Four practices in and things have been lively. I’m not sure if you can credit that to the youthful coaching movement, a team that’s very locked in from onset, or a little bit of both. No matter what the leading contributor is, it is refreshing to see the group this energized early on. There have only been two practices with shells (helmets & shoulder pads) so difficult to learn too much, however getting to see the freshmen and newer transfers is always good.

Offense

QB play remains high early on. Wickersham and Coleman are splitting time with the 1s and 2s, but again four practices is too early to draw any conclusions. I was very impressed with freshman Joe McCauley the first few practices, as he showed the arm talent on some intermediate/deeper routes. Excited for how good this QB room can be the next 3+ years for the Spiders, but more excited for this QB competition reaching its conclusion in the coming weeks.

Tight end play has stood out most to me on the offensive side of the ball. Matt Robbert will be a weapon for this offense in 2024. The one year grad-transfer from Cornell has a chance to be a focal point of our intermediate passing attack, a luxury we haven’t had at that position in some time. I think both Robbert and Sean Clarke will get significant game action, and we even saw some two tight ends sets the first few days. The most excited I’ve been about this position group in a long time.

Not much to update on the O-line and running backs yet, however the intensity from the guys up front has been great early on. Coach Kennedy has made an immediate impact with the guys up front and it bodes well for a much faster start to 2024. Scott Hummel has stood out the most to me early on, playing a lot at RG while Cade Salyers slowly works his way back. Really excited for how strong the interior O-line play should be for us this season.

Looks like Jamaal Brown and Zachary Palmer-Smith will get 90+% of the carries this year. All four running backs have worked in but it feels like those two will get an equal share of the workload. Both are also working as kickoff returners.

Defense

Lots of focus on the cornerbacks early on. Coach Huesman has been laser focused watching this group, as they definitely have the most to prove come September. Right now there are six guys in that room, with four of them either redshirt or true freshmen. It makes sense why this was a position the staff was targeting in the portal because that’s plenty of inexperience. I have been encouraged by the play of Stocker & Tomlinson, who are running with the 1s right now. I’ll touch on this more in the defensive back preview but 2024 could be the year these two Spiders make a really big leap.

Safety, on the other hand, has a ton of experience with the addition of John Michael DiRoberto (Wofford). Parker, Hayes, and DiRoberto all have 3+ years of experience, so I think the void left by Aaron Banks can be filled.

Defensive end and linebacker feel in very similar situations – established starters, unknown reserves. Huesman touched on this in his post practice interview but they’re really looking for a linebacker to step up into that first backup role. The same goes for defensive end – we know Jeremiah Grant, Donovan Hoilette, and Camden Byrd, but after that we don’t have anyone with a lot of game snaps. I’d imagine they’d like to have a 4th DE in the rotation so I’m curious who can stand out these next couple of weeks.

So far it’s been strictly our base 4-3 personnel, no 4-2-5 yet. The experience safety room likely makes any 4-2-5 adjustments fairly easily, especially with Bryson Parker available at the dime spot. Looking forward to seeing some more complex looks from our defense the next few weeks.

Special Teams

I love where we stand in all kicking phases right now. Trusler is back, so punting will be fantastic again. Regarding placekickers, the additions of Brandon Peskin (Fordham) and true freshman Sean O’Haire will lead to some healthy competition the next few weeks. They’ve shown big legs the few times they’ve worked on field goals, as has returning kicker Will McManus. Looks like O’Haire and McManus will get a shot to do kickoffs.

Next Post

Next camp update will likely be next Tuesday, the 13th. This one was more general, as there’s plenty of new faces to watch. Another week of practices (some in full pads) and I’ll get into some more specifics. Will also try to focus on some of the freshmen.

Next Position Group Preview | Wide Receivers – tomorrow, August 7th