If you don't think that the players are counting down the hours to Thursday's scrimmage, then you've never been part of the last week of a college training camp. The end is near and the players can feel it. Today was the last true two-a-day of camp. Robert Morris has a single practice on Tuesday followed by a normal morning practice on Wednesday. The second session on Wednesday is bound to be a more limited walkthrough in preparation for Thursday evening's scrimmage.
After Thursday's scrimmage, Robert Morris will finalize its depth chart and start working toward Eastern Kentucky. I'm sure several drills over the next few days will also include Eastern Kentucky plans. RMU will get four days of practice in before using Wednesday to travel to Richmond, Kentucky in preparation for Thursday night's kickoff.
The hours are counting by, and I'm sure almost every single player could tell you how many are left until that final scrimmage.
TWO-DEEP DEPTH CHART
QB - Paul Jones / Derik Abbott / Marcus Prather
RB - Deontae Howard / Kenny Davis
FB - Ryan Thermil / Corey Garry
TE - Tyler Digby / Andrew Smith
WR - Donte Jeter / D.J. Hayes
WR - Duane Mitchell / Sean Gavin
LT - A.J. Dalton / Jonah Tyus
LG - Max Robertson / Carlton Watson
C - Nick Faraci / Dylan Knight
RG - Vince Mongelluzzo / Blake Chambliss
RT - Jon Hill
DE - Forrest Mason / T.J. Matrascia
DT - Farren Mason / R.J. Cook
DE - Chris Thompkins / A.J. Holderman
OLB - Mike Stojkovic / Jake Skinner
MLB - Kyle Cooper / Luke Mueller
MLB - Mike Cook / Matthew Fox
OLB - Kimani Smith / Jake Tkach
CB - Marcelis Branch / David Taylor
S - D.J. Myers / Andy Smigiera
S - Sam Collins or Phil Peckich / Logan Kelleher
CB - Antwan Eddie / Brian Jones
Day 17 Practice Notes:
QB Brian Johnson, WR Chad Dawgiello, TE
D.J. Pearson, OL Riley Feenan, OL Drew Garbenis, OL
Anthony Lucian, OL Chris O'Connor, OL Mike Randolph, OL Josh Thiel, DE
Ryan Budny, DT Max Onyenwe, LB Mark Centofanti, S Eric
LowryQB Derik Abbott, WR Warren Fields, OL A.J. Dalton, and DE Tyler Potts all returned to practice. Abbott and Dalton jumped right back into their spots in the rotation and looked 100 percent. Fields was somewhat limited, as was defensive back Clay Ilkin. Potts was back in practice for the first time since the third day of camp, and today was just the first time he was in full pads in training camp. He'll have some rust to shake off, and the team is deep at defensive end, but I wouldn't be surprised for him to find a role, perhaps at home games when the roster is deeper. His size is just so unique. It's not something you can teach.Dylan Knight continued to get reps at center with Anthony Lucian out. Offensive line coach Andrew Richardson is trying to plug guys into different roles for emergency situations, and being more versatile might help Knight secure a spot on the travel roster. The other movement featured Nick Faraci subbing in at right tackle on the second team offensive line. Faraci was one of several players who helped fill in with just nine offensive linemen dressed, but he was the most unique sub. Paul Jones continued to take the first rep in every drill. It's hard not to get the impression that he's the leader for the QB job as the days wind down. But Joe Walton wants to get one last look at everyone in Thursday's scrimmage, and that's reasonable. Based off the order of reps in practice, it goes Jones, Abbott, and then Marcus Prather. We'll see if that's the rotation that holds up through the final scrimmage. The final three days will be interesting to watch.As we've mentioned before, in certain situations, the defense shifts from Robert Morris' customary 3-4 defense to a 4-3 defense. The shift means a slightly different look to the personnel in the front seven. In most cases, R.J. Cook slots in at tackle next to Farren Mason with Kyle Cooper coming off the field. In other cases, Cooper shifted to outside linebacker with Mike Stojkovic coming off. I think the flexibility of those two linebackers (Cooper started off his career outside, Stojkovic came out of a 4-3 at North Texas) could provide some unique scenarios for RMU. It can be tough for players who are unable to practice to be up to speed. Many players who are on the sideline still observe, but it's not the same as getting reps. That's why it's interesting to watch a coach like Alex DiMichele pull the younger and out-of-commission defensive linemen to the side during special teams drills and put them through walk-through reps. Ryan Budny, Max Onyenwe and others aren't in uniform, but that little taste has to help them for when they finally are able to get the pads back on.The offense went a little deeper into Walton's playbook today with some trick plays. We'll spare you the details (as we promised at the beginning, we'll never give that info out), but you can always tell that the staff and the players enjoy testing them out. Some players get put in slightly different situations, and it's fun to see who the athletes are. The defense has seen these plays before, but sometimes they still get sucked in. That was the case during one play in 11-on-11, where the defense bought the trickery. The end of the play just didn't connect in a touchdown as hoped.Deontae Howard ripped off a 10-yard run early in 11-on-11 that was longer than any run play from Saturday's scrimmage. It was also the only long run of the day. However, Caleb Stennis turned a short pass into a big play, giving us a glimpse at his speed for the first time. If Robert Morris can't establish a true run game, maybe short passes can do the same. RMU has a handful of backs with decent hands (Howard, Kenny Davis and maybe Stennis if he cracks the travel roster). It might be able to serve the same purpose as a traditional running game.Finally, a kicker update. Connor Shennan and Hunter Khaleghi both handled kickoff duties in today's live kick coverage drills. It's hard to really separate either of them in kick duties, as it's not always about distance. Sometimes it's about direction, and both kickers were putting the ball roughly in the same area. When it came time to field goals at the end of practice, both made their first four kicks. But they missed their final seven combined kicks, all of them from a more aggressive distance. Khaleghi hit the upright on one kick that appeared to be close to 50-yards out. All of their kicks had good length from 40-plus, but they were each pulled to the right.Play of the Day:
You could tell Derik Abbott was back in form today after missing a few days. He had an excellent throw to D.J. Hayes in the corner of the end zone during 7-on-7 drills. It was a great throw but even better catch. As the ball came down, Hayes split two defenders, leaped into the air and tapped his feet down for the touchdown. It was an excellent adjustment to the ballThat's all for today. Robert Morris has three practices left and Thursday's scrimmage before camp wraps up.
After Thursday's scrimmage, Robert Morris will finalize its depth chart and start working toward Eastern Kentucky. I'm sure several drills over the next few days will also include Eastern Kentucky plans. RMU will get four days of practice in before using Wednesday to travel to Richmond, Kentucky in preparation for Thursday night's kickoff.
The hours are counting by, and I'm sure almost every single player could tell you how many are left until that final scrimmage.
TWO-DEEP DEPTH CHART
QB - Paul Jones / Derik Abbott / Marcus Prather
RB - Deontae Howard / Kenny Davis
FB - Ryan Thermil / Corey Garry
TE - Tyler Digby / Andrew Smith
WR - Donte Jeter / D.J. Hayes
WR - Duane Mitchell / Sean Gavin
LT - A.J. Dalton / Jonah Tyus
LG - Max Robertson / Carlton Watson
C - Nick Faraci / Dylan Knight
RG - Vince Mongelluzzo / Blake Chambliss
RT - Jon Hill
DE - Forrest Mason / T.J. Matrascia
DT - Farren Mason / R.J. Cook
DE - Chris Thompkins / A.J. Holderman
OLB - Mike Stojkovic / Jake Skinner
MLB - Kyle Cooper / Luke Mueller
MLB - Mike Cook / Matthew Fox
OLB - Kimani Smith / Jake Tkach
CB - Marcelis Branch / David Taylor
S - D.J. Myers / Andy Smigiera
S - Sam Collins or Phil Peckich / Logan Kelleher
CB - Antwan Eddie / Brian Jones
Day 17 Practice Notes:
QB Brian Johnson, WR Chad Dawgiello, TE
D.J. Pearson, OL Riley Feenan, OL Drew Garbenis, OL
Anthony Lucian, OL Chris O'Connor, OL Mike Randolph, OL Josh Thiel, DE
Ryan Budny, DT Max Onyenwe, LB Mark Centofanti, S Eric
LowryQB Derik Abbott, WR Warren Fields, OL A.J. Dalton, and DE Tyler Potts all returned to practice. Abbott and Dalton jumped right back into their spots in the rotation and looked 100 percent. Fields was somewhat limited, as was defensive back Clay Ilkin. Potts was back in practice for the first time since the third day of camp, and today was just the first time he was in full pads in training camp. He'll have some rust to shake off, and the team is deep at defensive end, but I wouldn't be surprised for him to find a role, perhaps at home games when the roster is deeper. His size is just so unique. It's not something you can teach.Dylan Knight continued to get reps at center with Anthony Lucian out. Offensive line coach Andrew Richardson is trying to plug guys into different roles for emergency situations, and being more versatile might help Knight secure a spot on the travel roster. The other movement featured Nick Faraci subbing in at right tackle on the second team offensive line. Faraci was one of several players who helped fill in with just nine offensive linemen dressed, but he was the most unique sub. Paul Jones continued to take the first rep in every drill. It's hard not to get the impression that he's the leader for the QB job as the days wind down. But Joe Walton wants to get one last look at everyone in Thursday's scrimmage, and that's reasonable. Based off the order of reps in practice, it goes Jones, Abbott, and then Marcus Prather. We'll see if that's the rotation that holds up through the final scrimmage. The final three days will be interesting to watch.As we've mentioned before, in certain situations, the defense shifts from Robert Morris' customary 3-4 defense to a 4-3 defense. The shift means a slightly different look to the personnel in the front seven. In most cases, R.J. Cook slots in at tackle next to Farren Mason with Kyle Cooper coming off the field. In other cases, Cooper shifted to outside linebacker with Mike Stojkovic coming off. I think the flexibility of those two linebackers (Cooper started off his career outside, Stojkovic came out of a 4-3 at North Texas) could provide some unique scenarios for RMU. It can be tough for players who are unable to practice to be up to speed. Many players who are on the sideline still observe, but it's not the same as getting reps. That's why it's interesting to watch a coach like Alex DiMichele pull the younger and out-of-commission defensive linemen to the side during special teams drills and put them through walk-through reps. Ryan Budny, Max Onyenwe and others aren't in uniform, but that little taste has to help them for when they finally are able to get the pads back on.The offense went a little deeper into Walton's playbook today with some trick plays. We'll spare you the details (as we promised at the beginning, we'll never give that info out), but you can always tell that the staff and the players enjoy testing them out. Some players get put in slightly different situations, and it's fun to see who the athletes are. The defense has seen these plays before, but sometimes they still get sucked in. That was the case during one play in 11-on-11, where the defense bought the trickery. The end of the play just didn't connect in a touchdown as hoped.Deontae Howard ripped off a 10-yard run early in 11-on-11 that was longer than any run play from Saturday's scrimmage. It was also the only long run of the day. However, Caleb Stennis turned a short pass into a big play, giving us a glimpse at his speed for the first time. If Robert Morris can't establish a true run game, maybe short passes can do the same. RMU has a handful of backs with decent hands (Howard, Kenny Davis and maybe Stennis if he cracks the travel roster). It might be able to serve the same purpose as a traditional running game.Finally, a kicker update. Connor Shennan and Hunter Khaleghi both handled kickoff duties in today's live kick coverage drills. It's hard to really separate either of them in kick duties, as it's not always about distance. Sometimes it's about direction, and both kickers were putting the ball roughly in the same area. When it came time to field goals at the end of practice, both made their first four kicks. But they missed their final seven combined kicks, all of them from a more aggressive distance. Khaleghi hit the upright on one kick that appeared to be close to 50-yards out. All of their kicks had good length from 40-plus, but they were each pulled to the right.Play of the Day:
You could tell Derik Abbott was back in form today after missing a few days. He had an excellent throw to D.J. Hayes in the corner of the end zone during 7-on-7 drills. It was a great throw but even better catch. As the ball came down, Hayes split two defenders, leaped into the air and tapped his feet down for the touchdown. It was an excellent adjustment to the ballThat's all for today. Robert Morris has three practices left and Thursday's scrimmage before camp wraps up.
