I took some notes during Fan Appreciation Day to share with those unable to attend. I know some of this has been discussed in prior threads, but I wanted to put my thoughts all in one thread instead of it getting buried. Please feel free to add anything I might have missed or comment.
First off, the new Vanier Family Football Complex is pretty amazing. We were able to get a tour prior to the hour-long practice and I really hope there will be some public tours set up. It's top-notch. There's no better way to put it. Everything in there was so nice, and it speaks volumes to the loyalty K-Staters have to make the dream a reality. By far the coolest part in there is the tunnel. Seriously, just being in there makes you hyped. It just has a cool vibe to it, especially coming from the locker room, which was also incredible.
With all of fancy stuff, really the best part was the academic learning center. I know that sounds cheesy, but it was truly awesome. There's a computer lab with 50-plus brand new computers, a lounge to study, private tutor rooms and a lot of other useful things that make it a great environment for a student-athlete. Everyone will tell you about the weight room, locker room, offices and whatnot, but that was the one spot that impressed me just as much.
Now onto football notes..
None of the quarterbacks looked very good. Or I should say they didn't look "great." Shocking, right? It appears Jesse Ertz is the No. 1 guy at the moment, and probably looked the most comfortable out there. Jonathan Banks does not throw the ball well at all. His passes were almost all short of the target and doesn't throw a tight spiral. Joe Hubener was okay, but that's about it. Alex Delton looks pretty jacked by comparison to the spring and threw the ball pretty well with good arm strength.
Charles Jones is likely the featured running back. Justin Silmon got a lot of reps, too. Dalvin Warmack was behind those two. And I think we might see Winston Dimel at fullback quite a bit in those various packages because it looked like Glenn Gronkowski was playing more of a tight end-type position, starting the snap near the offensive line.
At wide receiver, the three taking the snaps with the No. 1s were Deante Burton, Kody Cook and Dominique Heath. Yes, Heath and not Klein, who was with the No. 2s mainly. And Heath was lined up outside and Cook was in the slot. Cody Small was the primary tight end from what I could tell, but Dayton Valentine looks like a monster with pads on. He's huge!!
Dalton Risner took most of the snaps at center with the first team. Cody Whitehair was at left tackle, Terrale Johnson was at left guard in place of Boston Stiverson (who I did not see for the second straight week), Risner at center, Luke Hayes at right guard, and Aaron Bennett at right tackle. Matt Kleinsorge did not practice.
On defense, I did not see much at defensive line. Sorry. I don't have too much to add there. However, I got plenty of the linebackers and secondary.
The starting unit, presumably, was Elijah Lee and Will Davis at linebacker, Morgan Burns and Danzel McDaniel on the outside, Donnie Starks at nickel, Dante Barnett and Sean Newlan at safety. Kaleb Prewett ran primarily with the No. 2s at safety. Same with Kendall Adams.
The backup linebackers were Sam Sizelove and Trent Tanking. It was good to see Mike Moore out there, too. Nate Jackson was the No. 2 at nickel, with Jesse Mack, Ryan Mack, Prewett and Adams in the secondary. Duke Shelley and Cre Moore were behind them, but both of those guys made a couple of nice plays.
Obviously this was just an hour of practice so who knows how much of this is accurate to what K-State is actually doing without fans and media there, but it's something. If I can think of anything else, I'll post it.
First off, the new Vanier Family Football Complex is pretty amazing. We were able to get a tour prior to the hour-long practice and I really hope there will be some public tours set up. It's top-notch. There's no better way to put it. Everything in there was so nice, and it speaks volumes to the loyalty K-Staters have to make the dream a reality. By far the coolest part in there is the tunnel. Seriously, just being in there makes you hyped. It just has a cool vibe to it, especially coming from the locker room, which was also incredible.
With all of fancy stuff, really the best part was the academic learning center. I know that sounds cheesy, but it was truly awesome. There's a computer lab with 50-plus brand new computers, a lounge to study, private tutor rooms and a lot of other useful things that make it a great environment for a student-athlete. Everyone will tell you about the weight room, locker room, offices and whatnot, but that was the one spot that impressed me just as much.
Now onto football notes..
None of the quarterbacks looked very good. Or I should say they didn't look "great." Shocking, right? It appears Jesse Ertz is the No. 1 guy at the moment, and probably looked the most comfortable out there. Jonathan Banks does not throw the ball well at all. His passes were almost all short of the target and doesn't throw a tight spiral. Joe Hubener was okay, but that's about it. Alex Delton looks pretty jacked by comparison to the spring and threw the ball pretty well with good arm strength.
Charles Jones is likely the featured running back. Justin Silmon got a lot of reps, too. Dalvin Warmack was behind those two. And I think we might see Winston Dimel at fullback quite a bit in those various packages because it looked like Glenn Gronkowski was playing more of a tight end-type position, starting the snap near the offensive line.
At wide receiver, the three taking the snaps with the No. 1s were Deante Burton, Kody Cook and Dominique Heath. Yes, Heath and not Klein, who was with the No. 2s mainly. And Heath was lined up outside and Cook was in the slot. Cody Small was the primary tight end from what I could tell, but Dayton Valentine looks like a monster with pads on. He's huge!!
Dalton Risner took most of the snaps at center with the first team. Cody Whitehair was at left tackle, Terrale Johnson was at left guard in place of Boston Stiverson (who I did not see for the second straight week), Risner at center, Luke Hayes at right guard, and Aaron Bennett at right tackle. Matt Kleinsorge did not practice.
On defense, I did not see much at defensive line. Sorry. I don't have too much to add there. However, I got plenty of the linebackers and secondary.
The starting unit, presumably, was Elijah Lee and Will Davis at linebacker, Morgan Burns and Danzel McDaniel on the outside, Donnie Starks at nickel, Dante Barnett and Sean Newlan at safety. Kaleb Prewett ran primarily with the No. 2s at safety. Same with Kendall Adams.
The backup linebackers were Sam Sizelove and Trent Tanking. It was good to see Mike Moore out there, too. Nate Jackson was the No. 2 at nickel, with Jesse Mack, Ryan Mack, Prewett and Adams in the secondary. Duke Shelley and Cre Moore were behind them, but both of those guys made a couple of nice plays.
Obviously this was just an hour of practice so who knows how much of this is accurate to what K-State is actually doing without fans and media there, but it's something. If I can think of anything else, I'll post it.
