[ryanparker]

I didn't think you could really tell a whole lot with the 1st team being split on different sides of the ball. Tomorrow's scrimmage against Spring Valley should reveal more of what Russell will be able to do this year. Here are the only thoughts I can muster based on what I saw, though:

The passing game didn't look like anything to write home about, although Travis Jones did make a nice catch on a ball thrown up for grabs.

Jones seemed to be the best of the runners and should be the main guy this year. I hope he is in shape, because I imagine he is going to have to play most snaps on both sides of the ball. This is true of several other guys as well, including Will Rice and Kamron Smith. The roster only appears to include 30-some players.

The kicking game looks to be OK. Locey looked good (at least in practice scenarios) kicking field goals. Nathan Taylor had a nice punt as well.

I think Joel Korzep will be an excellent defensive player this year.

The 2 sophomores, Dehoff and Davidson, have all of the physical tools to be great players. If they get more aggressive coming up from the secondary, they have the potential to really be a force and lay some big hits on opponents this year. I'd like to see them in on offense as well. This, of course, depends on how they progress, though.

Overall, no one really stands out on the team as being "the star". No one has physical tools that are far and away above the rest. They just have a bunch of pretty solid players. For Russell, winning this year is truly going to have be a team effort. They're going to have to execute to perfection.

As I said, though, we'll see how it goes tomorrow against Spring Valley.