As I sit here and watch Charleston Southern take on North Dakota State (football is back!), here are a few thoughts on tonight’s open scrimmage (note: all stats are unofficial):

  • It’s the first live action we’ve been able to see since the spring game several months ago, so, it was our first look at several true freshmen.
  • The story of the night was Buckshot Calvert. The true freshman quarterback looked extremely poised for a young man who was just attending his senior prom a few short months ago. He finished the scrimmage a perfect 7/7 for 113 yards and 4 touchdowns. He made all the throws, quick outs, fades, posts. He played primarily against the Flames’ 2nd string defense.
  • Stephon Masha finished the night 5/7 passing for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was sacked a couple times, leading to his -12 rushing yards. For full disclosure, the scrimmage was played as 2-hand touch instead of tackle as the coaching staff doesn’t want to risk any injury. This takes away from Masha’s playmaking ability. He had one scramble that he probably could have broke for a big gain, but he was touched down after just a 4 yard gain.
  • Masha and Farrow connected on a nice 47 yard completion down the left sideline. It was Farrow’s only reception, and if memory serves correct, his only target.
  • Damian King had 3 receptions, 2 of which went for a touchdown.
  • True freshman Antonio Gandy-Golden was impressive. He had a couple of catches and a touchdown catch. He’s definitely a big target and looks to have good hands.
  • Marquis Fitzgerald had a nice night, and was the 5th receiver used behind Farrow, King, Dante Shells, and Zac Parker. Fitzgerald finished with 2 touchdown catches.
  • Hard to get much of a running game going with the 2-hand touch. Carrington Mosley had 3 carries for 10 yards and 1 reception for 6 yards. Todd Macon had 3 carries for 10 yards as well.
  • JaRon Greene, Erwin Dessources, and Dia’vante Brown each had a sack. Other than that it was hard to get much of a read on the defense due to the 2-hand touch. Several drives also started in the red zone, so don’t be alarmed with so many touchdowns in a short scrimmage.
  • Alex Probert didn’t have his best night. He connected on his first field goal attempt, a 37 yarder. He missed his final 2 attempts, from 38 and 49 yards. The 49-yarder was into a slight wind, and it fell a few yards short of the goalpost.
  • Defensive lineman Will Brown was on crutches on the sideline. I did not notice any type of brace or anything on either leg.