I sure did and will try and get something posted if not yet today over the weekend - good stuff!
The first thing I want to say about my visit to campus is that I had the time to really drive around the entire campus area and was “astounded by its beauty” and all the new/renovated buildings and gorgeous landscaping. I want to commend all those involved as it is as nice a campus as I have been to and that comment comes from a guy who purposely visits campuses around this country over decades in my business and personal travels.
I recognize my inherent natural bias and have attempted to mitigate that with the above comment. The Ball state University campus is truly a “gem" and as alums or just supporters we should ALL be proud and thankful for the thoughtful planning and execution of such in developing this beautiful campus.
Relative to football, let me thank Tilman Clark, Zane Fakes, Coach Lembo and Mark Sandy for taking so much time out of their busy schedules to spend time with me, answer my questions and show me all the improvements at the stadium that have been completed and/or underway and planned. I also want to thank Brad Edmunson from the Alumni Office for his time answering my questions and joining me at the stadium during a portion of practice.
Relative to FB practice, I came in wanting to focus on the QB position and came away with a very good feeling and general sense of comfort at the position. I thought Jack Milas performed well, had a nice command of the offense, made good throws, demonstrated leadership etc. etc.! It was also eveident he has improved his physical stature which should also serve him well. Jack IMO should be able to get the job done and perform well.
Having said that and from the perspective of witnessing only one practice, Riley Neal is the best looking freshman QB I can ever remember us having on campus and that goes back to the mid 60's. Riley has all the physical attributes and demonstrated mental capability to be a great college QB if he continues to work hard and is developed appropriately. He completed a variety of passes and several of considerable length including a 50+ yard that was a perfectly thrown ball in stride to a well covered streaking receiver for a TD. Give Riley another year to further develop and lets get his four best years under center was my mind set as I left practice.
Honestly based on his performance and what I saw in this “one practice” I am not sure how you keep him off the field. In no way is this a poor reflection on Jack as he looked very solid, it is more based on the blatantly obvious “upside” of Riley.
Morrison is very capable as a back up in a limited role but doesn't appear to me to have the physical attributes to provide long and sustained minutes. The mental aspects and command of offense appeared solid. If Jack should have an injury that knocks him out for a game or more, I don't know how you keep Riley's red shirt year intact.
I never had much doubt about our O-Line and will only say they met, or exceeded my expectations particularly from the perspective of depth. The O-Line is reminiscent of the 2008 O-Line which was very good. I have always said the most important aspect of the offense and prospects for success as a team rests with the O-Line and I feel very good about this groups potential.
RB was my next focus and I also came away pleased in what I saw – four very solid guys with tools like speed, elusiveness and even some power. We don't have a proven short yardage guy like Edwards was but I must say I was impressed in those situations in what I saw with Gilbert. Obviously he is not as big but he is fearless and really cracks it up the middle. He showed no fear and surprising to me anyway, good power. He is a powerfully built guy and with low center of gravity. A bigger version of Miqual Lewis but speedier it appeared. Williamson looked good and and has bulked up. We have considerable speed and some impressive guys and I feel are four deep at the position.
Receivers are outstanding and deep. Good speed, size in some cases and quickness in others and very capable to stretch the field. Mabon stood out, looked good as did Lacanaria. Williams was out but this group as a whole is loaded so no concerns here at all.
TE's very solid with good size, decent speed and blocking ability and a couple of good catches were observed.
I should also mention there were several pro scouts at practice from the NFL and CFL. I did have a chance to talk to a couple of them who were looking at several of our guys. The comment I heard twice from two different guys was the MAC is front and center with BSU well entrenched on the radar screen to identify talent for the next level.
In a nutshell, I feel good about this offense and they should put a bunch of points on the board.
Kickers showed well and I was especially pleased with the strength and depth of our kick offs to the back of or out of the end zone. I am good with the extra points and field goal kickers but tough to replace a guy like Secor. None the less we should be fine.
Punting was outstanding by Kyle Schmidt who also received some praise by one of the pro scouts I talked to especially his clocked “hang time”.
For me the defense was much harder to evaluate because of the strength and talent we have in the O-Line and other offensive positions. DE's looked good and were able to get some pressure as did the D- line occasionally against a damn good O-Line. LB's were solid as should come to no ones surprise.
DB's allowed several big completions but having said that, understand there was no blown coverage and more a function of a really good throw and athletic catches. There also were some really nice pass break ups. IMO we definitely appear to have taken several steps forward as a defensive unit.
In closing my comments, I came away with concerns answered in a positive manner and no negative surprises. Our overall speed and talent level is high and we are poised for a very solid year if we can capitalize on any breaks that come our way and play at a high level with minimal penalties.
One comment I would like to share which came from one of the pro scouts, he said BSU is as talented as anyone in the league he has seen which he said was all the top programs.
More outstanding comment to me was his remarks that BSU was every bit as talented and more so as Purdue and Indiana programs he feels we are more than successful in recruiting against. He also said the recruiting services "star system" is a joke and it is all about development of talent for the vast majority of players other than those that are top 100 gifted guys coming out of high school.
He told me the only team on our schedule that he felt was a “significant challenge” was Texas A&M. He has them as top two or three in SEC but said this BSU team has the talent and coaching to win every game and did not rule out A&M if they play less than their “A Game” and we maximize our talent and game plan execution.
He also sang praises about the MAC in general as being much better talent wise than the public recognizes, stating the top teams in the league can compete with virtually anybody on a one or two game basis. He said the big difference is in quality depth primarily starting at the 3rd level which is a factor during the course of a long season. He said playing national title type, top tier teams early in the season or in bowl games when injury is not as much a factor is a big neutralizer of the depth factor.
I like this teams opportunity and will say I can see 7-9 wins if we avoid injury, play smart and seize every opportunity the opponents present us!