Thoughts After Saturday

[TheRealUW]

QB
A clear pecking order has been established after the scrimmage on Saturday. Karsten Sween leads the race and looks to be handling the offense very, very well. I was almost certain that either Benjamin or Carta-Samuels would come in and win the job this fall, but I'm backing off on that claim after watching the scrimmage on Saturday. Sween has a legitimate shot at starting against Weber State. Dax Crum looks to have the #2 spot as of now and has looked suprisingly good. He has been very efficient in the passing game, and both Sween and Crum are protecting the ball very well. I just don't know that I would trust Crum to win us a close game at this point. Adam Barry has struggled tremendously. He would be the #3 QB at this time. I was a bit surprised as others have posted and commented that they thought he was probably leading the race. I had my reservations about him after watching him in practice last year, and I haven't seen anything this year to change my mind.

RB
This might be our strongest position on the offensive side of the ball despite losing two great ones in Moore and Seldon. James Caraway looks to be improving significantly, and I think he will see some carries this year. Darius Terry will probably get the starting job, but I fully expect to see a fair dose of Caraway much like last year when Moore was the starting RB, but Seldon saw plenty of time. James Davis looks to be on the outside looking in as far as this season is concerned. Again, all three of these RB's have done an excellent job of protecting the ball.

WR
I wish I would have gotten a chance to see Greg Bolling in this offense, but I think he will definitely be a large part of the offense come this fall. David Leonard and Travis Burkhalter have really stepped up this spring with both Bolling and Donate Morgan out with injuries. Zach Bolger has been a pleasant surprise and is a good 4th or 5th option in the passing game. He doesn't blow you away when you watch him, but he is very technically sound and rarely makes a mistake. Brandon Stewart is our big play guy. He might not be the best pure WR we have, but he is always a threat to go all the way. That is evident by the fact that Christensen has been looking to get the ball in his hands on reverses and other running plays. He is very, very good at making defenders miss in open space. This isn't the ideal group of receivers for a spread offense, but they appear to be improving and making the necessary plays to move the ball a bit more this year.

TE
Jesson Salyards, Joe Evers, and Orlando Arnold have been decent. They aren't going to strike fear into any team, but they will have to be accounted for. Obviously, a great TE is a big help in the spread offense and I think we may have one coming in this fall in Terry Smith Jr. I expect him to see some reps in games this fall, and the amount of playing time he sees will be dependent on how quickly he is able to pick this offense up and not make mistakes. He has the physical ability and the talent.

DEFENSE
Ward Dobbs has huge shoes to fill but Brian Hendricks just might be able to do it. Hendricks and Knapton will be rock solid in the middle of the defense. Weston Johnson has been very solid in both scrimmages and Alex Toney has been a pleasant surprise at OLB as well. Josh Biezuns will make some serious noise at OLB as he continues to become more comfortable at the position. It is too bad that John Fletcher is out for the spring, but it hasn't effected Mitch Unrein one bit. He is still making plays all over the field, even without Fletcher drawing the attention of the offense. Chris Prosinski is very athletic and will be an intricate part of helping the defense flourish. Ben Durbin is a redshirt freshman ILB that looks to be capable of filling in if necessary as well.

[PokeNer]

Thanks for the updates. It sounds very promising that the offense is progressing like they have this spring. Granted, the defense is decimated with injuries, but last year our #1 O couldn't move the ball against our #2 and #3 D's. I'm glad we are seeing a capable QB now instead of having to rely on the two incoming guys. Hopefully when ACS and Benjamin get here, it will drive Sween to improve even more. I about fell out of my seat when I saw that Crum completed 90% of his passes! I don't want to be too optimistic, but things are definitely looking up.

Can you tell who the front-runner might be to fill-in Rogers safety spot? Do you think any of the incoming freshman have a chance for playing time at WR?

[MrTitleist]

Great report, thanks for posting. The QB situation is pretty surprising.. hopefully they keep pushing each other and they get better.

[JimmyDimes]

Can you tell who the front-runner might be to fill-in Rogers safety spot? Do you think any of the incoming freshman have a chance for playing time at WR?

I've heard Keith Lewis' name mentioned. He was a cb last year, but has size and decent speed to play the safety position. I've also head/read good things about RFr David James and even TJ Atwater.

It is good to have options and who knows what Muhammed will bring to the table.

[wyopokesfan23]

I've heard good things about JC transfer Safety JaMichael Hall. How does he look?

[TheRealUW]

Can you tell who the front-runner might be to fill-in Rogers safety spot? Do you think any of the incoming freshman have a chance for playing time at WR?

Nobody has really stood out at the SS spot so far. I would say Keith Lewis and Jamichael Hall are the front-runners as of now. To be honest, I didn't see who they had working with the first team defense. That being said, I think Ghaali Muhammad may be a factor come this fall. He is a very athletic players that a lot of major programs were looking at early on. I'm not sure what made them back off, but I think he is going to be a good one for us.

I just don't see any of the incoming wide receivers being ready to play at this level as true freshman. I was very excited about the prospect of signing Fritz Rock, but it sounds likes grades kept that from happening. It's really too bad because he probably would have been able to make an immediate impact. Hopefully the guys coming in this year are able to redshirt and learn Christensen's system for a year. I don't see any of the wide receivers signed in this class as break out players, but of course you never know.

[Cheywypoke]

I heard Gagliardi on KFBC the other day say that the offense has moved the ball more in one series this year, than they did the whole spring last year. I think he was only half joking.

[armchaircoach]

Good Post RealUW, I agree that it now looks like Sween is the man to beat out—although I still think Benjamin could be the guy this fall. I am surprised with Barry, I thought he looked like the real deal the first two times I watched him, now, not so much. Not sure what happened but he was definitely the third QB Saturday and played like it.

I didn’t pay much attention to other positions Saturday, I like to watch the players in drills, hard to see much when they are going live—I just watch whoever has the ball. But I agree our running backs are looking OK. I am a little worried about how our Offense will be when the defense comes with their entire package. Those big line splits (looks like about 3 feet from center to guard and five foot from guard to tackle) worry me a little, our line will need to make some quick decisions, and so will our quarterbacks. It is exciting but I hope everyone realizes it will take more than one year!

[wyoforlife]

I'm a big Sween fan, and always have been. I think that the kid has the ability to be an excellent QB, but got screwed by Cockhead and Glenn. His numbers might not be there, but I don't know if there is anyone who wants to succeed more than him. He has gotten his ass beat, been verbally beat down, used as a scapegoat by BC and Glenn, and has never complained. He has taken his lumps, seems to be improving, tries his hardest, and gives 110%, I say give him a shot against Weber St.

I'm glad that we have Benjamin, but do you think he will have the playbook down enough by the time Weber St. comes around?

[Snowman_55]

Personally, I say the job should be open until the final fall scrimmage or unless of of the QB's completely runs away with the competition before then. I have no problem with Sween being the QB if he wins the job. Whoever is the best QB in the new offense should get the nod. If Benjamin or ACS comes in this fall and learn the offense better than one of the current guys and can run it better than so be it, but I really don't see any reason to believe that DC will play Benjamin or ACS over Sween/Crum/Barry if one of them proves to be the best option.

[wyoforlife]

I do want who ever is best to start for my Pokes, but I just feel bad for Sween. I think he came in during a poop time at UW, and had the circumstances been different, I believe he would've been one hell of a QB. Win, bottom line, I don't really care who it is at QB, just get the job done!

[McPeachy]

I'm a big Sween fan, and always have been. I think that the kid has the ability to be an excellent QB, but got screwed by Cockhead and Glenn. His numbers might not be there, but I don't know if there is anyone who wants to succeed more than him. He has gotten his ass beat, been verbally beat down, used as a scapegoat by BC and Glenn, and has never complained. He has taken his lumps, seems to be improving, tries his hardest, and gives 110%, I say give him a shot against Weber St.

I'm glad that we have Benjamin, but do you think he will have the playbook down enough by the time Weber St. comes around?

Agree, Sweeney was definitely abused by Cockmaster and Glenn. As was Bramlet. And Doss. Shame, as fans, that we had to endure that crap. Frankly, I am glad Sween has kept his head up, stuck with it through all the poop, and still has a shot a finishing his career at UW on top.