Day 2 Notebook: Big Plays on Both Sides

[Harry]

DENTON - Day two of fall camp, presented by Rhino Steel Buildings, was filled with several big plays on both sides of the ball on an unseasonably cool and breezy Saturday morning. Prior to the kickoff of Mean Green Mania in Apogee Stadium, heavy rain pounded the area, slightly delaying practice. Once it cleared, however, the Mean Green held a high-energy practice on the second day of camp.

While the offense was able to strike for a handful of big plays throughout the day, the defensive unit had some shining moments, highlighted by several pass break-ups and some forced turnovers during 1-on-1 and team periods.

Key Moments:

• On the first play of 1-on-1 drills, junior corner Cam Johnson (Houston) had great coverage on his receiver, and then undercut him to come up with an interception.
• Senior receiver Michael Lawrence(Sweetwater, Texas) hauled in a difficult over-the-shoulder grab for a touchdown during the same period.
• South Carolina graduate transfer defensive back Nick Harvey (Lancaster, Texas) continued his strong start to camp with the Mean Green, maintaining great coverage on several occasions during both 1-on-1s and the team periods. 
• Freshman corner DeShawn Gaddie (Arlington) made an impact, especially in team drills. On one occasion he was able to haul in an interception off of a tip and head the other way in a hurry. Additionally, he showcased his ability to swarm to the ball with a couple of pass break-ups, including a one-handed leaping play to deny a receiver over the middle of the field.
• Redshirt freshman receiver Austin Ogunmakin(Alief, Texas) made a nice catch on a well-executed back-shoulder throw by senior quarterback Mason Fine (Peggs, Oklahoma). Ogunmakin hauled in the touchdown despite good coverage by Harvey.
• Redshirt freshman defensive back Javier Neal(Whitehouse, Texas) was in coverage on a deep fade that looked like it was going to result in a touchdown, but Neal was able to dislodge the ball from the receiver as the players came to ground.
• Senior defensive end LaDarius Hamilton(Corrigan, Texas) was active on Saturday, and on one occasion burst into the backfield to pick up a tackle for loss on a running play.
• Cam Johnson broke up multiple passes on the day both in 1-on-1s and in the team periods. One in particular during 1-on-1s came on a goal line route over the middle. Johnson had tight coverage on redshirt sophomore Greg White (Riverdale, Georgia) and was able to get a hand on the ball to break it up.
• Defensive lineman Darrian McMillan (Mobile, Alabama) got some early penetration on a run play during the final team period to blow up the play and record a tackle-for-loss.
• Junior running back Evan Johnson (Loranger, Louisiana) had a big-gainer during the team period, cutting through to the left and making his way down the sideline.
• Fine dropped a 60-yard touchdown toss right into the waiting hands of junior receiver Jaelon Darden (Houston) on one of the most aesthetically pleasing throws of the day during team drills.
• Freshman Dorian Morris (Mesquite, Texas) was able to break up a deep pass on the final play of the first team period. 
• To open the final team period, Fine hit senior receiver Rico Bussey, Jr. (Lawton, Oklahoma) in stride perfectly, and the playmaker accelerated quickly to take it to the house.
• Redshirt junior linebacker Joe Ozougwu (Alief, Texas), donning a new number (32) this season, applied pressure and got a hand on the ball to bat a pass attempt to the ground to force a third and long. Junior defensive lineman Dion Novil (Abilene) was also involved in the play and may have also gotten a hand on the pass.
• Later in the period, another batted ball resulted in an interception by senior safety Taylor Robinson (Fort Worth), who had a tremendous reaction to the tip, pinning the ball to his shoulder to force the turnover.
• The offense executed a screen play to perfection, as redshirt freshman quarterback Austin Aune (Argyle) allowed the play to develop in front of him before dumping off to freshman running back Oscar Adaway III(North Little Rock, Arkansas). Adaway then opened some eyes with a cut on a dime and quick acceleration downfield to break away from the defenders.
• Sophomore linebacker KD Davis (Ennis, Texas) filled the hole to bottle up a running back for no gain during the final team period.
• Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Dayton LeBlanc (Breaux Bridge, Louisiana) and Ozougwu teamed up for a big tackle for loss on a run that was designed to the left.

The Mean Green return to the practice field Sunday afternoon and will be wearing shells for the first time this fall. Be sure to follow @MeanGreenFB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for the latest camp content leading up to the season opener on Aug. 31, against Abilene Christian.

link:  https://meangreensports.com/news/2019/8/3/football-day-2-notebook-big-plays-on-both-sides.aspx

[southsideguy]

what I noticed is all the work on the short passes and screens.  All designed to protect the qb and slow down the blitz.   Seemed like a lot of work when into that.

[Christopher Walker]

23 hours ago, Harry said:

Fine dropped a 60-yard touchdown toss right into the waiting hands of junior receiver Jaelon Darden (Houston) on one of the most aesthetically pleasing throws of the day during team drills.

2019, all about the a e s t h e t i c s. 

[MeanGreenTexan]

New nickname for Darden:

“Mr Aesthetic”

[DeepGreen]

Any throws involving tight ends?

[UNTLifer]

44 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

New nickname for Darden:

“Mr Aesthetic”

Wouldn't that be Fine since the throw was aesthetically pleasing?

[southsideguy]

one other thing I forgot to mention that I have not seen at event like this.  The crowd made noise on big plays. I thought that was great and sure the players enjoyed it.

[All About UNT]

On 8/4/2019 at 7:42 PM, DeepGreen said:

Any throws involving tight ends?

They won't show that wrinkle this early