Notes From Day 3 Of Spring Ball

CHESTNUT HILL - Many of you followed along on X and the thread this morning, but if you didn't here's everything I wrote down/saw during a pretty intense third day of spring ball that included shoulder pads for the first time...

-D-line was the first group to make their way over to Fish at like 8:22 this morning, a full 20ish minutes before any other group

-Vinny D was in the house today. Met his dad for the first time too, good dude

-DB's, wide receivers then QB's led by TC made their way in between 8:40 & 8:46. OL was in by 9:50. Feels like there's an 'if you're on time you're late' thing going on.

-There were A LOT of recruits on hand today and local coaches from the ISL and publics. Group of CM kids along with the legendary Coach Dibbs were in the house.

-Defense got a lot of work done early during a walkthrough with Coach Lewis. Both teams once again split up for the first 10 minutes or so.

-Returners worked on catching and fair catching kicks (jugs machine) while getting hit with pool noodle type padding.

-As the D walked through with barrels the offense again worked on some stuff at a walkthrough speed. Applebaum was fired up on one particular play for good execution.

-Watching Chudzinski work with the second unit, it sort of it me how much of a luxury that is. O'Brien and Lawing can handle the one's with the occasional help with the two's. That's some pretty damn good depth on the staff with a ton of offensive knowledge.

-CM freshman RB Datrell Jones looked good when I happened to watch him for a period of time during light 11-on-11 work. Again, that RB room is the second-deepest group on the team.

-While going half speed, Dino had a nice grab on a deep ball from James.

-It's still striking to me how short the stretching period is. Today lasted seven minutes. Stretches under Hafley legitimately lasted close to the full 20-30 minutes we got for media time. I'm not sure if there's any rhyme or reason behind it, but it certainly stands out.

-Whole team lined up in two lines along the sideline and then at like the 40 working on ball security for a few. Standard drill but just set up a little differently than I've seen in most HS and college practices. During this time the D-line worked on getting their hands up at the LOS with a tackle dummy in front of them as a blocker

-Offense and defense also briefly worked on getting on and off the field quickly for a few minutes.

-Got a really good look at the RB's working through contact and QB's throwing to WR's around 9:50 during an indy period. Can't keep stressing how different and deep this receiver room looks. All the QB's were sharp here, but there wasn't much to it with WR's mostly just running slants & comebacks, standard procedure for any team, but I only saw one ball hit the ground in 10ish minutes.

-First period of 7-on-7 followed. TC had a nice throw on a slant to Skeete, James and Harris connected for a nice comeback. I'm really impressed with Harris. He's young so might not see the field a lot, but another guy that just looks the part and has caught everything so far. Kam Arnold had a diving INT off Grayson with a tipped ball first going to Jalon Williams.

-Dino plucked a throw over the middle from James in impressive fashion, getting up for it. He's been really consistent so far too.

-First bit of 11-on-11 came just after 10. Mostly run oriented, but really the first bit of high intensity we got with some shoulder pads lightly popping a little bit, but guys obviously still tried to take care of each other and stay up. Khari Johnson 'blew up' a run and went absolutely nuts like it was a late 3rd down stop in November. Sideline did too. Cool moment.

-Ezeiruaku, redshirt junior Sedariius McConnell and Okpala all stuffed various runs. Really good period for the D-line. Victor Nelson had a nice PBU deep against Bradley, knocking it out at the last second.

-Owen McGowan had a run stuff at the LOS and Harris had a really nice grab over the middle from Rueve .

-Five minutes of a light walk through on some stuff for O and D before getting into 11-on-11. Lots of tempo but with a huddle, music playing for (I believe) the first time during play. TC had a dart on a slant to Bradley. Redshirt freshman Carter Davis had a PBU over the middle on Dino. Koelenge blew up a run (Datrell Jones) and Josiah Griffin batted down a screen.

-Five minutes of RB's, WR's and TE's all working on special teams blocking and releasing. Don't recall seeing a team do it this way, I've usually seen individual groups do it, but not all three groups together. Found it interesting. QB's worked on play fakes while BOB walked around keeping an eye on it all, urging guys doing ST work to make sure it wasn't a pillow fight.

-Back to 7-on-7 a little after 10:30. Enter Sandman was blasting for this one. Bradley should just have the 7-11 nickname now, literally almost always open.

-Don't be surprised if Franklin has an impact this year. I know Hafley talked him up a bunch last year but couldn't find a use for him. That's not going to be the case this season, he's valuable.

-Great PBU from Amari Jackson against Dino on a slant with a ball from James. He was all fired up.

-Took a while, but we got another 'catch of the day' from Bradley when he rotated in mid-air to adjust on a back shoulder throw from TC about 30 yards down field.

-11-on-11 again after that. More emphasis on tempo. Okpala had to run a lap for going offside, honestly might be the second or third pre-snap penalty in a drill or team period I've seen so far. Arnold blew up a screen and screamed so loud you could hear him in Worcester. Can't overstate the emotion and intensity at times throughout the day. TC made what I felt was his best play of the day when he stood in under pressure and waited out coverage before hitting Skeete over the middle for like 20 yards. If he can do that, watch out.

-Nate Johnson looked shifty at times when given an opportunity, could do a little bit of everything as a depth piece either as a ball carrier or pass catcher.

-James really just continues to look the part every time he gets snaps. Whether it's with his legs or his arm, just solid.

-Harris made another fantastic catch on a slant, basically wrestling the ball away from Jalon Williams. Freshman DB Carter Davis had a pick at the end of the period off Reuve on the left sideline and the D went nuts again.

-Special teams work for a few while the OL went indy. One guy stood out to me and it was LB Juan Zabal, a redhsirt sophomore from Mexico City (IMG). Not that he did anything spectacular during light work, but he just looks like a mean ass linebacker. I'm going to try and keep an eye on him more often.

-The day ended with a very entertaining 11-on-11 period with some stakes. Each group had three plays to get a stop or first down, with the losing team doing up downs. The offense dominated as the D had to do three different sets of them while the offense chirped.

-TC's group nearly lost immediately the first snap, but Jackson dropped a pick on the sideline. Tucker blew up a run to set up a massive third down, but Bradley saved the day with a leaping grab over the middle. You could make the argument that George Rooks would have gotten to TC for a sack, but no such luck.

-James needed one play, hitting Matt Ragan for a big play over the middle and an easy first down.

-Reuve hit Zamor for a short gain and Jones had a short run before freshman wide out Montrell Wade snagged a ball over the middle to force defensive up downs again.

-TC's group went back out one more time and he immediately took off for a huge run with Okpala flying off the edge. Just for S's and gigs, he hit Skeete on a roll out one more time as O'Brien talked to the D during their up downs and the offense celebrated.

The team is back at it on Saturday for practice No. 4. There's clear progress being made already. Obviously they won't hit another opponent until August, but we've all seen what bad offensive football looks like the last few years, this most certainly is not that. It's a different product, plain and simple.