should be excused from missing such an open throw. Also note Vahe getting beat on a delayed blitz. Fourth year, same guy.
On that drive, Shane completed lots of quick passes where he put the ball in exactly the right spot. You can still build an offense around Shane if he is your QB, but it's pretty limited and I don't trust Beck to stick to the stuff Shane can execute. Shane also did a good job of throwing jump balls to CJ when he was in 1 on 1 coverage, even if the DB was there, like at 27:15.
-While Wheeler did better, he's still going to get exposed in space by B12 offenses. He and Adeoye don't have the speed to cover RBs in space or track down fast QBs, like Murray or Robinson at TCU. I think the optimal B12 defense for this team will be a dime package with one true LB--Gary Johnson-- and a big safety. Not sure who the best bet for that would be, maybe Foster? Regardless, I think the D will be very solid, unless it gets some unfortunate injuries at spots where we're thin.
-BJ Foster just oozes potential. Insane to think he didn't even play S last year in HS. Him and Sterns are going to be really, really good. It's a shame we didn't get to see Sterns in this game.