Spring practice is an interesting animal. There is naturally a lot of instruction and teaching, but there are also significant battles. The headliner in Robert Morris' camp is the competition for the quarterback spot. But the entire group is still learning so much that even the coaches don't expect to have the position decided until some point in training camp in August.
Outside of competition battles, there's also the issue of depth. The lines are a perfect example: The offensive line has just eight bodies for five spots. Meanwhile, the defensive line can rotate nine players for three spots. Wide receiver has 13 players for two or three spots at a time, but Friday's practice featured just three running backs, a difficult split when you're running 7-on-7 drills and 9-on-7 drills at the same time.
That inconsistent depth is why I've gotten the impression that this spring is really about installation and education for the football team. Competition is a major factor in that, as these guys are naturally competitive like all athletes, but don't expect any jobs to be won by the spring game.
DEPTH CHART
QB - Derik Abbott/Paul Jones
RB - Evan Taylor, Kenny Davis
FB - Ryan Thermil, Marty Thomas
TE - Andrew Smith, D.J. Pearson
WR - Donte Jeter, Chad Dawgiello
WR - Duane Mitchell, Dustin Lowman
LT - A.J. Dalton, Dylan Knight
LG - Max Robertson, Josh Thiel
C - Nick Faraci, Anthony Lucien
RG - Vince Mongelluzzo, Josh Thiel
RT - Jon Hill, Dylan Knight
DE - Forrest Mason, Daeon Kelly
DT - Farren Mason, R.J. Cook
DE - Chris Thompkins, Ryan Lewis
OLB - Adrian Perez, Jake Tkach
MLB - Mike Cook, Matthew Fox
MLB - Luke Mueller, Jimmy Masson
OLB - Kyle Cooper, Devon Cesario
CB - Antwan Eddie, David Taylor
S - D.J. Myers, Sam Collins
S - Eric Lowry, Phil Peckich
CB - Marcelis Branch, Brian Jones
NOTES
Safety Ky Kenyon (foot), running back Deontae Howard, fullback Corey Garry (foot), lineman Sean Guy, corner Clay Ilkin, defensive end Tyler Potts, defensive end A.J. Holderman (knee), defensive end T.J. Matrascia, linebacker Kimani Smith (upper body) and linebacker Mark Centofanti did not practice. If there was any doubt, the quarterback job is an equal split right now. Paul Jones and Derik Abbott are getting almost the same number of splits, and that's expected to continue throughout the spring session. We'll have more on the two quarterbacks and their different approaches to the game on Sunday and Monday.Friday's practice focused heavily on the running game, especially in 11-on-11 drills. Abbott and Jones have shown a sharp understanding of passing patterns, but the run game is obviously integral to Robert Morris' offense. One would think that the passing patterns and timing would be harder to get down, but from my eyes, the trio of quarterbacks struggled more today than they have all week with the running game. The first issue came with the quarterback-center exchange. Multiple hiccups happened, no matter if it was Nick Faraci or Anthony Lucien at center. It's a timing issue, and it's one of those things that develops over time with the quarterback and the center.
The run game, meanwhile, is an intricately choreographed dance. It's more than just dropping back and handing it to the proper back. Walton's offense has a lot of movement, a lot of crossing in the backfield, and all three QBs had to iron out wrinkles in their hand-offs. Former quarterback Jeff Sinclair was on hand to help out along with QB coach Mauro Monz. It's about repetition and almost muscle memory, and Monz is conscious of not overwhelming Abbott and Jones with a large amount of new information each day.
Speaking of the run game, Kenny Davis had the chance to work with the top group today with Deontae Howard out. He and Evan Taylor handled the bulk of the workload, and while the defense had the run of play - including Kyle Cooper slicing into the backfield for a couple solid stops - Davis did have the nicest move of the day. In a burst up the middle, Davis planted his right foot and left a defender grabbing nothing but air on a nice juke. It was one of the few runs either Davis, Taylor, or fullback Ryan Thermil had that gained any significant yardage.With the offensive emphasis on the running game, the defensive emphasis was on shedding blocks and slicing through bodies to get into the backfield or at least stop backs around the line of scrimmage. As mentioned, Cooper found his way into the backfield a couple times, as did Henry Jartu and R.J. Cook. At its best, Robert Morris' defense funnels the back up the middle into the waiting arms of its middle linebackers. But those linebackers have to be able to shed blockers to finish those tackles, and that hasn't been the case the last few years.Finally, a couple elite individual plays: Abbott hit Duane Mitchell over the top of one man in coverage and in front of another on a pass to the sideline in 7-on-7 drills, another display of his pinpoint accuracy; Zach Washington timed a route perfectly to jump in front of a receiver and pick off Abbott in 7-on-7. Walk-on Chris Rivers used a double move to beat Malik Johnson and cut to the near pylon, where Paul Jones hit him perfectly in the chest with a pass.
But the play of the day goes to Donte Jeter in 7-on-7 drills. Jeter cut across the middle, where Jones fired a pass right over the top of two defenders. Jeter plucked the ball out of the air right above their helmets and took off.
No camp reports over the weekend, but plenty of coverage still to come until another camp report Monday.
Outside of competition battles, there's also the issue of depth. The lines are a perfect example: The offensive line has just eight bodies for five spots. Meanwhile, the defensive line can rotate nine players for three spots. Wide receiver has 13 players for two or three spots at a time, but Friday's practice featured just three running backs, a difficult split when you're running 7-on-7 drills and 9-on-7 drills at the same time.
That inconsistent depth is why I've gotten the impression that this spring is really about installation and education for the football team. Competition is a major factor in that, as these guys are naturally competitive like all athletes, but don't expect any jobs to be won by the spring game.
DEPTH CHART
QB - Derik Abbott/Paul Jones
RB - Evan Taylor, Kenny Davis
FB - Ryan Thermil, Marty Thomas
TE - Andrew Smith, D.J. Pearson
WR - Donte Jeter, Chad Dawgiello
WR - Duane Mitchell, Dustin Lowman
LT - A.J. Dalton, Dylan Knight
LG - Max Robertson, Josh Thiel
C - Nick Faraci, Anthony Lucien
RG - Vince Mongelluzzo, Josh Thiel
RT - Jon Hill, Dylan Knight
DE - Forrest Mason, Daeon Kelly
DT - Farren Mason, R.J. Cook
DE - Chris Thompkins, Ryan Lewis
OLB - Adrian Perez, Jake Tkach
MLB - Mike Cook, Matthew Fox
MLB - Luke Mueller, Jimmy Masson
OLB - Kyle Cooper, Devon Cesario
CB - Antwan Eddie, David Taylor
S - D.J. Myers, Sam Collins
S - Eric Lowry, Phil Peckich
CB - Marcelis Branch, Brian Jones
NOTES
Safety Ky Kenyon (foot), running back Deontae Howard, fullback Corey Garry (foot), lineman Sean Guy, corner Clay Ilkin, defensive end Tyler Potts, defensive end A.J. Holderman (knee), defensive end T.J. Matrascia, linebacker Kimani Smith (upper body) and linebacker Mark Centofanti did not practice. If there was any doubt, the quarterback job is an equal split right now. Paul Jones and Derik Abbott are getting almost the same number of splits, and that's expected to continue throughout the spring session. We'll have more on the two quarterbacks and their different approaches to the game on Sunday and Monday.Friday's practice focused heavily on the running game, especially in 11-on-11 drills. Abbott and Jones have shown a sharp understanding of passing patterns, but the run game is obviously integral to Robert Morris' offense. One would think that the passing patterns and timing would be harder to get down, but from my eyes, the trio of quarterbacks struggled more today than they have all week with the running game. The first issue came with the quarterback-center exchange. Multiple hiccups happened, no matter if it was Nick Faraci or Anthony Lucien at center. It's a timing issue, and it's one of those things that develops over time with the quarterback and the center.
The run game, meanwhile, is an intricately choreographed dance. It's more than just dropping back and handing it to the proper back. Walton's offense has a lot of movement, a lot of crossing in the backfield, and all three QBs had to iron out wrinkles in their hand-offs. Former quarterback Jeff Sinclair was on hand to help out along with QB coach Mauro Monz. It's about repetition and almost muscle memory, and Monz is conscious of not overwhelming Abbott and Jones with a large amount of new information each day.
Speaking of the run game, Kenny Davis had the chance to work with the top group today with Deontae Howard out. He and Evan Taylor handled the bulk of the workload, and while the defense had the run of play - including Kyle Cooper slicing into the backfield for a couple solid stops - Davis did have the nicest move of the day. In a burst up the middle, Davis planted his right foot and left a defender grabbing nothing but air on a nice juke. It was one of the few runs either Davis, Taylor, or fullback Ryan Thermil had that gained any significant yardage.With the offensive emphasis on the running game, the defensive emphasis was on shedding blocks and slicing through bodies to get into the backfield or at least stop backs around the line of scrimmage. As mentioned, Cooper found his way into the backfield a couple times, as did Henry Jartu and R.J. Cook. At its best, Robert Morris' defense funnels the back up the middle into the waiting arms of its middle linebackers. But those linebackers have to be able to shed blockers to finish those tackles, and that hasn't been the case the last few years.Finally, a couple elite individual plays: Abbott hit Duane Mitchell over the top of one man in coverage and in front of another on a pass to the sideline in 7-on-7 drills, another display of his pinpoint accuracy; Zach Washington timed a route perfectly to jump in front of a receiver and pick off Abbott in 7-on-7. Walk-on Chris Rivers used a double move to beat Malik Johnson and cut to the near pylon, where Paul Jones hit him perfectly in the chest with a pass.
But the play of the day goes to Donte Jeter in 7-on-7 drills. Jeter cut across the middle, where Jones fired a pass right over the top of two defenders. Jeter plucked the ball out of the air right above their helmets and took off.
No camp reports over the weekend, but plenty of coverage still to come until another camp report Monday.
