Robert Morris has utilized its NFL connections at various points to help hype and promote the football programs. But as John Banaszak's stint as head coach gets underway, the former Super Bowl champion seems to be strengthening the connections between the Steelers and the Colonials even more.
Robert Morris took some official visitors to Heinz Field back in January and has renewed focus on a few other ties. Another one might have been on display during Wednesday's practice. Former Steelers defensive lineman Chris Hoke, who has transitioned into coaching as an assistant at nearby Avonworth High School, stopped by Robert Morris' practice on Wednesday.
Hoke took some time to work with Robert Morris' defensive linemen, giving the group an added voice of experience. The RMU defensive linemen work daily with Cornelius Coleman and Alex DiMichele, alongside some additional input from Banaszak. But they were clearly digesting everything Hoke had to say, as he brought some additional NFL experience to the table. Hoke retired in 2011, so he's a name that local players on the RMU roster were especially familiar with.
The former lineman stuck around after the individual drills to observe practice for a while. With a number of other Steelers retired in the area and working in coaching, Hoke's visit may not be that rare in the future. We'll see what kind of other connections reemerge as the Banaszak era continues to unfold.
TWO-DEEP DEPTH CHART
QB - Paul Jones, Luke Brumbaugh
RB - Kenny Davis, Travis Gregg
H-Back - Justin Kempka, Nick Sponyoe
WR - Duane Mitchell, Chad Dawgiello
WR - Sean Gavin, Luke Centofanti
WR - Jordan Blackmon, Warren Fields
LT - Dylan Knight, Chris O'Connor
LG - Max Robertson, Jonah Tyus
C - Nick Faraci, Anthony Lucian
RG - Josh Thiel, Carlton Watson
RT - Jon Hill, Chris O'Connor
DE - Ryan Lewis, Austin Trgovcich
DT - Max Onyenwe, Zac Bennett
DE - Austin Trgovich, Zack Zamiska
OLB - Nic Lamica, Zach Cooper
MLB - Jake Tkach, T.J. Waters
MLB - Jimmy Masson, Nelson Lucas-Murphy
OLB - Luke Mueller, Zach Cooper
CB - Antwan Eddie, Keith O'Kelly
S - Logan Kelleher, Davone Swain
S - Sam Woods, Codi Casper
CB - Andy Smigiera, David Taylor
DEPTH CHART NOTES
OL Drew Garbenis, DL Henry Jartu, RB Caleb Stennis, LB Mike Stojkovic, HB Luke Zearing, WR Chaq Nettles, OL Riley Feenan, DB Jones Twenefor, RB Forrest Barnes, RB Ryan Thermil and HB Marty Thomas did not participate in practice. DL Steve Fiadewornu was limited.
Andy Smigiera continued to work extensively at corner, though he did move to safety later in practice when Sam Woods stepped out of practice. Spring is naturally the time to experiment with a player's versatility, and as we mentioned yesterday, Smigiera has the athleticism to play anywhere in the secondary. What will be most interesting is if this continues in the fall. Robert Morris needs three corners it can rely on and probably six total defensive backs who will be guaranteed playing time in the nickel and dime packages. Smigiera's flexibility may help dictate which way RMU goes with any emerging players in August. I think it's pretty clear he'll start; the only question is whether he starts at safety or corner.
Depth is obviously an issue at this point for Robert Morris, but there might be one longterm benefit: Players will have plenty of practice reps working with each other. There won't be an excuse for anyone, especially on the defensive side of the ball, stepping in to not know at least a few tendencies of the starters. There's so much shuffling going on now that everyone will have worked with everyone else quite extensively by the end of the day Saturday.INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Some additional items of note...Getting the sense that the starting running back job is starting to look like Kenny Davis' to lose. The shifty back won't be the only one to get carries. If all goes well, there will be plenty of reps to spread around in games. But every team, no matter the offense, has a primary back who is on for a higher percentage of snaps. I think RMU would like to use Davis alongside the likes of Ryan Thermil or Erich Maine, two bigger bodies. Forrest Barnes and incoming freshman Rameses Owens will also have a lot to say about how carries are doled out. But Davis has taken the first rep in every drill and his ability as a runner and receiving threat make him a legitimate threat in a more open offense.Likewise, Duane Mitchell and Sean Gavin seem to have pretty good holds on two of the top receiving spots. All of these position battles aren't going to heat up until August when everyone is in camp, but you do see some movement during spring. There hasn't been with Mitchell and Gavin, who finished the year as the starters. Mitchell is obviously going to be the team's primary weapon after an outstanding junior season, and Gavin seems to have things down pretty well. The emerging presence at receiver seems to be the other potential starter: Jordan Blackmon. The redshirt freshman was a late addition to the recruiting class last year out of North Hills HS here in Pittsburgh, but he's taken advantage of the new offense. Like Warren Fields, Kyle Buss and Phil Peckich, he fits really well into what Robert Morris wants to do occasionally at receiver. All of those guys have had good moments, but Blackmon's got the "first unit" reps and appears to be settling in nicely.The 7-on-7 drills and 11-on-11 drills stood in stark contrast to each other today. Much like yesterday, the offense thrived during 7-on-7 drills. Though they weren't quite as perfect as yesterday, the five quarterbacks went a collective 18-of-22 during the session. Paul Jones was particularly sharp, hitting all five of his passes, including a bullet to Gavin. He also took advantage of a mismatch between Blackmon and linebacker Nic Lamica for a TD, as even the athletic Lamica wasn't able to keep up with the speedy Blackmon.The defense did turn the tide a little bit later in 7-on-7 drills after several of the defensive coaches got on the unit. Antwan Eddie broke up the perfect string of completions with a nice deflection, then teamed with Logan Kelleher to sandwich Uni Akpan to break up a pass a few plays later. One noticeable element missing from the defense: Interceptions. Maybe it's adjusting to the new offense, which offers a few more receivers to cover; maybe there are fewer opportunities due to the construction of practice; or maybe it's just coincidence. But there are fewer practice interceptions, and when the defense does get its hands on a pass, they're not hanging on. In 7-on-7 drills, Joe Carroll tried to hit Phil Peckich deep in the end zone. Sam Woods got his hands on it but couldn't make the admittedly difficult leaping interception. On the very next play, linebacker T.J. Waters stepped in front Carroll's pass for Luke Centofanti but couldn't hang on despite getting both hands on the ball.Playing with a full complement of 11 a few drills later helped the defense gain an edge. Through the first handful of snaps, the offense had nowhere to move the ball on the ground and misfired on a few passing attempts. Pressure came from every direction, varying on each play. The offense did start to gel later in the drill, though, and had two significant plays develop. The first was an outstanding throw by Paul Jones off his back foot on the run to Blackmon, who made a leaping grab over Eddie to high point the ball and bring it in. Jones later threw a screen pass back across the field that had Davis set up perfectly to scamper 50 yards for a touchdown.Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Max Onyenwe is still working on his technique and his conditioning, but when it all comes together for him on a play, odds are there's a violent result. Onyenwe's shown flashes of being able to manhandle blockers, and he threw a couple aside during 11-on-11 drills. Onyenwe's in the mix to get playing time at defensive tackle, and those reps could increase if he continues to improve and get in better shape. Antwan Eddie will handle punt return duties, but a couple of other options are getting looks if he needs time away from returning kicks. During Wednesday's practice, redshirt sophomore WR Warren Fields - who returned kicks a little bit late last year - and freshman WR Kyle Buss both earned reps returning punts. Fields has a lot of speed, while Buss brings a lot of agility and above average speed to the table as well.
That's all for now. We'll be back with more tomorrow.
Robert Morris took some official visitors to Heinz Field back in January and has renewed focus on a few other ties. Another one might have been on display during Wednesday's practice. Former Steelers defensive lineman Chris Hoke, who has transitioned into coaching as an assistant at nearby Avonworth High School, stopped by Robert Morris' practice on Wednesday.
Hoke took some time to work with Robert Morris' defensive linemen, giving the group an added voice of experience. The RMU defensive linemen work daily with Cornelius Coleman and Alex DiMichele, alongside some additional input from Banaszak. But they were clearly digesting everything Hoke had to say, as he brought some additional NFL experience to the table. Hoke retired in 2011, so he's a name that local players on the RMU roster were especially familiar with.
The former lineman stuck around after the individual drills to observe practice for a while. With a number of other Steelers retired in the area and working in coaching, Hoke's visit may not be that rare in the future. We'll see what kind of other connections reemerge as the Banaszak era continues to unfold.
TWO-DEEP DEPTH CHART
QB - Paul Jones, Luke Brumbaugh
RB - Kenny Davis, Travis Gregg
H-Back - Justin Kempka, Nick Sponyoe
WR - Duane Mitchell, Chad Dawgiello
WR - Sean Gavin, Luke Centofanti
WR - Jordan Blackmon, Warren Fields
LT - Dylan Knight, Chris O'Connor
LG - Max Robertson, Jonah Tyus
C - Nick Faraci, Anthony Lucian
RG - Josh Thiel, Carlton Watson
RT - Jon Hill, Chris O'Connor
DE - Ryan Lewis, Austin Trgovcich
DT - Max Onyenwe, Zac Bennett
DE - Austin Trgovich, Zack Zamiska
OLB - Nic Lamica, Zach Cooper
MLB - Jake Tkach, T.J. Waters
MLB - Jimmy Masson, Nelson Lucas-Murphy
OLB - Luke Mueller, Zach Cooper
CB - Antwan Eddie, Keith O'Kelly
S - Logan Kelleher, Davone Swain
S - Sam Woods, Codi Casper
CB - Andy Smigiera, David Taylor
DEPTH CHART NOTES
OL Drew Garbenis, DL Henry Jartu, RB Caleb Stennis, LB Mike Stojkovic, HB Luke Zearing, WR Chaq Nettles, OL Riley Feenan, DB Jones Twenefor, RB Forrest Barnes, RB Ryan Thermil and HB Marty Thomas did not participate in practice. DL Steve Fiadewornu was limited.
Andy Smigiera continued to work extensively at corner, though he did move to safety later in practice when Sam Woods stepped out of practice. Spring is naturally the time to experiment with a player's versatility, and as we mentioned yesterday, Smigiera has the athleticism to play anywhere in the secondary. What will be most interesting is if this continues in the fall. Robert Morris needs three corners it can rely on and probably six total defensive backs who will be guaranteed playing time in the nickel and dime packages. Smigiera's flexibility may help dictate which way RMU goes with any emerging players in August. I think it's pretty clear he'll start; the only question is whether he starts at safety or corner.
Depth is obviously an issue at this point for Robert Morris, but there might be one longterm benefit: Players will have plenty of practice reps working with each other. There won't be an excuse for anyone, especially on the defensive side of the ball, stepping in to not know at least a few tendencies of the starters. There's so much shuffling going on now that everyone will have worked with everyone else quite extensively by the end of the day Saturday.INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Some additional items of note...Getting the sense that the starting running back job is starting to look like Kenny Davis' to lose. The shifty back won't be the only one to get carries. If all goes well, there will be plenty of reps to spread around in games. But every team, no matter the offense, has a primary back who is on for a higher percentage of snaps. I think RMU would like to use Davis alongside the likes of Ryan Thermil or Erich Maine, two bigger bodies. Forrest Barnes and incoming freshman Rameses Owens will also have a lot to say about how carries are doled out. But Davis has taken the first rep in every drill and his ability as a runner and receiving threat make him a legitimate threat in a more open offense.Likewise, Duane Mitchell and Sean Gavin seem to have pretty good holds on two of the top receiving spots. All of these position battles aren't going to heat up until August when everyone is in camp, but you do see some movement during spring. There hasn't been with Mitchell and Gavin, who finished the year as the starters. Mitchell is obviously going to be the team's primary weapon after an outstanding junior season, and Gavin seems to have things down pretty well. The emerging presence at receiver seems to be the other potential starter: Jordan Blackmon. The redshirt freshman was a late addition to the recruiting class last year out of North Hills HS here in Pittsburgh, but he's taken advantage of the new offense. Like Warren Fields, Kyle Buss and Phil Peckich, he fits really well into what Robert Morris wants to do occasionally at receiver. All of those guys have had good moments, but Blackmon's got the "first unit" reps and appears to be settling in nicely.The 7-on-7 drills and 11-on-11 drills stood in stark contrast to each other today. Much like yesterday, the offense thrived during 7-on-7 drills. Though they weren't quite as perfect as yesterday, the five quarterbacks went a collective 18-of-22 during the session. Paul Jones was particularly sharp, hitting all five of his passes, including a bullet to Gavin. He also took advantage of a mismatch between Blackmon and linebacker Nic Lamica for a TD, as even the athletic Lamica wasn't able to keep up with the speedy Blackmon.The defense did turn the tide a little bit later in 7-on-7 drills after several of the defensive coaches got on the unit. Antwan Eddie broke up the perfect string of completions with a nice deflection, then teamed with Logan Kelleher to sandwich Uni Akpan to break up a pass a few plays later. One noticeable element missing from the defense: Interceptions. Maybe it's adjusting to the new offense, which offers a few more receivers to cover; maybe there are fewer opportunities due to the construction of practice; or maybe it's just coincidence. But there are fewer practice interceptions, and when the defense does get its hands on a pass, they're not hanging on. In 7-on-7 drills, Joe Carroll tried to hit Phil Peckich deep in the end zone. Sam Woods got his hands on it but couldn't make the admittedly difficult leaping interception. On the very next play, linebacker T.J. Waters stepped in front Carroll's pass for Luke Centofanti but couldn't hang on despite getting both hands on the ball.Playing with a full complement of 11 a few drills later helped the defense gain an edge. Through the first handful of snaps, the offense had nowhere to move the ball on the ground and misfired on a few passing attempts. Pressure came from every direction, varying on each play. The offense did start to gel later in the drill, though, and had two significant plays develop. The first was an outstanding throw by Paul Jones off his back foot on the run to Blackmon, who made a leaping grab over Eddie to high point the ball and bring it in. Jones later threw a screen pass back across the field that had Davis set up perfectly to scamper 50 yards for a touchdown.Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Max Onyenwe is still working on his technique and his conditioning, but when it all comes together for him on a play, odds are there's a violent result. Onyenwe's shown flashes of being able to manhandle blockers, and he threw a couple aside during 11-on-11 drills. Onyenwe's in the mix to get playing time at defensive tackle, and those reps could increase if he continues to improve and get in better shape. Antwan Eddie will handle punt return duties, but a couple of other options are getting looks if he needs time away from returning kicks. During Wednesday's practice, redshirt sophomore WR Warren Fields - who returned kicks a little bit late last year - and freshman WR Kyle Buss both earned reps returning punts. Fields has a lot of speed, while Buss brings a lot of agility and above average speed to the table as well.
That's all for now. We'll be back with more tomorrow.
