Second Pre-season Update

Ok guys, here goes again. I'm going to be out of touch for a while so I thought I'd give one last update before the first game.

Weis loves Schwapp and gave him a little shout out in one of his press conferences...something along the lines of: "You know Asaph is a guy who doesn't say boo. He doesn't say anything, he just wants to hit someone. And pound for pound he's one of the strongest people on the team, if not the strongest person on the team. And when he runs the ball, in those short yardage situations, someone on the defense gets hit. And they aren't real happy about it." Just what you want in a fullback ladies and gents.

Apparently Grimes is the man for the number three receiver spot. Weis says it isn't close. I guess Grimes has just been that much better. As for the fourth wideout spot, Darrin Bragg may be the man. Not bad for a converted QB for only one year. I wouldn't say Bragg is a lock for the position, but he seems to be the favorite right now.

It looks like Sam Young is just working people. Apparently, he is pretty much ready to play right now, at any position. Looks like he is a lock to start at right tackle.

The other day Weis said that last year he really only felt comfortable playing four, maybe five, defensive backs. On the same day he said he would feel comfortable playing up to ten this year. He especially singled out Terrail Lambert who he said has had a great camp and has continued to get more and more of his trust every day. "He's not a starter yet, but he's right there." That's good work for someone who was behing Leo Ferrine all last year. This means we will be able to run more nickel (5 DB package) and dime (6 DB package) this year. With Crum manning the middle, that bodes well for us.

Weis said he is "very encouraged" by the speed of the defense. He also said we are better at this point than we were at any point last year on both sides of the ball.

Weis indicated prior to Monday of last week (first full scrimmage) that he would decide after that on the backup QB position. He hasn't formalized it yet. Sharpley "holds the edge" because of his experience in the system. However, it doesn't seem like Weis is sold on him. I'm thinking he sees something in one of the freshmen that is promising but that they need some more experience in the system to bring it out. My guess is that one of them will be backing up Quinn before season's end.

There has been some concern about the size of our linebackers. It is a valid concern, it is going to be difficult for them to take on guards coming out to block them or fullbacks on iso plays. However, the interior lineman beefed up a bit in the offseason. That, hopefully coupled with Minter stacking our LB's behind the line will allow them to be covered and untouched by the offensive line of the opposing team. Our starting LB's don't stack up bad (in terms of weight) against other fairly consistently good defensive teams.

It looks like both Will Yeatman and Konrad Reuland will see the field this season. Weis is growing in confidence in them.

Munir Prince continues to impress. He looks to be the breakaway back we have been missing. Now we have someone who is a home run threat any time he touches the ball. Even if he doesn't, that still works to our advantage when he is on the field as a decoy.