After a down practice Monday, Wondy Pierre-Louis couldn't help but yell after every defensive stop on Wednesday. The defense lost the final head-to-head matchup of the spring, but the advances taken as a defense are still easily noticeable.
Defensive line-
SDE- Carlos Dunlap, Justin Trattou, Jaye Howard
DT- Matt Patchan, Terron Sanders,
DT- Troy Epps, Lawrence Marsh, Torrey Davis
WDE- Jermaine Cunningham, Duke Lemmens, Earl Okine
What I liked: I thought Troy Epps had the best day of the defensive linemen. He started out the spring by just being a space-eater for the team, but now he’s doing that with a purpose. I love his intensity. He got pancaked by Maurkice Pouncey, and then the two got into a fight. He came right back after the fight and broke inside Pouncey to get to the quarterback. He seemed to have a chip on his shoulder today. Hopefully it came from the coaches talking about their issues at defensive tackle. Carlos Dunlap stepped into a first team role today and did what he’s been doing all spring. He ran straight through Tate Casey, who was attempting to block him on one play, and would’ve blown up a quarterback if the red jerseys weren’t on. Lawrence Marsh was on second team today and gave the second team offensive line trouble. Corey Hobbs couldn’t do a thing to stop him. Duke Lemmens is a guy that is always in the right place at the right time. He picked up a fumble today and would’ve scored an easy touchdown. I thought Jermaine Cunningham had his best day so far this spring. He blew up an option and got praise from Coach McCarney on plenty of other plays. He hasn’t had any issue stopping runs to the outside of him, but it’s the ones on the inside he isn’t making plays on. I’m not sure if this is good or bad, but Patchan knocked down Tebow over a throw today, making it all three quarterbacks that he has pushed over at one point or another this spring. Torrey Davis had a moment where he showed his athleticism to slip inside the line and make a big hit on a running back.
What I didn’t like: The first and second team defensive lines were completely opposite today. The second team line didn’t have much trouble stopping the run game against the second team offensive line, but when the first team lines went at it there were gaping holes in the middle of the defensive line. I only saw one run outside of the tackles break for long distance, and that was Rainey on the first play of the scrimmage taking a sweep 60 yards for a touchdown. As good as Marsh looked at times today, he also was dominated by James Wilson a few times in the one-on-one blocking drills.
Linebackers-
OLB- Dustin Doe, Jerimy Finch
MLB- Brandon Spikes, Lorenzo Edwards
OLB- Brandon Hicks, Chris Pintado
What I liked: Lorenzo Edwards is quietly having one of the best springs out of all the defensive players. He is a fundamental tackler who wraps up better than any other linebacker. He blitzed a few times and pushed some of the offensive linemen back. He came through the line untouched during the scrimmage, chased Newton out of the pocket, and came very close to catching him before Newton stepped out of bounds. I just can’t think of a scenario where he isn’t on the field during meaningful plays this fall. Dustin Doe is also coming on late this spring. He’s getting a lot better during tackling drills and seems to be wrapping up the ball carrier with a purpose now. He made a big hit on Chris Rainey at the line of scrimmage, letting Rainey try a few juke moves before blowing him up. Jerimy Finch is also having a good spring, and he looks to be getting healthier as the practices go along. After playing safety throughout high school, he’s using his ability to make an impact in the pass game. He picked off Cameron Newton in the end zone Wednesday.
What I didn’t like: Two days in a row I’ve seen Brandon Spikes not wrapping the ball carrier up. The one-on-one tackling drills show him going for the big hit, and I didn’t see too much of him during the scrimmage either. Brendan Beal is struggling a little bit this spring. He’s got plenty of confidence in himself, as he is constantly picking fights with offensive linemen, but he’s having running backs go right by him. One of the coaches even yelled at him before he went head-to-head with Kestahn Moore, saying “he’s going to run you over, Beal!” And Moore did just that. The linebackers have been good this spring in zone coverage by deflecting passes, but they lost Brandon James and Chris Rainey in pass coverage Wednesday.
Secondary-
CB- Joe Haden, Jacques Rickerson, Jeremy Brown
CB- Wondy Pierre-Louis, Moses Jenkins, Janoris Jenkins
S- Major Wright, Ahmad Black, John Curtis
S- Jamar Hornsby, Dorian Munroe, Bryan Thomas
What I liked:
Intensity was high for this group Wednesday. There were plenty of tipped passes and some of them were even intercepted. The secondary made almost all of their tackles during the one-on-ones with the wide receivers. They are letting the ball carrier come to them and not making over aggressive mistakes. The first play of the scrimmage has Wondy Pierre-Louis coming down with an interception that would have been run back for a touchdown. He got an assist on a play he reached into the receiver’s hands and tipped the pass up into the air for Brandon Spikes to come down with. Moses Jenkins had another big day. It’s been beaten to death this spring, but these cornerbacks just look completely different. It’s a brand new atmosphere with these guys. They’re attacking the football and the receivers off the line. Markihe Anderson looked physical today, even with a yellow jersey on for an injury. Janoris Jenkins also came down with an interception on a pass that was deflected.
The biggest surprise with the safeties was Jamar Hornsby’s emergence into the first team. Munroe was still practicing with the second team and didn’t appear to be injured. Hornsby made some good plays in pass coverage today, breaking up at least two passes. Ahmad Black made some big hits during Wednesday’s practice. You can put your head down during a play and know when Black hits somebody because it echoes through the practice facility. Major Wright is still Major Wright, making plays to affect the run and pass game.
What I didn’t like: Coach Heater wasn’t happy with the safeties leadership on the field, yelling at them to take control after a few plays. As good as the coverage has been, some of the cornerbacks still aren’t turning around in time to make a play on the ball. They are in good position more times than not, but some passes are still completed because the receiver is the only one looking at the ball. That happened to Pierre-Louis and Hornsby, when Riley Cooper caught the ball in the air and the two secondary members didn’t even know the pass was caught.
Player of the Day:
Wondy Pierre-Louis. He had a great day, exactly what he needed after a not so great practice Monday.
