COLLINS OVERTAKES JARMON
It was a busy day for wide receiver Seth Collins. For the first time that I’ve seen this camp, Collins lined up at quarterback and threw the ball. Still possessing a quick release, Collins was able to make couple of nice completions on quarterback roll-outs.
When the team moved into team drills, the former quarterback found himself back at his new position catching passes with the first offense, while Hunter Jarmon worked exclusively with the second unit.
Collins wound up being Darell Garretson’s primary target, catching a lot of routes in the middle of the field (slants, digs, tunnel screens). When the first offense faced the first defense, Collins hauled in a 30+ yard touchdown from Garretson over cornerback Treston Decoud.
GROWING NUMBER OF PLAYERS STAYING AFTER PRACTICE
One of the things that I have noticed as the season opener draws closer, more and more players are staying after practice to work on their craft. Today, wide receiver Timmy Hernandez was working with Kevin Cummings on different caching exercises; defensive linemen Sumner Houston, Noke Tago, Paisea Savea and Kalani Vakameilalo were doing wind sprints, while Yanni Demogerontas and Brayden Kearsley worked on their shotgun snaps with Sean Harlow. Then off in the distance, receivers were working with the Jugg machine working on catching passes. Just last week the group of players staying after was limited to one or two players, the group has grown as the week has progressed.
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE VS. FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
First Team Offense:
QB: Garretson
RB: Ryan Nall
WR: Xavier Hawkins
WR: Seth Collins
WR: Jordan Villamin
TE: Noah Togiai
LT: Dustin Stanton
LG: Gavin Andrews
C: Demogerontas
RG: Fred Lauina
RT: Blake Brandel
First Team Defense:
CB: Treston Decoud
CB: Xavier Crawford
CB: Shawn Wilson
S: Devin Chappell
S: Brandon Arnold
S: Kendall Hill
LB: Manase Hungalu
LB: Caleb Saulo
OLB: Bright Ugwoegbu
OLB: Titus Failauga
DL: Baker Pritchard
Second Defense:
CB: Xavier Crawford
CB: Shawn Wilson
CB: Kyle White
CB: Jay Irvine
S: Jalen Moore
S: Landry Payne
LB: Jonathan Willis
LB: Kyle Haley
LB: Shemar Smith
OLB: Joah Robinett
DL: Kalani Vakameilalo
NOTES:
● Victor Bolden and Paul Lucas were held out of the session available to the media, which led to Xavier Hawkins getting all of the first team reps.
● The team busted out their white helmets at practice.
● Following practice, co-offensive coordinator TJ Woods said that he like the cohesion that that his first unit offensive line has heading into , despite having key members of the line miss some practices.
● Big 10 football is known for the physical brand of football. Titus Failauga noted after practice that he believes OSU can play just as physical, if not more than the Gophers.
● Failauga also said that the transition from going to fall camp to game prep can be a challenge, saying fall camp challenges you physically, while game prep tests you mentally.