First football scrimmage looks like a first scrimmage

There's always a difference between running the team drills in practice and actually getting out in a competitive scenario like a scrimmage. So with this being the first scrimmage of the spring, there was undoubtedly going to be some rust. But that's about where we are every year around this point. This is where the team finds its kinks and starts really sharpening things.

I don't want to go reading too much into things that didn't go well, or getting overly excited about guys who put together a noteworthy performance. It was a first scrimmage. Plenty can change between here and April 20 and plenty likely will. Even after that, a lot more will likely change over the summer too.

Let's just bullet point some observations...

• Chuckie Keeton is good. His ability to throw across his body while rolling out to the left is a very underrated quality. Not many quarterbacks are great at that, and when you have the running ability he has, being able to make a throw while rolling out either direction is a difference-maker.
• It's apparently a popular opinion among current players that Joe Hill is going to end up the best out of the slew of recent great running backs to come through USU. I'm not sure I can buy that quite yet, but I have no doubt that if Hill stays healthy, the Aggies will be just fine at running back.
• No Kelvin Lee on Thursday. Not sure what the deal was there, but it would be comforting to see him make the running back battle at least an interesting one.
• Rough day for Jeff Manning. He definitely looks to be adjusting to the speed of the college game still, and that's not a bad thing either. For a guy to come right in and look like a starting-caliber quarterback is rare. Manning missed on a couple throws while under pressure, had a handful of passes swatted by defensive linemen, and put a couple in the hands of defenders. With his combination of size and arm strength, he's still got plenty of potential. Stay tuned on him.
• Jordan Brown looks like a guy adjusting a bit more smoothly. He throws a nice, accurate ball and could turn out to maybe be a little better than plenty might have expected.
• Abou Torre is a large running back. If he can establish himself as a solid blocker and power runner, that should give a nice boost to the offense. He looked pretty solid on Thursday
• In the receiving game, Jojo Natson is a playmaker. Regardless of his size, he's going to make a lot of good things happen this season.
• Staying with receiving, I really like Travis Reynolds and Travis Van Leeuwen, just neither as a No. 1 receiver. I think Reynolds can be a good No. 2 option and Van Leeuwen can be a great No. 3. They'd still do alright outside of those roles, but the receiving unit as a whole would be a whole lot better off if one of the JUCO guys can step in and as a No. 1 threat.
• Trying not to get too excited about Brandon Swindall, but he looks like he's starting to really get it out there. He'll probably see plenty of snaps this season, and possibly a whole lot of them if he has a good summer.
• Offensive line is solid, but I still can't help but worry about what quicker pass-rushers will do against Kevin Whimpey. He definitely got better as last year went on, but I still have worries right there.
• The entire defense is good... just really really good! And there's probably no bigger X-factor on defense than Maurice Alexander. He seems to have very good instincts in stopping the run, which should make him able to step in perfectly in place of McKade Brady. Not really any sample size to work with as far as pass coverage for Alexander yet, but he looks fast, instinctive, and we already knew he could hit.