Hey Oxford guys.

[wildthang80]

I miss those awesome practice reports that were posted last year. I know they are time consuming, but if anyone is willing I for one would greatly appreciate a post. I want your opinions on everthing, how is Enricky doing, how about the O- line, who did Powe eat today?

[bleuwolfe]

^^ditto that!^^

[john_avery_fast]

not in oxford, and haven't attended a practice in person, but can give you a quick run-down of what I have gleaned from the various boards outside of this one I frequent:
Offense: as a whole behind the D, but not unexpected.
QB-Stanley and Cotton are splitting time with the 1st O to give the coaches the best look possible; Stanley is slightly ahead in terms of the mental aspect, though Cotton has the lead in terms of athleticism. Arm wise about even, though I think I read Stanley is slightly better at the short game
RB-Bolden looks explosive, leads Scott and Davis, who both have shown improvement; Neat and Thomas have done good things, but nothing that stands out.
FB-Epperson is ahead of Greer and seems to be very capable in the ball catching dept.
WR-Summers is making strides considering he is recovery from sports hernia surgery; Grandy has put on weight (17 lbs) w/o losing any explosiveness; Melvin Harris and Ja-mes Logan look to be coming along nicely with Harris extremely adept at the crossing pattern game. Breaux needs to step it up. PP is ball-boy
TE-Ferbia Allen is the guy to beat, with Reggie Hicks a sort-of distant second. The Z needs work and is nowhere near the athletic prodigy his youtube vids would have had us believe (lesson learned-QUIT HYPING THESE HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS AND GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO PROVE THEMSELVES-sorry soapbox moment); not saying he is a bust, but has never had to do the things (like blocking) he is being asked to do in our system
OL-from L to R: Sowell, Washington, Swindall (yes the GS/True Fresh), Johnson, Massie; Sowell and Massie are developing into solid bookends, last year's experiences will pay dividends. Johnson's head seems to be on straight, definitely a beast, goes one-on-one with Powe in drills and has won each time (threw Powe like a rag-doll in one vid I saw); the Swindall over Hawkins situation has been rumored to be a motivational move to get Hawkins to kick it up a gear, time will tell, though from what I have heard, Swindall is servicable even as a GS/True Fresh. Washington has slimmed a bit and moves better. The second group is fluid as they try to find the best fit, but has been L to R: McCray, Gill, Hawkins, Brown, and Clair.

Defense: strenght of team, starting up front, then middle, then secondary
DE-Lockett is Lockett, though he has been beat, not handled, by Sowell on occassion (see above comment on tackles). Dorsey looks the part and is getting better each day per the coaches. Whigham and Rivers are #2s in the rotation at this point. Mike Thomas is a DE, not DT or OT.
DT-Powe, Scott, backed up by Laurent and Armour, nuff said
LB-Kight, Cornell, Walker, backed up by Alex Williams, DT, and Marry. I think the plan is for DT to learn all 3 positions in order to spell the starters individually, though all reports are that Marry is very impressive; Williams is learning, though his athleticism is a plus
CBs-McGee and Temple, then Sawyer and Campbell; no real reports here other than McGee has been limited by a injured hand (pre-practice surgery I think)
Ss-Brown (SS) and Ingram (FS), backed by Jackson and Crawford. Damien Jackson is a headhunter. Thats about it on safeties. AND before anyone asks, Tig is not yet in shape and has to learn the whole defense on top of that (see my above soapbox moment re Z Mason).

Nothing really on STs-Campbell is punter, Ritter and Rose are battling for FG duties, Ritter will likely Kick-off; no idea about return game

hope this helps.

[Heath]

helped me tremendously. Thanks for the report.

[wildthang80]

Perfect post, thanks.

[Hagar]

not in oxford, and haven't attended a practice in person, but can give you a quick run-down of what I have gleaned from the various boards outside of this one I frequent:
Offense: as a whole behind the D, but not unexpected.
QB-Stanley and Cotton are splitting time with the 1st O to give the coaches the best look possible; Stanley is slightly ahead in terms of the mental aspect, though Cotton has the lead in terms of athleticism. Arm wise about even, though I think I read Stanley is slightly better at the short game
RB-Bolden looks explosive, leads Scott and Davis, who both have shown improvement; Neat and Thomas have done good things, but nothing that stands out.
FB-Epperson is ahead of Greer and seems to be very capable in the ball catching dept.
WR-Summers is making strides considering he is recovery from sports hernia surgery; Grandy has put on weight (17 lbs) w/o losing any explosiveness; Melvin Harris and Ja-mes Logan look to be coming along nicely with Harris extremely adept at the crossing pattern game. Breaux needs to step it up. PP is ball-boy
TE-Ferbia Allen is the guy to beat, with Reggie Hicks a sort-of distant second. The Z needs work and is nowhere near the athletic prodigy his youtube vids would have had us believe (lesson learned-QUIT HYPING THESE HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS AND GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO PROVE THEMSELVES-sorry soapbox moment); not saying he is a bust, but has never had to do the things (like blocking) he is being asked to do in our system
OL-from L to R: Sowell, Washington, Swindall (yes the GS/True Fresh), Johnson, Massie; Sowell and Massie are developing into solid bookends, last year's experiences will pay dividends. Johnson's head seems to be on straight, definitely a beast, goes one-on-one with Powe in drills and has won each time (threw Powe like a rag-doll in one vid I saw); the Swindall over Hawkins situation has been rumored to be a motivational move to get Hawkins to kick it up a gear, time will tell, though from what I have heard, Swindall is servicable even as a GS/True Fresh. Washington has slimmed a bit and moves better. The second group is fluid as they try to find the best fit, but has been L to R: McCray, Gill, Hawkins, Brown, and Clair.

Defense: strenght of team, starting up front, then middle, then secondary
DE-Lockett is Lockett, though he has been beat, not handled, by Sowell on occassion (see above comment on tackles). Dorsey looks the part and is getting better each day per the coaches. Whigham and Rivers are #2s in the rotation at this point. Mike Thomas is a DE, not DT or OT.
DT-Powe, Scott, backed up by Laurent and Armour, nuff said
LB-Kight, Cornell, Walker, backed up by Alex Williams, DT, and Marry. I think the plan is for DT to learn all 3 positions in order to spell the starters individually, though all reports are that Marry is very impressive; Williams is learning, though his athleticism is a plus
CBs-McGee and Temple, then Sawyer and Campbell; no real reports here other than McGee has been limited by a injured hand (pre-practice surgery I think)
Ss-Brown (SS) and Ingram (FS), backed by Jackson and Crawford. Damien Jackson is a headhunter. Thats about it on safeties. AND before anyone asks, Tig is not yet in shape and has to learn the whole defense on top of that (see my above soapbox moment re Z Mason).

Nothing really on STs-Campbell is punter, Ritter and Rose are battling for FG duties, Ritter will likely Kick-off; no idea about return game

hope this helps.

Very Good accessment, I agree with everything you said except a couple of observations I was privy to that you might not have witnessed.

I have seen practice and was extremely impressed with Evan Swindall ...considering he is going against Powe, he did very well at center and I consider him a starter already... probably the most impressive player I have seen this year considering the starting point...Powe is lighter and is quicker...Stanley is probably going to be the starter if we are going to keep the same offense as last year... Cotton will play a bunch I imagine if the running game is needed...Enrique impressed me with his explosiveness, Sowell isn't showing me any more than last year although he appears to be playing smarter. Melvin Harris is trying pretty hard to step his game up and is making a show...all in all, I think the O line is going to be better even if they are going to be young. Right now the D is just creating confusion amongst the offense and isn't really that far ahead although I can see where some would consider they are ahead at this time. I hope Z Mason can step it up because he has that Brandon Jenkins "body" and if he wants to he can be a force. Tig is playing safety at this time and it appears to these eyes that he is out of shape and "slow", however he will still rip your head off if your not aware of where he is. Dorsey and Jackson are going to be replacements for Greg Hardy and Kendrick Lewis (respectively) and both newcomers will be good replacements for both by the time the season rolls around. The Linebacker Corp is going to be the main force behind the strength of the D and are going to be dangerous to try to run crossing patterns on. Our D line is going to Dominate the LOS against anyone we play. HR Greer is behind Epperson at FB and I can see why they are considering putting Epperson at FB and Ferbia Allen at TE...both are serviceable at TE and I am told they are going to put the FB out in the flanker position sometimes and with an audible call the TE will step Back and the FB will step up to the LOS to effectively "Swap" positions to attempt to confuse defenses. Interesting twist, huh?? Korvic Neat isn't as flashy as Dex was but, Dex wasn't very flashy when he first got here either. Derrick Herman looked pretty good and very explosive in the few times I saw him at RB. I would put our grades for the upcoming year like this:

O Line- solid B, I think they will be better than last year as a whole.
QB- solid B, Both are going to be better than Snead if either one can get their heads to quit spinning and just play ball without thinking.
RB's -solid A, no matter who we put back there you have to like our depth.
TE's - Solid C, neither are considered a strength and all of them will be pretty good blockers when needed. Ferbia Allen should become the heir apparent to Gerald Harris.
FB's- Solid C, we should not miss Andy Hartman because the guys who are replacing him are adequate.
D line- Solid A, considering the Depth and Talent we have, everyone we face is going to dread facing us and be in pain when it is over.
LB- solid B+, with our depth and athleticism you have to like our corp. even though we are going to be young and inexperienced we should be very good at LB.
CB- B-, considering our youth and inexperience this will probably be our achilles heel, if someone can step it up we will be a solid B, if not I give us a C in that area.
Safety- solid B only because of our depth, we will still be inexperienced and young but the talent should be there regardless of who steps up their game plan...remember we still have Johnny Brown and Damien Jackson is going to make a strong push for playing time as well.

Coaching Staff...A+++...this is the kind of year that Nutt Excels at...no expectations and always being the sleeper and spoiler. If we can get fundamentals taught and make em stick we will be very dangerous before Stanley/Cotton leaves, This year, given our weak schedule and the fact that we won't face the meat of the SEC until Oct 16th, won't be our best, but I expect anything less than 9 wins a bad year. Still not too shabby.
Just my .02.

[bleuwolfe]

Thanks guys! Great stuff.

[hottytoddyrebel]

not in oxford, and haven't attended a practice in person, but can give you a quick run-down of what I have gleaned from the various boards outside of this one I frequent:
Offense: as a whole behind the D, but not unexpected.
QB-Stanley and Cotton are splitting time with the 1st O to give the coaches the best look possible; Stanley is slightly ahead in terms of the mental aspect, though Cotton has the lead in terms of athleticism. Arm wise about even, though I think I read Stanley is slightly better at the short game
RB-Bolden looks explosive, leads Scott and Davis, who both have shown improvement; Neat and Thomas have done good things, but nothing that stands out.
FB-Epperson is ahead of Greer and seems to be very capable in the ball catching dept.
WR-Summers is making strides considering he is recovery from sports hernia surgery; Grandy has put on weight (17 lbs) w/o losing any explosiveness; Melvin Harris and Ja-mes Logan look to be coming along nicely with Harris extremely adept at the crossing pattern game. Breaux needs to step it up. PP is ball-boy
TE-Ferbia Allen is the guy to beat, with Reggie Hicks a sort-of distant second. The Z needs work and is nowhere near the athletic prodigy his youtube vids would have had us believe (lesson learned-QUIT HYPING THESE HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS AND GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO PROVE THEMSELVES-sorry soapbox moment); not saying he is a bust, but has never had to do the things (like blocking) he is being asked to do in our system
OL-from L to R: Sowell, Washington, Swindall (yes the GS/True Fresh), Johnson, Massie; Sowell and Massie are developing into solid bookends, last year's experiences will pay dividends. Johnson's head seems to be on straight, definitely a beast, goes one-on-one with Powe in drills and has won each time (threw Powe like a rag-doll in one vid I saw); the Swindall over Hawkins situation has been rumored to be a motivational move to get Hawkins to kick it up a gear, time will tell, though from what I have heard, Swindall is servicable even as a GS/True Fresh. Washington has slimmed a bit and moves better. The second group is fluid as they try to find the best fit, but has been L to R: McCray, Gill, Hawkins, Brown, and Clair.

Defense: strenght of team, starting up front, then middle, then secondary
DE-Lockett is Lockett, though he has been beat, not handled, by Sowell on occassion (see above comment on tackles). Dorsey looks the part and is getting better each day per the coaches. Whigham and Rivers are #2s in the rotation at this point. Mike Thomas is a DE, not DT or OT.
DT-Powe, Scott, backed up by Laurent and Armour, nuff said
LB-Kight, Cornell, Walker, backed up by Alex Williams, DT, and Marry. I think the plan is for DT to learn all 3 positions in order to spell the starters individually, though all reports are that Marry is very impressive; Williams is learning, though his athleticism is a plus
CBs-McGee and Temple, then Sawyer and Campbell; no real reports here other than McGee has been limited by a injured hand (pre-practice surgery I think)
Ss-Brown (SS) and Ingram (FS), backed by Jackson and Crawford. Damien Jackson is a headhunter. Thats about it on safeties. AND before anyone asks, Tig is not yet in shape and has to learn the whole defense on top of that (see my above soapbox moment re Z Mason).

Nothing really on STs-Campbell is punter, Ritter and Rose are battling for FG duties, Ritter will likely Kick-off; no idea about return game

hope this helps.

Very Good accessment, I agree with everything you said except a couple of observations I was privy to that you might not have witnessed.

I have seen practice and was extremely impressed with Evan Swindall ...considering he is going against Powe, he did very well at center and I consider him a starter already... probably the most impressive player I have seen this year considering the starting point...Powe is lighter and is quicker...Stanley is probably going to be the starter if we are going to keep the same offense as last year... Cotton will play a bunch I imagine if the running game is needed...Enrique impressed me with his explosiveness, Sowell isn't showing me any more than last year although he appears to be playing smarter. Melvin Harris is trying pretty hard to step his game up and is making a show...all in all, I think the O line is going to be better even if they are going to be young. Right now the D is just creating confusion amongst the offense and isn't really that far ahead although I can see where some would consider they are ahead at this time. I hope Z Mason can step it up because he has that Brandon Jenkins "body" and if he wants to he can be a force. Tig is playing safety at this time and it appears to these eyes that he is out of shape and "slow", however he will still rip your head off if your not aware of where he is. Dorsey and Jackson are going to be replacements for Greg Hardy and Kendrick Lewis (respectively) and both newcomers will be good replacements for both by the time the season rolls around. The Linebacker Corp is going to be the main force behind the strength of the D and are going to be dangerous to try to run crossing patterns on. Our D line is going to Dominate the LOS against anyone we play. HR Greer is behind Epperson at FB and I can see why they are considering putting Epperson at FB and Ferbia Allen at TE...both are serviceable at TE and I am told they are going to put the FB out in the flanker position sometimes and with an audible call the TE will step Back and the FB will step up to the LOS to effectively "Swap" positions to attempt to confuse defenses. Interesting twist, huh?? Korvic Neat isn't as flashy as Dex was but, Dex wasn't very flashy when he first got here either. Derrick Herman looked pretty good and very explosive in the few times I saw him at RB. I would put our grades for the upcoming year like this:

O Line- solid B, I think they will be better than last year as a whole.
QB- solid B, Both are going to be better than Snead if either one can get their heads to quit spinning and just play ball without thinking.
RB's -solid A, no matter who we put back there you have to like our depth.
TE's - Solid C, neither are considered a strength and all of them will be pretty good blockers when needed. Ferbia Allen should become the heir apparent to Gerald Harris.
FB's- Solid C, we should not miss Andy Hartman because the guys who are replacing him are adequate.
D line- Solid A, considering the Depth and Talent we have, everyone we face is going to dread facing us and be in pain when it is over.
LB- solid B+, with our depth and athleticism you have to like our corp. even though we are going to be young and inexperienced we should be very good at LB.
CB- B-, considering our youth and inexperience this will probably be our achilles heel, if someone can step it up we will be a solid B, if not I give us a C in that area.
Safety- solid B only because of our depth, we will still be inexperienced and young but the talent should be there regardless of who steps up their game plan...remember we still have Johnny Brown and Damien Jackson is going to make a strong push for playing time as well.

Coaching Staff...A+++...this is the kind of year that Nutt Excels at...no expectations and always being the sleeper and spoiler. If we can get fundamentals taught and make em stick we will be very dangerous before Stanley/Cotton leaves, This year, given our weak schedule and the fact that we won't face the meat of the SEC until Oct 16th, won't be our best, but I expect anything less than 9 wins a bad year. Still not too shabby.
Just my .02.

Damien is playing a different position than Kendrick did. Damien is playing SS, Kendrick played FS last year. Right now its Fon and Frank at FS and at SS it's JB and Damien.

[gooseisloose]

thanks enjoyed the read! I plan to attend some practices next week..ready to watch the qbs and dline

[BigTrev34]

so marry is showing out in practice. no surprise here. just wanted to say told you so. although it's just a week into spring practice

[done]

Hagar.........the Man!!

[Hagar]

not in oxford, and haven't attended a practice in person, but can give you a quick run-down of what I have gleaned from the various boards outside of this one I frequent:
Offense: as a whole behind the D, but not unexpected.
QB-Stanley and Cotton are splitting time with the 1st O to give the coaches the best look possible; Stanley is slightly ahead in terms of the mental aspect, though Cotton has the lead in terms of athleticism. Arm wise about even, though I think I read Stanley is slightly better at the short game
RB-Bolden looks explosive, leads Scott and Davis, who both have shown improvement; Neat and Thomas have done good things, but nothing that stands out.
FB-Epperson is ahead of Greer and seems to be very capable in the ball catching dept.
WR-Summers is making strides considering he is recovery from sports hernia surgery; Grandy has put on weight (17 lbs) w/o losing any explosiveness; Melvin Harris and Ja-mes Logan look to be coming along nicely with Harris extremely adept at the crossing pattern game. Breaux needs to step it up. PP is ball-boy
TE-Ferbia Allen is the guy to beat, with Reggie Hicks a sort-of distant second. The Z needs work and is nowhere near the athletic prodigy his youtube vids would have had us believe (lesson learned-QUIT HYPING THESE HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS AND GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO PROVE THEMSELVES-sorry soapbox moment); not saying he is a bust, but has never had to do the things (like blocking) he is being asked to do in our system
OL-from L to R: Sowell, Washington, Swindall (yes the GS/True Fresh), Johnson, Massie; Sowell and Massie are developing into solid bookends, last year's experiences will pay dividends. Johnson's head seems to be on straight, definitely a beast, goes one-on-one with Powe in drills and has won each time (threw Powe like a rag-doll in one vid I saw); the Swindall over Hawkins situation has been rumored to be a motivational move to get Hawkins to kick it up a gear, time will tell, though from what I have heard, Swindall is servicable even as a GS/True Fresh. Washington has slimmed a bit and moves better. The second group is fluid as they try to find the best fit, but has been L to R: McCray, Gill, Hawkins, Brown, and Clair.

Defense: strenght of team, starting up front, then middle, then secondary
DE-Lockett is Lockett, though he has been beat, not handled, by Sowell on occassion (see above comment on tackles). Dorsey looks the part and is getting better each day per the coaches. Whigham and Rivers are #2s in the rotation at this point. Mike Thomas is a DE, not DT or OT.
DT-Powe, Scott, backed up by Laurent and Armour, nuff said
LB-Kight, Cornell, Walker, backed up by Alex Williams, DT, and Marry. I think the plan is for DT to learn all 3 positions in order to spell the starters individually, though all reports are that Marry is very impressive; Williams is learning, though his athleticism is a plus
CBs-McGee and Temple, then Sawyer and Campbell; no real reports here other than McGee has been limited by a injured hand (pre-practice surgery I think)
Ss-Brown (SS) and Ingram (FS), backed by Jackson and Crawford. Damien Jackson is a headhunter. Thats about it on safeties. AND before anyone asks, Tig is not yet in shape and has to learn the whole defense on top of that (see my above soapbox moment re Z Mason).

Nothing really on STs-Campbell is punter, Ritter and Rose are battling for FG duties, Ritter will likely Kick-off; no idea about return game

hope this helps.

Very Good accessment, I agree with everything you said except a couple of observations I was privy to that you might not have witnessed.

I have seen practice and was extremely impressed with Evan Swindall ...considering he is going against Powe, he did very well at center and I consider him a starter already... probably the most impressive player I have seen this year considering the starting point...Powe is lighter and is quicker...Stanley is probably going to be the starter if we are going to keep the same offense as last year... Cotton will play a bunch I imagine if the running game is needed...Enrique impressed me with his explosiveness, Sowell isn't showing me any more than last year although he appears to be playing smarter. Melvin Harris is trying pretty hard to step his game up and is making a show...all in all, I think the O line is going to be better even if they are going to be young. Right now the D is just creating confusion amongst the offense and isn't really that far ahead although I can see where some would consider they are ahead at this time. I hope Z Mason can step it up because he has that Brandon Jenkins "body" and if he wants to he can be a force. Tig is playing safety at this time and it appears to these eyes that he is out of shape and "slow", however he will still rip your head off if your not aware of where he is. Dorsey and Jackson are going to be replacements for Greg Hardy and Kendrick Lewis (respectively) and both newcomers will be good replacements for both by the time the season rolls around. The Linebacker Corp is going to be the main force behind the strength of the D and are going to be dangerous to try to run crossing patterns on. Our D line is going to Dominate the LOS against anyone we play. HR Greer is behind Epperson at FB and I can see why they are considering putting Epperson at FB and Ferbia Allen at TE...both are serviceable at TE and I am told they are going to put the FB out in the flanker position sometimes and with an audible call the TE will step Back and the FB will step up to the LOS to effectively "Swap" positions to attempt to confuse defenses. Interesting twist, huh?? Korvic Neat isn't as flashy as Dex was but, Dex wasn't very flashy when he first got here either. Derrick Herman looked pretty good and very explosive in the few times I saw him at RB. I would put our grades for the upcoming year like this:

O Line- solid B, I think they will be better than last year as a whole.
QB- solid B, Both are going to be better than Snead if either one can get their heads to quit spinning and just play ball without thinking.
RB's -solid A, no matter who we put back there you have to like our depth.
TE's - Solid C, neither are considered a strength and all of them will be pretty good blockers when needed. Ferbia Allen should become the heir apparent to Gerald Harris.
FB's- Solid C, we should not miss Andy Hartman because the guys who are replacing him are adequate.
D line- Solid A, considering the Depth and Talent we have, everyone we face is going to dread facing us and be in pain when it is over.
LB- solid B+, with our depth and athleticism you have to like our corp. even though we are going to be young and inexperienced we should be very good at LB.
CB- B-, considering our youth and inexperience this will probably be our achilles heel, if someone can step it up we will be a solid B, if not I give us a C in that area.
Safety- solid B only because of our depth, we will still be inexperienced and young but the talent should be there regardless of who steps up their game plan...remember we still have Johnny Brown and Damien Jackson is going to make a strong push for playing time as well.

Coaching Staff...A+++...this is the kind of year that Nutt Excels at...no expectations and always being the sleeper and spoiler. If we can get fundamentals taught and make em stick we will be very dangerous before Stanley/Cotton leaves, This year, given our weak schedule and the fact that we won't face the meat of the SEC until Oct 16th, won't be our best, but I expect anything less than 9 wins a bad year. Still not too shabby.
Just my .02.

Damien is playing a different position than Kendrick did. Damien is playing SS, Kendrick played FS last year. Right now its Fon and Frank at FS and at SS it's JB and Damien.

surely you don't think the secondary positions that are being played in the spring are "Locked" do you? Those safeties are and will be interchangeable in a Nix D. geez! gimme a break.

[wpdrebel]

How about Shakleford? I didn't see anything about him.

[john_avery_fast]

How about Shakleford? I didn't see anything about him.

He is backup up Mike LB behind Cornell, and I stated that there is speculation that he will be versed in all three LB positions to be the first guy off the bench

[ThunderReb]

Thanks, guys..........great read!!

And yes, he did mention DT.......he used "DT".