Posted by Darren Urban on May 23, 2014 – 3:42 pm

Arizona State wide receiver Kevin Ozier turned back to the line of scrimmage about 20 yards downfield near the end of Friday’s rookie minicamp practice, just in time to see the missile en route from quarterback Logan Thomas. The ball was just a tad low, and Ozier caught it in his midsection, falling to his knees as he did so. Although “caught” might not quite be the right word, because the ball arrived with such force it almost seemed like it was going to stick in Ozier’s abdomen regardless.

Thomas’ rocket right arm was on full display during the workout inside the Cardinals’ practice bubble. Thomas has gotten reps during OTAs on the second field, but rookie minicamp is almost all his, taking practically every rep Friday. (Tryout QB Eric Kordenbrock from VMI is on hand, but Thomas didn’t need a break, at least Friday.)

“It’s a great start for me,” Thomas said. “It takes time. It’s not something that happens overnight.”

Coach Bruce Arians said Thomas’ biggest hurdle to clear is breaking himself of trying to decide where to throw as he is dropping back. Arians wants him to drop back first and get his feet right.

“When he knows what he is doing, and the guys around him know what he is doing, he’s pretty good,” Arians said.

— It’s almost impossible to know exactly who did well, given all the mistakes that were happening. Arians admitted there were a couple of tryout guys that impressed him (he didn’t say who, specifically) and there were a couple of other rookies that have been around since last week that made more mistakes than he would’ve liked. Again, if the Cardinals decide to sign any of the tryout players, they will have to cut someone from their already full 90-man roster.

— WR John Brown has been out the last couple of days with hamstring tightness. Arians said he will be very careful with the third-round pick. “He was too impressive the first few days not only speed and catching the ball but he didn’t make any mistakes,” Arians said. “One of the first rookies I’ve had that in the first three days he wasn’t on the busted assignment sheet.”

— The Cardinals have 17 players in for tryouts this weekend. (For a full roster of the weekend, click here.) Other than Ozier, who played at ASU here in Tempe, the one other name of note is running back Jalen Parmele. Parmele actually has five years of NFL experience, and was a sixth-round pick of Miami back in 2008. He spent training camp with the Titans last season.

— Arians said he was also happy with third-round defensive end Kareem Martin. “We have to slow him down,” Arians said. “I’d rather say ‘Whoa’ than ‘Sic ’em,” but he’s around the quarterback way too much. He’s doing a heck of a job. He’s more powerful than I thought he’d be.”

Arians did caution against linemen praise right now, however. “You don’t say much about linemen when we are playing soccer,” Arians said. “When the noise level goes up and they get hit in the mouth and the blood flows a little bit, then I’ll talk about linemen. But he’s been impressive so far in shorts.”

Tags: Bruce Arians Posted in Blog