As always, here are my observations from this afternoon's Griz football practice. They'll practice in full pads for the first time tomorrow, which means we will start to get a much better idea of how the depth chart is going to shape up.
- Thomas Brooks-Fletcher didn't practice today. He was on the sideline in street clothes. No word on why he didn't suit up, but I'll try to get an answer tomorrow. In his absence, Andrew Schmidt got most of the reps at running back with the first team offense.
- Here is the difference between young players and veterans. During 11 on 11 drills, freshman cornerback Mike McCord got beat deep by Marc Mariani, but the ball was overthrown and Mariani didn't make the catch. As the two were jogging back to the huddle, McCord patted Mariani on the back, and promptly got chewed out by Associate Head Coach Mike Hudson, who said, "He just beat you deep. Why are you patting him on the back?"
Meanwhile, a few plays later, safety Colt Anderson and tight end Steve Pfahler got into a shoving match and neither of the two veterans backed down. However, it did cost Pfahler a lap around the field because as Bobby Hauck told him, "You just cost my team fifteen yards." Maybe the young'n knows best.
- Hit of the day is a tie between fullback Kevin Klaboe and linebacker Tyler Pelluer. Pelluer walloped tight end Robert Overtron along the left sideline as he was trying to make a catch, knocking the ball out of his hands. The hit drew a huge cheer from the entire defense.
Meanwhile, Klaboe got some revenge on behalf of the offense. After catching a pass in the flat, he lowered his shoulder into the chest of freshman cornerback Trumaine Johnson, knocking him to the ground. The coaches were excited that Johnson held contain on the play, but TJ definitely didn't seem too excited.
- A little more on Johnson... he's definitely starting to get more comfortable with the defense. When the second team was in during 11 on 11, Johnson was on the sidelines calling out the defensive signals to the secondary. Coach Hauck loved to see that. He ran over to Johnson and yelled, "That's the way you get better. Paying attention on the sidelines. Great job by you."
- The first team offense started the 11 on 11 with a bang. Cole Bergquist found Mike Ferriter for a long touchdown down the left sideline on the first play of the drill. Ferritter was matched up 1 on 1 against Johnson and ran right by him. Two plays later, Bergquist hit Mariani on the right side for a long touchdown. Mariani beat the other freshman corner, Mike McCord. Other than those two plays, the defense got the better of the offense today.
- The linebackers looked really good today. Senior Tom Martin picked off Jeff Larson during 11 on 11, and junior Shawn Lebsock had a nice pass breakup over the middle.
- Practice ended with the first team and second team offense each getting a shot at a 2 minute drill. The defense came out on top again. Johnson had a beautiful, leaping pass breakup on the first team O's opening play. Shann Shillinger ended the drive by intercepting Bergquist on the second play. The second team D wasn't to shabby either. They held the offense without a first down, stuffing the run on 3rd and 1 and then again on 4th and 1.
That's all for today. More tomorrow.
~ Varun
varun@maxmontana.com
