Quick thoughts on the spring game

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BrentVU
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Quick thoughts on the spring game

Post by BrentVU »

Watched this one from the comfort of my living room... which is also where the TV commentators watched from (theirs, not mine). Vandy didn't make it easy on the commentators (who didn't seem especially familiar with the VU personnel anyway) or viewers by not putting numerals on jerseys. But here's what I saw in the 68-29 win for the White team (offense)...

Based on the order in which they entered the game, the QB pecking order coming in seemed to be (1) Seals, (2) Wright, and (3) Moussa. Seals was his usual self, accurate throws and well-composed, but the offense stalled a few times when he was in. Wright on the other hand looked like a star, hooking up twice with Will Sheppard for long TD's and Logan Kyle for another. He also had a couple of spectacular designed runs... if you didn't know, he has elite speed. Was Wright's performance enough to bring the heat on Seals? Remains to be seen, and Lea isn't going to say right now. But the coaches have to be excited about what he brings. Remember what Lane Kiffin did with his two QB's last year? Wouldn't be surprised if Raih and Lynch come up with something for Wright... he's too much of a talent not to be playing somewhere. And a tremendous young man too.

Will Sheppard was the big surprise at receiver, with three TD catches. He's icing on the cake with Vandy returning all three of its top receivers from last year (Johnson, Abdur-Rahman and Pierce). Pierce made some great moves after the catch. Gavin Schoenwald looks like he's ready to live up to his promise at TE. Sophomore Diego LaMonica could earn time at TE/FB.

And strange as it may sound, offensive line may actually be a point of strength next year, with opt-outs Clemens, Stewart and Bailey returning to a unit that was actually decent last year. Drew Birchmeier is back for his sixth season, which is huge. Ashmore and Steen are back; and there are at least four impressive-looking newcomers to the OL. There should be some serious competition for spots in the fall. It looks like sophomore Kevo Wesley might be in line to start at center.

The problem area on offense is going to be RB; with Javeon Marlow out hurt, ReMahn Davis and Rocko Griffin took most of the carries. But Vandy doesn't appear to have a true stud here; we will badly miss Keyon Henry-Brooks, who transferred out.

So what will the offense look like for next year? My guess is that it will be a lot more opened-up offense, with Vandy's experienced QB's and WR's. Note that Lea, the former FB at Vandy, did use a fullback in certain situations. But Lea said at halftime he was intentionally "holding back schematically" today, so it's still anyone's guess.

Now for the bad news. Remember how the defense has looked about two steps slow and out of position for the last two seasons? It still looks that way, only moreso. Remember, we had a parade of defensive players who left for the transfer portal as the season progressed last year. But the numerous explosive plays on offense exposed how thin Coach Minter's defense is likely to be, and the tackling was atrocious. In fairness, I couldn't really tell who was playing back there a lot of the time. One likely star is Michael Owusu, who is likely to replace Odeyingbo as VU's top pass rusher. Alex Williams, the Ohio State transfer, had a sack at DL.
Another guy who caught my eye is freshman enrollee Terion Sugick, who at 6-2, 305 looks the part at defensive tackle. I kept looking for Donovan Kaufman and Feleti Afemui, who are coming back from an injury and opt-out respectively; I never saw them and don't know if they played or not.

Jared Wheatley, recruited as a punter, may be ahead of Pierson Cooke right now for the placekicking job. But both were perfect on their kicks, including a 33-yard FG by Wheatley. There were no kickoffs; there was a punt, but without a punt team or return team.

The broadcast included interviews with Candice Storey-Lee and new WBB coach Shea Ralph. There was a good plug for Vandy United and the facilities plans.

One other interesting thing. In an interview yesterday, Coach Lea downplayed the possibility of bringing in new players in the offseason via the transfer portal. Why? He is "building a culture" where everyone starts from scratch and earns everything by hard work and discipline. To bring in a talented outsider and award him playing time might have a negative effect on the culture, he said. To me that seems a little unconventional, but he has a firm vision of what he wants to do and is sticking to it. He is in full control of every little detail, and getting buy-in from the whole corporation is what he is looking for. He can't fix everything immediately, but as we have seen, he is thinking long-term and big-picture.


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Re: Quick thoughts on the spring game

Post by VandyD »

I agree with most of what you said. The no numbers was terrible watching in person. I didn't even know it was Sheppard that had 3 tds until I looked on the forums.

Wright looks special will his skill set. It'll be interesting to see what the coaches prioritize in a starting QB. Seals arm is way more consistent but didn't have the splash plays as you pointed out. However, Wright had a couple of throws every now and again that just weren't close to accurate. I think his upside is way higher of the two if I'm being honest though.

The part I disagree with you on is running back. Davis stood out to me all day. He reminded me of MJD. Looks kind of short and stocky but bounced off tacklers all day. There were several times it looked like the defense had him down and he still pushed forward for a couple more yards. He might not be dynamic speedster (though on his long td didn't look slow) but he can be a Zac Stacy style RB for us this year for sure.

I'm thinking Wright and Sheppard worked a lot together on the 2nd team last year. They had obvious chemistry and the one td where Sheppard Moss'd the corner was beautiful. Although it was a badly thrown ball and against a good secondary that could have different results. RAR had a real nice go up and get it catch as well. While Pierce was throwing would be tacklers around like the Florida game last year. Cam was pretty quiet on the day but I think those 4 could be a really good core.

The defense.... needs a lot of improvement. They seemed better in the second half but it didn't matter who was QB the offense was driving the length of the field almost every time.
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Re: Quick thoughts on the spring game

Post by BrentVU »

Someone pointed out to me that Ken Seals was going against the No. 1 defense, while Wright was going mostly against the No. 2 defense, and there’s a big drop off in the secondary. Can’t prove it by me... I wasn’t watching that, and could barely tell who was playing on defense the whole day. But I will say that a couple of those throws Wright made were beautiful and right on the money, hitting the receiver perfectly in stride. I don’t think stats were being kept, but Wright must have had 300+ yards in all-purpose yardage.
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Re: Quick thoughts on the spring game

Post by VanUp »

One big difference seemed to be the play calling. The OC was not calling the plays this time (wife having a baby) and QB Coach Lynch called the shots. Looks like there was much more rhythm, balance and cohesion in the offense. The offense was never rushed to get the play off last they were in the previous scrimmage and saw Seals check out of several plays.

Seals 14 of 17 with 2 TDs against the #1s is a strong outing. Wright and Moussa looked much improved but they going against the #2 defense and in Wright's case the incoming early freshman in the secondary. The two drives Wright had in the second half against the #1 defense he was visibly frustrated and went 3 and out each drive.
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