Blue/White game observations....

[GregInPitt]

Back from the game. Not really too much to report, but I'd be interested to hear what others saw today....

1. Parsons basically played the whole game. He seemed to be around the ball on most of the plays. He was also on the kickoff teams. He also got called for a penalty. Is that the football version of a Gordie Howe hat trick?

2. One of the smaller B/W crowds I have seen for such a beautiful day.

3. Recruit seating area was packed full.

4. Wade warming up without much of a shirt was a show - he is built like a tank. I expect some crunching blows, and likely a targeting call on him on a clean hit, as his career progresses and he crunches receivers.

5. Although C.Brown and Farmer did not play, Darien played lots and was in on lots of plays for the Blue. He looks like a very good future LB as he continues to adjust to the position and fill out in the S&C program. Miller also seemed to play pretty well at LB.

6. Hippenhammer was hoppin all over the field. And Sulivan-Brown and Hamler looked good as well. So I will be surprised if any of the true FR WR's play in 2018 except Shorter.

7. I don't really understand why McSorley played so much and Clifford not as much....

8. CB looks deep, with McPhearson and Brown looking good in addition to those who seem entrenched in the rotation - Castro-Fields...

9. Joseph seemed to play most of the game at DE for Blue, and he looked pretty quick.

10. We were sitting with a great view of the White bench and Jenkins is a man child. But we never saw him get into the game. Is he hurt or just 5th team?

11. TE looks like it could be almost a start from scratch battle for Fall camp. Holland and Bowers did not play that we could see, if Kuntz played I sure didn't notice him, and Dalton was the only scholarship TE we noticed, and it was hard to notice him.......

 

[MontereyLion]

James said Clifford got hurt last week. That is why Trace played so much.

 

[Zone-Blitz]

Back from the game. Not really too much to report, but I'd be interested to hear what others saw today....

1. Parsons basically played the whole game. He seemed to be around the ball on most of the plays. He was also on the kickoff teams. He also got called for a penalty. Is that the football version of a Gordie Howe hat trick?

2. One of the smaller B/W crowds I have seen for such a beautiful day.

3. Recruit seating area was packed full.

4. Wade warming up without much of a shirt was a show - he is built like a tank. I expect some crunching blows, and likely a targeting call on him on a clean hit, as his career progresses and he crunches receivers.

5. Although C.Brown and Farmer did not play, Darien played lots and was in on lots of plays for the Blue. He looks like a very good future LB as he continues to adjust to the position and fill out in the S&C program. Miller also seemed to play pretty well at LB.

6. Hippenhammer was hoppin all over the field. And Sulivan-Brown and Hamler looked good as well. So I will be surprised if any of the true FR WR's play in 2018 except Shorter.

7. I don't really understand why McSorley played so much and Clifford not as much....

8. CB looks deep, with McPhearson and Brown looking good in addition to those who seem entrenched in the rotation - Castro-Fields...

9. Joseph seemed to play most of the game at DE for Blue, and he looked pretty quick.

10. We were sitting with a great view of the White bench and Jenkins is a man child. But we never saw him get into the game. Is he hurt or just 5th team?

11. TE looks like it could be almost a start from scratch battle for Fall camp. Holland and Bowers did not play that we could see, if Kuntz played I sure didn't notice him, and Dalton was the only scholarship TE we noticed, and it was hard to notice him.......

TE is such a toss-up. Bowers and Holland are rarely in uniform for one reason or another, Kuntz needs a year in the S&C program and to physically fill-out, would liked to have seen Friermuth as an EE too. Dalton looks OK, but not someone that other defensive coordinators are overly worried about.

 

[Pocono Lion]

Back from the game. Not really too much to report, but I'd be interested to hear what others saw today....

1. Parsons basically played the whole game. He seemed to be around the ball on most of the plays. He was also on the kickoff teams. He also got called for a penalty. Is that the football version of a Gordie Howe hat trick?

2. One of the smaller B/W crowds I have seen for such a beautiful day.

3. Recruit seating area was packed full.

4. Wade warming up without much of a shirt was a show - he is built like a tank. I expect some crunching blows, and likely a targeting call on him on a clean hit, as his career progresses and he crunches receivers.

5. Although C.Brown and Farmer did not play, Darien played lots and was in on lots of plays for the Blue. He looks like a very good future LB as he continues to adjust to the position and fill out in the S&C program. Miller also seemed to play pretty well at LB.

6. Hippenhammer was hoppin all over the field. And Sulivan-Brown and Hamler looked good as well. So I will be surprised if any of the true FR WR's play in 2018 except Shorter.

7. I don't really understand why McSorley played so much and Clifford not as much....

8. CB looks deep, with McPhearson and Brown looking good in addition to those who seem entrenched in the rotation - Castro-Fields...

9. Joseph seemed to play most of the game at DE for Blue, and he looked pretty quick.

10. We were sitting with a great view of the White bench and Jenkins is a man child. But we never saw him get into the game. Is he hurt or just 5th team?

11. TE looks like it could be almost a start from scratch battle for Fall camp. Holland and Bowers did not play that we could see, if Kuntz played I sure didn't notice him, and Dalton was the only scholarship TE we noticed, and it was hard to notice him.......

Jenkins was in late. He whiffed on Joseph on pass protection. His feet are terrible, I can see why he’s buried in the depth chart.

 

[Victor E. Bell]

Missed the game...what was on the plane banner I saw flying around? Vote Scott Wagner for Governor...or we will?

 

[Ian]

Where was Matos? Was he banged up too cause I never saw him during the broadcast.

 

[MontereyLion]

I don't remember Matos either. So you know, he was on the White team....which was a surprise to me.

 

[Madsol]

I guess one good thing about TE (if you can call it good) is that the coaches know what we have and, maybe more appropriately, what we don't have. And they have all off season to scheme around that. It's not like we're counting on someone like Gesicki who then gets hurt right before the season starts or early in the season. Hopefully that will give someone a chance to step up at that position without really being counted on, at least early on. Yes, I know, that's a blue and white glasses on way of looking at it.

 

[marshall23]

Butler is going to help at corner.

 

[interrobang]

A smaller crowd?

 

[sss]

They announced on tv that Kuntz was not going to play. Did not hear a reason. They did not mention Bowers or holland not playing. This is a position where Stevens may be able to help out. Take out the TE and put him in.

 

[PearlSUJam]

A smaller crowd?

It was one of the biggest crowds I've seen in years for BW.

 

[TheWizardofCamelot]

Pretty horrible analysis. Why did McSorley play so much and Clifford so little? Coach said that Clifford tweaked a hamstring earlier in the week. Small crowd? Reportedly 71k in attendance, 4th most in the country.

 

[BUFFALO LION]

They announced on tv that Kuntz was not going to play. Did not hear a reason. They did not mention Bowers or holland not playing. This is a position where Stevens may be able to help out. Take out the TE and put him in.

Two things I noticed about Kuntz.

1.) A LOT skinnier than I thought he'd be. Not saying he won't see the field, because I know he's supposedly fast and can jump, but I will be amazed if he doesn't red shirt if we are going to use him at TE. The guy just doesn't look strong enough at this point (compared to what he needs to be for the position).

2.) Saw him standing beside Jenkins. Either Jenkins is 6'10" or 6'11", or Kuntz is no more than 6'4" or 6'5". There was at least a 3 to 4 inch difference between the two in real life. Of course, the recruiting services and the roster had and have them at 6'7" (Kuntz) and 6'8 (Jenkins). For what it's worth, Jenkins looks at least an inch taller than Shuman who is listed at 6'8".

 

[dwiz]

Missed the game...what was on the plane banner I saw flying around? Vote Scott Wagner for Governor...or we will?

it was vote for these 3 trustees, and not this 4th one

 

[Nitt1300]

it was vote for these 3 trustees, and not this 4th one

or put another way: don't think for yourself, it's time consuming- just do what we say

 

[BrianS]

Don't take much of anything from this "glorified" scrimmage game.

 

[MoyerJones]

They ran a two back set from shotgun and TMcS looked very comfortable optioning from it. MCS is going to run more this year.

Luketa has the “it” factor

 

[BUFFALO LION]

Jenkins was in late. He whiffed on Joseph on pass protection. His feet are terrible, I can see why he’s buried in the depth chart.

I actually thought Jenkins looked better than I expected he would. Of course that's not saying much, because I wasn't expecting much. And it was garbage time.

The guy that has improved by leaps and bounds is Wright. He looked terrible in his first BW game a couple of years back. I remember thinking back then that the guy looked totally lost and would never be able to block wind. But he has turned into a pretty good OT. Wright looked worse in his first BW game than Jenkins looked yesterday. Of course, that's saying more about Chasz's improvement and development than it's saying about how good Jenkins is right now.

 

[BUFFALO LION]

Was pleasantly surprised with Hippenhammer. Reminded me a lot of Jordan Norwood. Kid looks like he will be a pretty good receiver. Runs good routes and looks to have pretty good hands. Dropped one pass along the sidelines, but the corner had a lot to do with that one. The coverage was tight, and he may have been out of bounce anyway.

Overall, a real good (better than I expected) day for him.

 

[psuro]

Who won the Aric Heffelfinger award for "Best Performance in the Blue White Game by a Walk On Back Up Player?"

 

[Notsofastmyfriend21]

Zech McPhearson: Pretty darn good, I thought.

 

[PS4814]

I thought it was good for Trace to be getting extended time playing with the new WR's. They've got to develop that "chemistry" thing that everyone is always talking about.

 

[BUFFALO LION]

They ran a two back set from shotgun and TMcS looked very comfortable optioning from it. MCS is going to run more this year.

Luketa has the “it” factor

Agree. Luketa looked better than Parsons. And Luketa was playing against the better offense.

Luketa was running to the ball and playing like a polished senior. He seemed to hit everything that moved. Parsons played more reactive, like I thought he would. I'm sure he will be good when he learns what is going on and can react better, but in no way did he give me the WOW factor first impression that Lavar did.

After what I saw yesterday, the people making the comparisons between him and Lavar are completely off their rocker. That's just not fair to Micah at this point. Lavar was a once in a lifetime beast. And he played that way from the first time he hit the field (even though he ran himself out of position a lot).

 

[Raffycorn]

Who won the Aric Heffelfinger award for "Best Performance in the Blue White Game by a Walk On Back Up Player?"

Vranic led the team in tackles - he's got my vote for the Heffelfinger-Chiappiale Award.

 

[BUFFALO LION]

Zech McPhearson: Pretty darn good, I thought.

Totally agree. And he was playing against the better receivers and McSorley.

Stayed on most of his guys like flypaper and looked to have good recovery speed. One of the most positive performances of the day.

 

[cyrizzle]

Mac Hipp best performer of the day. He’s going to be one of the best slot receivers in the NCAA in a few years. A better version of Norwood. Will put on more weight and muscle when baseball is over and he gets to work out with the team.

 

[BrianS]

Who won the Aric Heffelfinger award for "Best Performance in the Blue White Game by a Walk On Back Up Player?"

I remember that "scrimmage" game very well. He was a "Heisman" candidate after that game!

 

[BobPSU92]

Zech McPhearson: Pretty darn good, I thought.

Over/Under on how many times he is referred to as Zach or Zack on this site this season?

Giesicki, Saquan, Hackenburg.

 

[CappyToCJF]

Pretty horrible analysis. Why did McSorley play so much and Clifford so little? Coach said that Clifford tweaked a hamstring earlier in the week. Small crowd? Reportedly 71k in attendance, 4th most in the country.

Anyone there knows there was not 71k there. There as not 71k worth of area covered with any people and what was covered with people was covered at a density of 50% or less. There was not 40k of actual people in attendance.

 

[Ian]

Not from a tv perspective. Looked like pretty much all areas covered but for the upper decks. 65-70% capacity is a good estimate.

 

[CappyToCJF]

Not from a tv perspective. Looked like pretty much all areas covered but for the upper decks. 65-70% capacity is a good estimate.

When you are there you see the outer areas of the grandstands are bare. We were in prime seating, 40 yard line, row 10 behind seat back seats, and we were at less than 50% density compared to how many seats are sold and people sittong for a real game.

 

[OhioLion]

There was not 40k of actual people in attendance.

I will respectfully disagree.
Not sure if 71,000, but definitely there was more than 40,000.

OL

 

[LurkerLazarus]

Is it really that big of a deal? I don't understand why people get upset over the fact that the number of people there are overestimated. Nobody really gives a crap.

 

[AWS1022]

Is it really that big of a deal? I don't understand why people get upset over the fact that the number of people there are overestimated. Nobody really gives a crap.

And every other team does it too, so in the end it’s all relative....we had the 4th highest attendance regardless of what number you use.

 

[Ian]

Is it really that big of a deal? I don't understand why people get upset over the fact that the number of people there are overestimated. Nobody really gives a crap.

No!

 

[grinagrin]

OLine still looks very average, especially in the run game...I swear I think Franklin and staff overthink it. Just leave Fries at LT, you’ll then have a 4 year starter at the most important position...put Bates at his more suitable position RG and leave Wright, a 5th year Senior at RT....

 

[PearlSUJam]

Anyone there knows there was not 71k there. There as not 71k worth of area covered with any people and what was covered with people was covered at a density of 50% or less. There was not 40k of actual people in attendance.

Is this a joke? We went in at 2:45 and got stuck in corner seats because both sidelines were full almost to the top.

 

[NedFromYork]

Bolds is ENORMOUS. Luketa stood out. Carry on.

 

[Notsofastmyfriend21]

Over/Under on how many times he is referred to as Zach or Zack on this site this season?

Giesicki, Saquan, Hackenburg.

McSorely.