Toledo Rockets vs. Elon Phoenix: 5 Things Learned

The mighty Toledo Rockets took on the Elon Phoenix of the FCS level. It was a blowout, 47-13 in the Rockets favor. Blowouts against an FCS opponent are much like NFL preseason games. We know they don’t really mean much, yet we still make a huge deal about them. It’s a time where we nitpick the successes and overly exaggerate the failures. In other words, its fans doing what fans do. So without further ado, my 5 things learned about the game.

Logan Woodside really likes Cody Thompson

They are roommates and buddies and connected for a bunch of yards last season. It’s only natural that Woodside would focus in on Thompson early in the year. You knew it, I knew it, and the Elon defense knew it. A couple of times Woodside threaded the needle and Thompson caught most of them. Other times, it wasn’t so pretty. While it’s not particularly troubling that Woodside was zeroed in early on Thompson on multiple reads last night, it is something that needs fixed. I have faith they will get it worked out, it’s just a matter of when.

Diontae Johnson is good, really good.

The sophomore wide receiver from Ruskin, Florida had a nice game. Not only did he catch 4 passes for 102 yards, he took a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. As a freshman in 2015, he showed flashes of what he was going to be, catching 14 passes for 237 yards. In this game, he showed just how big of a threat he can be, giving opposing defensive coordinators another guy that have to account for.

Even more weapons on offense for the Rockets.

Running back Terry Swanson wasn’t particularly effective running the football in this game. That’s not a problem, freshman Shakif Seymour and sophomore Art Thompkins combined for 26 carries, 201 yards and a touchdown. The Rockets really are loaded.

I am not worried about the lack of production from Swanson. He is more of a home run hitter, so 11 carries for 36 yards isn’t a big deal to me. It’s quite possible with one more carry he could have gone 12 carries for 70 yards.

Even the kicker is a weapon.

Jamison Vest had a career high 17 points on another career high 4 field goals. That’s good news and bad news for the Rockets. There were some red zone offense issues, especially early on. It’s nice to have a kicker the quality of Vest in your back pocket.

Matt Baker for the Elon Phoenix is a name to remember

I was really impressed with the 6’, 226lb, linebacker from Raleigh, North Carolina. As for the Rockets defense, I am not as impressed. There were blown coverage and missed tackles in space. Both were problems last season. Both are also usually a problem in the first game, so I am not going to focus too much on that until later in the season, like next week.