-WR coach Lonnie Galloway said Gary Jennings, Jovon Durante and Ka’Raun White all continue to impress in practice but you can start to tell that the amount of time they are running is starting to catch up them a little bit. They have made plays but they all need to be more consistent. Right now it’s a case of making one good play and then several bad plays in a row. “Those three were good gets.”
-Asked specifically about Gary Jennings and Galloway said that he hasn’t had a freshman that has looked like he has physically during his tenure. He has trained well and has god-gifted ability to make plays on the football in the air. But like the others, mentally it’s still a hurdle getting used to the pace of play and everything that goes into being a wide receiver at the college level.
-Galloway is nowhere close to sorting out a rotation right now as first group guys go out and then second group guys will rotate in leaving a lot still on the table to see who will earn those spots. Still, Galloway said that he feels a lot more comfortable with the outside wide receivers than he did in the spring particularly because the young players have been challenging the veterans.
-Galloway still refuses to compare Ka’Raun to Kevin because it isn’t fair to him as a player, but he did say for his first time on campus compared to his brother that he is further along at this time.
-Jovon Durante is working strictly at outside wide receiver right now because they don’t want to confuse him and allow him to learn what needs to be done at that spot.
-OL coach Ron Crook said that he has the depth this year that he would like to use some rotations this fall. Now that will depend on how the backups develop but he intends to get some more bodies in the mix particularly to avoid the offensive line wearing down over the course of the season. “I feel like we’re going to be able to. We think we’re going to be in a position to be able to.”
-Crook doesn’t anticipate having any solid decisions made by the end of this week as he expects to continue to evaluate players until the start of the season. It’s about moving players around and finding the best five overall regardless of where those players are slotted.
-Crook echoed the thoughts of head coach Dana Holgorsen when he said that offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste was exposed a little bit to start camp with blitz recognition and protection calls, but he has since cleaned that up and has developed in that spot. He still has some things to work through but there is progress being made at that spot with Cajuste given the reps he is taking.
-CBs coach Brian Mitchell said that he has experience in his unit and it’s a great position to be in for him as a position coach. He has yet to make any determinations on which players will fill the six cornerbacks he wants to have available for the season. He has yet to install any nickel or dime packages yet and has yet to make any determinations on which players will fill those respected roles.
-DL coach Damon Cogdell said that the first team defensive line is pretty much set with Christian Brown, Kyle Rose and Noble Nwachukwu with Eric Kinsey pushing Brown for that spot. The second team unit right now is Kinsey, Darrien Howard and Larry Jefferson. Cogdell has also see a lot out of Jon Lewis this fall and he is very excited for his future in the program.
-Overall, Cogdell believes that he won’t have to depend on the younger kids and they will have the luxury of redshirting many of the younger players on the roster barring injuries.
-Codgell said that they teach the defensive line kids all of the positions so any of them could spell at any of the spots on the field to allow more flexibility and depth. A lot of the work is focused on technique and every drill that they do, they are all getting work at the different positions.
-RBs coach JaJuan Seider said that he has seen everything he wanted to see out of Rushel Shell and Wendell Smallwood this fall camp. In fact, he went as far to say that he would rest them the entirety of the camp if he could because they’ve been that good. “If I could put them on the shelf until the first game I would,” he said.
-Smallwood is trusting what he sees on the field. His first couple years he got in the hole too quick and didn’t see what he needed to do but right now he has patience and his speed is “through the roof,” according to Seider. When it comes to usage, Smallwood will see time in the slot and in the backfield but Seider wants to keep both of them on the field at the same time. “They shouldn’t be off the field unless they’re tired.”
-Seider said that they rotate the backs in order to keep them fresh because of what they ask the running backs to do on any given play. He isn’t sure how that will work out yet but will likely be decided by the game flow or the game plan.
-Seider spoke about Jovon Durante as he was the lead recruiter, said that you can’t get your hands on him because he’s so quick but he also is football smart. He has ran routes year-round throughout his high school career. Seider compared Gary Jennings to Shawn Foreman but Durante is somebody that is tough to find a comparison. “He’s special.”
-Seider said that each of them are mature, Ka’Raun White understands what he needs to do, Gary Jennings is incredibly smart and is attentive in all of the meetings while Jovon Durante is incredibly football smart with the athleticism to go with it.
-Joe DeForest and Mark Scott say the kickoff specialist competition is basically down to Nick O'Toole and Mike Molina. They said Josh Lambert did well, but since it's the hardest on a body, they'd rather not have their place kicker handle the kickoff duties too. O'Toole is more flexible than Lambert, so DeForest feels he can handle the kickoff role in addition to punting. As for Molina, Scott says, he maybe smaller, but he has as strong of a leg as both O'Toole and Lambert.
-Scott also says the team has a plan in place if KJ Dillon starts at either punt or kick returner. It's a lot of responsibility on Dillon if he has to handle returns in addition to playing every snap on defense. If Dillon were to win the job, Scott says they will chart the amount of snaps Dillon plays on defense and then decided whether or not have him return the punt.
-Scott says, Dillon, Jovon Durante, Gary Jennings and Jacky Marcellus have stood out to him in the different return phases of special teams.
-DeForest says he's really enjoyed working on special teams with Scott. DeForest feels Scott has a great grasp on all the different personnel.
-Ron Crook said he realized Yodny Cajuste could start at left tackle during the spring. Crook said there was an elevation in Cajuste's game when he bumped Cajuste to play with the ones about midway through spring. He said Cajuste had a recognition that he could earn the left tackle spot. Crook says he has the athleticism to do so.
-Since Cajuste didn't play a ton of high school football, Crook admitted he had to teach the expected starting left tackle a lot about playing on the offensive line at the college and how to read defenses. Crook says reading the defense as a left tackle isn't easy, but Cajuste has made major strides with doing so since he arrived on campus.
-Asked specifically about Gary Jennings and Galloway said that he hasn’t had a freshman that has looked like he has physically during his tenure. He has trained well and has god-gifted ability to make plays on the football in the air. But like the others, mentally it’s still a hurdle getting used to the pace of play and everything that goes into being a wide receiver at the college level.
-Galloway is nowhere close to sorting out a rotation right now as first group guys go out and then second group guys will rotate in leaving a lot still on the table to see who will earn those spots. Still, Galloway said that he feels a lot more comfortable with the outside wide receivers than he did in the spring particularly because the young players have been challenging the veterans.
-Galloway still refuses to compare Ka’Raun to Kevin because it isn’t fair to him as a player, but he did say for his first time on campus compared to his brother that he is further along at this time.
-Jovon Durante is working strictly at outside wide receiver right now because they don’t want to confuse him and allow him to learn what needs to be done at that spot.
-OL coach Ron Crook said that he has the depth this year that he would like to use some rotations this fall. Now that will depend on how the backups develop but he intends to get some more bodies in the mix particularly to avoid the offensive line wearing down over the course of the season. “I feel like we’re going to be able to. We think we’re going to be in a position to be able to.”
-Crook doesn’t anticipate having any solid decisions made by the end of this week as he expects to continue to evaluate players until the start of the season. It’s about moving players around and finding the best five overall regardless of where those players are slotted.
-Crook echoed the thoughts of head coach Dana Holgorsen when he said that offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste was exposed a little bit to start camp with blitz recognition and protection calls, but he has since cleaned that up and has developed in that spot. He still has some things to work through but there is progress being made at that spot with Cajuste given the reps he is taking.
-CBs coach Brian Mitchell said that he has experience in his unit and it’s a great position to be in for him as a position coach. He has yet to make any determinations on which players will fill the six cornerbacks he wants to have available for the season. He has yet to install any nickel or dime packages yet and has yet to make any determinations on which players will fill those respected roles.
-DL coach Damon Cogdell said that the first team defensive line is pretty much set with Christian Brown, Kyle Rose and Noble Nwachukwu with Eric Kinsey pushing Brown for that spot. The second team unit right now is Kinsey, Darrien Howard and Larry Jefferson. Cogdell has also see a lot out of Jon Lewis this fall and he is very excited for his future in the program.
-Overall, Cogdell believes that he won’t have to depend on the younger kids and they will have the luxury of redshirting many of the younger players on the roster barring injuries.
-Codgell said that they teach the defensive line kids all of the positions so any of them could spell at any of the spots on the field to allow more flexibility and depth. A lot of the work is focused on technique and every drill that they do, they are all getting work at the different positions.
-RBs coach JaJuan Seider said that he has seen everything he wanted to see out of Rushel Shell and Wendell Smallwood this fall camp. In fact, he went as far to say that he would rest them the entirety of the camp if he could because they’ve been that good. “If I could put them on the shelf until the first game I would,” he said.
-Smallwood is trusting what he sees on the field. His first couple years he got in the hole too quick and didn’t see what he needed to do but right now he has patience and his speed is “through the roof,” according to Seider. When it comes to usage, Smallwood will see time in the slot and in the backfield but Seider wants to keep both of them on the field at the same time. “They shouldn’t be off the field unless they’re tired.”
-Seider said that they rotate the backs in order to keep them fresh because of what they ask the running backs to do on any given play. He isn’t sure how that will work out yet but will likely be decided by the game flow or the game plan.
-Seider spoke about Jovon Durante as he was the lead recruiter, said that you can’t get your hands on him because he’s so quick but he also is football smart. He has ran routes year-round throughout his high school career. Seider compared Gary Jennings to Shawn Foreman but Durante is somebody that is tough to find a comparison. “He’s special.”
-Seider said that each of them are mature, Ka’Raun White understands what he needs to do, Gary Jennings is incredibly smart and is attentive in all of the meetings while Jovon Durante is incredibly football smart with the athleticism to go with it.
-Joe DeForest and Mark Scott say the kickoff specialist competition is basically down to Nick O'Toole and Mike Molina. They said Josh Lambert did well, but since it's the hardest on a body, they'd rather not have their place kicker handle the kickoff duties too. O'Toole is more flexible than Lambert, so DeForest feels he can handle the kickoff role in addition to punting. As for Molina, Scott says, he maybe smaller, but he has as strong of a leg as both O'Toole and Lambert.
-Scott also says the team has a plan in place if KJ Dillon starts at either punt or kick returner. It's a lot of responsibility on Dillon if he has to handle returns in addition to playing every snap on defense. If Dillon were to win the job, Scott says they will chart the amount of snaps Dillon plays on defense and then decided whether or not have him return the punt.
-Scott says, Dillon, Jovon Durante, Gary Jennings and Jacky Marcellus have stood out to him in the different return phases of special teams.
-DeForest says he's really enjoyed working on special teams with Scott. DeForest feels Scott has a great grasp on all the different personnel.
-Ron Crook said he realized Yodny Cajuste could start at left tackle during the spring. Crook said there was an elevation in Cajuste's game when he bumped Cajuste to play with the ones about midway through spring. He said Cajuste had a recognition that he could earn the left tackle spot. Crook says he has the athleticism to do so.
-Since Cajuste didn't play a ton of high school football, Crook admitted he had to teach the expected starting left tackle a lot about playing on the offensive line at the college and how to read defenses. Crook says reading the defense as a left tackle isn't easy, but Cajuste has made major strides with doing so since he arrived on campus.
