Some notes and observations from the offensive side of the ball from the open portion of Tuesday’s practice.
Position switch: Charles Mosley, after working the first dozen practices at defensive tackle, was working with the offensive line on Tuesday, getting reps at guard in the drills that were during the open portion of practice. It’s obviously not a completely shocking move as coaches have mentioned it as a possibility since the end of the 2014 season. But it’s a bit surprising to see him get so much work at defensive tackle, and then make the switch so close to the end of spring.
He’s clearly an intriguing project for this staff to mold. He’s every bit of 6-foot-5 and in the 350-370 pound range, and is incredibly powerful. He simply can’t be moved by one man, and when he gets low, he’s a force, regardless which side of the ball he’s on. Overall athleticism and conditioning are issues the staff must overcome, however, as they find the best place for Big Charles to be utilized.
After practice, Jones said that Mosley will play defensive tackle in the spring game, and that they’re just trying to get some film on him on offense before spring is over.
Quarterback/wide receiver notes: I thought the passing game had a pretty good day in the portions we were able to see. We get a lot of questions about the progression of Joshua Dobbs, and I continue to see just vast improvement, especially if you’re comparing where he is now to last spring or earlier in last season.
He wasn’t perfect on the day, but he made a couple brilliant passes in a red-zone drill, including a touchdown to both Von Pearson and Josh Malone. Both were among some of the better passes I’ve seen him throw this spring.
Drops continue to be somewhat of an issue for the receivers, and it’s interesting because it seems like a problem that has creeped up in the past couple of weeks – it wasn’t a huge problem earlier in spring. Malone and Johnathon Johnson were among the receivers that had drops while running routes against air. The coaches made Malone run his rep again for not being able to haul a pass in as they continue to push him in hopes of him making a big jump his sophomore season.
Jones was very complimentary of Josh Smith after practice, saying he had one of his best practices of the year, while adding that Von Pearson had a good day as well.
Kickoff return: On the special teams front, we saw some kickoff return action. Evan Berry continues to be the first option there with Malik Foreman working as kind of the up-back, or secondary returner on the field with the first team as well. Malone, Alvin Kamara and Johnathon Johnson were among the other players getting a shot back deep in the drill.
Injury update: Jalen Hurd, Marquez North and Pig Howard continue to work in green, non-contact uniforms.
