FINALLY, the 2011 Cougar football season is off and running as Rogers field was filled with the sounds of Fall on a hot Sunday afternoon. I know you are all anxious to hear what the 2011 Cougs looked like, who was there, who wasn’t and who stood out, so lets get right to it…
Read on for more…
The first thing I noticed as the Cougs took the field for their morning drills, was the new gray helmets. They are definitely a departure from the old silver ones and for me it was a welcome change. The next thing I noticed, Chas Sampson. The new D-tackle is listed at 6’4”, 303 lbs and looks every bit of it. He appears to be a JC transfer and whether or not he is anything but a big practice body remains to be seen, but for the second year in a row there was a behemoth new body on the field that nobody seems to have heard of before the start of camp (last year it was big Joe Kelata who stood out right away).
Notably absent from the action on Sunday were CJ Mizell and Anthony Carpenter who apparently are both going to be ready to go today after some personal business and a delayed flight respectively. Not so good news was the absence of Alex Reitnour. The once promising O-line prospect who has been battling a bad back is all the way down to 242 lbs on the roster, 20 pounds below his playing weight when he started at LT against Oregon in 2009. All indications are that his football future is very much in doubt and for now he may only be able to compete for the long snapping job.
While losing yet another offensive lineman is about the last news we wanted to open up camp with, I gotta say there were other reasons to be encouraged by that unit on Sunday. Notably, Jake Rogers and Dan Spitz both showed up looking like hulks. With the departure of Tyson Pencer and the health struggles with Reitnour, it is looking more and more like we are going to be counting on these guys as key reserves up front this year. Seeing them look the part was very encouraging.
On the defensive side of the ball, a healthy Toni Pole was making an early impression and should be a welcome addition to a D-tackle rotation that is getting more and more stout. Another guy that stood out to me was Jordan Pu’u Robinson who is healthy and ready to go and could be an exciting young player coming off the edge.
Of the youngsters in camp for the first time, what struck me was the very apparent athleticism and size of the 2011 class. Tana Pritchard, Logan Mayes and Chester Sua immediately make our defense “look” better, but perhaps the guy who really jumped out at observers the most was Mansel Simmons. I don’t think I’m exaggerating to say he wouldn’t look out of place on the Seahawk training field.
Two freshman who impressed not with their physique, but with their performance in drills, were Marcus Mason and Dominique Williams. Mason is a small, but mighty fast running back and Williams is a long, athletic wideout. Together they are eerily similar to the Ricky Galvin/Marques Wilson combo that showed up last year. The coaches already have them running with the 1’s and 2’s, and it was easy to see why. Mason’s speed appears to be as advertized and he also impressed me by making a terrific catch of a screen pass thrown at his shoelaces without ever breaking stride. Williams made a number of great plays on the sideline, beating Demante Horton enough times to finally draw the ire of defensive coordinator Chris Ball. For the record, Horton ain’t no chump. He can play, but Williams looks to be just that good. Some other freshmen who were running with the 1’s and 2’s included the Florida trio of wideouts Henry Eady and Isaiah Meyers and linebacker Daryl Monroe. All of them enrolled in time to take part in Spring practices and it appears to have definitely given them a leg up.
It was tough to stay on top of all the action today, since for the first time in a few years, they were able to split into two separate squads for scrimmages. The Scout team and rookies took to one side of Rogers field, while the 1’s and 2’s took to the other. I was mostly drawn to the action on the side with the starters, but I will try to get more observations from the scout team as camp continues. Although he is a long way from seeing action on Saturdays, I am excited to see new QB Cody Clements.
That’s all for now, folks. I’ll have more reports as camp continues on this week so stay tuned.
Go COUGS!
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