Heading into the Spring Game, what question do you want answered?

[Middle-aged_Ball_Coach]

Kpai will bring a type of reflexive quickness to the LB position that we haven't had in a very, very long time, but ... will he have the size? He's the son of an immigrant, and he is the first of what may be many who have discovered football in the Sioux Falls area, and there is a common physique among so many of these guys: freakish athleticism + thin body frame. Kpai has been in a very good high school S&C program, so it concerns me that he hasn't yet gotten much thicker, especially as he's already well ahead of what he would have likely looked like if he hadn't been doing weight training.

I have also assumed that he'd be better at OLB, but I'm not yet sure what that would look like. He played a lot of positions with different styles of reads in high school, but he was basically always asked to read and run to the ball. How will he look covering backs out of the backfield? How will he look covering a run-blocking TE who does play-action? I don't know. I do know that teams aren't going to be able to run Tunnel Screens towards his position. I do know that OL are not going to want to chase after him to try and block him in space. Can he step in the hole and get off that same OL to make a tackle in the A- or B-Gap against a 225 lb RB? I don't know.

I'm a little bit concerned that Kpai might be the ideal LB to defend against Frost's offense, 2016-2020, but he might not be ideal against a power running game that comes straight at us, regardless of where he lines up.

I've never seen him do much Shuttle Drill type running in a game ... with contact. I want to see that. I think that he has exceptional quickness for a first step straight ahead or to the side, but can he maintain that quickness while staying balanced and while working through contact? I don't know.

I think that we got a similar sort of player last year in Mauga-Clements. Besides living closer to Kpai and being able to say some things due to that, I could probably have said much the same as above about Mauga-Clements. Is it crazy to say that Pola-Gates seems a little bit like this, too?

Lots of questions. I don't have these answers, and I don't think that we'll get them in a glorified scrimmage tomorrow in front of fans. On the other hand, I just listed off three guys with elite athleticism who bring more wood than the fork lift from the lumber yard, so I'm hoping we find ways to get them on the field.

 

[OldFatHerbie]

Honestly, I’m not looking at any player or position group. One of the most frustrating things the past few years has been 3rd down on both sides of the ball. It’s a collective problem responsible to both the coaches and the players. 3rd and long on offense has basically been an automatic guarantee of a change of possession for this team. 3rd and long on defense has been too often been an opportunity for the opponent to convert. Think about how many times we have had the opponent in 3rd and 10 and they get the first down. Think about when we have the ball in 3rd and 10 and we dump a swing pass for 6 yards. It drives me crazy. I need to see some improvement this year.

 

[YUENGLING]

Honestly, I’m not looking at any player or position group. One of the most frustrating things the past few years has been 3rd down on both sides of the ball. It’s a collective problem responsible to both the coaches and the players. 3rd and long on offense has basically been an automatic guarantee of a change of possession for this team. 3rd and long on defense has been too often been an opportunity for the opponent to convert. Think about how many times we have had the opponent in 3rd and 10 and they get the first down. Think about when we have the ball in 3rd and 10 and we dump a swing pass for 6 yards. It drives me crazy. I need to see some improvement this year.

BINGO! Third down has been a nightmare along with special teams.

 

[Elwood von Kiowa]

Honestly, I’m not looking at any player or position group. One of the most frustrating things the past few years has been 3rd down on both sides of the ball. It’s a collective problem responsible to both the coaches and the players. 3rd and long on offense has basically been an automatic guarantee of a change of possession for this team. 3rd and long on defense has been too often been an opportunity for the opponent to convert. Think about how many times we have had the opponent in 3rd and 10 and they get the first down. Think about when we have the ball in 3rd and 10 and we dump a swing pass for 6 yards. It drives me crazy. I need to see some improvement this year.

Very true. Unfortunately, also very difficult to measure progress when you're scrimmaging against yourself.

 

[Phillysker]

RB. Can someone take the lead?
WR. Toure and Manning especially but Nixon and whoever. Can they catch/stretch the field?
Are any of the backup QB ready?
Can Javin Wright, Poa Gates, and Kolarevic (sic) be ready when their number is called?
Can Jurgens stop the bad snaps?

Most of all will we commit to a power running game and stop giving games away by stupid penalties, turnovers and poor play calling?

 

[huskrthill]

Can we keep the ball from bouncing around the carpet?

I'm not terribly worried about interceptions. Martinez has actually been decent in that regard. But the fumbles as a team need to be reduced. I'm not even talking about just lost fumbles, but ALL fumbles. Those are lost plays.

I don't really want to see our defense get many takeaways tomorrow, but I hope to see a lot in the fall. If we can get ourselves to simply an even turnover ratio, we'll be good.

 

[denisonred]

See a couple RB's seperate themselves from the pack.

See a backup quarterback have a solid day.