Friday (8/12/11) MORNING practice report
Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 5:27 pm• Walk-on WR Bobby Waid watched most of practice with ice on his left ankle after injuring it in early passing drills. He was back on the field in the afternoon session, although he moved around pretty gingerly.
• One of the more entertaining drills is when players engage in one-on-one pass rushing (and blocking) drills. Two players would line up face to face, with the defensive player trying to get past the blocker to a foam dummy (simulating the quarterback).
ºº Freshman RB Jared Williams isn't the biggest guy in the world (listed at 5-9, 195), but when he lined up with 6-2, 230-pound LB Lincoln Schick, Williams held his own, steering Schick around the outside and driving out of the area that would be behind the quarterback.
ºº Before anyone concludes that Williams can not be beaten (as a blocker), a few plays after his encounter with Schick, Williams got run over by LB Jonathan Yenga, who drove Williams to his back and then ran straight over him to reach the "QB."
ºº Throughout spring workouts, defensive coordinator Tom Mason raved about the explosiveness Kevin Pope after moving from RB to LB. Mason might know what he's talking about: in one drill, RB Bryce Lunday held Pope to the point of nearly tackling him ... and Pope still got through him to make the "sack."
ºº The star of the drill was RB Billy Dugal. On successive reps, he steered LB Randy McKinnon to the outside before planting him with a pancake block, and then stopped ILB Taylor Reed in his tracks until the play was called dead. He also stopped Schick in his tracks a few plays later.
• WR Steve McCormack sat out again because of stitches in his hand. McCormack, who did some light running on the side (with no ball), said he was told the stitches will be removed next Tuesday.
• DE Kevin Grenier (shoulder), G Jordan Free (hand) and LB Cameron Rogers sat out again.
• Maybe the catch of the day was turned in during skeleton (no defense) passing drills. Senior WR Bradley Haynes ran straight up the hash marks and looked back over his left shoulder for a pass that ended up going over his right shoulder. Didn't matter to Haynes, who turned and reached up and grabbed the top of the ball with one hand.
• The seven-on-seven drills were not the WRs' finest hour, as several dropped multiple passes. Maybe I should have shared my coffee with them.
• In the team (11-on-11) drills, LB Randy McKinnon almost made a great interception when he leaped up to snag a high Padron pass intended for WR Darius Johnson. McKinnon pulled the ball down, but dropped it as he got to the turf.
• Padron followed his near-miss to McKinnon with a perfect strike to WR Jeremy Johnson, threading a pass to the sophomore wideout who had two DBs right at his side. The pass was perfect, and the catch might have been even better.
• Shake-up at RB? Probably way too early to tell, as the coaches continue to evaluate players at every position, but the second-team snaps went to freshman Jared Williams. What can be read into that is not yet clear.
• Unquestioned play of the day: RB Jared Williams took a handoff and ran up the middle. After about 10 yards, he turned toward the outside, with S Hayden Greenbauer closing in. Williams ran right through Greenbauer and picked up another 10-15 yards before being hauled down by LB John Bordano and S Brett Haness. Williams might not be huge, but he is a pretty strong runner.
• One of the more entertaining drills is when players engage in one-on-one pass rushing (and blocking) drills. Two players would line up face to face, with the defensive player trying to get past the blocker to a foam dummy (simulating the quarterback).
ºº Freshman RB Jared Williams isn't the biggest guy in the world (listed at 5-9, 195), but when he lined up with 6-2, 230-pound LB Lincoln Schick, Williams held his own, steering Schick around the outside and driving out of the area that would be behind the quarterback.
ºº Before anyone concludes that Williams can not be beaten (as a blocker), a few plays after his encounter with Schick, Williams got run over by LB Jonathan Yenga, who drove Williams to his back and then ran straight over him to reach the "QB."
ºº Throughout spring workouts, defensive coordinator Tom Mason raved about the explosiveness Kevin Pope after moving from RB to LB. Mason might know what he's talking about: in one drill, RB Bryce Lunday held Pope to the point of nearly tackling him ... and Pope still got through him to make the "sack."
ºº The star of the drill was RB Billy Dugal. On successive reps, he steered LB Randy McKinnon to the outside before planting him with a pancake block, and then stopped ILB Taylor Reed in his tracks until the play was called dead. He also stopped Schick in his tracks a few plays later.
• WR Steve McCormack sat out again because of stitches in his hand. McCormack, who did some light running on the side (with no ball), said he was told the stitches will be removed next Tuesday.
• DE Kevin Grenier (shoulder), G Jordan Free (hand) and LB Cameron Rogers sat out again.
• Maybe the catch of the day was turned in during skeleton (no defense) passing drills. Senior WR Bradley Haynes ran straight up the hash marks and looked back over his left shoulder for a pass that ended up going over his right shoulder. Didn't matter to Haynes, who turned and reached up and grabbed the top of the ball with one hand.
• The seven-on-seven drills were not the WRs' finest hour, as several dropped multiple passes. Maybe I should have shared my coffee with them.
• In the team (11-on-11) drills, LB Randy McKinnon almost made a great interception when he leaped up to snag a high Padron pass intended for WR Darius Johnson. McKinnon pulled the ball down, but dropped it as he got to the turf.
• Padron followed his near-miss to McKinnon with a perfect strike to WR Jeremy Johnson, threading a pass to the sophomore wideout who had two DBs right at his side. The pass was perfect, and the catch might have been even better.
• Shake-up at RB? Probably way too early to tell, as the coaches continue to evaluate players at every position, but the second-team snaps went to freshman Jared Williams. What can be read into that is not yet clear.
• Unquestioned play of the day: RB Jared Williams took a handoff and ran up the middle. After about 10 yards, he turned toward the outside, with S Hayden Greenbauer closing in. Williams ran right through Greenbauer and picked up another 10-15 yards before being hauled down by LB John Bordano and S Brett Haness. Williams might not be huge, but he is a pretty strong runner.