Fall Camp Notes: A-State

[Seminole Indian]

In today's Jonesboro Sun Anderson said after three practices they were making progress, and commented on two critical areas, the offensive line and safety. 

Concerning the OL, "you don't notice that they're all brand new", and safety, where former Razorback Bobby Joe Edmond's son B.J. Edmonds and Boise bounce-back Darreon Jackson have caught Anderson's attention, " you never really notice that they are not veterans".

Also noted that backup QB Logan Bonner is making a strong push to unseat returning starter Justice Hansen at QB.

[Seminole Indian]

Not much out of the A-State camp other than the receivers and top two QB's are looking very good.

I enjoyed the video of the battle to stay on the wolf logo between WR Kendall Sanders(offense) and Safety Cody Brown(defense) last year, so here is a new video I found on AStateNation.com of WR Dijon Paschal (offense) and Safety Darreon Jackson going at it this year.

https://vimeo.com/228105605

[Seminole Indian]

A-State will hold a scrimmage this morning, one of two scheduled for fall camp, and probably the most important of the two as far as determining who the potential starters are.

Anderson did say in today's Jonesboro Sun that several players have solidified themselves in the OL: RS-F Jacob Still (6-1, 293) at Center,  Jr transfer Lanard Bonner(6-5, 330) at LT , So Troy Elliott (6-5, 305) at RG, and Sr transfer Jaypee Philbert( 6-5, 315) at RT. The other starting guard appears to be between Jr Jamal Fontenot (6-4, 303), and So Dalton Ford(6-4, 307), who are both considered among the leaders in the OL.

Anderson also noted that Philbert, along with So Safety Darreon Jackson(6, 200), JR Safety Michael Johnson (6, 180), Jr DT  Christian Howard (6-2, 275) and Jr DE Ronheen Bingham (6-2, 245) have been newcomers that have been impressive in fall camp.

Here is a nice video about fall camp I found on AStateNation.com:

https://vimeo.com/228363317

[Seminole Indian]

Red Wolves Conduct First Fall-Camp Scrimmage

JONESBORO, Ark. (8/5/17) – One week into its fall camp, the Arkansas State football team took the Centennial Bank Stadium field Saturday morning for the first of two extended scrimmages planned prior to its season opener at Nebraska.

The Red Wolves ran approximately 126 live plays with no drive starting beyond the offense's 40-yard line.  The first half of the scrimmage limited the number of plays for each unit and was all situational, while the second portion allowed for traditional drives.

"I thought we played hard on both sides of the ball," said head coach Blake Anderson.  "I like the idea that the offense, in a scrimmage that didn't have any short fields and was really built for open-field football, was able to finish in the end zone some.  I also like the fact that the defense created some turnovers – that's where it's going to start."

The outing was filled with big plays on both sides of the ball, including five offensive touchdowns and three turnovers created by the defense.  The offense accounted for multiple explosive plays in both the running and passing game, including a 46-yard touchdown rush by sophomore quarterback Carson Coats.

The defense piled up 13 tackles for loss, 10 pass break-ups and nine sacks, while junior defensive back Justin Clifton intercepted a deflected pass in the back of the end zone.  Junior defensive lineman Josh Curry and freshman Demari Medley both recovered a fumble as well.

"I thought the tempo for a first scrimmage was really good," Anderson said.  "We lined up quicker than we have in the past – even the defense, in terms of getting lined up and ready to play, was good.  I think we've preached that all week, and I thought it showed.  We had good energy.  They came to compete – we've just got to get better at what we're doing."

Four of the five quarterbacks who saw action were responsible for at least one passing or rushing touchdown, while junior receiver Justin McInnis posted a pair of receiving scores.  Senior wideout Chris Murray and sophomore tight end Avery Johnson caught one touchdown pass each.  Johnson's scoring reception from redshirt freshman quarterback Logan Bonner was good for 67 yards, the longest play of the day.  Bonner had another 45-yard touchdown pass, and junior Justice Hansen and sophomore Blake Dever each delivered one pass to the end zone.

The defense saw 17 players account for its tackles for loss, sacks, passes defended and fumble recoveries.  Although quarterbacks weren't tackled to the ground, sophomore defensive lineman Javier Carbonell was responsible for a team-high three sacks, while redshirt freshman William Bradley-King and sophomore T.J. Harris each had two.  Sophomore safety Darreon Jackson recorded a scrimmage-high two pass break-ups.

"It was a physical scrimmage," stated Anderson.  "What the film is going to show will really be the truth of everything, but it felt physical – guys flying to the ball, you could hear the pads popping, and we came out of it healthy.  We've had some physical practices.  Our inside drills have been smash-mouth, but we want the team to understand that is going to be our mentality – we've got to be able to run the ball and stop the run to win a championship."

The Red Wolves' second-and-final fall-camp scrimmage will be held Saturday, Aug. 12 in conjunction with A-State's "Fan Day."

http://www.astateredwolves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7200&ATCLID=211659992

[Seminole Indian]

A-State will conduct its final scrimmage of the fall today at 6:00 pm in Centennial Bank Stadium as a part of Fan Appreciation Day. While most of the starting jobs have been filled, and as a result the starters many be limited in the number of snaps, there is still competition for a lot of the  #2 spots according to Head Coach Blake Anderson in today's Jonesboro Sun.

Dispite having a very physical fall camp, DE Ronheen Bingham, and OG Troy Elliott are the only two key players injured, but both should be back for the Nebraska game.

Anderson did say that three true freshmen are in position to play this season, Corner A.J. Cayetano, WR Jonathan Adams Jr, and Safety Demari Medley.

[Seminole Indian]

Apparently all the receivers, qbs, and defense line looked very good, but at the other positions, things went downhill when they started bringing in backups .

"I thought (the scrimmage) got sloppy at the end, but I was pleased with the first half," said A-State head coach Blake Anderson. "We played a lot of guys, and as we started pulling some of them, I thought we lost some integrity in what we were trying to get accomplished. It wasn't a good way to finish, but I think it will give us some good teaching film. We were getting great effort early – we've just got to be able to maintain that when we start substituting, like we'll have to do in a game."

http://www.astateredwolves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7200&ATCLID=211661138

[Seminole Indian]

Here is another one of those videos, this one about their 2nd scrimmage.

https://vimeo.com/229494981

[Seminole Indian]

Fall camp has ended, and other than losing DT Dee Liner for 2-6 weeks, from all accounts went very well for the Red Wolves.

Here is one of those videos that I like.

https://vimeo.com/230070078

[asuato]

Don't mind sitting Liner for the Nebraska game. We have depth at that spot and should be ok. Nebraska is a winnable game without him playing. Hopefully back for Miami but that's up to the the trainers.

[Seminole Indian]

Anderson said in the Jonesboro Sun today Liner is looking good, and may be available for Nebraska. Seemed optimistic.

Liner said he will be and feels real good.

You are right though they have talent and depth and have looked very good even without him.

[DeltaBoy]

Hope that the Tribe has a great year.