This year's spring game was definitely more of a success than the previous years that I have attended. There was a good showing of spitblooders and other dedicated Frog students, and a good amount of fans on the opposite side of the stadium as well. The tailgating started before most of the city was awake, and went on throughout the day, resulting in post-game Aardvark celebrations with multiple Frog football players in attendance, showing their dedication to us as fans. This also resulted in one lucky fan receiving a free, authentic, black game jersey complete with Poinsettia Bowl patch. Who needs the Spring Sale?
Now for the game...
Jerry Hughes is still a beast. He put together another great scrimmage, recording 3 "sacks" and harassing Dalton and the rest of the starting offense all day long. Games like this are becoming routine for Hughes, so I wont spend too much time discussing his greatness.
Chris Smith had a great day running the ball for us, with the absence of both Joseph Turner and Ryan Christian. He doesn't have breakaway speed, but he is a big, bruising back who punished our secondary when he got to the next level. He is a big, downhill runner who has potential to do some very good things in what appears to be another deep backfield. Also featured at tailback was Ed "greatness" Wesley. Wesley is a 5'9 200 lb redshirt freshman who Patterson has touted as a Robert Merrill but faster.
Ross Evans took a stern heckling from one fan, but seemed unphased on his field goal attempts. He drilled one from about 38 and came up just short on a 58 yard bomb. Let's hope he can keep it together in hostile environments this season.
The linebacking corps looked very solid as well. Daryl Washington is a freak of nature who can make plays all over the field, and he loves to hit. He has potential to break out this year as the featured LB. Tanner Brock is huge for someone who should be a senior in high school, and it should be fun to watch him for the next few years. Tank Carder is a stud as well.
Dalton looked sharp today. He had one pick, which should've been a catch but bounced off the shoulder of Curtis Clay and fell into the hands of Tejay Johnson. He seems to have a good chemistry working with Kerley and Antoine Hicks as well. Those two could be dangerous lined up opposite each other this year. Their hands are really tender and can caress the ball very well.
The lone touchdown of the day came on a Dalton bootleg pass to Logan Brock in the back of the end zone for a 12-yard score.
A few other highlights that aren't really game related...
- Bucknasty still heckled Shultz despite him being thousands of miles away. I am pretty sure Shultz heard you in Illinois. The weakside option resulted in a memorable "Shultz isn't here anymore!", which drew a serious laugh from everyone.
- Coach P still hates the officiating, even during scrimmages. Dalton hit Kerley on a great post pattern, but that wasn't the highlight of the play. Hughes had what would have been his 4th "sack" but the whistle was never blown. This resulted in GP storming on the field to give the nearest ref more than an earful. When the stadium is as empty as it was, you can really hear GP getting after it, and wow, it was amazing. He was in mid-season intensity form, and our entire section took great pleasure in watching him abuse this poor, pathetic rent-a-ref.
- Jimmy Young didn't suit out today, as well as many other starters. Jimmy "Luxury Tax" Young was out with turf toe, but it shouldn't be too serious. I note Young being out instead of anyone else because when we were looking for him on the sidelines, LT for Heisman yelled out "Luxury Tax!" which resulted in us spotting him in a black jump suit, throwing his arms up in recognition of our support.
- Yogi Gallegos hurt his knee, but we dont know how serious it is yet. He and Pachall were not awarded the red "dont touch me" jerseys like Dalton and Jackson, and I really liked that. Both Yogi and Pachall seemed a bit gunshy, and I dont recall seeing either one of them throw a pass. They had happy feet.
- "H" was still hated. No officials actually had letters on their stripes, but he knew who he was, and he got put in his place. Thank you for that.
Overall, probably the best Saturday in Fort Worth since football season ended. Started early, had a baseball victory in the middle, and there was plenty of fan/player bonding time between the two games.
Special thanks to the finch and spitpurple for helping put this together. It was a long day. Cant wait till the Fall. Go Frogs!
