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Winter Workouts and Spring Practice progress and reports thread

GregInPitt

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Coach Galt had nice comments on Mustopher. The DL needs a leader!!

CSB featured in the photo's of winter workouts - hope he can stay healthy and contribute to the WR corps.

Zuriah Fisher listed as a DE/LB is interesting. Was his stay at LB short lived?





 
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Every year we hear glowing reports of "freakish" talent and incredible progress. For me at least, this comes as a contrast to the way coaches "poor mouthed" their teams back in the day.
I understand that today's athletes are a different breed and seem to need constant attention and approval. However, to the fans who soak up all the accolades....regardless if its from Gault or the daily tweets that come from the position coaches.....it seems that performance on game day rarely measures up.
If a fan is gullible and believes all the hype, it leads to predications of 15-0 and a miserable season when your team "only" goes 9-3.
 
Every year we hear glowing reports of "freakish" talent and incredible progress. For me at least, this comes as a contrast to the way coaches "poor mouthed" their teams back in the day.
I understand that today's athletes are a different breed and seem to need constant attention and approval. However, to the fans who soak up all the accolades....regardless if its from Gault or the daily tweets that come from the position coaches.....it seems that performance on game day rarely measures up.
If a fan is gullible and believes all the hype, it leads to predications of 15-0 and a miserable season when your team "only" goes 9-3.

Yes, it is to be taken with a grain of salt, so to speak. But it is important for leaders to emerge during the off season to replace the leaders that have graduated or are gone to the NFL, which is what I look for.

But it is interesting to see which players are featured in the released photo's, and who is hyped in comparison to what happens in the following season......
 
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Yes, it is to be taken with a grain of salt, so to speak. But leaders do emerge to replace the leader that have graduated or are gone to the NFL, which is what I look for.

But it is interesting to see which players are featured in the released photo's, and who is hyped in comparison to what happens in the following season......
Lack of leadership (in the huddle) sank this team last year. Clifford is the natural choice on O (as the QB) but couldn't step up as he had problems of his own. Hoping that will change. Brisker on D?
 
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Yes, it is to be taken with a grain of salt, so to speak. But leaders do emerge to replace the leader that have graduated or are gone to the NFL, which is what I look for.

But it is interesting to see which players are featured in the released photo's, and who is hyped in comparison to what happens in the following season......
Since spring practice starts Monday maybe you should change the heading to capture all the fun 😉
I really feel last years team was lacking in leadership especially on defense so you have a good point.
 
Glad he spoke highly of the D-Line transfers. I did not hear any mention of the RB transfer......nor any discussion about DBs, LBs, WRs or RBs.

Mustipher, Beamon, and Duke Transfer have to be strong up the middle.......and we need someone at DE to get pressure.

Strength of the defense seems to be the DBs.....and the strength of the offense seems to be OL perhaps RB if everyone is healthy.
 
Love Galt and his workout formulas and positive attitude but it’s pretty much the same rhetoric every year but with new names. Whatever happened last year started with the LOS and those players conditioning. It was subpar and I’ll give them the COVID pass. Their priority, rightfully so, was the safety of the players, coaches, etc... they were successful. Wins and losses were secondary. Not in 2021.
 
Yes, it is to be taken with a grain of salt, so to speak. But it is important for leaders to emerge during the off season to replace the leaders that have graduated or are gone to the NFL, which is what I look for.

But it is interesting to see which players are featured in the released photo's, and who is hyped in comparison to what happens in the following season......

We have had plenty of winter workout Tarzans play like Jane come fall.
 
Glad he spoke highly of the D-Line transfers. I did not hear any mention of the RB transfer......nor any discussion about DBs, LBs, WRs or RBs.

Mustipher, Beamon, and Duke Transfer have to be strong up the middle.......and we need someone at DE to get pressure.

Strength of the defense seems to be the DBs.....and the strength of the offense seems to be OL perhaps RB if everyone is healthy.
Refuse to call the DB’s at Penn St a strength until I see it. It has been the achilles heel for a healthy # of consecutive seasons now.
O Line - in my opinion, the single most important group in college football. Makes the average skill player look good, and the good ones, great. I feel we under-recruit O Line and D Line prospects
 
Sorry, but I have to chuckle at this thread. Three years ago we feared Galt would be lured to the NFL. Now, he’s full of 💩 because he talks very positively about his players.
To be upset with the team’s S and C last year is short-sighted. The teAm didn’t have a normal spring, summer (had a cancelled season at one point) or fall.
Oy Vey.

OL
 
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Sorry, but I have to chuckle at this thread. Three years ago we feared Galt would be lured to the NFL. Now, he’s full of 💩 because he talks very positive about his players.
To be upset with the team’s S and C last year is short-sighted. The teAm didn’t have a normal spring, summer (had a cancelled season at one point) or fall.
Oy Vey.

OL
Coaches who coach here.....well, come on I don't call it the McAndrew BWI firing squad for nothing. Galt, Franklin, Pry and Smith are all on the hotseat!
 
Refuse to call the DB’s at Penn St a strength until I see it. It has been the achilles heel for a healthy # of consecutive seasons now.
O Line - in my opinion, the single most important group in college football. Makes the average skill player look good, and the good ones, great. I feel we under-recruit O Line and D Line prospects

It sure does seem that OL and DL recruiting has come up somewhat short recently.

On the OL 2018 would have been a big plus except that one of the 2 stud OT's (Asiedu) never made it onto the field, and then the next class didn't make up for that unfortunate circumstance and only got 1 true OT in Wallace and only 2.5 OL recruits (as I count a JC player as only a half since even if he pans out he has limited eligibility - Whigan).

The 2020 OL class, obviously a too early evaluation, has numbers (5) but no true studs that were expected to force their way onto the field early. It would be very good news to hear that 1 or 2 of the 2020 class olinemen are challenging for a starting spot (or at least a true backup spot) coming out of this Spring's practices as there are some open starting positions and the team has not had much true OL ready to play depth in years ....

And although the DL recruiting has had some decent numbers it still left the DE roster very seriously short on numbers and talent going into this past off season.

I agree with the importance of OL performance and the assessment that a great OL can significantly elevate the performance of the offense regardless of the skill talent and I don't understand the lower numbers of OL recruits in some classes other than the staff just missing on their targets......
 
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It sure does seem that OL and DL recruiting has come up somewhat short recently.

On the OL 2018 would have been a big plus except that on of the 2 stud OT's (Asiedu) never made it onto the field, and then the next class didn't make up for that unfortunate circumstance and only got 1 true OT in Wallace and only 2.5 OL recruits (as I count a JC player as only a half since even if he pans out he has limited eligibility - Whigan). The 2020 OL class, obviously a too early evaluation, has numbers (5) but no true studs that are expected to force their way onto the field early. It would be very good news to hear that 1 or 2 of the 2020 class olinemen are challenging for a starting spot coming out of this Spring's practices as there are some open starting positions....

And although the DL recruiting has had some decent numbers it still left the DE roster very seriously short on numbers and talent going into this past off season.

I agree with the importance of OL performance and the assessment that a great OL can significantly elevate the performance of the offense regardless of the skill talent and I don't understand the lower numbers of OL recruits in some classes other than the staff just missing on their targets......
I hear what you are saying but this year the OL specifically should be good. We have a solid starting line up......with two very good tackles, Miranda moving to Center, Juice and either Harvard Guy or Des Holmes as the other guard.....Probably the transfer with Holmes being able to fill in at Tackle. I am pretty confident in those 6 players, the questions become who after that if there are injuries? Are we hearing any names to be next in line?

On DBs getting Brisker back was very important by the end of the year he was IMO our best player on Defense. I like Porter Jr, I like Keaton.......there are pieces.....I would like to see us not get lit up by every above average QB, but jeez it seems as if we have some players........ The LB's and DL I am worried about, especially MLB and DE.
 
The "Joe must go" crowd would never admit that today.
Yeah , pre-Sandusky scandal there was a large contingent, not just on the message board but overall in the fanbase that wanted him out, even after the resurgence in 2005. I remember the Rose Bowl for 2008 was a tough one for us to swallow as a fanbase in terms of getting smoked by USC and then Bama beating us up in the reg season a year or two later.
 
Yeah , pre-Sandusky scandal there was a large contingent, not just on the message board but overall in the fanbase that wanted him out, even after the resurgence in 2005. I remember the Rose Bowl for 2008 was a tough one for us to swallow as a fanbase in terms of getting smoked by USC and then Bama beating us up in the reg season a year or two later.
Joe selfishly coached way too long. Was he 85? He had pretty much quit recruiting his last few years and often his health wouldn't let him be on the sideline during games.
 
Joe selfishly coached way too long. Was he 85? He had pretty much quit recruiting his last few years and often his health wouldn't let him be on the sideline during games.
LOL, its like Pavlov's Dogs.....Joe's teams finished top 10 in 3 of his final 6 seasons. When he was fired his last team was 8-1. He left a team (taken over by BOB) stocked with several future NFL players. If Joe didn't recruit, someone did one hell of a job.
 

Fisher is the player I am most interested to get a glimpse of on the practice field, and at the B/W game if that becomes a reality. Fisher was a tackling missile in high school and has the athleticism to play either LB or DE. The fact that he is now at DE may be due to his outgrowing DE in the S&C program, or just the fact that the team needs more talent at DE. But the team for sure needs another DE or two to emerge as playmakers.

So it seems that DE depth has come along some, on paper now and hopefully on the field as a result of Spring practices, from when Oweh joined Toney on the road to the NFL. Assuming that Isaac and Ebiketie end up starting or are at least 2 or the top 3 DE's, the depth and rotation should come from Tarburton, Mostella, Fisher, and Vilbert, with the true freshmen McGraw and Townley possibly getting involved as the 2021 moves further along. My guess at this point would be that Isaac, Ebiketie and Tarburton end up at the top 3 DE's. Vilbert got some playing time last season and every time I focused on his play and watched replays of the games I saw him get stood up and basically not get an inch around an OT, so I'm expecting Fisher to end up as the #4 DE. Should be some competition at DE in the coming weeks.
 
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Joe selfishly coached way too long. Was he 85? He had pretty much quit recruiting his last few years and often his health wouldn't let him be on the sideline during games.

Well maybe but he (Joe) did have an excellent class in the recruiting que until the BOTS, NCAA and B1G decided to play arbitrary games and blew everthing to hell.
Oh and BTW we want the money back they stole from us.
 
Updated roster on the official site has Luketa at 255. Helloooo , Ron Graham ?

Better yet, Hello DE! Luketa has had years to show his stuff at LB and still seemed to not be able to consistently make tackles in space. And adding weight won't likely make him more agile or quicker to the ball as a LB.....

In looking at the updated roster PJ Mustipher's weight looks to be up some. Galt recently mentioned him as having excelled in the S&C program and having added muscle and at his new listed wt. of 326 he sure is big enough to anchor the middle of the DL....
 
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Better yet, Hello DE! Luketa has had years to show his stuff at LB and still seemed to not be able to consistently make tackles in space. And adding weight won't likely make him more agile or quicker to the ball as a LB.....

In looking at the updated roster PJ Mustipher's weight looks to be up some. Galt recently mentioned him as having excelled in the S&C program and having added muscle and at his new listed wt. of 326 he sure is big enough to anchor the middle of the DL....

I think both of those guy have a lot of running/conditioning in their near future. Galt/CJF never seem to be too concerned about some of their older guys putting on weight like that early in the off season. I suspect there are expectation the get to some lower weight by fall practices.
 
LOL, its like Pavlov's Dogs.....Joe's teams finished top 10 in 3 of his final 6 seasons. When he was fired his last team was 8-1. He left a team (taken over by BOB) stocked with several future NFL players. If Joe didn't recruit, someone did one hell of a job.

We had played a pretty weak non conference and conference schedule to get to 8-1. The tough teams were back loaded on our schedule that year on of the reasons we didn't do so well to finish out the season.
 
Apparently Luketa has been hurt and limited in participation - probably why he packed on pounds. Not a good thing either, as I can't see added weight boosting his play from last year.

Really interested to see what happens at LB because both Ellis/Luketa were pretty terrible. I'm hoping Smith/Jacobs lock down two spots and one of Katshir, Elsdon, King surprise this spring/fall and can be key contributors.

Any of the football experts on the board have insights/opinions on Smith playing in the middle? Does that make sense, or is he more suited on the outside? Ellis/Luketa struggle in traffic, but they also lack speed/quickness to keep up/wrap up in the open field...I'm not sure I can watch another season of those two.
 
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