Practice Day 9

[jonnylingo]

Sounds like Nelson had a great day.

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[Lawboy]

Actually, it sounds as if Heaps got pwned today, and that the defense totally dominated play today against him. Riley won the day easilyk. Sounds like Jake was under serious pressure--I am sure by design--and did not respond too well. The 2nd unit O-line sounds as if they got it totally handed to them today in a really bad way. Defense totally owned the day. And while Riley was better than Heaps today and deserves a win for the day, the 2nd unit O needs to step it up, and way too many drops. Mahina especially.

Intensity amped up though, and that is good. The offense needs to respond tomorrow is all I know. Too many dropped passes, too many QB sacks by the 2nd unit O-line. The offense is not real sharp over the last few practices overall. At least the D is bringing it. If today's trend continues, Riley will win the job for sure.

[Cougs_Rule]

Credit Riley. that's great! Now that Jake is "down" or had a rough day, lets see how he rebounds tomorrow.I think that will be very pivotal in the coaches decision making (again, we are missing alot of first-hand context, other than the reporters who say Riley did well today (against the 2nd D).
Glad Bronco brought the "all-out" D, if thats what he was doing. They needed a good day. Jake and Riley need that bc that's what teams WOULD throw at particularly jake, if he gets any PT.
Also, just heard SoOto on the 1280. he was vey confident in the D-line. He said Coach Kaufusi usually only has confidence in 3 or 4 guys (Jan concured) but Coach K "has confidence in 6 guys" on the Dline.
Vic also said in a response to a question of who of the new guys looks good, Travis Tiuloma looks very good for the future. Very strong. Has to learn schemes.

[Lawboy]

Sounds as if the TE position battle is ongoing, and not in a good way. Mahina had many drops today, as did Muehlmann. Those guys need to have fly paper for hands. Mahina has had issues since HS with hands, though. His scouting report even mentions it.

I think the starter will get named Monday. Scrimmage tomorrow and Saturday, both closed to public. I think the coaches are getting serious now, and forcing the O to make execute or get smacked. Next 4 days will be huge for both QBs.

[jonnylingo]

Nelson's drive sucked. It was only because people caught his passes and he ran without getting tacked. If he didn't score a touchdown he would have been just as good as jake. somehow this is actually bad news for nelson. Trust me. I suspect that Jake felt bad for the elder Nelson and decided to do crappy just to help Nelson feel good about himself.

Just doing my job as a member of the now infamous "heaps clan".

Riley was awesome today. Jake wasn't. Interesting. One of those few days where there is a clear winner.

[hawkwing]

Heaps will be fine. I'm glad he's getting a little adversity and speed played against him to show him how we need him to step up. I have no doubt he will adjust, it just takes some time to get used to this level.

It's also great to see Nelson doing well, his experience is a big part of what made him successful today.

[craigoscarson]

I think it's quite clear that Riley has earned the right to start against Washington; the question now is how much Heaps thrown in; if and when. Riley is not good enough to guarantee a redshirt for Heaps, and to be honest if we're in a game down 12+ in the 4th quarter, we need a guy that can throw the ball so Heaps needs snaps early imho.

Riley's running is what we need to keep UW off balance, and he helps take pressure off Heaps when he gets his share of the series. No one likes to game plan for 2 very different quarterbacks, the question is how well Robert Anae likes to game plan for his.

Bottom line, Riley is a factor and cannot be ignored.

I like the idea of this 2 qb system, particularly if both QBs embrace the reasoning. Riley is a solid, low mistake guy that doesn't have as much home run potential but can manage a team down the field. He has the potential to help you, and doesn't hurt you.

Jake has all the tools to make us think "Detmer" but he's mentally not there yet; as we'd expect for any freshman. (Detmer was a rs though) He has home run talent and potential and is the cornerstone of our future.

note: I'm not saying that Riley will be starting mid-season, but that he's the safe option to start against UW. I dont' think he's separated himself from Heaps, but I don't think Heaps has any separation either. From that point you go with the upperclassman to start against UW and evaluate on the fly. If Riley had even 10% more arm, I think it'd be a no-brainer to redshirt Heaps.

[Mars]

Riley is a solid, low mistake guy that doesn't have as much home run potential but can manage a team down the field. He has the potential to help you, and doesn't hurt you.

I worry a little about his fumbling problem in fall camp.

[Short_Change]

I think our defense is going to be really good for a long time. I'm not at all surprised that our 2nd string D-line and blitzing backers are owning the 2nd string O-line. We have some really young and very talented guys. I think our defense is finally catching up to the offense in terms of overall talent. Credit Bronco and our recruiting for that. BYU is only going to get better and that should scare the living daylights out of any team that's set to play BYU down the road as well as the jaded BCS.

[craigoscarson]

Riley is a solid, low mistake guy that doesn't have as much home run potential but can manage a team down the field. He has the potential to help you, and doesn't hurt you.

I worry a little about his fumbling problem in fall camp.

He certainly hasnt' been perfect, and we know he can't make all the throws; which is exactly why the door hasnt' been slammed shut on Heaps playing as a true freshman, rather I kind of expect it now. From day 1, I was hoping for a redshirt for jake, but Riley hasn't done enough to make me believe that will happen. Riley has done enough to convince me that he'll be starting against UW, if for nothing else but to keep the dogs at bay when Jake does enter the game.

Heaps has a much higher ceiling; that alone doesn't guarantee him playing time as a true frosh; at least not with Riley playing well thus far.