There was a lot of juice on both sides during the first day at the Greenbrier, so let's dive into my HARRIS HITS, the first ones from West Virginia in seven years.
That's Not Air Conditioning, We're Just Not In The Houston Heat Anymore
Now, there was a lot of juice because it was 69-70 degrees for much of practice, kind of like practicing indoors back at home, except cooler. The defense was jumping off the sideline for nearly every play made and there were plenty of them. The offense did the same for a handful of big plays that they created throughout the day.
On the first play of the first team period, OT Cam Robinson was injured and had to leave practice. That was certainly not the way anyone wanted to start the practice, but Cam walked off and the practice picked up in intensity in a big way for the remainder of the workout.
More Terrific Play From Togiai
The offense attempted to run a screen to one of the running backs, I think the intended pass catcher was Jawhar Jordan. I say "I think" because DT Tommy Togiai swallowed that RB/screen catcher in a quick minute. Togiai has had one of the best training camps of any player on either side of the ball.
QB Davis Mills then tried to hit TE Brevin Jordan up the seam in the end zone but veteran S M.J. Stewart flew in out of nowhere and nearly picked off the pass.
The offense will love that rep, though, from RB Jawhar Jordan, who picked up LB E.J. Speed who blitzed the A gap on that play. Jordan clocked him from jump and slowed Speed's path to Mills. Say it with me…"running backs that know who to block and then effectively pass protect find themselves on the field".
Will Just Won't Stop
QB C.J. Stroud's first throw of the day was a DART to WR Nico Collins on the slant route. After a Nick Chubb inside run behind some solid interior blocking, Will Anderson Jr. went back to wreaking havoc.
I can't even tell you what happened on the next play because all I wrote in my notes was "51 (bleeped) up that stuff - blew it up" So, I'm to assume that Anderson was in his bag, again.
Then, on the final play of that series, Stroud tried to throw but Anderson Jr. pushed him up into the pocket and then DT Tim Settle was there waiting for him. Stroud tried his best to escape but he slipped down to give the defense a coverage sack.
Angry Runnin' Brev
QB Kedon Slovis ran a beautiful bootleg and fired to TE Luke Lachey for a first down, one play after RB J.J. Taylor ran into a stonewall that was S Russ Yeast.
LB Nick Niemann made a beautiful play two plays after Yeast's tackle. He shot a gap and tackled RB British Brooks in the backfield for a TFL. Whenever I've talked to the linebackers on this team in this camp, they all have rave reviews for Niemann and it showed up on that play for sure.
Stroud then hit TE Brevin Jordan on a little bootleg and I've seen enough to know when Brev's big mad. When he caught that ball, I could see it on his face from a short distance away, thinking "he's about to run hella-angry". I was right. Jordan turned and CB Kamari Lassiter was there to make contact, but Jordan did first, hitting Kamari with a stiff arm right in the helmet. I like Angry Runnin' Brev.
Loving The Chatter
One of the things that I love about these practices at The Greenbrier and it hit me when I HEARD it during practice today. The communication, especially on defense, was amazing to listen to throughout the practice. Now, some of it was related to how they would play a certain scheme or defensive call, but some of it was just talking to one another about what they thought might be coming from the offense. It felt like there was chatter for 40 seconds leading up to every snap.
I bring that up because the noise was really loud two plays after Brevin's mad dash for the end zone. I could hear all kinds of chatter but I could pick out one voice in particular. So, when Stroud tried to throw to rookie WR Jayden Higgins, it wasn't surprising when nickel Jalen Pitre stepped in front for the int…oh, he dropped the interception. The reaction from the defense was amazing. They seemed to be loading up for a huge celebration, but Pitre couldn't hang on. It was such a great read and play by Pitre too, but he just couldn't juggle it AND hold on.
The raucous defense ran off the field with another victory on the final play of the series when Stroud couldn't find anyone open. S C.J. Gardner-Johnson and LB Azeez Al-Shaair led the way to the sideline but that entire unit was feeling itself at that moment.
Strong Runs, Big Catches
Rookie RB Woody Marks then took the first run through the defense on an inside run, getting some excellent interior blocks to give him room to slice through with some juice/power.
Mills then hit TE Dalton Schultz who was all over the field making catches throughout the day. But, it was TE Cade Stover who may have had the best catch of the day. He worked the back line of the end zone and Mills threw through some chaos to Stover. Fortunately, the ball did find Stover, who snatched it with both hands. As he did, though, one of the DBs ripped at the ball and I was sure it was coming out. I was shielded from the DB but he ripped violently at the ball. Stover's vice grips held on, though, for the touchdown and a celebration for the offense.
Pitre showed up a few plays after Stover's touchdown, blitzing QB C.J. Stroud. WR Nico Collins was open on the slant and that's where Stroud aimed, but Pitre jumped right in the way and knocked the pass down.
Mertz Makes Plays
A couple of plays later, rookie QB Graham Mertz created two of the best offensive plays of the day, back-to-back…of course, with the help of his pals Daniel Jackson and Braxton Berrios.
On the first one, Mertz spied single high, man coverage and immediately took a look at his matchup with Jackson v. D'Angelo Ross on the outside. Jackson did a great job getting just enough separation behind Ross to allow Mertz a shot at a completion. Then, the rookie WR showed late hands to Ross, not giving him a chance to read exactly when the ball would descend into his hands. Jackson made the catch down the field and that got the offense juiced up.
On the next play, Mertz eyed Berrios on the other side of the field. Running a short corner into the sideline, Berrios didn't have a ton of room to work his route. Mertz threw to a spot, though, and Berrios LAID OUT for the pass, diving through the ball for the outstanding catch. That kept the offensive party going for a little bit.
The defense turned it up again a couple of plays later as S C.J. Gardner-Johnson PERFECTLY read a route from WR Nico Collins. As soon as the ball was let go, C.J. G-J took off like a shot in front of Nico, picked off the pass and headed for the other end zone. It's easy to see why he had two seasons of six interceptions each in his two years in Philly.
Stroud Spies Kirk
But, the next play was one of my favorites of the day. The defense lined up in a look that seemed to indicate something to the offense. So, Stroud stepped up to the line of scrimmage and changed the play. Watching the communication on the offensive side of the ball at that point was really interesting and impressive. Stroud took the snap and immediately found WR Christian Kirk on the out route, delivering a DIME in the process. That was some Football 101 stuff going on and then to be able to execute perfectly after changing the play was brilliant.
More Standouts
Then, LB Jake Hansen made one of the more athletic plays on the day. The offense ran play action and QB Davis Mills had WR Jayden Higgins open on the slant behind the linebackers. Or, so it seemed. Hansen somehow stopped his run pursuit, dropped just slightly and then dove into the passing lane to knock the pass away from Higgins. What a great PBU!
One play that had the defense losing its mind was when DT Mario Edwards Jr. nearly clotheslined RB Woody Marks as the rookie was about to break through the line. Big #97 ripped the youngster down and then gave that stare/stance to his sideline. That set them off in hysterics.
Man, it was great to see LB Jamal Hill eat up a zone cut back run by J.J. Taylor. He sprinted in from the backside and popped Taylor at the line of scrimmage. I heard that pop 30-35 yards away.
Rookie WR Daniel Jackson saw a fair number of targets today and he and QB Kedon Slovis connected on a couple of them in the next series. Jackson ran a beautiful slant route on the final play of the series and Slovis hit him for a completion.
Stroud's Best Series
The next series was probably Stroud's best series of the day. He beat the blitz on the first play, drilling TE Dalton Schultz on the quick out route for a completion. Then, after a coverage sack, he drilled one to Stover against man-to-man for another completion. But, the best throw was his last of that series. He had rookie WR Jaylin Noel on the out route and the timing was impeccable. It was as if those two had been working that route for ages and they've only been together for a few months. Noel made the catch on the far sideline for a first down.
WR Braxton Berrios had a strong day. He had the great diving catch, the catch of the day I mentioned earlier, but he showed how to beat man coverage a little later in practice. He shook rookie DB Jaylin Smith from the slot and Davis Mills put that ball right on his chest for another completion.
Mills then hit WR Jayden Higgins on a slant route for a completion and then he drilled one to former fellow Cyclone Xavier Hutchinson for another completion.
On the final play of that series, Mills seemingly threw one right at me on the sideline. I was right in line with that throw, but I wasn't sure anyone on offense was going to be there to catch the ball. Then, John Metchie slid right into view and made one heck of a catch just a few feet from the sideline.
Mertz came back in, but the defense was ready this time. After Jamal Hill and Tremon Smith combined to knock away a pass intended for rookie TE Luke Lachey, CB D'Angelo Ross made his presence known again. Mertz threw to WR Xavier Johnson on the sideline and it looked like it was going to be a positive gain for the offense. But, Ross kept punching/pulling/ripping at the ball until it came out for a great PBU. Then, Mertz tried to hit Jackson on the slant route, but nickel Arthur Maulet tipped the pass right into the waiting arms of LB Nick Niemann.
Maulet had been really disappointed after Metchie made that diving catch earlier and I remember thinking that Maulet needed to make a play or that would sit with him the rest of the night. He made that play and a big one at that.
The next drive was a situational late in the half/late in the game drive to finish practice. Stroud threw to Schultz to start the drive and it looked like he had a second completion on the very next play to Schultz as well. But, LB Henry To'o To'o punched at the ball late to force a PBU.
After some pressure created a couple of incompletions, Stroud threw perhaps his best pass all day. He moved around in the pocket a bit before he saw TE Brevin Jordan down the seam. IT WAS GOING TO BE A TD…until it wasn't. Jordan couldn't hang on to the brilliant Stroud toss.
Two plays later, Stroud threw a gem to WR Xavier Hutchinson and hustled up to the line of scrimmage to spike the ball at the three yard line. One of the reasons why I love Hutch so much is that he knows exactly what to do at all times. After catching the pass, he SPRINTED back to the "ref" on the field and handed him the ball before going back out to line up for the spike. I've seen SO many guys drop the ball after the catch, which wastes time because the ref then has to go find it and it's a mess.
Then, from the three, Stroud looked for TE Dalton Schultz at the goal line. But, LB Azeez Al-Shaair dove to pick it off and the defense went berserk. I mean, the most excitement and joy I saw from the defense was the entire unit running with Azeez down the field to the other end. Now, I was standing right at the goal line and I'm pretty sure NFL officials would've called something on Azeez as he and Dalton were really getting after it, fighting for that tiny space that Stroud targeted. Either way, it was ruled a pick and a really good one at that.
Did E.J. Just Do That???
Then, perhaps the play of the day, on the final play of practice. QB Davis Mills wanted to throw a check down to RB Woody Marks, but out of nowhere LB E.J. Speed nearly jumped over, and around, Marks to pick off the pass. In my mind, I saw him jump over Woody because E.J. has that athleticism, but it probably was just around him. Either way, Speed made one heck of a catch and that set the defense off again…and for good reason. That was a HECK of a pick.
So, it was a charged up day in West Virginia and I've got a feeling there'll be more of that in tomorrow's workout as well. Can't Wait! See ya then, everyone!
