Orangebloods.com on WO-S Deon Beasley & Earl Thomas

[WO-S 89]

1. The practices that coincide with junior days are always fun because it’s interesting to watch the prospects, see who looks the part and who doesn’t, and see how they interact with each other. The recruits were there for the first half of the workout before leaving to get a tour and information on the academic side of things.

2. No surprise here, but Mason Walters is the most physically impressive recruit that was on campus. In fact, Watlers is one of the most physically impressive players I’ve seen all year. That guy looks like he’s ready for college ball already.

3. Phillip Payne isn’t the most consistent pass catcher, but he did make a couple of very nice grabs in Saturday’s practice.

4. Jordan Shipley wasn’t as active as he was on Friday (that performance would have been tough to match) but he did have a couple of really nice grabs. Quan Cosby was involved in Malcolm Williams had some big catches, including one where he went up in the air to snag a bit of a duck from John Chiles.

5. The back-up quarterbacks were again a bit inconsistent, but there were some nice moments. Sherrod Harris hit Dan Buckner downfield for a big gain that drew applause from the crowd and he had a nice throw to Fozzy Whittaker on a wheel route in which Whittaker got behind the defense. John Chiles made some solid throws underneath but he was really struggling with his deep ball into the wind. G.J. Kinne has a nice arm, but he was hit or miss again.

6. Williams had another great grab on the sideline where he made the catch despite a lot of momentum and got his feet inbounds. After touching his toes, he had to jump over the boundary rope … good body control overall.

7. I said it yesterday, but Deon Beasley just makes plays. He had another interception in 1-on-1 drills and he was all over the place on Saturday with several pass break-ups. I just don’t see how they can keep him off the field this year (of course, I felt that way last year too).

8. Speaking of defensive backs that may be tough to keep off the field, Chykie Brown was impressive for the second straight day. He had several pass break-ups and is really playing with a lot of confidence.

9. Didn’t see Sergio Kindle yesterday but he was out there on Friday walking around without the aid of crutches. He did have a limp but it wasn’t anything too drastic.

10. Jeremy Hills is quick, but Fozzy Whittaker is just at a different speed when he’s got the ball in his hands. Not sure about his top-end speed, but he’s incredibly quick in those first 10 yards.

11. There’s been a lot of talk about Will Muschamp’s fiery personality and he was again active today, but Major Applewhite has a lot of that same spark. Applewhite usually runs from station to station when they’re doing the drills and he getting pumped up after the offense made good plays, including one deep catch by Shipley where Applewhite made it a point to cross the field to give Shipley some props.

12. On Buckner’s deep catch from Harris, he jumped up in the air and snagged the ball with one hand … just a great catch and the crowd definitely approved.

13. Did I mention that Chykie Brown looked really good. Just looking through my notes and he’s in there a few times.

14. Not much action at all from the tight ends. One ball was thrown Blaine Irby’s way and he almost made a nice catch in traffic, but overall it was a quiet day for the position.

15. 2008 commit D.J. Grant was on hand and he’s already got a college football body. Physically he’s just a lot bigger than the other high school players that were at the practice.

[WO-S 89]

Also

14) Deon Beasley is playing with a ton of confidence right now. He looks like a starter and is playing like one. Just like Chykie Brown, he's suddenly thinking less and reacting more, which is allowing his ability to take over.

[WO-S 89]

7) I like what I'm seeing from Ben Wells and Earl Thomas at safety. In fact, I like what I'm seeing so much that I'll go so far as to say that this position is better off right now than it ever was in 2007. Both kids have ball skills and both seem to have a lot of range and they make a lot of plays on the ball. Wells was around the ball more today than anyone I ever saw last season. Who knows how they will play against the run, but those two guys look great in coverage right now.

[KFDM COOP]

8) Glad their doing great!!