Like I said, I was watching the 2nd OL and Nate Cottrell.
Of the 2nd OL, the less said the better. But that was largely due to Shamire not being available. If he had been suited out - and from the way he was moving it was not a mistake to keep him out - then when Will went out, he would have gone in and the Golds would have had The Twins for the whole game. No doubt that would have made a difference.
As for Cottrell: he'll play next year and in the top 3. Why? The young man can flat out block. He was sealing the edge regularly. Unfortunately, the OTs for the Whites weren't doing all that well and - yep - not having Will or Shamire was hurting the blocking, especially on the backside. He also had at least one good run - it was shocking how many times our QBs didn't make the pitch - and caught a couple. Anyone know how badly he was hurt? He wasn't on the field in the second half.
Overall impressions:
• Matt Jordan's job isn't in any danger. T. Marshall looked the best, I thought, though it is easy to see why people like Jones. He's very physically talented, but he played like a high school kid tonight. Johnson is a developing talent as well. But the last two aren't ready for combat tomorrow.
• BB is in good shape. Benson had the biggest run of the night and scored, but that was because he actually had some blocking. When Quaid got that, he did fine. We're ok here. Coach said they were 2a and 2b. My impression exactly.
• The D looked pretty good for most of the game, but with so many O folks out, it was hard to tell about them. Mitchell and Alexander came on as the game progressed, as did Freeman. The DBs looked good, but that may have been because the QBs on both sides weren't getting time to throw. We'll see when fall comes around.
Biggest concern = depth on OL.
Biggest hope = that the frosh OLs we have coming in can shore up the front, just like last year.
Biggest relief = we actually seem to have some DL depth. Mirabile dictu!
