The wait was well worth it Tuesday - not necessarily for the football, but the sunny weather in the mid-50s. Standing on the sideline in Sunday evening's nasty, frozen drizzle seemed about as desirable as driving to Fort Hays on a Vespa. Thankfully, the Bearcats pushed back their annual spring scrimmage until Tuesday, and Mother Nature cooperated this time.

As for the football, it's tough to take away too much from a 75-minute scrimmage in April - one in which the offense spent about half of the time starting from the defense's 20-yard line and the other half beginning drives at its 40. But here are a few thoughts from Tuesday.

--- I'll bet there will be quite a few MIAA teams that will wish they could play two-hand touch against Blake Bolles this season, like the Northwest Missouri State defense did Tuesday. He looked like his old self scrambling, and the sophomore performed even better in the pocket. While Tyler Herl showed off his arm strength with a couple of nice touchdown throws, Bolles changes the whole scope of the offense with his mobility. The zone-read stuff will continue to work well, as will the bootlegs and scrambles, and as Bolles matures as a passer, look out. I think he will be the best QB in the conference this season, edging out Central's Eric Czerniewski.

--- The offensive line made some mistakes, committed a handful of penalties and gave up a few sacks, but I think it will be OK come August. The four new starters seemed to get better as the scrimmage progressed. The Bearcats still had trouble running in between the tackles, getting most of their big runs on cut backs when Northwest's defense over-pursued. But Northwest also didn't really use LaRon Council. With the way all four of the Bearcats' QBs threw the ball, I imagine the running game will take care of itself. And Bolles' mobility should help cover up some mistakes in pass protection. What looked to be Northwest' biggest question mark heading into spring should turn out just fine this season, and, as Bolles pointed out, the Bearcats have some solid depth along their O-line, as well.

--- That brings us to the area of concern from Tuesday: the cornerbacks. After the Bearcats' receivers got a few drops out of their system, they owned the Bearcats' corners. Northwest couldn't seem to cover a seam route, and most of the jump balls went to the offense - even when the referees didn't bother calling interference in keeping up with the laid-back atmosphere of the scrimmage. Coach Mel Tjeerdsma said he was disappointed with the play of his cornerbacks, and it's apparent Northwest still has a ways to go to find replacements for Chris LeFlore and Brandon Clayton.