We visited Bryant on Saturday in front of a packed house for Junior Days. The Bulldogs scrimmaged for about two hours. There plenty of things to take away, most notably the talent that was on the field.

Bryant is young and it showed in some of the mistakes they were making but there is no denying that once they gain and experience and maturity, this will be a better football team this season.

Here are five observations from our visit.

1. Myer, Docekal battling it out: The quarterback position is up for grabs and while the Bulldogs have a deep room, the competition is between sophomore Brennan Myer and senior Ridge Docekal. Both impressed at times, especially throwing the deep ball. The two quarterbacks have some fundamental stuff to work through but there is no denying that both are good enough to lead the program moving forward. Myer looks like your typical Bryant quarterback the last few years. 6’1, stocky and athletic. Bulldogs Coach Chris Merritt clearly has a type.

2. Running back depth: Dylan Kedzior is back as the starter but the Bulldogs have some quality depth at running back. Trenton Jackson and Markiel Cockrell are both impressive looking backs as well that will get carries this season. Jacksonville State transfer Isaiah Schmidtke also looked pretty good. All of the backs run with good balance and make decisive cuts.

3. Big shoes to fill at receiver: Replacing Landon Ruggieri and his production is virtually impossible. Despite that, Bryant has a talented receiver group returning. One of the things they do have at the position is speed. Keylijah Williams, Tristen Riley, Zyheem Collick and Aldrich Doe all have big play potential and fit the Bulldogs run first, set up the pass philosophy well. I really like what I saw out of this group. They will only get better, especially in fall camp.

4. Front seven impresses: The Bulldogs have a lot of depth along the front seven. It helps that Michael Otty is returning but senior captain Maximus Villar, Taunton’s Nathan LaPlante and Beau Shugarts are also back. All three were impressive in team portions and drills. Hollis Dirstine, Gustavo Bravo, Ryan Bushnell and Jack Buttine also impressed. The front seven has a chance to be impressive, especially when you include Andre Smith and a talented linebacker corp.

5. Offensive line turnover: The offensive line experienced some turnover this off-season both on and off the field. Offensive line coach Steve Ciocci left for Fordham and several key contributors have graduated. Offensive coordinator Ben McKaig takes over as offensive line coach. He has a talented group to work with, one that returns Nickolas Molina and Anthony Perez at tackle. Brayden Staggs is returning from injury while Jon Fagley, Wyatt Whelan and Aden Smith are expected to compete for playing time inside. The team is waiting to find out if 6’6 tackle Marcus Williams will be granted another year. Williams certainly looks the part. McKaig has a talented group to work with.