2025 Spring Practice Thread

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INLaw

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Punky said:
It's Minnesota All-American and Chicago Bear Bronko Nagurski. I believe he had the record for the largest NFL championship ring size until Fridge Perry came along. Dude was a monster back in the day.
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I have been to the Nagurski hall of fame in International Falls
 
Dale

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So what do we think was the Angeli is the front runner saga meant from the beat? Was it blowing smoke to keep all 3 happy for as long as possible? Just what 7-7 looks like in the end?
 
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sfk324

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Dale said:
So what do we think was the Angeli is the front runner saga meant? Was it blowing smoke to keep all 3 happy for as long as possible?
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I think the most likely scenario is that he entered the spring as the front runner given that he was the only one who has taken a meaningful collegiate snap and the coaching staff knew what they had with him, which gave the added incentive to Kenny and CJ to know they had to show them something over the course of the spring. By the BG game, they had done so, and I think they were honest with Steve about his prospects for meaningful playing time going forward.
 
Jimmy3Putt

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Dale said:
So what do we think was the Angeli is the front runner saga meant from the beat? Was it blowing smoke to keep all 3 happy for as long as possible? Just what 7-7 looks like in the end?
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They were probably all pretty equal and the beat (and I) assumed they’d go with the upperclassman to start in Miami.
The coaches decided why delay starting one of the kids if the upperclassman wasn’t separating himself.
 
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Jimmy3Putt said:
They were probably all pretty equal and the beat (and I) assumed they’d go with the upperclassman to start in Miami.
The coaches decided why delay starting one of the kids if the upperclassman wasn’t separating himself.
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I think the coaches also realized the first 2 games don't matter as much as us fans think. If we finish 10-2 and are rolling at the end of the season there's still a very good chance we make the playoffs. The early season lumps either Kenny or CJ take are much more valuable than squeezing out wins. Better to get the young guy experience against good competition
 
DONTH8

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Dale said:
So what do we think was the Angeli is the front runner saga meant from the beat? Was it blowing smoke to keep all 3 happy for as long as possible? Just what 7-7 looks like in the end?
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My guess is some sort of mix of: respect for what he had done when given chance, maybe a plan to start the year as QB1 with a shift later to a young buck, hedging their bets and not burning bridges with him if he was made the starter, coaches feeding them info that he has a real chance, and he definitely had the demeanor of someone that thought he'd be QB1.
 
Jimmy3Putt

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ColoradoIrish said:
I think the coaches also realized the first 2 games don't matter as much as us fans think. Of we finish 10-2 and are rolling at the end of the season there's still a very good chance we make the playoffs. The early season lumps either Kenny or CJ take are much more valuable than squeezing out wins. Better to get the young guy experience against good competition
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I’m expecting some very conservative grind it out games to start the year. Of course our backs and defense are so good they might still score some points!
 
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ColoradoIrish

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Jimmy3Putt said:
I’m expecting some very conservative it out games to start the year. Of course our backs and defense are so good they might still score some points!
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Exactly, there's no reason we still can't win those games with an inexperienced signal caller and I still expect us to put up some points. And it's better for the team and QB in the long term
 
fightingirish26

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rtrn2glory said:
Hate to do this, but I thought Onyiuke (#45) is a very dirty player and is in my dog house. 2 separate times he was dumb and did something that could've been flagged if it were a real game and what is more dumb is it was on a teammate. During a kickoff return scout team rep he buried Leonard Moore unnecessarily and he landed awkwardly on his shoulder and he got up favoring it. Then worse, he drilled Angeli in a team rep (reminder QB's where red jerseys) which forced players to start to should and I may be wrong, but I think he was kicked out of practice for this. Disgusting on both ends IMO from a dude that is a Sr. He can go if it were up to me.
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IrishWayDomer

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rtrn2glory said:
Defense Practice Report:

Before the position breakdown I will say what I like about the defense compared to offense is the straight business approach. Pre-practice and during practice they are constantly at work and no reps are wasted. Just very fun to watch a machine at work. During the team periods, one thing that looked evident is that Ash doesn't look like he's going to bring as much heat as Golden. Perhaps they were told not to with the OL being a bit vanilla, but I saw more DL stunting and movement compared to the blitzes that Golden would bring. Maybe just a one time thing, but just my initial thoughts. I didn't like big plays given up. KK cooked Gray very early in practice for a explosive TD and I mentioned during the offense breakdown that Rairidon took a middle screen for a huge play. I will be very hard on this if it extends into the season as we didn't give up explosives last year, which no good defense should ever!

DL - Interior is going to be just fine. Rubio and Hinish started, but I'll be honest, Onye and Dawson looked like the two best interior guys on Saturday imo. Onye absolutely obliterated Jagusah on a team rep and got screwed by a shitty hands to the face call. I'd even be comfortable going all the way down to our 3-Deep with Hughes, who had a great bull rush during 1 on 1's. After them there is a huge drop off. Sevillano and Mukam were not very good I didn't think and if I remember maybe one of the media thought Mukam looked good. I did not. I can definitely see why neither were asked to give minutes in the playoffs last year.
Edge was ok not great. Bryce had moments where he made the young OL look silly. Cole Mullins I thought had a good day. His body reminds me of a taller Howard Cross. Not much to report here with a lot of the guys were expecting to contribute not healthy enough to. Wild card is definitely Mullins from Saturday's observations. Hate to do this, but I thought Onyiuke (#45) is a very dirty player and is in my dog house. 2 separate times he was dumb and did something that could've been flagged if it were a real game and what is more dumb is it was on a teammate. During a kickoff return scout team rep he buried Leonard Moore unnecessarily and he landed awkwardly on his shoulder and he got up favoring it. Then worse, he drilled Angeli in a team rep (reminder QB's where red jerseys) which forced players to start to should and I may be wrong, but I think he was kicked out of practice for this. Disgusting on both ends IMO from a dude that is a Sr. He can go if it were up to me.

LB's - Drayk is awesome. Love the guy. Getting better reading and reacting and I don't see how he won't be a problem for opposing defenses. Same can be said for Sneed. WOW talk about heat seaking missile. The play that stands out is him trusting his speed and undercutting a crack block and getting a TFL during team on Price, I believe. What I liked the most about the play is that he wasn't blitzing, he read the play quickly and used his speed to track it down. Just outstanding overall. Eye ball test winner is Faraimo. You would have to know that he's a high school senior to believe it. Not sure what his wing span is, but it looked like he should be playing Vyper rather than inside. Huge recruiting win here.

DB's - A little disappointed in Cree based on the press he's been getting. Got chewed out good once or twice. Again just one day. Gray man I mean, for a guy with as much experience I didn't expect to see him get cooked by any of our receivers, but I did. Overall nothing crazy bad, but expected better. I'll give Mickens credit man he has his dudes coached up and ready to play. Was actually most impressed with a walk-on (#32) Dunn. He got quite a few reps and was the one to pick off Minchey on the RPO.

Safeites - Our depth here is stupid good. A lot of long lean bodies outside of Shuler who is just thick and looks like he should be playing for the U in the 80's and early 90's. Sign me up for the offical Tae Johnson fan club. Without knowing much about Stroman, I'm convinced he better show up ready to work or Tae will be the starter. I was very impressed with seeing him fill in the run game, which I wasn't expecting to be a strength of his, but it was! All the safeties I feel like do well fitting. Jadon Blair wins the eyeball test for sure and honestly Ethan Long looks just as impressive physically. Hard to say for sure without a true passing game threat, but we looked great on the back end despite having little to no game experience. Talich and Shuler started, but Tae played a lot and Imo was the second best safety on the roster.

Again, any questions please feel free to throw them out.
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Angeli was even taking sacks when sacks weren't allowed!
 
zelezo vlk

zelezo vlk

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Man, Illinois in a preseason top 10 is pretty wild to me. Bielema has certainly changed the perception of the football program
 
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