Indiana State Football Completes Blue/White Scrimmage

[Jason Svoboda]

The Indiana State Sycamores completed their second scrimmage of preseason camp on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

Read more at GoSycamores...

 

[bigsportsfan]

I saw many good things. Shakir and Obaseki not playing.......... great thing. Shakir hurt his neck yesterday, but Golden tweeted it's not serious. Just precautionary. Don't need those guys to get hurt. Lucas Hileman was unreal. He can seriously kick on Sundays someday.

I thought the quarterbacks were good. Perish looked far better than he did in the spring; much more zip on the ball. Robert Tonyan Jr. is going to be a STAR. As good as Perish looked, I'd be shocked if Tonyan doesn't steal the job someday. Perhaps even this year. I think he's that good. Very mobile, great arm. Lotta D-1s missed the boat on him. Defense looked very good. Offensive line a little shaky, some people didn't play. The kick returners had trouble catching the ball, particularly Spencer. That's fixable. Also loved the freshman tight end (No. 82) from somewhere in Illinois. Good mobility, will be a good one. Damn, we've got some big linemen too.

All in all, a beautiful afternoon, it didn't look like anyone got hurt, and I feel much better about our QB position than I did in April. Let's go to Bloomington!

 

[goindystate]

I would suspect that Tonyan could be very good, the guy is 6'5" tall after all, when is the last time ISU had a true QB who was 6'5" tall? He'll be able to see over a lot of defenses.

 

[blueblazer]

I saw many good things. Shakir and Obaseki not playing.......... great thing. Shakir hurt his neck yesterday, but Golden tweeted it's not serious. Just precautionary. Don't need those guys to get hurt. Lucas Hileman was unreal. He can seriously kick on Sundays someday.

I thought the quarterbacks were good. Perish looked far better than he did in the spring; much more zip on the ball. Robert Tonyan Jr. is going to be a STAR. As good as Perish looked, I'd be shocked if Tonyan doesn't steal the job someday. Perhaps even this year. I think he's that good. Very mobile, great arm. Lotta D-1s missed the boat on him. Defense looked very good. Offensive line a little shaky, some people didn't play. The kick returners had trouble catching the ball, particularly Spencer. That's fixable. Also loved the freshman tight end (No. 82) from somewhere in Illinois. Good mobility, will be a good one. Damn, we've got some big linemen too.

All in all, a beautiful afternoon, it didn't look like anyone got hurt, and I feel much better about our QB position than I did in April. Let's go to Bloomington!

I to thought Tonyan looked good, ISU needs a lot of work but there is still practice time, Hileman is a stud, maybe
As good as State has ever had, defense looked good, offense needs work.

 

[bigsportsfan]

I wish Fritschle had been a little better on his kicks. Still not feeling great about that part of the game.

 

[new sycamore fan]

Overall the team looked pretty strong yesterday. As mentioned above, Bell and Obaseki sat out for precautionary reasons. Also out were Burnett, McElroy, Wood, Cheeseborough, Foluke, Harris and several others. Note the last 3 names--runing backs. Right now, other than the OL, that's my biggest concern. Bell will be great, but he will take some lumps and miss some time--hopeully no more than last season. Behind him is one back who has some moments in practice, but has many questions. I guess what I'm saying is that the running game is zero without Bell. Last year Lough stood in some when Bell was out and Harris was somewhat healthy; a much better situation.

Perrish, and particularly Tonyan, played solidly and sometimes spectacularly. I feel better about the QB position than I had in any of the previous years. Some of the young (large) OL are showing some good progress, but there is still a LOT of development that needs to be done. Missing Lutz this year will hurt, but it will definitely be a plus next season, when it is imperative that there is a leader for the OL. Mardis looks very solid (although it looked like he got dinged a little on the big Archie hit). There is a deep group behind him and the Freshman Mangrum looks like he could develop into a good one. I would still like to see more out of the WR group. Riley is solid and it looks like there will be some good underneath routes that will get him some catches. The surprising (and suprprisingly, a little disappointing) is that High appears to be the best big playmaker amongst the WRs. With the obvious althleticsm of Spencer and Pride, I expect more. Spencer looked great at the end of last season, so I'm hoping he plays consistently at that level--he didn't in the scrimmages yesterday and last week. And as far as punt returns? They need to look somewhere else--Riley maybe? There is great depth at WR, with guys like O'Leary, Prentice, Lawshe, Fisher, McCarter...all of which are competent back ups and should play.

Defensively, having Obaseki and McElroy, as well as Burnett, out makes an obvious difference. That being said, the defense is in decent shape if they miss starters. Bright could be a difference maker this year--IF he decides to play with the intensity that he SOMETIMES has been showing in the scrimmages--put Obaseki's motor in him, and he's a monster. I haven't seen Walker play yet, so I remain excited at the possibilities there. Boyd is solid, as is Underwood, and Lally has been making plays in the 2 scrimmages. Jones and Nicholls also look to get some time. Archie and Washington will have GREAT years. Bashir looks better than he has at any time since he's been here. Painter is a solid senior. Walker will be around the ball whenever he plays. Scott has played the last couple of years and knows the defense. Allen has not yet been released to play; hopefully he will because he will also be a player. Towalid is a solid corner and, other than King, is the best playmaker among the DBs. Stowers has shown he can stick on the receivers (at least our guys in scrimmages). Burnett is ok pysically (sitting out now for precautionary), and can be an all conference DB. Harvey had a rough scrimmage last week, but looked very good in this one--he needs to keep his focus and his intensity at a consistent level. King has had a great camp, and is much more of an outgoing leader--he is a difference maker. Sewall and Layne are rotating with the 1's at the other safety--both have been solid but they both also have great potential to step up their play and become playmakers. Wilson is going to be a good one--he may redshirt, but if he was needed to step in for injury or other reasons, he'd be ok. Some of the other reserve DBs have also made good plays during the scrimmages, and provide solid depth.

Hileman had a couple of shanks, but for the big majority, he looked great. Spencer could not judge his punts, and he placed two long ones inside the 5. HUGE difference with him punting as to the prior 3-4 years! I'd still like to see little quicker timing to avoid blocks. Fritschle's leg looks strong, but as mentioned above, more consistency would be great. The good thing is, if he stays healthy, he gives us a real opportunity from 45 in. The return games may be a question. I think Spencer can be a dependable, and sometimes very good, kick returner, but he looks to have too much inconsistency to put him back in punt returns as the full time guy. Riley will field the punts dependently, but he is a key WR that has been dinged up in the past, so can you afford to have him back there? I think High could be a good retuner--he's elusive with good speed. Haven't really seen the coverage units do anything but skeleton work, but that's an area that needs to improve from the past few years.

The coaching staff? Looks to be excellent! I think there are some good relationships, and respect from both players and coaches, with both new and holdover coaches. If Jackson can keep Bright turned on, that would be awesome. It's fun to watch some of the interaction between the coaches and the players--much different, communicative, and better than the past.

Ok, there's my 2 cents. I look forward to our second win against a BCS opponent up in Bloominton!

 

[Bally #50]

NSF, so good to hear your thoughts and for sure, I want to thank you for taking the time to putting them into words on here. As always, your reports are a great read and one of fully trust. I am sure the QB issue finding a true direction and with a couple of them looking good, the coaching staff is pretty relieved too. I wish I could have been there. I was actually in Terre Haute playing in my fraternity's annual golf outing just a few miles away at Hulman Links but I wish I could have done both. It was a GREAT day weather-wise and I bet several of you said that we were LONG OVERDUE to have one like that during the summer of 2012.

 

[IndyTreeFan]

Overall the team looked pretty strong yesterday. As mentioned above, Bell and Obaseki sat out for precautionary reasons. Also out were Burnett, McElroy, Wood, Cheeseborough, Foluke, Harris and several others. Note the last 3 names--runing backs. Right now, other than the OL, that's my biggest concern. Bell will be great, but he will take some lumps and miss some time--hopeully no more than last season. Behind him is one back who has some moments in practice, but has many questions. I guess what I'm saying is that the running game is zero without Bell. Last year Lough stood in some when Bell was out and Harris was somewhat healthy; a much better situation.

Perrish, and particularly Tonyan, played solidly and sometimes spectacularly. I feel better about the QB position than I had in any of the previous years. Some of the young (large) OL are showing some good progress, but there is still a LOT of development that needs to be done. Missing Lutz this year will hurt, but it will definitely be a plus next season, when it is imperative that there is a leader for the OL. Mardis looks very solid (although it looked like he got dinged a little on the big Archie hit). There is a deep group behind him and the Freshman Mangrum looks like he could develop into a good one. I would still like to see more out of the WR group. Riley is solid and it looks like there will be some good underneath routes that will get him some catches. The surprising (and suprprisingly, a little disappointing) is that High appears to be the best big playmaker amongst the WRs. With the obvious althleticsm of Spencer and Pride, I expect more. Spencer looked great at the end of last season, so I'm hoping he plays consistently at that level--he didn't in the scrimmages yesterday and last week. And as far as punt returns? They need to look somewhere else--Riley maybe? There is great depth at WR, with guys like O'Leary, Prentice, Lawshe, Fisher, McCarter...all of which are competent back ups and should play.

Defensively, having Obaseki and McElroy, as well as Burnett, out makes an obvious difference. That being said, the defense is in decent shape if they miss starters. Bright could be a difference maker this year--IF he decides to play with the intensity that he SOMETIMES has been showing in the scrimmages--put Obaseki's motor in him, and he's a monster. I haven't seen Walker play yet, so I remain excited at the possibilities there. Boyd is solid, as is Underwood, and Lally has been making plays in the 2 scrimmages. Jones and Nicholls also look to get some time. Archie and Washington will have GREAT years. Bashir looks better than he has at any time since he's been here. Painter is a solid senior. Walker will be around the ball whenever he plays. Scott has played the last couple of years and knows the defense. Allen has not yet been released to play; hopefully he will because he will also be a player. Towalid is a solid corner and, other than King, is the best playmaker among the DBs. Stowers has shown he can stick on the receivers (at least our guys in scrimmages). Burnett is ok pysically (sitting out now for precautionary), and can be an all conference DB. Harvey had a rough scrimmage last week, but looked very good in this one--he needs to keep his focus and his intensity at a consistent level. King has had a great camp, and is much more of an outgoing leader--he is a difference maker. Sewall and Layne are rotating with the 1's at the other safety--both have been solid but they both also have great potential to step up their play and become playmakers. Wilson is going to be a good one--he may redshirt, but if he was needed to step in for injury or other reasons, he'd be ok. Some of the other reserve DBs have also made good plays during the scrimmages, and provide solid depth.

Hileman had a couple of shanks, but for the big majority, he looked great. Spencer could not judge his punts, and he placed two long ones inside the 5. HUGE difference with him punting as to the prior 3-4 years! I'd still like to see little quicker timing to avoid blocks. Fritschle's leg looks strong, but as mentioned above, more consistency would be great. The good thing is, if he stays healthy, he gives us a real opportunity from 45 in. The return games may be a question. I think Spencer can be a dependable, and sometimes very good, kick returner, but he looks to have too much inconsistency to put him back in punt returns as the full time guy. Riley will field the punts dependently, but he is a key WR that has been dinged up in the past, so can you afford to have him back there? I think High could be a good retuner--he's elusive with good speed. Haven't really seen the coverage units do anything but skeleton work, but that's an area that needs to improve from the past few years.

The coaching staff? Looks to be excellent! I think there are some good relationships, and respect from both players and coaches, with both new and holdover coaches. If Jackson can keep Bright turned on, that would be awesome. It's fun to watch some of the interaction between the coaches and the players--much different, communicative, and better than the past.

Ok, there's my 2 cents. I look forward to our second win against a BCS opponent up in Bloominton!

NSF, what's up with Allen? I've been looking forward to seeing him play since he signed with us. Anything really serious?

 

[new sycamore fan]

They initially thought hernia, but it's something with his groin. I think he's practicing some, and waiting to be released for full practice. Whenever he's played, he's looked good.

 

[bent20]

Thank you for the reports!

 

[mohoops247]

I pretty much agree with everything BSF and NSF said in their posts. I do feel good about the quarterback position after seeing both Perrish and Tonyan Saturday. One concern I do have is a number of delay of game penalties that were dished out Saturday (and this is not solely a QB issue but since they run the offense I thought I'd mention it here). I know it was a scrimmage and the sense of urgency was probably not quite as high as a game situation, but there were a number of times where it seemed like 1) the play call took a long time to get to the QB and/or 2) there was a lot of confusion on who was coming in/out of the game which led to a long time in the huddle.

I would also like to see the O-Line hold their blocks a little better in the passing game to give the QB some time to go through his progressions. But I did like seeing the QBs willing to tuck the ball and take off in a few instances when they were pressured, and Tonyan also intentionally threw one out of the back of the endzone to avoid a sack - great awareness for a freshman.

Overall, I was encouraged by the offense, especially considering Bell (and most of the other RBs) did not play.

As most people, I think the D will be very strong this year, especially when you add in the guys that sat out Saturday.

Hileman looked really good; and Frischle nearly kicked one out of the back of the endzone on a kickoff, showing his leg strength. If he can stay healthy in become a little more consistent I think we'll be ok there.

Again, this was just a scrimmage and one without a number of key guys playing, but I feel good about this team. Can't wait for a couple more weeks to get to lay the wood on someone else other than ourselves!