FRIDAY (July 25) CONDITIONING WORKOUT notes
Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 7:09 pmToday's will be brief - call it a warm-up for the guys' upcoming week off.
• First pick overall: Rock Dennis snared the first interception of the day, but it was more a result of Justin Willis underthrowing Cole Beasley than Dennis making a spectacular one-handed grab or something. Make no mistake, it was a nice play - Dennis had to get up pretty high to pull it down - but Willis has made that throw plenty of times before, and if he made it correctly today, Dennis wouldn't have had a chance to make his interception.
• Big target: There's a difference between being big and playing big. Bradley Haynes looks like he just might be both. Early in the seven-on-seven session, he ran a crossing route about 15 yards downfield, and had two defenders closing on him as Willis's pass headed his way. Haynes was able to twist his shoulders and chest so that he remained between the ball and the defenders, before making the catch and spinning past the defense for a would-be touchdown.
• Does he get an assist? Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders has been, for the most part, exceptional in the seven-on-seven optional workouts. Maybe he was tired, maybe he to the sun in his eyes - who knows? - but on one play, he seemed to get just one hand on what looked like a catchable ball ... which bounced off Sanders and straight into the waiting arms of linebacker Victor Jones.
• A little give and take: The most entertaining exchange of the day took place between junior cornerback Bryan McCann and freshman wide receiver E.J. Drewery. From his spot on the sideline, McCann was riding his new teammate for not having caught a pass in the previous few minutes. Seemed like harmless ribbing, and Drewery said nothing. When JUCO transfer Bennie Thomas locked up against Drewery in press coverage, McCann stayed on him, informing Drewery that Thomas was going to give him all he could handle (or something along those lines). Then McCann went in and immediately matched up with his 6-5 teammate, who has shown a willingness to stand up for himself when teammates talk trash, but stayed quiet. The two went head-to-head for a few plays without a ball being thrown their way, and McCann was wearing Drewery out. Finally, he got up on the line of scrimmage and said something about how Drewery couldn't break through (or ... something along those lines). At the snap of the ball, Drewery charged straight into McCann, got his hands up under McCann's shoulders and basically ran right through him. The ball still didn't come their way, but it still was impressive. La'Cori Johnson, watching from the sideline, shot up off the bench and yelled "hit the weight room!" to McCann, who was still laughing about the play. McCann and Drewery smiled at each other and talked - clearly no animosity there - but the battle between the veteran and freshman was worth than the price of admission.
• What's in the water? The 2008 media guide has freshman defensive end Taylor Thompson listed at 224 pounds, but Thompson said a couple of weeks ago that he already is up to 256. Tackle Vincent Chase said this spring he was about 260 pounds, and reported this week that he's up to 277. Now comes freshman offensive lineman Jimmy Chase, who is listed in the media guide at 235 pounds, but he said that after lifting with Vic Viloria and his staff this summer, he already has added 16 pounds this year, and is up to 251. He looks visibly stronger than he did even at the beginning of the optional conditioning workouts a few weeks ago. Maybe it's the cafeteria food?
• Feel the burn: The only downfall of the day was when wide receiver Josh Bryant caught a pass over the middle, and as he gathered himself to turn upfield, he got run over by a couple of defenders going for the ball. When he popped up, Bryant was missing a few square inches of skin from his right shoulder, which seemed to gross out a few of his teammates and offered him an early exit to the trainers' room. Two other results:
1) La'Cori Johnson was actually scanning the field, looking for Bryant's missing skin. Presumably he was kidding, suggesting he was going to "give it back to him," but it was still pretty disgusting.
2) Bryant might have ended up with a battle scar ... but he still made the catch and hung on to the ball.
• First pick overall: Rock Dennis snared the first interception of the day, but it was more a result of Justin Willis underthrowing Cole Beasley than Dennis making a spectacular one-handed grab or something. Make no mistake, it was a nice play - Dennis had to get up pretty high to pull it down - but Willis has made that throw plenty of times before, and if he made it correctly today, Dennis wouldn't have had a chance to make his interception.
• Big target: There's a difference between being big and playing big. Bradley Haynes looks like he just might be both. Early in the seven-on-seven session, he ran a crossing route about 15 yards downfield, and had two defenders closing on him as Willis's pass headed his way. Haynes was able to twist his shoulders and chest so that he remained between the ball and the defenders, before making the catch and spinning past the defense for a would-be touchdown.
• Does he get an assist? Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders has been, for the most part, exceptional in the seven-on-seven optional workouts. Maybe he was tired, maybe he to the sun in his eyes - who knows? - but on one play, he seemed to get just one hand on what looked like a catchable ball ... which bounced off Sanders and straight into the waiting arms of linebacker Victor Jones.
• A little give and take: The most entertaining exchange of the day took place between junior cornerback Bryan McCann and freshman wide receiver E.J. Drewery. From his spot on the sideline, McCann was riding his new teammate for not having caught a pass in the previous few minutes. Seemed like harmless ribbing, and Drewery said nothing. When JUCO transfer Bennie Thomas locked up against Drewery in press coverage, McCann stayed on him, informing Drewery that Thomas was going to give him all he could handle (or something along those lines). Then McCann went in and immediately matched up with his 6-5 teammate, who has shown a willingness to stand up for himself when teammates talk trash, but stayed quiet. The two went head-to-head for a few plays without a ball being thrown their way, and McCann was wearing Drewery out. Finally, he got up on the line of scrimmage and said something about how Drewery couldn't break through (or ... something along those lines). At the snap of the ball, Drewery charged straight into McCann, got his hands up under McCann's shoulders and basically ran right through him. The ball still didn't come their way, but it still was impressive. La'Cori Johnson, watching from the sideline, shot up off the bench and yelled "hit the weight room!" to McCann, who was still laughing about the play. McCann and Drewery smiled at each other and talked - clearly no animosity there - but the battle between the veteran and freshman was worth than the price of admission.
• What's in the water? The 2008 media guide has freshman defensive end Taylor Thompson listed at 224 pounds, but Thompson said a couple of weeks ago that he already is up to 256. Tackle Vincent Chase said this spring he was about 260 pounds, and reported this week that he's up to 277. Now comes freshman offensive lineman Jimmy Chase, who is listed in the media guide at 235 pounds, but he said that after lifting with Vic Viloria and his staff this summer, he already has added 16 pounds this year, and is up to 251. He looks visibly stronger than he did even at the beginning of the optional conditioning workouts a few weeks ago. Maybe it's the cafeteria food?
• Feel the burn: The only downfall of the day was when wide receiver Josh Bryant caught a pass over the middle, and as he gathered himself to turn upfield, he got run over by a couple of defenders going for the ball. When he popped up, Bryant was missing a few square inches of skin from his right shoulder, which seemed to gross out a few of his teammates and offered him an early exit to the trainers' room. Two other results:
1) La'Cori Johnson was actually scanning the field, looking for Bryant's missing skin. Presumably he was kidding, suggesting he was going to "give it back to him," but it was still pretty disgusting.
2) Bryant might have ended up with a battle scar ... but he still made the catch and hung on to the ball.
