Spring Game Notes!

Related:
-- 2010 Spring Game Notes
-- 2011 Spring Game Notes

In what has become a yearly Wahooze tradition (thanks to my wonderful wife giving me the freedom to drop daddy duties and attend the festivities whole hog, with moleskine in hand -- THANKS HUN!), here are my glorious notes from this year's UVA Spring Game!

But first and foremost...  Watch the highlights for yourself!

-- Lots of tailgating for the Spring Game this year!  It helped that it was a gorgeous day, with a baseball game against UNC set to start at 4:00.  On my way in, I passed about 50 people decked out in orange and blue walking down Alderman toward the Stadium.  I parked in the almost-full Cemetary lot, at the corner of McCormick and Alderman.  There was a group of four dudes tailgating there, and I chugged a Yuengling with them.  (They liked my Orange Crush tee-shirt and offered me a beer, which I accepted.)  Good start to the afternoon.

-- Walking toward Scott, I had to marvel at the pure, unbridled awesomeness of our home stadium.  I do it every year on my way into the Spring Game --- take the time to appreciate a truly beautiful venue.  We're really lucky in that sense.

-- Met up with Pierce and Mike and a couple of our buddies in the Stadium.  We kind of worked together as a group to compile this list of specific player notes.

-- Up first was a quick workout session with some position drills.  This is where I take the time to note which players look bigger / faster / more focused / more leaderly / etc.

-- OT Kelby Johnson's sheer size really impressed me.  The kid is freaking HUGE, and can still move with some fluidity.  Very impressive-looking athlete.

-- In drills, walk-on cornerback Brendan Morgan looked like a player.  Not sure if he'll factor in on the base defense, but he looks like an athlete capable of pitching in if we need him.

-- One player I really like the look of every time I see him is DT Chris Brathwaite.  He hasn't been able to fend off the injury bug to this point in his career, and his matching knee braces weren't especially reassuring.  That said, he was a force all day, and really looked the part.  I hope he's able to stay healthy...

Credit: Jeff Lack/Icon SMI

-- RB Kevin Parks has some incredibly thick legs.  Like two stacks of 25-pound weights.  And with such a low center of gravity, no wonder he's a force around the goal line.

-- True freshman (January enrollee) QB Greyson Lambert is tall and throws the ball like his arm is Indiana Jones' whip.  He really, really looks good.  I'd like to see him add about 15 pounds to that frame and develop a bit more timing and accuracy with his passes, but there's no doubt that he's got a cannon and looks the part of a franchise-type quarterback.

-- In the passing drills, QBs Mike Rocco and David Watford looked like they were really having to wind up and labor to match Lambert throw-for-throw.  The good news is that Rock's passes - though requiring more effort - were much more accurate and precise than either Watford's or Lambert's.  I don't think Rocco is in any danger of losing his job as our starting quarterback.

-- LB LaRoy Reynolds looks much bigger/stronger than he has at any point since he shifted from safety to linebacker two years ago.  I'm expecting big things out of him during his senior season, possibly including some blitzing, which I think he will really excel at doing.

Credit: Mark Gormus/Times-Dispatch

-- THE ULTIMATE WEAPON:  If you take anything out of this Wahooze blog post, take this --- tight end Jake McGee is going to be a stud.  In fact, he might already be a stud.  His frame (6-5, 235) is a little small to be an in-line blocker from the tight end position, but he is quick, fluid, runs precise routes, and has great hands.  He flashed playmaking potential all day long, turning in two really big plays in the scrimmage and creating matchup problems for the defense on just about every play he was in the game.  To me, he looked like a young Kyle Brady on Saturday, with Heath Miller-type receiving prowess.  Yes, high praise.  But if the H-back is arriving in the Lazor offense, we have found our man.  If not, Colter Phillips, Paul Freedman, and Jeremiah Mathis all face serious competition for their playing time at tight end.  I think McGee is going to turn in a very surprising 2012 season, and establish himself as the ultimate weapon for the UVA passing game.

-- Back to Mike Rocco for a second.  All day, I thought he looked very poised and controlled, and weirdly smooth with his delivery.  I'm excited about our QB1.

-- QB-turned-WR Miles Gooch got a lot of work in the scrimmage.  He's a bigger receiver at 6-3, 220.  And while he's not especially fast, he did work hard to gain good separation.  He also seemed fairly sure-handed.  It's still a work in progress, but I can see the Goocher serving a possession receiver role for us this season, lining up at flanker.  He'll face a challenge from true freshman Canaan Severin this summer, but for the first time since he moved to wideout, I can see the light flickering on for Gooch.  Plus, it's just fun to yell "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCH!"

-- RB Clifton Richardson can catch the ball now!  I saw it with my own two eyes!  The reports were that he had diversified his game, become more dynamic, and become more of a "complete" tailback.  Proof is in the pudding, and the pudding tasted sweet and delicious on Saturday.

-- Meanwhile, our #4 running back, Khalek Shepherd, had an AWESOME Spring Game.  He's explosive and dynamic, great in the passing game, and I am absolutely stunned that we have three better RBs on the roster ahead of him in the pecking order.  Shepherd reminds me of a bigger Alvin Pearman.  We have to find ways to get him on the field!

-- David Watford seems more willing to take off and run once his progression breaks down, which is a welcome sight.  If the guy has running ability, it's important for him to use it spontaneously, not just with the slow-developing scripted plays we saw last season.  One of his scrambles in the Spring Game would have easily gone for a 25-yard touchdown were it not whistled dead due to contact on the QB.  I don't want to say I was impressed, but I was certainly encouraged by what I saw with Watford's decisions to take off and run.

-- Watford's passing, however... yikes.  It's more accurate than last season, but it's still Jamell Sewell-esque scattershooting.  He overthrew several screen passes and drags to the flat during the scrimmage.  Not good.  I do not have a world of confidence in our #2 QB at this point.  He has to get a bit better than "shaky" on the short stuff.

-- The coaches have been raving about backup linebacker Caleb Taylor all spring, and we saw glimpses why during the scrimmage.  He was generally active and assertive, and brought excellent pass rush pressure up the middle on one play.  It's a logjam at middle linebacker with Steve Greer and Henry Coley there with super-recruit Kwontie Moore arriving this summer, but I think Taylor looks like he might just factor into the mix.

-- As high as I am on Jake McGee, I also really like FB/TE/H-back Zachary Swanson.  A high-slung 6-6, 235, this guy is not a lead blocker.  But he moves well, he's long, and he has a huge catch radius.  I think he'll be a nice weapon in the receiving game, rolling out of the backfield.  Say hello to another true H-back candidate with whom Lazor can diversify the offense into more and more of a "mini-spread."

Credit: Andrew Shurtleff

-- Well, I just let the cat out of the bag with the term mini-spread.  It's pretty clear to me that a thematic shift of the offense is to put more weapons in space, in the short-to-intermediate route tree to which Rocco excels at passing.  Part of that equation is our mostly small, smurf-like receiving corps.  You already know about Tim Smith (who looked good in the scrimmage), Darius Jennings (who also looked good), but don't forget about the Rock Weir award winner [for most improved player] on the offensive side of the ball --- slot receiver Dominique Terrell.  He looked awesome on Saturday.  Watch the video highlights I linked above and see for yourself.  I'm very excited to see this guy in action this fall.  Last year, he seemed a little timid, in a little bit over his head.  This spring he looks ready to make good on his impressive pedigree.  Getcha popcorn ready!  We have a game-changing talent in the slot now, folks.

-- I'm excited about Terrell in the slot, but not returning punts.  In fact, I'm not excited about any aspect of the punt return game, or the special teams in general.  I won't belabor the point here, but special teams do not seem to be improved at all from the travesty we saw in 2011, and especially against Auburn in Atlanta.

-- CB Drequan Hoskey now has a stranglehold on the starting cornerback spot opposite Tra Nicholson.  I knew the kid had speed, but he really surprised me with his coverage ability, and especially with his physicality.  In the Spring Game, he reminded me of a young Percy Ellsworth.  To me, this spot went from being a question mark to being an exclamation point.

-- DT Will Hill is ready to dominate as a senior, a team captain, and a Rock Weir recipient.  He apparently had a great spring, and I think he's poised to have a GREAT senior season in 2012.

-- FB Billy Skrobacz' last name rhymes with "throwbacks," and as corny as it sounds, that's exactly what he is, an old-school style fullback.  He's our bulldozing lead blocker from that position, and he's also capable of catching a pass if the need arises.  I like the look of this guy.

-- DE Rob Burns is coming off of his redshirt season and will be a redshirt freshman this fall.  I won't spend too much time talking about the kid, other than to say that it looks like we were successfully able to harness the DNA and clone Matt Conrath.

-- I wish I had been able to spend a little bit more time focusing on the trench warfare during the scrimmage, but I can say that I really liked what I saw from DT Vincent Croce.  He was active, mean, and nasty during the Spring Game, and I love that in my interior linemen.

-- Despite some good recent reviews on Rijo Walker and Ant Harris, I think we're facing a whole lot of uncertainty at the safety positions.  FS Pablo Alvarez might be a factor in the two-deep, for better or worse.  Better, because the guy is freaking big, he can move and hit, and he's good in run support.  Worse, because he seems very robotic, and clearly lacks the instincts to play naturally in coverage.  He honestly looked like a small linebacker to me, ala LoVanté Battle and LaRoy Reynolds before they switched positions.  Listed at 6-3, 205, Alvarez is too small to move forward into the front seven, but he honestly seemed bigger than that listing to me.  Maybe he'll be an enforcer-type safety who plays closer to the line?  Not sure he has a natural role in the base defense.

-- Meanwhile, young safety Mason Thomas looked good in coverage.  I wouldn't mind seeing him on the field this fall in the base 43.  He doesn't ooze star potential or anything like that, but seems like he might be a solid player.

Credit: Diane Cebula, Daily Press

-- I really like the move that sent LoVanté Battle to fullback.  He's weirdly small for that position, but is tenacious and clearly brings a defensive-type mentality to the field.  In other words, he enjoys contact.  He made a couple of surprisingly nice catches in traffic during the scrimmage, displaying pretty good hands.  He'll be an interesting "power squirtback" type of player for us this fall.

-- Later in the game, Lambert threw a 20-yard tactical laserstrike to Gooch that drew many oooohs and aahhhs from the fans in attendance.  Lambert is going to be a really good quarterback for us... someday.

-- Darius Lee has been moonlighting with the safeties this spring.  I think he had a bad day on Saturday.  Burned crispy more than a few times in coverage, he also committed a PI and had another couple of bumps that could have been PI calls.  He's clearly too small (6-1, 200) to play his natural linebacker position, but he's not a safety.  This kid might be more of a tweener than LoVanté Battle... I just hope he finds a role as a special teams maven.

-- You already know I'm a huge Kevin Parks fan.  Adding to his brilliant mix of power, tenacity, and moxie, KP flashed some great receiving ability in the scrimmage, along with some great wiggle and some nasty moves in the open field.  VERY excited about this guy in 2012... and beyond.

-- I think Da-Da Romero has the strongside linebacker spot on lock, and he showed some nice mettle in the Spring Game.  What I especially liked was his chippiness and swagger.  His 'tude.  We sorely needed a dose of 'motherfucker' added to the defense, and I think Romero brings some of that.

-- Punter Alec Vozenilek looked decent on Saturday.  He doesn't kick boomers, but he gets his kicks off quickly and has pretty good placement.

-- Tra Nicholson returned some punts!  I'm not sure if I can stomach the risk of our only experienced corner doing that job, but he looked pretty good shagging those punts.  Certainly an upgrade over the monkey-fucking-a-football routine of 2011.

-- Adding to the great day for the tight end-types, Paul Freedman made a stretching grab in full extension at one point late in the scrimmage.  I buy that the tight ends will be more involved with the offense this season, and I think we will be using those big bodies to attack the seams downfield.  Be excited.

-- Unfortunately, I have to temper some of that excitement by saying that I thought Jeremiah Mathis looked like he regressed a bit from last season.  Maybe he's nursing a nagging injury or something, but on Saturday he looked slower... maybe even downright sluggish.

-- The offensive line was missing four of the five projected starters, and had a predictably shaky, uneven day on the field.  However, I thought Cody Wallace acquitted himself fairly well.  He laid some very good interior blocks, and seems to have a nose for the timely seal-off.

-- Joining Will Hill as team captains for the 2012 season are Oday Aboushi, Perry Jones, and LaRoy Reynolds.  The only surprise to me is that Mike Rocco wasn't handed one of the Cs.  It makes sense that a quartet of seniors who had to earn their playing time the old fashioned way will serve as team captains this season.  I think it's a good group.

-- The Iron Cav award for superior work in the weight room went to... Tim Smith?!?!??!!  Huh?  Don't get me wrong, I love it.  I just think it's a little weird that a sleek wide receiver won this award.  I take it to mean that he's been very serious in his work to fully return from his injuries, and also indicative of his commitment to becoming the new #1 go-to receiver to replace Kris Burd.  I like it.

-- In general, I think the team looks light years ahead of where it was in each of the last five springs that I've attended the Spring Game.  Speed, depth, playmaking ability, explosiveness, athleticism, the whole nine.  Saturday has served to really pump up my enthusiasm for the 2012 season.

GO HOOS!