Idaho football: Brief practice observations from Wednesday, 4-15
I was about to drop by practice today for about an hour catching most of the first team period to make some observations ahead of Friday night's scrimmage, which will be the third of the spring.
Here are some brief observations below:
First, the absences. Chris Edward and Kato Fawkes were both present but not suited up, both battling injuries. Edwards has been out since the first week of practice.
Mason Woods and Jordan Grabski were nowhere to be found, but unsure why. Most likely just because of class. Both are starters who I anticipate to be present on Friday for the 4 p.m. scrimmage.
Their absences gave a good glimpse into the depth chart.
Jordan Frysinger played alongside Russell Siavii as the first team safety. With Woods absent, Devin Wintz slotted in at strong tackle. Andrew Erbes filled in for Jordan Rose, who left the Saturday scrimmage with what looked like a foot or ankle injury.
Some more notes
- Isaiah Taylor and DJ Hampton received snaps with the first-team defense at cornerback. Kendrick Trotter has been a regular there, but with as much as the secondary has been getting torched there's no reason not to give other players a look. That will be something to look for on Friday.
- Kaden Elliss took back his first-team spot at SAM linebacker with Edwards still out. Armond Hawkins filled in that spot with the second team, but I still anticipate Hawkins still getting first-team looks at nickel.
- Quinton Bradley was a monster, for at least the 45 minutes I saw. He sacked Linehan at least three times and batted down another pass. He'd run by the offensive sideline and let them hear it.
- Tueni Lupeamanu intercepted Linehan at the line of scrimmage on what initially seemed like a bat-down swat. He hauled the pass in instead and would've been off to the races if this was a real game. A fat-guy touchdown would've been fun to see.
- Speaking on Linehan, not a fun day for him. He drew the ire of Petrino a lot, but the offensive line was not making it easy for him. His release point was a little bit low and he didn't move in the pocket as well as he had. Luton on the other hand had a good day, finding receivers with his deep ball. A long touchdown to Jacob Sannon was the highlight. I can't make too much of it, though, until Luton shines in a scrimmage.
That's all I got. See you Friday.
