Northwestern University Athletics
Spring Drills: Practice Eight Report
4/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 10, 2010
By Skip Myslenski
NUSports.com Special Contributor
We live, of course, in the Instant Age and embrace that adjective as if it were some elixir. We drink our instant coffee and eat our instant mashed potatoes, we demand an expert's instant analysis and seek always the bliss of instant gratification. But, right now, we ask you to relax and take a deep breath, to slow way down and keep in mind one, quite-salient fact. This. Is. A. Report. On. The. 'Cats. First. Scrimmage. Of. The. Spring.
For the record, it lasted 68 plays and generally matched the first offense against the first defense, the second offense against the second defense. For the record, starting quarterback Dan Persa went 8-of-10 for 40 yards and his backup, Evan Watkins, went 7-of-16 for 135 yards and the only touchdown the offense would score on this Saturday morning. Demetrius Fields, on a deep post, caught that 48-yard pass, but Sidney Stewart led all receivers with four catches for 32 yards. Stephen Simmons and Jacob Schmidt each gained 47 yards rushing, Simmons on 10 carries and Schmidt on 14, and Schmidt aborted a possible scoring drive by fumbling at the goal line. What else? Well, both running back Arby Fields and defensive end Quentin Williams were at Penn State with the baseball team.
Their absences, and the absences of others due to injury, explain why it would be foolish to rush-to-judgment here. They also explain why those numbers are just for-the-record and really nothing more than window dressing. This. Was. The. 'Cats. First. Scrimmage. Of. The. Spring, which meant there was more at work here.
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"Days like today are good. You learn more on a day like today than on a regular practice day," offensive lineman Al Netter is saying.
Like what?
"I've yet to watch the film and that's where I learn a lot," he replies. "But just to play fast. You know, when you get to live situations, you can't think as much. You've got to put what you learned in practice into a game situation and just go."
Was he looking for something special in this scrimmage?
"Yeah. Me personally, and it goes along with the mentality of our whole offensive line, we want to be able to run the ball better. A lot of that is just working on our technique and doing the right thing every time. You can have four guys doing the right thing and one guy screws up and the entire run play is blown up. So it's everyone being on the same page, working on fundamentals and getting after it."
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"We're trying to figure out who we are and who's going to lead who," the offensive coordinator Mick McCall is saying. "But I think Dan (Persa) had a great mentor in Mike (Kafka) and Dan was there for Mike when he needed him (after he was injured against Penn State). So it's not like we're talking about, 'OK, this is my first time.' But it still is his first time in this role (of presumptive starter)."
Does he see that it's his first time in Persa's actions?
"Sure. Everything is the first time for him being in that role. But Dan is so much more confident right now than he was a year ago at this time. That's how I'm gauging it. I know where he's at from where he was and where he's got to get. And he knows too. We've got a great communication line going between us."
How far is Persa now from where he has to get?
"The sky's the limit. We're not going to ask him to do something he can't, but we're always going to be pressing the envelope. If we get to point C, then we need to get to point D and E. And if we can't get to point E, we'll play with A, B, C, D.
How far into the alphabet can Persa go?
"You know, the sky's the limit with these guys (both he and Watkins) because here's the deal. They are so willing, both of them are so willing to learn and work. Right now, they're waiting for me in our meeting room to get coached. They want to get coached right now. They want to know what they did, what they need to do, what they did well, what they didn't do well. They want to see it on film."
What was he looking for in this scrimmage?
"I think we're trying to do some base things and I want those guys to manage the game. That's an overused term a little bit. But we talk about it all the time. What we're doing on first down, how we're approaching it. Then what we're doing on second down, how we're approaching it. Then what we're doing on third down, third-and-long, third-and-medium. I want to see that. This is the first time they've done that and moved the ball. All the other times, we do a bunch of third downs all together, then we do a bunch of first downs all together. It's part, part, part. Here it's the whole. Now we've got to go back and see how they did."
Can he judge, instinctively, how they did?
"Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I'd probably give them a B-Minus. There were some times where there were real good plays. Then there were other times, 'What are we doing here?' That happens. That's why we practice. That's practice."
Just as pitchers are ahead of hitters early in the spring, it seems the defense is ahead of the offense early in the spring. Agree?
"Probably, probably. I think because in offense, you have to develop so much timing and everybody's got to be on the same page, all 11. There could be one guy on defense blowing an assignment someplace and somebody else makes a big hit. But if somebody on offense, especially somebody real close to the ball, the offensive line, the quarterback, the running back, if they blow an assignment, it's probably a bad play."
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"It's kind of a yardstick scrimmage," the defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz is saying. "It tells you where guys are at, especially young players. In our system, where the offense is in no-huddle and with the tempo and the motion and stuff, it is extremely hard on young players mentally. So it gives you an idea of where they're at. Now after the first scrimmage, a lot of times, they make great strides in the second one. They have confidence. 'Well, I can handle that. It wasn't that bad.' So it's more of a yardstick scrimmage. It tells you who can think on their feet and where they're at with that ability level. Young guys, it's always hard at first. You want to see who came to tackle. But with the young guys, when they're in there, there's an uncertainty level. They have a hard time playing fast and being aggressive because they're trying to do the right thing and then they get bogged down mentally."
So they're thinking too much?
"Yeah. Yeah. That happens (everyplace). But our offense compounds it because it's no-huddle, fast-paced, motion. Things change. You know the defense, then all of a sudden there's motion and you have to make adjustments. So it makes it hard. I tell them, 'It's extremely difficult on you. But by the end of spring you're going to be pretty comfortable with it. Then by the time you come back in the fall, during two-a-days, you'll be totally at ease with it.' So when you get in a game in that situation, it really benefits us."
How far along the yardstick is his defense?
A laugh. "I don't know until I see the video. Things happen fast and---"
Instinctively?
"I'd say we're probably where we'd like to be."
Has he noticed anyone in particular who has stepped up his game?
"A lot of guys have. A lot of guys have taken a step up in their execution and their game. It's too early to single anyone out right now. I like where we're at. But it's too early."
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Need one more reason to believe that this is no time for the instant? Read what head coach Pat Fitzgerald had to say when asked if guys can win or lose positions on scrimmages like Saturday.
"Not really, not really. I don't name the starters really until opening week. In the spring prospectus (depth chart), the guys are (listed) alphabetically. We'll do the same thing in fall camp. . . We're going to compete. Our guys love to compete. We're going to see who can go earn those starting spots and who'll be the next guy in."
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SCRIMMAGE STATS
RUSHING: Simmons 10-47, Schmidt, 14-47, Watkins 6-42, T. Jones 5-13, Persa 6-6. Team totals: 14-155 (3.8 ypc)
PASSING: Persa 8-10, 40 yds., 0 TD's, 0 INT; Watkins 7-16, 135 yds., 1 TD, 0 INT. Team totals: 15-26, 175 yds., 1 TD, 0 INT.
RECEIVING: Stewart 4-32, Schmidt 3-13, D. Fields 2-53, 1 TD, Coleman 2-7, Moulton 1-34, Reed 1-29, Plasencia 1-6, Simmons 1-1. Team totals 15-175 yds., 1 TD.
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PRACTICE NOTES:
• The Wildcats begin their third week of the spring season Monday morning with a helmet/shoulder pads/shorts practice.
• Several former Wildcats were on hand today to attend practice, take part in film sessions and attend training table. The ex-Cats mentor several members of the Wildcats' football team.
