QB: B+
Becht statistics were very good but he wasn't perfect. Rapp was wide open over the middle on play where Becht got sacked. He made a terrific throw to Howard on one play where it had to go over defenders. It will be interesting to see how composed he is when he gets a little more pressure. He sure didn't seem interested in running and we might need that at some point. I was disappointed that Manske didn't get more throws downfield. Too many "safe" WR screens. I did like how early MC got backups into the game.
RB: B
Hansen looked solid but not spectacular. Peoples looked quicker but couldn't break any big runs. Martin & Wallace looked a little better than the starters but Marshall's defense was worn down by then. I'm concerned that this running attack could get shut down against solid defenses like Michigan.
OL: C
Pass protection was decent but they didn't do a very good job at pushing Marshall defenders back like I would expect against an inferior opponent.
TE: B
Only one catch for Brahmer and one catch for Rapp. Brahmer is a big target at 6'7" which has to pay dividends as the season progresses. I'm hoping that one of these guys will become a Gesicki type who can overpower defenders and take away 50/50 balls. Rapp has a couple of nice blocks.
WR: A
Sowell only had 2 catches. Eskildsen had 5 but nothing spectacular. It was difficult to grade those two but Howard was fantastic. I was amazed how he immediately knew which way to run after the catch. Then he used his speed to run away from everybody. Zay Robinson looked equally elusive on his TD catch. Howard & Robinson are both only 5'11" so it will be interesting to see how they perform against stronger defenses.
DL & LB: A
I'm grading these two together because I don't know if Bacon is a LB or DE. I was concerned about DT but those guys did well vs an inferior opponent. I was optimistic about DE with Granville and Kemajou. Granville got so QB pressures but otherwise not much. Rojas looked very good. So did Bacon and Ebel. Those two might be the most critical additions from the portal. I was very impressed with them. Cam Smith looked good for a freshman.
DB: B
Looked solid overall. Tracy was very active and Zayas was a pleasant surprise. I know Dixson & Neal are good. Collins & Toure has game experience and Jeremiah Cooper is supposed to return at some point. That should be a good group.
Special Teams: B+
Zay Robinson looks explosive as KR. We know Barker is good at FG. I'm not sure what to think about Tiyce at P. or Cristiano at KO.
Coaching: A
The most impressive thing I noticed was how well disciplined the team was. They didn't look confused about their assignments. Blocking and tackling showed strong fundamentals. Offense stayed on their blocks and defenders wrapped up on their tackles instead of just lowering shoulders. It just looked more fundamentally sound than it did last year. There was also good energy. Campbell got the young players and backups in early and often. We didn't see those guys until the 4th quarter under Franklin. That has to be good for team morale and also to have guys prepared if we need them.
Overall things couldn't have gone much better. Of course it was an inferior opponent so it's too early to get excited. PSU didn't face any adversity in this game. It will be interesting to see how well Wisconsin hangs in against ND tonight. Northwestern wasn't overly impressive.
One more grade. Refs in the Um vs WM game get an F.
Becht statistics were very good but he wasn't perfect. Rapp was wide open over the middle on play where Becht got sacked. He made a terrific throw to Howard on one play where it had to go over defenders. It will be interesting to see how composed he is when he gets a little more pressure. He sure didn't seem interested in running and we might need that at some point. I was disappointed that Manske didn't get more throws downfield. Too many "safe" WR screens. I did like how early MC got backups into the game.
RB: B
Hansen looked solid but not spectacular. Peoples looked quicker but couldn't break any big runs. Martin & Wallace looked a little better than the starters but Marshall's defense was worn down by then. I'm concerned that this running attack could get shut down against solid defenses like Michigan.
OL: C
Pass protection was decent but they didn't do a very good job at pushing Marshall defenders back like I would expect against an inferior opponent.
TE: B
Only one catch for Brahmer and one catch for Rapp. Brahmer is a big target at 6'7" which has to pay dividends as the season progresses. I'm hoping that one of these guys will become a Gesicki type who can overpower defenders and take away 50/50 balls. Rapp has a couple of nice blocks.
WR: A
Sowell only had 2 catches. Eskildsen had 5 but nothing spectacular. It was difficult to grade those two but Howard was fantastic. I was amazed how he immediately knew which way to run after the catch. Then he used his speed to run away from everybody. Zay Robinson looked equally elusive on his TD catch. Howard & Robinson are both only 5'11" so it will be interesting to see how they perform against stronger defenses.
DL & LB: A
I'm grading these two together because I don't know if Bacon is a LB or DE. I was concerned about DT but those guys did well vs an inferior opponent. I was optimistic about DE with Granville and Kemajou. Granville got so QB pressures but otherwise not much. Rojas looked very good. So did Bacon and Ebel. Those two might be the most critical additions from the portal. I was very impressed with them. Cam Smith looked good for a freshman.
DB: B
Looked solid overall. Tracy was very active and Zayas was a pleasant surprise. I know Dixson & Neal are good. Collins & Toure has game experience and Jeremiah Cooper is supposed to return at some point. That should be a good group.
Special Teams: B+
Zay Robinson looks explosive as KR. We know Barker is good at FG. I'm not sure what to think about Tiyce at P. or Cristiano at KO.
Coaching: A
The most impressive thing I noticed was how well disciplined the team was. They didn't look confused about their assignments. Blocking and tackling showed strong fundamentals. Offense stayed on their blocks and defenders wrapped up on their tackles instead of just lowering shoulders. It just looked more fundamentally sound than it did last year. There was also good energy. Campbell got the young players and backups in early and often. We didn't see those guys until the 4th quarter under Franklin. That has to be good for team morale and also to have guys prepared if we need them.
Overall things couldn't have gone much better. Of course it was an inferior opponent so it's too early to get excited. PSU didn't face any adversity in this game. It will be interesting to see how well Wisconsin hangs in against ND tonight. Northwestern wasn't overly impressive.
One more grade. Refs in the Um vs WM game get an F.
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