Izulde
04-18-2009, 10:41 PM
Quarterback
Ryan Mallett made some gorgeous throws and a few iffy ones, including one for a pick right after a pick of the White Team. The other INT he had on the night wasn't his fault. In short, he looked about what you'd expect a talented young QB in his first year with a new team would look. Make no mistake though, as he gets more comfortable and in sync with the offense and his receivers, he's going to be very, very good. Even now he's a massive upgrade over He-Who-Must-Be-Forgotten.
Tyler Wilson started off really slow and looked awful, but then he picked it up and looked pretty sharp as the game went on, splitting time between the Red and White teams. Dude has an absolute cannon for an arm and while I was initially nervous if Mallett went down, I think we'd be fine if we had to turn to Wilson.
Jim Youngblood is what he is - a third string scrub. Didn't impress me at all, though he did throw for a TD.
Running Back
With Michael Smith out due to an injury, this was a great opportunity to look at some of the other RBs we have.
De'Anthony Curtis has some real talent, but he fumbled the ball at least twice and really drove me crazy with those turnovers. However, not only is he clearly the most talented back on the roster not named Smith, he was the only one all game who showed anything resembling pass-catching ability out of the backfield.
Dennis Johnson doesn't have the ball security issues that Curtis has it seems and had a couple decent runs, but overall he just struck me as really meh. I know MJ4H rates him well, but to me he's just very ordinary.
Broderick Green is another back MJ4H and I disagree on I think. I see him as little more than a short-yardage back and I'm not sure he's even worth that. Did have a couple catches out of the backfield as I remember now, but overall, just didn't impress me at all.
Mitchell Bailey's listed as a FB, but he got a lot of carries early on with the White Team and did nothing with him. This ain't no Wisconsin FB, let me tell you. Don't know how he is outside of that.
Adrian Moore had arguably the most beautiful run of the night on a play where it looked like they were going left and he took the ball right, burst through the hole and was just gone 42 yards for the TD. Absolutely sensational to watch. Didn't see much else from him though, but based on what I saw, I'd say he'd push Johnson.
Wide Receivers
Way, way, way too many dropped passes out of this unit. It's got me a little worried, to be honest and I didn't get a clear sense of everyone, but here's the ones I did.
Joe Adams seems to have a real knack for getting open and looked arguably the best of the WRs on the night. Pretty good hands as well and probably the #1 receiver of the players returning.
Jarius Wright can make some brilliant, tough catches, but he also drops passes that he shouldn't. Kind of reminds me of the WR version of Curtis in that regard.
Reggie Fish got quite a few looks and made some catches, but I don't see him as anything special. I'm also scared if they plan on using him as a return man, because he's way too butterfingers on that.
Tight Ends
D.J. Williams is godly. He'll be a junior next year and as good as he was last season, he looks even better this upcoming season. For my money, he's one of the top pass-catching TEs in the entire country. I -love- watching this kid play. I think the only pass he didn't catch thrown his way the entire night was one Mallett threw over his head. There's a reason he was the Razorbacks' Offensive Player of the Year last year (Smith won MVP).
Defense
Biggest difference between this year and last - the D, especially the first team, actually attacked the run and did a good job of bottling up the White Team's backs, with the exception of Moore's homerun play. A far cry from last year, where even a D 1-AA back could net himself 100 yards with not much effort against the Hogs. The defense will be drastically improved from that alone.
On the negative side, the secondary is just bad. Yes, there were a few picks, but overall, they definitely looked like the weakest link on the team. MJ4H says we've got some good guys coming in once fall practice starts and I hope we do, because if we don't, we're going to get eaten alive through the air.
Offensive Line
They seemed to do a pretty good job, even with Luigs lost to graduation.
Overall, the general sense I get is that the Hogs are going to be a -much- improved team next season. In fact, I'd see a bowl game as a real possibility, but only a minor bowl. Defense is still too suspect, especially the secondary and in the SEC to have higher aims than that and if Smith has injury problems, our running game takes a pretty significant hit. But with Mallett under center and Williams and an improved through experience WR corps, we won't have a problem putting points up on the board.
Ryan Mallett made some gorgeous throws and a few iffy ones, including one for a pick right after a pick of the White Team. The other INT he had on the night wasn't his fault. In short, he looked about what you'd expect a talented young QB in his first year with a new team would look. Make no mistake though, as he gets more comfortable and in sync with the offense and his receivers, he's going to be very, very good. Even now he's a massive upgrade over He-Who-Must-Be-Forgotten.
Tyler Wilson started off really slow and looked awful, but then he picked it up and looked pretty sharp as the game went on, splitting time between the Red and White teams. Dude has an absolute cannon for an arm and while I was initially nervous if Mallett went down, I think we'd be fine if we had to turn to Wilson.
Jim Youngblood is what he is - a third string scrub. Didn't impress me at all, though he did throw for a TD.
Running Back
With Michael Smith out due to an injury, this was a great opportunity to look at some of the other RBs we have.
De'Anthony Curtis has some real talent, but he fumbled the ball at least twice and really drove me crazy with those turnovers. However, not only is he clearly the most talented back on the roster not named Smith, he was the only one all game who showed anything resembling pass-catching ability out of the backfield.
Dennis Johnson doesn't have the ball security issues that Curtis has it seems and had a couple decent runs, but overall he just struck me as really meh. I know MJ4H rates him well, but to me he's just very ordinary.
Broderick Green is another back MJ4H and I disagree on I think. I see him as little more than a short-yardage back and I'm not sure he's even worth that. Did have a couple catches out of the backfield as I remember now, but overall, just didn't impress me at all.
Mitchell Bailey's listed as a FB, but he got a lot of carries early on with the White Team and did nothing with him. This ain't no Wisconsin FB, let me tell you. Don't know how he is outside of that.
Adrian Moore had arguably the most beautiful run of the night on a play where it looked like they were going left and he took the ball right, burst through the hole and was just gone 42 yards for the TD. Absolutely sensational to watch. Didn't see much else from him though, but based on what I saw, I'd say he'd push Johnson.
Wide Receivers
Way, way, way too many dropped passes out of this unit. It's got me a little worried, to be honest and I didn't get a clear sense of everyone, but here's the ones I did.
Joe Adams seems to have a real knack for getting open and looked arguably the best of the WRs on the night. Pretty good hands as well and probably the #1 receiver of the players returning.
Jarius Wright can make some brilliant, tough catches, but he also drops passes that he shouldn't. Kind of reminds me of the WR version of Curtis in that regard.
Reggie Fish got quite a few looks and made some catches, but I don't see him as anything special. I'm also scared if they plan on using him as a return man, because he's way too butterfingers on that.
Tight Ends
D.J. Williams is godly. He'll be a junior next year and as good as he was last season, he looks even better this upcoming season. For my money, he's one of the top pass-catching TEs in the entire country. I -love- watching this kid play. I think the only pass he didn't catch thrown his way the entire night was one Mallett threw over his head. There's a reason he was the Razorbacks' Offensive Player of the Year last year (Smith won MVP).
Defense
Biggest difference between this year and last - the D, especially the first team, actually attacked the run and did a good job of bottling up the White Team's backs, with the exception of Moore's homerun play. A far cry from last year, where even a D 1-AA back could net himself 100 yards with not much effort against the Hogs. The defense will be drastically improved from that alone.
On the negative side, the secondary is just bad. Yes, there were a few picks, but overall, they definitely looked like the weakest link on the team. MJ4H says we've got some good guys coming in once fall practice starts and I hope we do, because if we don't, we're going to get eaten alive through the air.
Offensive Line
They seemed to do a pretty good job, even with Luigs lost to graduation.
Overall, the general sense I get is that the Hogs are going to be a -much- improved team next season. In fact, I'd see a bowl game as a real possibility, but only a minor bowl. Defense is still too suspect, especially the secondary and in the SEC to have higher aims than that and if Smith has injury problems, our running game takes a pretty significant hit. But with Mallett under center and Williams and an improved through experience WR corps, we won't have a problem putting points up on the board.