Stanford held its first open practice of the spring Saturday afternoon. The practice was light on hitting and the number of missing or limited players supported that strategy. Almost every position group is affected.
The only offensive linemen available were Foster Sarell, Henry Hattis, Drew Dalman, Grant Pease and Dylan Powell in a limited role. Not that it probably matters much, but from left to right they lined up: Pease, Hattis, Dalman, Powell and Sarell.
Defensive line: Mike Williams, Ryan Johnson, Andres Fox and Bo Peek did not practice. Jovan Swann appeared to be limited. I'm sure it's frustrating for them, but until further notice of a dramatic change I think any hope or expectation that Johnson or Peek contribute should be put on hold.
Wide receiver: Simi Fehoko, Donald Stewart and Osiris St. Brown were not dressed for practice, which means the number of walk-ons outnumbered the available scholarship guys 3-2 (Connor Wedington and Michael Wilson). The good news about Wedington is that he's playing without a brace and looked good.
Defensive back: Kendall Williamson, Treyjohn Butler and Stuart Head were out.
OLB: Thunder Keck and Caleb Kelly were out.
Running back: Dorian Maddox and Trevor Speights are in yellow jerseys.
Notes from practice
Davis Mills participated in every drill I saw, including 7-on-7. Afterward head coach David Shaw said he was surprised Mills was ready to do as much as he did. Mills looked good. You don't want to make too much from activities that aren't "real football", but his performance was encouraging. His quick, compact delivery is effortless and he was placing passes perfectly for closely covered receivers to make a catch. There was a sequence when he dropped a perfect back-shoulder pass on a seam route followed by an out-route to a blanketed Tucker Fisk that he painted the outside corner for a perfect strike. His only miss was on a deep route to Wilson that was a touch underthrown and hit the back of Donjae Logan. Maybe my bar is too low with Mills -- as in I'm just thankful to see him throwing in full uniform -- but I thought he threw the most good balls of any of the quarterbacks.
I mentioned earlier that Wedington looked good. He was explosive, smooth and sure-handed. It was good to see him moving without the brace. He and Wilson look like playmakers. Also, you can hear Bobby Kennedy coach no matter where you're set up to watch practice. He is constantly extolling his guys and is as demanding of technique from the walk-ons as the scholarship guys. He'd be fun to shadow.
Curtis Robinson, Ricky Miezan and, to a slightly less extent Jacob Mangum-Farrar, look the part at inside backer. Mangum-Farrar could do with a bit more weight but he's not small. Miezan and Mangum-Farrar finish their drills with aggression and the bags pop on their hits. But that position group probably has a long way to go.
I thought Obi Eboh had the best day among the defensive backs. He timed one crossing route perfectly, broke up the pass and the collision with Wilson produced the loudest thump of the day. He also had great coverage on Wilson downfield to cause an incompletion when he didn't bite on a double move.
Colby Parkinson made one of those catches over Noah Williams down the seam that feels like it should always work.
I think TaeVeon Le should move full time to fullback/H-back. He's not as big as the other tight ends but he's a smooth route runner and confident pass catcher. I think he can be an answer there. Jay Symonds is huge and when he stands next to Houston Heimuli it looks like they play different positions.
Speaking of side-by-side comparisons, if you put Fisk next to Trey Stratford there may not be much difference. In fact, Fisk may be bigger. I feel bad for Stratford. I doubt he's practiced once since he arrived last year.
Walk-on receiver Brycen Tremayne had the catch of the day when he went up and pretty much caught the ball twice because he had to gather it again just before when he hit the ground. But then when someone tossed him his fallen mouthpiece he dropped that. No one is perfect.
Tobe Umerah looked much more comfortable in drills requiring him to drop into coverage and flip his hips. I thought he may be a little slimmer from last season but he is by no definition small. Walk-on OLB Keck and Anthony Trinh get talked about because they've played, but Caleb Phillips has stuck it out and put on good weight. He arrived as a surfboard. Casey Toohill is a man. Be very thankful that he is back.
On the recruit front, senior signees Josh Pakola and Bradley Archer were in attendance. Interestingly Pakola spent most of his time watching Lance Anderson work with the OLBs. We're really not going to know more about where he'll play until he's on campus.
Among the junior visitors, Andrew Gentry, Chad Lindberg and Tobin Phillips are large people. I didn't get to see how much time people spent interacting with each other. Harrison Phillips was hanging around and I think Stanford fans should hope that he gets a chance to talk to the group of visitors. I wouldn't hesitate to put Phillips in the top group of student-athletes to play for Shaw.
The only offensive linemen available were Foster Sarell, Henry Hattis, Drew Dalman, Grant Pease and Dylan Powell in a limited role. Not that it probably matters much, but from left to right they lined up: Pease, Hattis, Dalman, Powell and Sarell.
Defensive line: Mike Williams, Ryan Johnson, Andres Fox and Bo Peek did not practice. Jovan Swann appeared to be limited. I'm sure it's frustrating for them, but until further notice of a dramatic change I think any hope or expectation that Johnson or Peek contribute should be put on hold.
Wide receiver: Simi Fehoko, Donald Stewart and Osiris St. Brown were not dressed for practice, which means the number of walk-ons outnumbered the available scholarship guys 3-2 (Connor Wedington and Michael Wilson). The good news about Wedington is that he's playing without a brace and looked good.
Defensive back: Kendall Williamson, Treyjohn Butler and Stuart Head were out.
OLB: Thunder Keck and Caleb Kelly were out.
Running back: Dorian Maddox and Trevor Speights are in yellow jerseys.
Notes from practice
Davis Mills participated in every drill I saw, including 7-on-7. Afterward head coach David Shaw said he was surprised Mills was ready to do as much as he did. Mills looked good. You don't want to make too much from activities that aren't "real football", but his performance was encouraging. His quick, compact delivery is effortless and he was placing passes perfectly for closely covered receivers to make a catch. There was a sequence when he dropped a perfect back-shoulder pass on a seam route followed by an out-route to a blanketed Tucker Fisk that he painted the outside corner for a perfect strike. His only miss was on a deep route to Wilson that was a touch underthrown and hit the back of Donjae Logan. Maybe my bar is too low with Mills -- as in I'm just thankful to see him throwing in full uniform -- but I thought he threw the most good balls of any of the quarterbacks.
I mentioned earlier that Wedington looked good. He was explosive, smooth and sure-handed. It was good to see him moving without the brace. He and Wilson look like playmakers. Also, you can hear Bobby Kennedy coach no matter where you're set up to watch practice. He is constantly extolling his guys and is as demanding of technique from the walk-ons as the scholarship guys. He'd be fun to shadow.
Curtis Robinson, Ricky Miezan and, to a slightly less extent Jacob Mangum-Farrar, look the part at inside backer. Mangum-Farrar could do with a bit more weight but he's not small. Miezan and Mangum-Farrar finish their drills with aggression and the bags pop on their hits. But that position group probably has a long way to go.
I thought Obi Eboh had the best day among the defensive backs. He timed one crossing route perfectly, broke up the pass and the collision with Wilson produced the loudest thump of the day. He also had great coverage on Wilson downfield to cause an incompletion when he didn't bite on a double move.
Colby Parkinson made one of those catches over Noah Williams down the seam that feels like it should always work.
I think TaeVeon Le should move full time to fullback/H-back. He's not as big as the other tight ends but he's a smooth route runner and confident pass catcher. I think he can be an answer there. Jay Symonds is huge and when he stands next to Houston Heimuli it looks like they play different positions.
Speaking of side-by-side comparisons, if you put Fisk next to Trey Stratford there may not be much difference. In fact, Fisk may be bigger. I feel bad for Stratford. I doubt he's practiced once since he arrived last year.
Walk-on receiver Brycen Tremayne had the catch of the day when he went up and pretty much caught the ball twice because he had to gather it again just before when he hit the ground. But then when someone tossed him his fallen mouthpiece he dropped that. No one is perfect.
Tobe Umerah looked much more comfortable in drills requiring him to drop into coverage and flip his hips. I thought he may be a little slimmer from last season but he is by no definition small. Walk-on OLB Keck and Anthony Trinh get talked about because they've played, but Caleb Phillips has stuck it out and put on good weight. He arrived as a surfboard. Casey Toohill is a man. Be very thankful that he is back.
On the recruit front, senior signees Josh Pakola and Bradley Archer were in attendance. Interestingly Pakola spent most of his time watching Lance Anderson work with the OLBs. We're really not going to know more about where he'll play until he's on campus.
Among the junior visitors, Andrew Gentry, Chad Lindberg and Tobin Phillips are large people. I didn't get to see how much time people spent interacting with each other. Harrison Phillips was hanging around and I think Stanford fans should hope that he gets a chance to talk to the group of visitors. I wouldn't hesitate to put Phillips in the top group of student-athletes to play for Shaw.
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