Sat. 4/1 Practice

[Sam K.]

A few rambles from practice:

"Do it again Sefo" Coach Heggins said after Sefo ran a drill. Wow, quite a specimen is he. Howeverat the end of practice he was bringing up the rear by himself when they ran "sprints". Editor's note: I just read elsewhere that he had a minor injury. Kudos to Mr. Blaylock on the effort.

"put your foot in the ground and stop, don't be leaning back",Joker instructed Ravi on a drill.

"You're not a rookie! Watch the football!! You don't move til that thing (ball) moves!!!" Rich said to a guy or two who were guilty of a false start on a punt.

In all my years of watching football many times I have heard of someone having a "groin pull". However I have never seen anyone block aFG w their groin until today. Fidler mishandled a snap, the kicker hesitated, then kicked a real low FG attempt and it nailed Mikhail Mabry right in the 'nads. Ouch! He was down for a while, but a few plays later he was back in.

Speaking of Field Goals, here's my unofficial tally; #97, 3-3 #96, 3-3 #95, 1-1 and I saw #'s 99 and 98 make either 1 or 2 after attempting 2. They may have kicked more, but that's how I saw it. MY vantage point wasn't the best but that's how it looked to me.

Fiddler's passing motion reminds me of Phillip Rivers.

Keenan Burton looked to have a trainer working with him doing stretching/exercising. Is fast walking still an Olympic Sport? Early, Keenan was doing that fast walking, extending your legs, swinging your arms, etc. Speaking of Keenan, he was like an assistant coach to Ravi giving lots of encouragement and following him around. At the end of practice he was catching some balls, primarily from a stationary position.

It seemed like their were a lot of dropped passes. The receiver who impressed me the most was Jo Jo Brown. Perhaps he'll slide in to Tommy Cook's role.

Curtis threw a few wobblers.

I hear that Josh Minton was one of the observers at practice. I also hear that he's just under 6-3 and is up to 259# and that he worked out yesterday even w a bum hand.

Practice was at Nutter instead of Commonwealth. Downside: I can't see as much. Upside: you get to mingle more and meet other people.

Oh, and lastly, #70 made use of the port-a-toilet. And I don't know how he got in there. :D

[poodoo]

Thanks for the report, Sam K. It is very much appreciated.

[jwade]

About the offense:

After seeing2 of the first3 practices, it looks to me thatincumbent Woodson is the early favorite to keep the QB job (long way to go, obviously). That said, when Pulley lines up in shotgun with Dixon and Little on either side, it gives you goose bumps. One has to wonder if Pulley doesn't overtake Woodson, will Joker use him at QB every 3-4 series the way Georgia did with Greene/Shockley a few years ago?

Speaking of Dixon, he doesn't look like the same guy physically. He will get a lot of carries behind Little, and the dropoff isn't much. You have to see him without pads to really appreciate it.

Speaking of carries, we better be able to run the ball because I'm very concerned about the passing game. Lyons has had a good start and let's hope that continues, but noother WR'shaveimpressed on a consistent basis. I see teams double-teaming Burton a lot next year and daring us to beat them with someone else. At least, that's what I would do if I were an opposing DC.

Tyler Sexton is a good-looking walk-on at TE and may end up #2 behind Tamme after August.

To chime in with justacatsfanfrom another thread, Miller will start at one of the T spots along with G. Williams.Lane isthe odd man out. The only thing that might upset that would be, if McCutchan is denied an extra year and the staff decides to try G.Williams at C. We don't have many options at C behind McCutchan. I have heard that T. Williams is being looked at as a possibility at C, but I haven't personallywitnessed that yet. And with M. Jones' future uncertain, T. Williams may well be needed at G. Blaylock looks like a RT, but is out of shape. Hennis looks like a LT to me, but no way he overtakes either G. Williams or Miller at that spot. Assuming we hear something on McCutchan's situation this month, it will be very interesting to see who starts at Blue White.

And finally, speaking of the Blue White game, the Quarterback Club (shameless plug coming) will be hosting a tailgate party prior to the game thanks to the generosity of Ray and Suzanne Roberts of Louisville. Hope you all will stop by. Here is Ray and Suzanne's website: http://www.chubbybubbys.com/index.html More details to come as game day nears.

Jim

[justacatsfan]

Jim keep an eye on Antoine Brown next time you go out. I've been on this kids bandwagon since he walked on last year. He was decently recruited by some big schools but broke his leg during his Sr season and everyone backed off. Then his house burned down right around Christmas the same year. Had a real rough year. He is going to be a solid contributor in the next few years even with the guys we have in the backfield.

[jwade]

Will do. Brown was mentioned to me last Wednesday as a guy to keep an eye on. Walk-on TE Tyler Sexton was another.

Jim

[T75]

Thanks, Sam and Jim. TheLHL didn't seem to think anything of interest was happening, so I've been waiting for WCN to come back up to find out how Saturday went.

You two seem to have seen what we might have expected---no really bright spots among our receivers at this point. But as I recall, last season Little was one of our best. So maybe as Burton heals, and Little comes out of the backfield, somewhere among the crowd of Joe Joe, Lyons, Logan and that bunch of frosh that will be coming in this Sept, we ought to be able to find a couple of guys to help Ravi catch the ball. :lol:

It would be just great if Ravi turns into a good WR and wants to play. I've always thought that some of our B-ballers such as Ravi and Chuck might be good NFL prospects even tho they aren't likely to make it in the NBA. And just imagine what a great footballer at 2 or 3 positions Kelenna might have been. Can't youjust seea TE with his athleticism?

[jwade]

Agreed, Chuck had the athleticism to be a good TE. Whether he possessed the skills, I don't know.

Ravi announced yesterday he's giving it up. That's a shame. I don't know if he could have caught up (he hasn't played organized football since 6th grade) enough to play, I like to think he would have, and WR is a huge need position for us. He's certainly athletic enough and well conditioned.

I never thought Jo Jo Brown would see much time on the field, but I'm changing my mind. He may indeed be a serviceable receiver. Here's one to keep an eye on that you may not know: Sean Murphy. Rangy kid who works hard and has decent hands.

I've about written off John Logan, much to my disappointment. Collegiate speed in a high school body. Inconsistent hands. Most disappointing of all, he doesn't go full speed all the time. Honestly, I think he's coasting. But boy, would I love to be wrong! If he turns out to be a go-todeep threatI'll happily eat crow.

Jim

[justacatsfan]

Since I'm not there to see first hand anymore:(, I hear the staff is really liking Dickie Jr do far early on. He could have his head in order and become a nice addition.

[jwade]

Yes, I think the staff is pleased with Jr. at this time. Word I had is, father and son had a little heart-to-heart after last season. But considering the hell raiser dad was, that talk had to be a classic do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do (or did) conversation. :ggrin:

Jim

[poodoo]

Speaking of carries, we better be able to run the ball because I'm very concerned about the passing game. Lyons has had a good start and let's hope that continues, but noother WR'shaveimpressed on a consistent basis. I see teams double-teaming Burton a lot next year and daring us to beat them with someone else. At least, that's what I would do if I were an opposing DC. QUOTE by jwade

__________

Thanks to you, too, for the great report, Jim. I love reading these.

Like you, I have been concerned about the passing game next season and have become increasingly concerned with every report I read. Too, I surely did not like reading that Keenan's bone graft had not healed properly. Teams' double-teaming Keenan isa concern. Keenan's not being out there would be a concern of a totally different level. :(

Besides hoping for a healthy Burton return and an injury-free season for him, I'm hoping Demareo Ford heals and comes through at that position.. Too, I havebeen hopingthat Lashun Watson just might come in and be an impact player. Wide receiver is one of the easiest for freshmen to do that, I have heard, and we all know how Cornelius Bennett performed for Vandy last season. Does anyone know if Watson has qualified?

[RV]

Earl Bennett ;)

[jwade]

justacatsfan wrote: Jim keep an eye on Antoine Brown next time you go out. I've been on this kids bandwagon since he walked on last year. He was decently recruited by some big schools but broke his leg during his Sr season and everyone backed off. Then his house burned down right around Christmas the same year. Had a real rough year. He is going to be a solid contributor in the next few years even with the guys we have in the backfield.

Watched Brown during the 9-on-9 rushing drills this morning. He's going to be a fine runner between the tackles, I think. Haven't gauged his speed yet, though. Just read on another forum that a friend of mine who attends nearly every practice has been very impressed with Brown thus far.

Jim

[poodoo]

RV wrote: Earl Bennett ;)


Thanks for the correction, RV. :)By the way, do you know if Lashun Watson (I'm hoping I have that name right--I'm so much better with numbers than names!) has qualified or not?