Vermeil led the National team to three straight victories in the first three years of this game, but has been replaced, in a quirk of football history, by... Mike Martz. Martz will take on Mike Holmgren's American squad in this year's game.
Martz's coaching staff is filled with names from the good old days: Az Hakim, Keith Lyle, Jeff Robinson and Jeff Zgonina. Hall-of-Famer Jackie Slater is also aboard, and Ron Meeks is the team's defensive coordinator. Oh, and Anthony Becht is also on the staff. (Nolan Cromwell is on the American coaching staff.)
ESPN covered two days of practice leading up to this game again this year. I'm still skimming over that. Some names to watch:
Nationals
Jameill Showers, QB, UTEP: seems to be Martz's favorite among the QBs. Showed a decent arm and good accuracy in practice;
Cameron Lynch, LB, Syracuse: undersized LB, I believe a Will, that the commentators, including Bill Polian, have gushed over the most. Smart player, moves well, seems very adept in pass coverage;
DeAndre Carter, WR, Sacramento State: prototype slot receiver, drew comparisons to Andrew Hawkins. Great "separation quickness", adjusts well, excellent route runner for his level of competition. Another Martz favorite;
LaDarius Owens, DE, Auburn: Look no further than the university to know the Rams will give him a good look. Looked like the most disruptive d-lineman on the Nationals' front, pretty unblockable at times;
Diaheem Watkins, DE, UAB: Also very disruptive and repeatedly whipped his man off the snap in 11-on-11;
Nick Easton, C, Harvard: commentators stereotypically liked him for his intelligence but also said he was more than holding his own physically;
Chris Conley, WR, Georgia: made catch of the day in red zone drills, twisting for a pass well behind him and low, catching it one-handed and staying in bounds for an impressive TD;
Keeston Terry, DB, Pittsburg State: another Polian favorite;
Brandon Bridge, QB, South Alabama: best nickname here - "Air Canada" (born there). Very mobile with a strong arm, needs a lot more experience to catch his mental game up with his physical game. ESPN analyst expressed concern with his ball security fundamentals. Another flaw that Martz had to keep pointing out to him is that he holds the ball way too long;
Terrell Watson, RB, Azusa Pacific: big back, 6'2" 240, also played DE;
Cody Riggs, DB, Notre Dame: too light, too small, too slow, but the on-field reporter is apparently his agent and won't stop beating the drum for him;
Andrew Hendrix, QB, Miami, Ohio: West Coast QB not showing much of an arm or courage to go deep downfield, even in practice;
Demarco Robinson, WR, Kentucky: has apparently been playing with the flu and has struggled at everything: catching, getting open, running the proper route, lining up properly.
Americans
Rakeem Cato, QB, Marshall: I've been interested in Cato since hearing early this season that he broke most of Chad Pennington's school records. At 175 pounds, though, he's 30 lbs. smaller than Russell Wilson. I think Cato's stock dropped the more I watched him. It sounds like he was a late roster addition in the first place. He got pulled at one point for messing up a snap count, and I didn't like his arm position on most of his throws;
Antoine Everett, G, McNeese State: the Rams should be looking for guards everywhere they can find one, and he seems to be getting the best reviews among o-linemen here;
Malcolm Bunche, G, UCLA: Polian had plenty of good things to say. College tackle but probably pro guard. Quick off the snap, long-armed with a very good punch. Good pass protector.
Paul Lasike, FB, BYU: big guy, former rugby player, and looked versatile. Got downfield nicely on an outside run and showed nice receiving skills on a couple of routes out of the backfield;
Terrell Floyd, CB, Louisville: had a pick in 7-on-7 and blanket coverage whenever I noticed him in 11-on-11;
Zack Wagenmann, DE, Montana: the Big Sky career sack leader, if I heard correctly. Jeff Fisher often has an eye on Montana players;
Donald Celiscar, CB, Western Michigan: another Polian favorite;
Jarvis Harrison, G, Texas A&M: Scouts Inc. ranks him as the #3 guard in the draft, so it's a surprise to see him in this game instead of the Senior Bowl. On the other hand, he weighed in at 344, after ending the season at 330. Linemen with fitness issues and work ethic questions aren't good prospects;
Deshazor Everett, CB, Texas A&M: ESPN unfortunately made Everett sound kind of dumb, a player who makes repeated errors in communications and assignments. Thank goodness the Rams don't have anyone doing that in their secondary!
Jerry Lovelocke, QB, Prairie View A&M: off to a very rough start, looks overwhelmed and wasn't even throwing good checkdowns. Big kid with a big arm, so the raw material is there.
A couple of things of note from the National practice: a Martz team actually practicing special teams; and Martz was yelling at Hendrix pretty good at one point, but he survived, so the team that signs him at least knows they're not getting Joe Germaine.
I may "revise and extend" these remarks as I make my way through the rest of this week's practice footage but will probably save my energy for recaps of this weekend's games.
-$-
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