I made it out to the spring game yesterday. It was well organized and had a good vibe to it and there was a decent turnout (more than 1k is my guess). Promotional, merchandise, and ticket sales booths were up. Only blunder was having concessions on the opposite side of the field but I brought my own beverages so it didn’t really matter to me. The new video board isn’t complete yet either.
Here is the
Hornetsports recap, mine is below…
Offense
Play calling was the same as what we have seen over the last few years, nothing new there. There were some decent drives on the day, a few big plays by some noobs but otherwise it’s safe to say there is a ton of room for improvement.
Quarterbacks: K-Ham and Merker were the only QBs to suit. Both made plenty of poor decisions that led to easy INTs (4 total on the day). There were a couple of decent drives on the day but throwing the ball in the red zone looks to be a major issue.
Receivers: There is just a dearth of talent here. Nobody creates separation, and there isn’t any size to make a jump ball viable. Their performance was summed up when Ratliff made a great double move to get wide open for a sure TD pass and drops the ball. They also let the DBs rip some simultaneous possession catches away for INTs.
Tight ends: Nothing really stood out, however they seemed to always be open on the underneath routes.
Running backs: Mays looks to have playmaking potential. He broke 2 long TD runs. Robinson broke a big TD run too, but we already know he is a stud. Timoteo looks to be the short yardage guy.
Offensive line: Had some ups and downs. They were able to create some running lanes that resulted in big runs. They also let a lot of pressure get into the face of the QBs. Lots of improvement needed here.
Defense
Defense operated out of the 3-4. While the secondary had a great day in forcing turnovers, the front 7 had a terrible day stopping the run. Lots of running lanes went unchecked, but they did get pressure on the QB often.
Special Teams
Punting was atrocious. Medieros had a good day. Kickoffs were either in or through the endzone and his lone missed FG was on a poor snap/hold. Ratliff had a nice kick return for big yards.
Injuries
DE PJ Johnson went down with a knee injury. He was able to walk off the field unassisted but didn't return.