It’s Scrimmage Day Eve here on campus and the Volunteers are putting the work in for practice 11 of fall camp. It’s a shells day – little bit less contact as tomorrow is a big day for both the team and serval individuals competing for starting sports and/or in the rotation.
With that being said, here’s a couple of notes on who was available and who was not.
I didn’t see Elijah Simmons again today as he continues to be limited. The expectation is that he’ll be back in action next week, so I’d be surprised to see him or any of the guys who have been limited play tomorrow. Jaylen Wright continues to get more work in with the running backs, but he’s still slowly ramping up and was not in full pads yesterday while the rest of the team was.
Lyn-J Dixon did not practice today. There was a Christian Harrison sighting for the first time in days as he was out on the field (side) with a red noncontact jersey on, but no shoulder pads. Solon Page was back in action today, though he donned a red noncontact jersey as well. No change in the status of Squirrel White or Kamal Hadden from the past few days.
What was really cool about today, however, was they ramped up the competition with some 1-on-1 work that we actually got to see. Wide receivers and tight ends took their turns trying to beat defensive backs in man coverage, working from the 10-yard line and going in.
Here’s a couple of highlights that I saw during the short period:
We’ll start with some impressive catches. Bru McCoy reeled in a catch, one-handed, on the sideline. Jacob Warren had the catch of the day, going up and over Doneiko Slaughter to bring in a ball that was underthrown. Ramel Keyton displayed a nice vertical to go up and get one while keeping his feet in bounds.
As for some individual, single-route matchups: Princeton Flant won out over Tre Flowers. Keyton beat Brandon Turnage. Kaleb Webb got the best of Deshawn Rucker. Cedric Tillman beat Warren Burrell on a slant. Jalin Hyatt ran a really nice route, shaking Wesley Walker, but the ball was underthrown by Joe Milton.
For your Cheyenne Labruzza update of the day, walk-on Nigel Lanier had a really nice move to get behind him and reel in a touchdown catch. Labruzza was still wearing a red noncontact jersey but is well enough to compete in drills and competitions like this.
The offense won the period, in my opinion, but there were a few defensive standout plays that come to mind. Walker stuffed Warren off the line on one rep, not allowing for him to get open. Christian Charles defeated Jimmy Holiday twice in the period, lodging the football out of his hands at the last second on one rep. Jaylen McCollough also had one deflected pass that I saw.
There was also some pass interference that took place on some plays that likely would have ben called in the game.
It was really cool to see – because we normally don’t get to see that stuff while we are out there. Each side was loud and encouraging their guys. Handshakes and high fives all around while there was the obvious trash talk going on as well. A perfect snapshot of what camp is all about.
That was pretty much the highlights of Saturday’s practice. Beforehand, the defense went through tackling circuits before the defensive line hit the bags and the linebackers worked their run-reads. The secondary worked route recognition and talked through some stuff prior to 1-on-1s.
For the offense, the running backs were getting resistance work with bands on the far side of the field while the offense line was back in groupwork – guards and centers and then guards and tackles. Pass-pro was a point of emphasis this morning for the offensive line and the group was mimicking their stance and drops.
Tomorrow will be a big time day for the squad as the coaching staff will have a pretty good handle on what they have after reviewing the tape. They’ll have a decent idea of who each player is and what they can do after tomorrow. Not to say anything is set in stone, but after two scrimmages, you begin to see a clearer picture.
What will the left tackle battle bring us tomorrow with JJ Crawford and Gerald Mincey? Can the receivers separate themselves on the outside? In the secondary, will a few guys standout and plead their case to limit the rotation some across the board? Can that group have a clear first, second and third unit following the scrimmage? I doubt it, but it could take steps toward that.
Guys who I am intrigued to hear about scrimmaging would be: Crawford/Mincey, Keyton/Merrill/McCoy, Williams/Charles, Walker/McDonald and the entire LB and DT units.
That’s it from Haslam Field this morning. Two-minute drill is coming up. You guys have a great Saturday.
With that being said, here’s a couple of notes on who was available and who was not.
I didn’t see Elijah Simmons again today as he continues to be limited. The expectation is that he’ll be back in action next week, so I’d be surprised to see him or any of the guys who have been limited play tomorrow. Jaylen Wright continues to get more work in with the running backs, but he’s still slowly ramping up and was not in full pads yesterday while the rest of the team was.
Lyn-J Dixon did not practice today. There was a Christian Harrison sighting for the first time in days as he was out on the field (side) with a red noncontact jersey on, but no shoulder pads. Solon Page was back in action today, though he donned a red noncontact jersey as well. No change in the status of Squirrel White or Kamal Hadden from the past few days.
What was really cool about today, however, was they ramped up the competition with some 1-on-1 work that we actually got to see. Wide receivers and tight ends took their turns trying to beat defensive backs in man coverage, working from the 10-yard line and going in.
Here’s a couple of highlights that I saw during the short period:
We’ll start with some impressive catches. Bru McCoy reeled in a catch, one-handed, on the sideline. Jacob Warren had the catch of the day, going up and over Doneiko Slaughter to bring in a ball that was underthrown. Ramel Keyton displayed a nice vertical to go up and get one while keeping his feet in bounds.
As for some individual, single-route matchups: Princeton Flant won out over Tre Flowers. Keyton beat Brandon Turnage. Kaleb Webb got the best of Deshawn Rucker. Cedric Tillman beat Warren Burrell on a slant. Jalin Hyatt ran a really nice route, shaking Wesley Walker, but the ball was underthrown by Joe Milton.
For your Cheyenne Labruzza update of the day, walk-on Nigel Lanier had a really nice move to get behind him and reel in a touchdown catch. Labruzza was still wearing a red noncontact jersey but is well enough to compete in drills and competitions like this.
The offense won the period, in my opinion, but there were a few defensive standout plays that come to mind. Walker stuffed Warren off the line on one rep, not allowing for him to get open. Christian Charles defeated Jimmy Holiday twice in the period, lodging the football out of his hands at the last second on one rep. Jaylen McCollough also had one deflected pass that I saw.
There was also some pass interference that took place on some plays that likely would have ben called in the game.
It was really cool to see – because we normally don’t get to see that stuff while we are out there. Each side was loud and encouraging their guys. Handshakes and high fives all around while there was the obvious trash talk going on as well. A perfect snapshot of what camp is all about.
That was pretty much the highlights of Saturday’s practice. Beforehand, the defense went through tackling circuits before the defensive line hit the bags and the linebackers worked their run-reads. The secondary worked route recognition and talked through some stuff prior to 1-on-1s.
For the offense, the running backs were getting resistance work with bands on the far side of the field while the offense line was back in groupwork – guards and centers and then guards and tackles. Pass-pro was a point of emphasis this morning for the offensive line and the group was mimicking their stance and drops.
Tomorrow will be a big time day for the squad as the coaching staff will have a pretty good handle on what they have after reviewing the tape. They’ll have a decent idea of who each player is and what they can do after tomorrow. Not to say anything is set in stone, but after two scrimmages, you begin to see a clearer picture.
What will the left tackle battle bring us tomorrow with JJ Crawford and Gerald Mincey? Can the receivers separate themselves on the outside? In the secondary, will a few guys standout and plead their case to limit the rotation some across the board? Can that group have a clear first, second and third unit following the scrimmage? I doubt it, but it could take steps toward that.
Guys who I am intrigued to hear about scrimmaging would be: Crawford/Mincey, Keyton/Merrill/McCoy, Williams/Charles, Walker/McDonald and the entire LB and DT units.
That’s it from Haslam Field this morning. Two-minute drill is coming up. You guys have a great Saturday.
