The Spiders are back. Three practices in, two in helmets-only and one in shells, and I’ve seen a lot of interesting things. No real structure to this post, just going to list what stood out to me. Second update in about a week will likely get more into how things look but for now it’s mostly personnel and who’s getting reps early on.

Injuries

I won’t post any injury updates that happen during camp but did want to update the three guys discussed during the summer. The team has posted about this online as well so you likely already saw, but Savon Smith, Aidan Murray, and Gavin Lamp were all out there on day 1. Lamp seemed to be a full participant while Murray and Smith ease their way back, however I would confidently say the concerns of any of those three not being at or near 100% come September are fading fast. A very positive first few days for that trio.

Practice Notes

Jasiah Williams – You wouldn’t know he was out for the season based on his sideline energy. Williams continues to be a bright spot for this offense, even while not playing, as he’s taken a very active role in teaching/supporting this younger receiving corps. Easy to only view these guys for the position they play but watching him be a great teammate is cool to see. Will be a valuable source of information for this group throughout the year.

Co-OCs – Coach Huesman did confirm in this presser that Coach October would be calling the plays during the season. One coordinator in the box, one on the field (didn’t say who would be doing what) – I’d guess October goes to the box while Ross stays on the field however we’ll likely get that confirmed during one of the scrimmages.

Senior leadership – Can really sense the experienced guys taking a more outward leadership role this summer, especially with such a big freshmen class. Seniors on both sides of the ball are really stepping up and making sure the standard that was set last year is maintained, something Coach Huesman has already mentioned multiple times. Accountability is at an all-time high.

Depth – We’re really starting to see the impacts of good recruiting. You can feel the difference in the size of the team and the quality across each group. So many positions have multiple guys that look to be “starter-level” CAA talent, and you can really see the quality of play not drop off when the second string units face off.

Ryan Coll – Coll looks set to start a game at a third position on the O-line, as right now he’s playing RT with Lamp back at LT. The other combination has been Coll at LG and Trey Gray at RT, but I’m guessing Coll stays at RT. The right side of the O-line being Elia/Salyers/Coll should be scary though.

Mikey Jarmolowich – Good. Like really good. #25 has shown why he was such a coveted grad-transfer, and like cornerback (below) we’ve got a lot to watch with the safeties. A ton of talent competing for only a few positions.

Linebacker – Day 1 of fall camp didn’t look much different than the spring. Wheeler, Hoilette, and Joseph were the starting three with Galloway, Chambers, and Morris-Walker working behind them. Will we see QMW in a more linebacker/hybrid role? It looks that way as despite being listed at safety he’s working with the Will linebackers. He fits the build so very interested to see how that plays out, especially with so much depth at safety.

Cornerback – Russ has been eyeing this group a lot early on. Rankin Jr. and Black II are both working at boundary corner, with Trae Tomlinson taking first team reps at field corner. Tomlinson made the move to CB from S during the spring and has clearly transitioned well. Won’t get a sense of how things will shake out until at least the first scrimmage but there’s a lot of good competition across the secondary.

Special Teams – Trusler is obviously the punter, and remains the starting holder on field goals. Lopez is the incumbent kicker but guessing McManus will get his chance to try and win it. Expecting McManus to end up having kickoff duty. Huesman has said he wants to redshirt Wes Sharpe (snapper) and Brian Catanzarite continues to look good, so he’ll handle both again this year.

Next Post

Lots more I could’ve posted but I’ll save some for when I’ve seen a few more practices, and one scrimmage. Second practice update will post either the 13th or the 14th. On the 15th I’ll start in with the position group previews.