--Shell practice today but on Saturday they will be in the stadium with around 100 plays and then a mock game next Wednesday. They are prepping for the season and this week is a big prove it week. He talked to the team about it and this is the hardest and most physical week they will have this season. They need to see who they will count on and the newcomers that will play as well as who is stepping up. They need to find out who the go-to guys are going to be and who can they count on to play some man coverage or who they need to get the ball to on third down. Who are the leaders on the team? He wants to make it as hard as possible because that's when the leadership really steps up.
--Thought the defense started off well in the scrimmage. They started fast and the defensive line was much more effective Saturday. The linebackers played the run better and offensively it was a slow start but came out and finished it well. They put a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks trying to throw the football and they were efficient in the red zone. They weren't bad defensively in the red zone but they didn't create any takeaways. Brown felt they played on offense, inconsistent. The good was good but there were times they didn't look like a veteran outfit like they are. They weren't able to maintain the energy from the start. Right now on special teams it's hard to evaluate the unit, but he felt some guys made some strides. He felt the guys responded pretty well today, they went for 115-120 plays on Saturday but now the rest is tomorrow because they will put pads back on and go in the stadium.
--Brown said you have to put people in situations to create adversity. You try to do sudden change defensively and other things where they have to put guys in real situations and creating adversity when you don't have any. It's easier to do that when you have competition. Defensive line they feel really good, they could go seven or eight guys there. The best kind of ability is availability. This is a practice sport, you play 12 guaranteed games but you practice a lot. Linebacker we have five or six guys that are competing for two or three spots. Defensive back they have as many as they've had and they have the flexibility to play three linebackers or play dime and take one of the linebackers out. They can mix it up but they want to put the best players out there. They want to play the game with discipline in all three phases, strain and play smart football.
--TJ Jackson has been a great addition up front and he is fun to coach. Eddie Vesterinen has been active. Sean Martin had a better end of the week. Hammond Russell is making a move and played the best football he has played. Asani Redwood was the first day he was full go but they need Nate Gabriel, Elijah Kinsler and others to play supporting roles.
--Brandon Yates really pushed through after getting banged up and played every scrimmage rep, Xavier Bausley and Sully Weidman have really improved. Jaden Bray they got a lot of touches to and he's excited about him as a football player. The two freshmen running backs had a good day.
--Hudson Clement and Jaden Bray are working back at kickoff return. They feel better about the backend on special teams than they have in several years.
--Jaden Bray plays the game super hard and he is coachable. He ran 21 miles per hour on special teams the other day and he uses his body well on offense. He made a couple plays on offense when he went up and used his length.
--Rodney Gallagher may be our best man defender. He is going to play and they played him where he had to tear off blocks against the run on defense. Offensively, he had two really nice catch and runs in the scrimmage. He is looking more fluid as a wide receiver and they're putting a lot on him mentally.
--When you get to this point there is a lot of film, they're two-spotting everything and when you do that all guys and their trajectory and how they develop is different. They might have guys that aren't ready now that play physical positions but they might be ready in October or November so you want them to log quality reps that they can fall back on. There is a ton of video, which is good, and now that more individuals can coach you can split those meetings up to allow players to develop at their own pace. You don't want to see one side be dominant as coach, but it happens at times. When you start playing better football that's what it looks like when there are ebs and flows between the two units.
--Lot of times those things don't have to happen in meetings because they try to give really clear feedback every day. In their minds, college football is more like the NFL so they've adopted that mindset in fall camp treating a scrimmage like a preseason game. They aren't cutting anybody but they are building up who will play. And go over production and all other aspects to judge performance. By the time they get to Wednesday Aug. 21, there isn't a whole lot of grey area. This is what it looks like and that's where they're at. On the 22 positions, it's pretty clear who is playing but the way the game is played now not many players play every snap. What you have to be careful of as a coach your crutch is experience but hungry talent can overcome experience. You know what you got but maybe you have a younger player that is more talented so you have to look at the big picture.
--Brown said you have to trust your gut and do a good job creating pressure situations. Part of the evaluation process is how players handle pressure situations. Brandon Rehmann has a really good chance to play as a freshman and he's played in three state title games. They've been trying to put them in pressure situations the whole time.
--Trey Lathan is back practicing after missing a day and Anthony Wilson they are hoping he will be back out there this week. Jacolby Spells is ahead of schedule overall and it's really when he feels like he is at full strength.
--Kekoura Tarnue is making a move at CAT safety with Anthony Wilson sidelined, Jaheem Joseph can flip and play there, too. Aubrey Burks also can fill in there.
--There active roster on Sunday is 46 and for a wide receiver, the big contract guy isn't going to play on special teams but 3-6 they better be dudes on special teams. It's the same thing on defensive line 4-8 are playing on special teams so you educate them how they're going to fit.
--Brown said they've been practicing red zone defense a lot. They've played a ton of third and fourth downs inside the 15 and the thought is improvement through repetition.
--When you get bigger body guys in the red zone, those guys that have some characteristics that are unique and are big and strong they try to get them involved. Justin Robinson missed a couple plays down there Saturday but he also made a few.
--Thought the defense started off well in the scrimmage. They started fast and the defensive line was much more effective Saturday. The linebackers played the run better and offensively it was a slow start but came out and finished it well. They put a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks trying to throw the football and they were efficient in the red zone. They weren't bad defensively in the red zone but they didn't create any takeaways. Brown felt they played on offense, inconsistent. The good was good but there were times they didn't look like a veteran outfit like they are. They weren't able to maintain the energy from the start. Right now on special teams it's hard to evaluate the unit, but he felt some guys made some strides. He felt the guys responded pretty well today, they went for 115-120 plays on Saturday but now the rest is tomorrow because they will put pads back on and go in the stadium.
--Brown said you have to put people in situations to create adversity. You try to do sudden change defensively and other things where they have to put guys in real situations and creating adversity when you don't have any. It's easier to do that when you have competition. Defensive line they feel really good, they could go seven or eight guys there. The best kind of ability is availability. This is a practice sport, you play 12 guaranteed games but you practice a lot. Linebacker we have five or six guys that are competing for two or three spots. Defensive back they have as many as they've had and they have the flexibility to play three linebackers or play dime and take one of the linebackers out. They can mix it up but they want to put the best players out there. They want to play the game with discipline in all three phases, strain and play smart football.
--TJ Jackson has been a great addition up front and he is fun to coach. Eddie Vesterinen has been active. Sean Martin had a better end of the week. Hammond Russell is making a move and played the best football he has played. Asani Redwood was the first day he was full go but they need Nate Gabriel, Elijah Kinsler and others to play supporting roles.
--Brandon Yates really pushed through after getting banged up and played every scrimmage rep, Xavier Bausley and Sully Weidman have really improved. Jaden Bray they got a lot of touches to and he's excited about him as a football player. The two freshmen running backs had a good day.
--Hudson Clement and Jaden Bray are working back at kickoff return. They feel better about the backend on special teams than they have in several years.
--Jaden Bray plays the game super hard and he is coachable. He ran 21 miles per hour on special teams the other day and he uses his body well on offense. He made a couple plays on offense when he went up and used his length.
--Rodney Gallagher may be our best man defender. He is going to play and they played him where he had to tear off blocks against the run on defense. Offensively, he had two really nice catch and runs in the scrimmage. He is looking more fluid as a wide receiver and they're putting a lot on him mentally.
--When you get to this point there is a lot of film, they're two-spotting everything and when you do that all guys and their trajectory and how they develop is different. They might have guys that aren't ready now that play physical positions but they might be ready in October or November so you want them to log quality reps that they can fall back on. There is a ton of video, which is good, and now that more individuals can coach you can split those meetings up to allow players to develop at their own pace. You don't want to see one side be dominant as coach, but it happens at times. When you start playing better football that's what it looks like when there are ebs and flows between the two units.
--Lot of times those things don't have to happen in meetings because they try to give really clear feedback every day. In their minds, college football is more like the NFL so they've adopted that mindset in fall camp treating a scrimmage like a preseason game. They aren't cutting anybody but they are building up who will play. And go over production and all other aspects to judge performance. By the time they get to Wednesday Aug. 21, there isn't a whole lot of grey area. This is what it looks like and that's where they're at. On the 22 positions, it's pretty clear who is playing but the way the game is played now not many players play every snap. What you have to be careful of as a coach your crutch is experience but hungry talent can overcome experience. You know what you got but maybe you have a younger player that is more talented so you have to look at the big picture.
--Brown said you have to trust your gut and do a good job creating pressure situations. Part of the evaluation process is how players handle pressure situations. Brandon Rehmann has a really good chance to play as a freshman and he's played in three state title games. They've been trying to put them in pressure situations the whole time.
--Trey Lathan is back practicing after missing a day and Anthony Wilson they are hoping he will be back out there this week. Jacolby Spells is ahead of schedule overall and it's really when he feels like he is at full strength.
--Kekoura Tarnue is making a move at CAT safety with Anthony Wilson sidelined, Jaheem Joseph can flip and play there, too. Aubrey Burks also can fill in there.
--There active roster on Sunday is 46 and for a wide receiver, the big contract guy isn't going to play on special teams but 3-6 they better be dudes on special teams. It's the same thing on defensive line 4-8 are playing on special teams so you educate them how they're going to fit.
--Brown said they've been practicing red zone defense a lot. They've played a ton of third and fourth downs inside the 15 and the thought is improvement through repetition.
--When you get bigger body guys in the red zone, those guys that have some characteristics that are unique and are big and strong they try to get them involved. Justin Robinson missed a couple plays down there Saturday but he also made a few.
