Saturday's Scrimmage - Teq's Thoughts
I'm going to keep it as brief as I can as I know that there are other reporting out there so no need to duplicate their efforts.
The defense could turn out to be better than I think most are expecting. Last year, Washington was 32nd in SRS Defense (which seems high to me upon reflection). I could see this unit being a Top 20 unit quite easily …
Davis and Prysock are going to be issues for the balance of opponent WRs that we play. Last season UW gave up 167 yards per game through the air (2nd nationally). A repeat performance is definitely possible. I think it's fair to question the quality of the S play but from what I saw it looked like it should be ok. There's some talented freshman in the secondary with Robinson and Dillard-Allen. Robinson likely gets some backup and depth snaps this year because of Davis/Prysock but he looks the part. Dillard-Allen still likely needs to bulk up a bit more to be a full-time starter but you can tell that he's a playmaker and it wouldn't shock me to see him flash significantly the 2nd half of the schedule. What I saw was a group that was around the ball and should be positioned to help drive a shift in the turnover margin.
I wasn't paying a ton of attention to the LBs from a run game perspective given the nature of the practice but what I saw in the passing game was a group with a lot of ability to drop into coverage and in particular to cover routes behind the LB lines and in front of the S. The big talk track to me here is that there's some LBs coming back from ACLs that hopefully will be able to add depth and quality over the back half the schedule. I do question how much depth we have overall at LB but I don't think it's in any way in a more dire position versus last year.
The DL was what I was largely most interested in and it didn't disappoint. What I saw was a unit that was deep and able to get into the backfield fairly consistently. When you combine this with the secondary offering the opportunity to have some very aggressive play calling there's some upside here. Durfee looks like he can be a difference maker on the EDGE but health will obviously be a huge concern … overall the EDGE is probably the bigger question mark. That said the overall depth on the DL is a MASSIVE uptick versus last season and one that we should all be excited about.
I didn't view the OL per se as a struggling unit despite some obvious wins by the DL. The OL created some decent creases in the run game and some opportunities for the QBs to take some downfield shots. It's not surprising to see the OL (particularly a younger one) have more success in run blocking vs pass blocking. The strength of this offense will start with establishing a run game and playing off that.
Speaking of the run game, Coleman looks like a bowling ball of muscle … wouldn't want to tackle that dude. That said, Adam Mohammad looks very physical as the RB2 and is someone that I could absolutely see taking a giant step forward this year. I'll be interested in seeing if another RB really takes a step forward this year in terms of earning snaps … from what I saw nothing flashed at me to suggest that securing Bonner as a massive recruiting win wasn't necessary.
What I saw with Demond was someone that is very actively working to throw from the pocket. In a setting like this you're not really going to get the full "experience" of Demond as a QB getting outside of the pocket or running. The flashes are there and it's not hard to see him rising towards the top of the conference QB ranking sooner than later. Practicing against the CBs that he is is also only going to make him better. That said, it's still important to remember that he's still a young QB and there will be young QB moments.
The WRs were the WRs and in particular the young guys are only going to get better going against the DBs. One thing that I do want to call out was the usage of Kade Eldrige as a HB/TE … at USC he was largely used as a blocker but I saw him getting used in a few different ways and showed some very solid athleticism to be a potentially valuable bit piece in the offense. Don't be surprised when he shows up in an impactful way.
Lastly, until they prove otherwise, special teams needs to get better. It's really hard to tell in a setting like that so it will have to be on the field. But yeah … it's still a concern.
Comments
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I’ll wait till Colorado State and UCD before I panic about the offense and team in general. I said on the pod feel like last year in hindsight our issues were already clear against Weber State. The offense was stagnant and had to resort to a gadget play to DeGraaf to get their first score. Feel like the defense couldn’t stop the run and got bailed out because Weber’s QB couldn’t pass or we could have been in trouble. Against Eastern Michigan we got helped by timely turnovers and converting fourth downs.
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It's important to keep this in mind with the offense …
We're 5 weeks away from playing at the Coug (1st road games are always a tad interesting) and 6 weeks away from playing Ohio St
There's a lot of room and time for the offense to continue to grow and develop … particularly on the OL flushing itself out
I'm sure that there will be some gadgets thrown out early just to get it on film as well as a lot of vanilla stuff
What I'd want to see in our 1st 2 games out of the offense …
- Solid running game - get 200+ yards in those games
- Efficient passing game with someone other than Boston and DeGraaf ascending as a legit target weapon
- Limit turnovers … be sharp
- Keep Demond clean … no big busts from the OL
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We're going to be super vanilla before Ohio State.
A lot has been made of WSU but Jedd has already crushed them with his Arizona team in Pullman before. That's not some big game to them. It's probably a game you see a ton of Muhammed and Washington in and it's a boring 13-17 point win.
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quooks on twitter running with Demond’s poor stat line are delusional. The kid is really good and like you said a scrimmage format is tough for mobile QBs. Hes going to be a beast this year as long as he stays healthy.
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Good thing you kept it brief.
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I want fucking blood
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Swap him for Dante Moore and it’s a completely different conversation for each team.
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I hope Jedd is willing to lean on Jonah when it’s needed this year. He’s so fucking good.
Mohammad looks promising but hasn’t proven anything. We’ve had many good looking “waiting in the wings” backs who never proved to be bell cows. Deonte “Dry Eye” Cooper, Jesse Callier, DWash, Rich Newt, etc. Good switch up guys, but not dependable studs.Last year, Jedd played the long game by limiting Demond and Jonah’s reps. Well, the future is now and Jonah won’t be here next year. Lean on that dude! Win Jedd.
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Whether Mohammad is going to be a #1 RB in this program I don't know the answer to … I suspect he'll go into the year with that role next year but Bonner is probably talented enough to get into a meaningful role.
Leaning on Jonah will matter but you also need to be sure that you keep him available as well. Some games will matter more than others and that is where in some of these other games where ideally we're getting others to step up and run with it. For example, I don't really want to see Coleman with 25 carries vs UC Davis.
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Not speaking just on Demond when I say this, but there were a number of throws on Saturday that were well placed and broken up by well positioned defenders. I don't consider that to be something where I put a ton on the QB.
For example, there was a throw that Demond made down the seam that was a well placed back shoulder throw against fantastic cover. There really wasn't anybody open on the play and it was a throw where he gave his WR a chance to make a play. Sometimes that is the best play available. The WR on the play wasn't what I'd call a front line option right now … it wasn't a Boston or Rome or Jalen or whatever type of future NFL WR.
The other thing with Demond that people need to keep in mind is that he's still a young QB and will continue to grow practice by practice and game by game.
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I think Mohammad at RB is a freakshow specimen and is going to have a huge season. If UW commits to the run you could have 2,000 yards between Coleman and Mohammad.
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Reading that made my pants tight in the crotch. I love a powerful running game. The 2000 sqwad and the 2016 combo of Gaskin and L. Coleman stand out in my mind in the last 25 years. Honorable mention would be Chis Polk’s senior year there just wasn’t anyone on the roster but him. He trucked good teams and bad teams. If J. Coleman and Mohammed can control the game on the ground Williams should be almost unstoppable. I’m here for it.
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Durfee Heisman confirmed.
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Pump the doog breaks on Muhammad a little bit. He has never even scored a college touchdown.
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I have doubts about UW calling enough runs for either guy
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Judd is Sark POTD. I agree with you completely. I’m not sure Judd has it in him to run the ball that much, which will likely have me screaming RUN THE FUCKING BALL at my TV during several games this year.
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Since when did managing college bell cow RBs reps become such a belabored point. Gaskin never came out of the game and Dillon Johnson hobbled his way to the NCG. As good as Coleman is I'm already kind of annoyed by his limited snaps last year and prima dona status this year
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I don't think Coleman is showing any signs of being a prima dona.
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He was out of shape and our OL sucked. I want him to get enough carries to win the game, nothing more. Pound the rock against OSU to setup DWJ and let the NS upper deck rock
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Gaskin absolutely split snaps with Lavon Coleman and then Savon Ahmed. He always ran for around 1100 yards and his backups between 400-600 yards. Coleman may have cracked 700 in 2016, I can't remember.
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1100?
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Gascan averaged 1300 yards per season.
Coleman ran for 850 in 2016.
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Whatever. Point is he didn’t run for 1600 like Dillon or 1800 like Sankey. Dillon, Sankey and Polk were true bell cows. They all pushed or surpassed 300 carries a year. Gaskin was getting between 220-250 carries. The backup RBs with Pete were between 150-200 carries combined per year. It was divided up. If Coleman is healthy he’ll get 215 carries this year and Mohammed should get 65-80 and the rest should get 20-40. Demond will steal carries as well. If he doesn’t push UW over well over 300 carries as a team Judd should quit. The UW backs and QB are too good to deny them carries.
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Look @theknowledge spitting the knowledge.
2016 squad top 3 RBs combined for 408 carries. Gascan 237, Coleman 114, Dotson 57.
Browning shows up having 65 carries but the stats page doesn’t show how many were sacks.
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He seriously looks like he's exhausted at being put in front of a camera at this point.
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193 carries last year averaging 15 a game. Johnson had 233 even with a slow start. Gaskin had 259 in 2018!
Ill admit he's got some sweet swag but I don't think prima dona is outside the realm of possibility. Fisch is a coward if he doesn't hand it to him 20 times a game
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My only criticism, which I stated last year, was that with the medallion he looks like a moron. I cited how when I was about 19 I dressed like a moron. But I don't get a prima donna vibe from him at all. I'm super excited to see him run against Cuog and Ohio State.
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Definitely seemed like Coleman was on a pitch count last year. There was also the perpetual bubbling of "he's injured" which who the fuck knows how true that was or if he had bad conditioning. Don't think a college football running back having a pitch count in 2024 is diva behavior at all and wonder if it's in NIL agreements now. Seems like it is and maybe should be the norm. The days of college running backs taking 25+ carries the way Polk and Gaskin would to grind out a win. One thing I did notice last year is sometimes after a big run, Coleman would demand the ball again, but then looked gassed and always got stuffed.
My assumption is Coleman got told at the end of last season that he isn't much more than just a guy right now and a late round pick, at best. So he got his head on straight, got in shape, and is ready to prove he should be a better half of the draft guy.
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Sankey had over 300 in 2013. That’s a massive number.
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get off my lawn POTD.
