Thursday, August 17, 2006

My first ever "mailbag" post!

Have you had the chance to watch practice? What are your thoughts on freshman RB james aldridge?

Jason
Sioux City, IA

I have watched a couple of practices, but James Aldridge is not participating in full contact drills as he recovers from knee surgery.

He is, however, participating in running drills. He looks like he is in amazing shape. The kid looks like Adrian Peterson, as far as the type of athlete. This kid has great footwork, and all signs point to him being a prototypical go-to #1 running back. He's got breakaway speed and it looks like he has every down power. However, despite his great footwork, his lack of participation in contact drills has kept me from being able to judge his vision, hitting ability, and other characteristics that make a great running back.

The word on Aldridge is that he'll be healthy near the beginning of the regular season. I expect Coach Weis to be keeping a close watch on his development early in the season. He looks like he has the raw athletic ability to challenge Darius next year.

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