8-11 Practice

[mad dog]

Also, be sure to check out Medpilot's Practice Impressions. He had some good observations.

Headline

The biggest story today, besides the QB play detailed in Med's post, is TE Robert Harmon. I dogged him a little in my tight end summary, saying that he was not tenacious enough to be a blocking threat, nor did he have the hands to be a weapon in the receiving game.

He did a lot to prove me wrong today.

In the 1 on 1 trench fight drill, his tenacity was downright shocking, and I had to triple check to make sure I got the right guy. You'd have thought the player he was lined up against had said something about his mother. He knocked one guy flat on his behind, beat another guy back cleanly, and, went toe to toe with a defensive end, snarling as he got up under his guy's pads.

And that would have been enough to make me sit up and notice, but he didn't stop there. Harmon caught three passes in the pass skeleton, two of them medium range passes down the seam in traffic, and only dropped one pass that came his way. Even that wasn't his fault, as the QB led him into the teeth of a safety, who came up to put a hit on him. If he can keep up this kind of intensity, I feel a lot better about TE this year.

Penalty Correction

One of the common misconceptions around the board is that Coach Dickey's staff don't particularly care about penalties, and don't do much to correct them. Well, if indeed it was a problem in the past, it certainly isn't now. Throughout practice, from literally the first play of practice until the end, coaches pointed out when players committed infractions. Coach Bliel reinforced not holding on punt coverage. Another coach yelled at a DB after he committed a hard facemask penalty. Coach Dickey yanked LB Tobe Nwigwe after he got in a fight with an offensive lineman, telling him, "That's 15 yards." In fact, the practice ended when Coach Dickey hammering home that penalties matter. During Field Goal practice, the blocking team jumped offsides, and the kicker missed the field goal wide right. DD then stopped down play and explained to his guys that, when they do that, the kicking team gets five yards and another try. He spotted the ball five yards up and told them to go again. This time, the kicker nailed it through the uprights. You have to think that the players got that message loud and clear.

Making Guys Miss...

In the open field tackle drill between linebackers and running backs, there were some pretty tremendous moves and tackles. Perhaps the biggest play of that drill was Tobe Nwigwe just lighting up Jamario Thomas. J-Mo tried to juke him, but Nwigwe was ready, and correctly guessed where he wanted to go. The result: a huge collision that sidelined Jamario for a few minutes while he recovered. Another great play came from RB Deavin Cox, who was nearly tackled before throwing out his arm and catching himself inches from the ground, recovering from nearly a down pushup position to fully upright. Walkon Josh Maldonado looked terrific as well. The diminutive running back showed great balance, power, quickness, and shake. You have to like the little guy's tenacity. In terms of making guys miss, he is behind only Deavin Cox and Jamario.

Short Shots

During punt gunner/blocker drills, LB Derek Mendoza showed a little of the speed he had been working this summer on increasing, beating SS Steve Warren clean off the line. Later, Raifu Durodoye blocked Maurice Holman so well that Holman was unable to even finish the drill. Finally, Jamario blasted his gunner so hard, he flew across the field, and into Coach Kenny Evans, who was knocked down to the ground (he was ok).

DT Sky Pruitt was a monster in the trench drills, knocking his guys back with regularity and only getting fought to a standstill with All-Star Senior OL Dylan Lineberry.

True Freshman Robbie Gordon had a high point pick on a deep ball.

RS Freshman WR Arthur Stubblefield seems to have really caught on. It looks like he is understanding the system much better, and is making better use of his athleticism. If he can continue contributing, it should make next year's transition a little easier losing Johnny Quinn, Joel Nwigwe, and Zach Muzzy.

Jeremy Brown looked pretty good, too, recording two or three pancakes in a three minute span during full team drills.

Senior CB Tyrone Carter almost came away with a pick, reading the route correctly, and jumping the throw. Isaiah Smith came up to jar the ball lose, otherwise, no one stood between him and the goal line.

Injuries

Bunch of hamstring injuries as Brock Stickler, Matt Phillips, Brandon Jackson, and Bryant Seidle were all out today. None of them seem particularly serious.

FB Ryan Davenport sustained a knee injury during the open field tackling drill. It seemed like he got hit on the outside of his knee, and it buckled. Maybe an MCL injury, although that is pure speculation.

Edited August 11, 2006 by illuvius32

[BIG DAWG]

GREAT stuff, keep it coming!

[GreenBat]

HOW Does Ike Thomas look?

[mad dog]

HOW Does Ike Thomas look?

←

Not practicing yet... just being careful with his blood chemistry. Should be back soon.

[good_ken]

How does Woodward look? Is he as impressive as advertised?

[mad dog]

So far, it is too early to say anything on Woodward.

[untwillrise]

Is there any difference in the tone of practice this year from last year. Are the guys working harder?

[mad dog]

The guys have always worked hard, best as I can tell. The biggest change that has jumped out at me is the aggregate size of the offensive linemen. It always seemed like there was a lot of guys who were probably better sized for tight end than OL. Yesterday I remember remarking to Brett how much bigger the average offensive lineman looked. Could just be my imagination, but I really think they are.