Observations From Scrimmage On Sunday
CHESTNUT HILL - BC had its first scrimmage on Sunday inside Fish Field House. Originally planned for Alumni Stadium, but after rain came in on Saturday night the new turf was quite slick. So, instead of taking any chances with injuries on the field, the decision was made to move it indoors.
Families and members of the Gridiron Club were lined up on the far sideline to get a peak at how the 2023 Eagles look. Media was allowed to watch the opening stretching and indy periods, and then were invited back in for about the last 30-35 minutes of action.
Here's what I saw...
-Pat Garwo was running hard, putting his shoulder down and churning out some extra yardage seemingly every time he touched the ball.
-You can see why Coach Hafley spoke so highly of John Pupel the other day. Pupel moves very fluently back there and looks like he can be a playmaker. Same thing with Victor Nelson.
-Saw Khris Banks get a sack during some 11-on-11, flying in and getting to Thomas Castellanos nearly untouched. It's a commentary on his development as a player more than it is about the O-line, don't worry.
-Morehead had a rushing TD from about eight yards out. Already has a handshake/TD celebration down with Ryan O'Keefe too.
-Sophomore running back Cam Barfield is an intriguing player. In the few touches I saw him get, he was extremely shifty and can make guys miss. Overall, the running game as a whole did look much better, especially one's v. one's.
-The first scrimmage is about getting operational things down like getting play calls in quick enough and not committing penalties. With the one's in (from what we saw) it was smooth, but there were a couple false starts with Castellanos under center. Coach Shimko and Coach Aazaar both spoke after it and both thought the operation amongst the staff was pretty good for the first time without a script.
-Very much a competition up front for two spots aside from Kendall, Trapillo and Mahogany. Rotation and each guy looks like he can make an impact.
-In red zone work Alex Broome had two nice back cuts to earn some extra yardage. The running back room can really be a difference maker this year if everyone's healthy and contributing. There's some real talent there.
-With .freshman Jacobe Robinson in at one point, Lewis Bond had a great grab on a quick out. At this same time, Emmett Morehead and and the top O-line unit were off to the side talking details and protection.
-Coach Hafley has stressed the competition factor with the kickers and it was a pretty ugly period for those guys. Connor Lytton was held out of practice for the day, so it was Liam Connor and Sam Stone. Each guy got two attempts from 34 yards out on the left and right hashes and all four kicks were missed and none were really that close. There's a very good chance this team doesn't know who the kicker is for NIU until days before.
-Two minute situational work to end practice. Hafley put the ball on the plus-34 with 33 seconds left, no timeouts and the team was down seven. Morehead's drive went incompletion to Joe Griffin (drop), crosser to Bond, Incomplete on a fade to the back left corner to Jaden Williams (overthrow), snap over Morehead's head. BC loses. Castellanos went crosser to Bond and then threw a TD to a wide open Jaedn Skeete in the back left corner from about 20 yards out.
-The "three's" ran a little bit of 7-on-7 to wrap things up while the D-line was on the other end of the field with Coach Vince getting more work in. The biggest play of the day (that we saw) came when Robinson lofted a ball down the right sideline to classmate Reed Harris, who Moss'd the defender (couldn't see who it was) to haul it in, earning a huge roar from the offensive sideline. Kahlil Ali also had a pick six down the right sideline as the entire defense ran alongside him.
BC will scrimmage again next Sunday (hopefully) inside Alumni. With just three weeks left until the season opener, it definitely looks better from a pass pro and overall operational standpoint, but the ones were a little sloppy on Sunday. Still plenty of time to clean that up though and Hafley said they'll start zoning in on NIU after the week of practice next week.