Notes from practice (Thursday, 3/9/06)

[PonyPride]

I didn't see all of practice, but here's a little of what I saw:

QB Corey Slater looked pretty good checking off receivers to find the open man. On one play, he looked toward two different receivers near the sideline, each of whom was covered. He then looked upfield and fired the ball about 30-35 yards upfield, hitting Zack Sledge in stride, right between two defensive backs. Great pass.

RB James Mapps has a reputation for being pretty quick and elusive, but apparently he's got a little power, too. On one play, he took a handoff and ran toward the line of scrimmage, where Patrick Handy was waiting for him. He spun Handy all the away around with a couple of quick fakes and ran past him, at which point he ran over TWO defensive backs.

Toward the end of practice, Slater again checked off of two receivers before throwing a deep out route toward WR Columbus Givens, who appeared set to walk into the end zone .... until converted cornerback Devin Lowery made a great play, timing his jump perfectly to knock the ball to the ground.

WR Jay'Mond Cleveland caught a quick pass in the flat and turned upfield, right into the waiting arms of LB Paul Heimenz. Cleveland went through a series of fakes that spun Heimenz -- who recovered in time to still make the tackle.

The coaches switched a lot of players in and out with different groups, and the rotating of players undoubtedly will continue. However, it looked like the first-team offensive line was Darrin Johnson (LT), Tommy Poynter (LG), Ben Poynter (C), Caleb Peveto (RG) and Kennard Burley (RT). Randall Goode was running at first-team free safety (with Joe Sturdivant, of course, at strong safety), while Jonathan Lindley and Bam Blackmon got most of the snaps at first-team cornerback.

[BleedingRed+Blue]

Pretty encouraging report. Glad to hear Lowery is making plays .... can he tackle? Nice to learn Mapps has a little power, too.
Good stuff.

[GoRedGoBlue]

I'm sure Lowery, one of the few 'playmakers', will be a Safety by the end of the season, then converted to RB, before returning to WR.

"He's just too good not to get him the ball." - PB

That's about par for the course.

[Corso]

For those of us who can't get to practice, thanks for the updates.

[Higher Authority]

Ditto -- thanks for the reports.
Everything I hear about this Heimenz guy sounds very encouraging. Can't wait to see him play.