I went to football practice last Thursday afternoon and was impressed with the energy and the athletic look of this football team. Johnny and Wade both took reps at quarterback though not very many. It was the last day of fall camp in a fall camp that Coach Mason called “tough,” and the players looked a bit tired from the grind So Johnny and Wade didn’t get a lot of opportunities in 11 on 11 drills. But I saw some good things from both of them.
I really like what we have on defense. Our linebacking corps is loaded led by middle linebackers Darreon Herring and the awesome Nigel Bowden. Zach Cunningham will be a major contributor on the inside. He’s outstanding. Outside, Stephen Weatherly is going to be a beast this season. I’m expecting eight to 10 sacks from Stephen and a lot of disruptive plays that will cause turnovers and game changing third down stops. He looks like a potential All-American. Nehemiah Mitchell, who came to us from junior college, looks like a specimen, too. We’ve got talent out the roof at linebacker. Landon Stokes looks like he will be a player at outside linebacker as well. He was impressive at practice. Jonathan Wynn is another outside backer who looks good. I saw former linebacker Chris Marve out there calling the signals for the defense as relayed to him from the coaches. He looked like he knew what he was doing. Our secondary is pretty loaded, too. Torren McGaster looks All-SEC at one corner. Taurean Ferguson and Tre Bell look to be the two other guys fighting for the other corner spot. Tre Herndon is an excellent redshirt freshman corner and he’ll be in the mix. We’ve got depth there, too. The coaches are really high on freshman Donovan Sheffield from Ensworth High School in Nashville. He was a four star cornerback signee in this freshman class and looks highly impressive. Andrew Williamson is a solid safety and Oren Burks will be a headhunter at free safety. I really liked the look of Jahmel McIntosh at safety. He was one of the most energetic guys at practice. He loves to play the game. Redshirt freshman Emmanual Smith is a 6’2″, 218 safety and is a flat out stud. He’ll play a lot of nickel. We’ll need Emmanuel. He is going to be a great player for us. He’ll be a huge impact player this season. We’ve got outstanding depth at linebacker. There are freshmen who could make a contribution immediately. Highly touted freshman Josh Smith, Emmanuel’s little brother, who was a 95 four-star in the 2015 class, looks like he will contribute immediately this season. He’s terrific and has an SEC caliber physique already. Caleb Peart and Dare Odeyingbo look like SEC caliber linebackers already on the outside. We are loaded there. Corners are excellent and Ryan White is another guy who will help us at safety. Good player. Up front, Caleb Azubike looks like an All-SEC, potential All-American candidate like Weatherly. We’ve got quite a few All-SEC looking players on defense. Jay Woods looks like he’s going to have an excellent season for us at defensive tackle and I’m ready to see Nifae Lealao take the next step and be the high four star player he was out of high school. Nifae is 6’5″, 315 and looks like he could be a dominant player if he puts his mind to it. Torey Agee is another who has a chance to be good up front. With Coach Mason coaching this defense up, I am really excited about what this unit can accomplish. We look fast, aggressive, hard hitting, tough and powerful. And we look like a defense that can create game changing turnovers.
We will be severely tested right out of the shoot with a highly explosive Western Kentucky offense coming into Nashville a week from Thursday, Sept. 3, for a 7 PM CT/ 8 PM ET kickoff on the SEC Network. Their quarterback, Brandon Doughty, a senior, completed 375-of-552 passes (68%) for 4,830 yards, 49 touchdowns and 10 ints last season. He’s got weapons all over the perimeter, and in the backfield, so our defense will have to really bear down in this one. This is a huge opener for our football team. A victory here could really set the tone for a successful season. I don’t want to look any farther ahead than Western Ky. This is a must win game for us. The great thing about this defense is that we have experience, but there are still young guys in there. Most will be back in 2016. But we will need to put some points on the board. We need 28-31 to get the victory.
On offense, we suffered a couple of major blows with the loss of wide receiver C.J. Duncan and left tackle Andrew Jelks, who both suffered knee injuries that have knocked them out for the season. But, as Coach Mason said, we’re going to have to have other guys step in and get the job done in their place. Andrew was the leader of the line and C.J. is a leader and one of our most explosive offensive players. I still like the playmakers we have. Wide receiver Trent Sherfield looks like a star in the making. He will be a weapon as a vertical threat. He’s going to be fantastic for us. Latevius Rayford is an excellent receiver who can get us those 15-20 yard catches. Looks Jordan Mattews-like in a lot of ways. He’s excellent. Rashad Canty brings good length at 6’3″, 210 and I saw him catch a beautiful deep ball from freshman qb Kyle Shurmur. He looks explosive. Shurmur is really going to be good for us in the future, too. Guys like Caleb Scott, Ronald Monroe and Kris Kentera look capable of being good players on the perimeter. Kentera has dropped some in the past, but looked a lot more sure handed in practice on Thursday. He will help us. Tight end is loaded. Steven Scheu is an All-SEC, All-American type player. He catches everything. He looks like he has a shot to play on the next level after this season. Nathan Marcus and DeAndre Woods are also vertical threats at tight end, and I was really impressed with freshman Sam Dobbs. He has great hands and runs great routes. Sam could help us in the passing game. We are really good at tight end and I see OC Andy Ludwig really using tight end as a tremendous weapon for us this year. Running back Ralph Webb looks awesome. He needs to stay healthy, but he was very durable last year, and he’s as quick as any back in the SEC. When Ralph gets in the open field he could very well be making house calls. Dallas Rivers has the power at 6’1″, 225. I like what Dallas can bring to the table as the tough runner getting the needed yards to move the sticks and he’s got pretty good explosiveness. I like our freshman running back Josh Crawford. He’s got good size. It looks like he’s still trying to get his feet under him in practice, but he very well may be a contributor this season. He’s talented. Didn’t see freshman running back Jair George practice, but he has the size at 6’1″, 227. He was not practicing on Thursday. And the X factor is Darrius Sims. Darrius will be used in multiple ways by Coach Ludwig in the passing game as a vertical threat and in rocket sweep like plays. His speed is 4.3 and he’s a take it to the house guy any time he gets his hands on the football. Darrius will be huge in the punt return game, too. He’s got ability to be a game changer in the return game.
Johnny McCrary and Wade Freebeck are still battling it out for QB1. It’s a good competition. Both are talented players. The coaches may have made their decision on who they are going to start, but there is no indication on whom that will be. I’ve heard Johnny might be slightly ahead right now. Johnny had some good games for us last year. He was really good on the road against Missouri and had a nice game at home for us in a blow out win over Charleston Southern. Wade looked good to me in the spring game. We may not know until game week or even all the way up until kickoff. My belief is the competition is still ongoing and this will be an important week for both guys as we start in our game week preparation for Western. Both have good arms and good wheels. Will keep you posted if anything develops on an announcement of the starter.
The oline has outstanding size and some veteran guys. Spencer Pulley at center, if he stays there with the Jelks injury, and Jake Bernstein, look like mainstays and leaders up front. Will Holden has shown leadership ability at right tackle. Delando Crooks looks like he’ll be a player for us. The loss of Andrew hurts, luckily we’ll have him back next year, but we have about nine or 10 guys there who are all over 300 pounds and look like they’ll be good players for us. We really need to establish the line of scrimmage this season because I know Coach Mason and Coach Ludwig want to pound it, and use the play action off the ground game. Coach Mason likes the Stanford toughness on both sides of the ball, so our linemen really need to set the tone for our offense.
Tommy Openshaw looks like he’ll be our kicker. Like Tommy’s leg. Looks capable of hitting from 45-50 yards. Either Openshaw or Colby Cooke will be our punter. Both have strong legs. Snappers look like Wilson Johnson, Jacob Schultz and Davis Winkle. Not sure if that has been determined, but I saw no problem with snaps out of any of them. Kick returners are anywhere from Sims to Monroe, to Canty to even Ralph. We have good candidates who could take it the distance.
After Western Kentucky, we play at home vs Georgia on Saturday, Sept. 12th at 2:30 PM CT/3:30 PM on CBS. Then we play Austin Peay at home, Saturday, 9-19, at 3 PM CT/4 ET on SEC Alternate Network. We go to Ole Miss Saturday, Sept. 26th, then we’re @ Middle Tennessee State Saturday, Oct. 3, at 6 PM CT/7 ET on CBS College Sports Network. After a week off, we’re @ South Carolina, Oct. 17th, with game time to be determined. We play Missouri at home, Saturday, Oct. 24; we’re @ Houston, Oct. 31; we’re @ Florida, Nov.7; we play at home vs. Kentucky Nov. 14th; we’re at home vs Texas A&M Nov. 21, and @ Tennessee, Nov. 28th. All those games are on Saturdays and the rest of those times are to be determined.
I’m not going to make a prediction on our record; I think we have a shot in every game. A bowl game this year would be tremendous for our players, our coaches and for recruiting. That’s the goal. However many wins that equates to, I’m not sure. We have the makings of a bowl team.
Jay Cutler had a very good game Saturday night for the Bears. He was eight of nine for 69 yards, no TDs, but played a very good game according to the write ups by ESPN Chicago and the Chicago Trib. JMatt is going to be a big time player for the Eagles this season and going forward. He’s sensational. Zac Stacy, Casey Hayward and Sean Richardson all will be key contributors to their respective teams; Zac with the Jets, and Casey and Sean with the Packers. I’m going to watch some taped NFL games this week to get a better grasp on our guys in the league. There are some other guys like Wesley Johnson (Steelers) who are very capable of being good NFL players. I still think Chris Williams deserves a shot with somebody. Kenny Ladler at Buffalo and Andre Hal at Houston could be excellent players for those respective teams; Kenny at safety and Andre at corner. They’re both second string on their team’s depth charts, but I’m a big believer in both of them. I still don’t see why Earl Bennett hasn’t gotten another shot. I’m still not giving up on Earl. Should be an exciting season for our players in the league.
Jay looks tired of all the criticism and ready to step up under a new coaching staff. His offensive coordinator, Adam Gase, is excellent and has coached Peyton the last two years at Denver and is excellent. The Bears beat the Colts, 23-11, Saturday night at Indy, so that’s a pretty good statement. They moved to 2-0 after beating the Dolphins at home in week one. Philly dominated the Baltimore Ravens, 40-17. They look like a serious contender for the Super Bowl. I think the Bears have a shot to make some noise this year. The Packers just lost Jordy Nelson, their star wide receiver, most likely for the year with a knee injury. I hate it for Jordy, you never want to see a player get hurt severely, it’s terrible. Losing Nelson is a blow, but the Packers are excellent still. The Bears defense has been re-energized with former San Francisco defensive coordinator Vic Fangio taking over the defense. He brings blue collar toughness and physicality to a team that has been known for that through the years but kind of lost that the last couple of years. We’re looking to become the Monsters of the Midway again.
David Price and the Blue Jays dominated the LA Angels in LA over the weekend. And I really mean dominated. The Blue Jays scored 36 runs in three days and pounded out 48 hits. That’s 12 runs per game and 16 hits per game for the three game series. David won 9-2 Friday night. He went eight, gave up six hits, two earned, with one walk and nine K’s. His fastball hit 97 six or seven times. He was throwing it 96 consistently and his 85 MPH change up was superb. The change up along with the heater has become an out pitch for him. He was spectacular as was the team all weekend. DP moved to 12-4 on the season with a 2.40 ERA. His WHIP is 1.08 now. He has walked 35 and struck out 171. He’s on a team with a mission of capturing their first World Series title since they went back to back in 1992 and 93 and hasn’t been to the playoffs since 1994. Toronto is rockin. Watching a game when Price pitches in Toronto is like being at a Bears-Packers game at Soldier Field or Lambeau. It’s electric, explosive and so exciting. The Jays beat the Halos 15-3 on Saturday and 12-5 on Sunday. It was just total destruction of the opposition. Josh Donaldson is superb. The third baseman is hitting .302 with 34 homers and 100 Ribeyes. In his last seven, he’s 11-for-21, for a .524 average, with three homers and 13 RBIs. Joey “Bats” Bautista has woken up. He was three-for-five yesterday with his 29th homer and 85th RBI. Bautista was hitting in the .220’s a couple of weeks ago and he’s now up to .243. He has a cannon for an arm in right field, too. Designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion was 4-for-4 yesterday. He’s hitting .450 in his last seven and has 24 homers and 74 Ribeyes. His average was in the .220’s about three weeks ago and now he’s up to .265. And you add stud shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and you have a potent one through four with Tulo, Donaldson, Joey Bats and Encarnacion. Right fielder Ben Revere, who came over from the Phillies before the trade deadline, has also been a huge part of the Jays’ success. He’s been hitting extremely well. Getting David and Tulo have been just huge pick me ups for this ball club. David has reenergized the franchise and the fans. Jays games are a blast to watch. They play very good defense as well and the pitching, both starting and relief, has been stellar since David joined the staff. The Jays are now a 1/2 game up on the Yankees in the AL East. The Jays play the Yankees seven more times in September. They’ll play four at Yankee Stadium Sept. 10th-13th, a Thursday through a Sunday, and host the Yankees at the Rogers Centre Sept. 21-23, a Monday through a Wednesday. Should be an epic end to the season. The Jays travel to Texas for a key series tomorrow (Tuesday) through Thursday. David is on the hill Wednesday against Colby Lewis of the Rangers. Lewis is 14-5 with a 4.29 ERA with 30 walks and 116 K’s and a 1.18 WHIP, so it will be a challenge in a very hitters’ friendly park. But David has been good at Texas. He won a play in game for the playoffs two years ago for the Rays against the Rangers pitching a masterpiece. The Jays are now 69-55 and the Bronx Bombers are 68-56. In Dave and the Jays I trust.
Pedro hit another long one last night to deep left central, 408 feet. It put the Bucs up 5-2 and they held on to sweep the Giants and keep their lead in the wild card up to three games over the Cubs. Pedro now has 20 homers and 64 Ribeyes. He’s hitting .251. He’s clutch. He always has been. The Bucs are only three and a half back of the Cardinals in the NL Central at 74-48. The Cards are 78-45. The Cards may pitch a little bit better and play a little better defense at this point, but the Bucs can really hit it and they’ve got solid pitching, both starting and really in the bullpen, and got shortstop Jordy Mercer and utility player Josh Harrison back from injuries, so they’re ready to take off some more. They play at Miami today through Thursday.
Pedro had some trouble in the field last night. He just made a mistake and lost a little confidence committing a couple of errors. But that was the first time I’ve seen Pedro have trouble at first in a while. A pop fly dropped between Pedro and Neil Walker that allowed runners to get to first and third, and then Pedro had a drop on a throw to first and let a hard hit ball get through him in the next inning. I think he’s really hard on himself because Clint Hurdle and his coaches put so much pressure on him that he thinks he has to be perfect. Still believe in Pedro at first. Hope it’ll work out for him with the Pirates in the future, but I wish he had a guy like Corbs coaching him; a guy who would show confidence in him because Pedro is an excellent baseball player and he needs to be given that support. Hurdle just turns on him any chance he can get it seems like. If this keeps up, I want the Pirates to make it to the series and maybe win it–I’m deliberating between them and the Jays–but Pedro may need a fresh start with another club after this season to play for a manager that believes in him and gives him confidence. I think the Pirates can overtake the Cardinals. The bats are so good and the pitching is a wash between the clubs. The Cardinals might play a little better defense, but with Mercer and Jay Hay back, that’ll really bolster the defense. The outfield of Andrew McCutchen in center, Starling Marte in left and El Coffee’, Gregory Polanco, in right, is superb. The Bucs play at the Cardinals Sept. 4th-6th, a Friday through a Sunday, and host the Cards the last three games of the season, Sept. 28th-30th, a Monday through a Wednesday. Could be some huge implications in those series. They also host the Cubs, Sept. 15th-17th, a Tuesday through a Thursday, and play at Wrigley Sept. 25th-27th, a weekend series. So a lot of huge series left for the Bucs as they try to win the NL Central or win the wild card and make some serious noise in October.
Sonny pitched eight innings against the Rays on Saturday night giving up five hits, three earned with two walks and four K’s and left with a 4-3 lead. But the A’s bullpen, as usual, couldn’t hold the lead. Manager Bob Melvin put the wrong relief pitcher in for the ninth and the the A’s gave up two runs and lost 5-4. Sonny didn’t take the loss and is 12-5 on the season with a 2.10 ERA, which leads the American League. He has walked 44 and struck out 145, and has an 0.98 WHIP; still incredible numbers. Sonny is a candidate for the Cy Young in the American League along with David, but David’s chances are probably a lot better because he’s on a team that’s highly relevant and Sonny isn’t. Sonny will hit the hill again this Friday at Arizona facing Chase Anderson (6-5, 4.28 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 33 walks, 86 K’s). Curt Casali is catching quite a bit for the Rays and doing well. Will keep a closer eye on Curt in the upcoming weeks. The Rays are actually relevant in the wild card right now. It’s pretty amazing with all they lost in the offseason including their general manager and manager.
So a lot to be excited about for our athletes. Football season is upon us. It’s time for our team to get in game time mode as the Western Kentucky kickoff is just 10 days away.
Will have some basketball stuff this week, too. We have 89 three star point guard Payton Willis committed to the 2016 class. Payton is from Fayettville, Arkansas and I really liked his film. Can really drive, dish and shoot the trifecta. Braxton Blackwell, the high four star power forward, is our number one target. Braxton, a Nashville native, is a 98 four star and is 6’8″, 220. He’s a game changer for our program. Final Four impact player. We already have a really good team this season and the addition of Braxton could take us to the next level in 2016-17. I still believe this team can make some serious noise this season though with the players we have. Super excited for Kevin’s team this year. Braxton is now is playing at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, a huge basketball school. Need Braxton. We’ve got other highly rated targets who we are really after. Would love to get Braxton and go from there. Vandy 247 has crystal balled Braxton to us. They have us with a 50 percent chance of landing him. Indiana has a 25% chance, Tennessee has an 8% chance, Louisville has an 8 % chance and Kansas is at 8%. A lot can happen though between now and November, the early signing period, so we need to stay busy with Braxton.