Defensive coordinator and secondary coach Willy Robinson says he feels good about the way the defense looks coming off its first scrimmage of the fall.
But Robinson says the team still has some work to do before deciding who is going to play and where.
Arkansas kicks off the 2011 season at 6 p.m. Sept. 3 against Missouri State.
Coming off the team's first full-scale scrimmage, Ole Miss returned to preseason football practice Sunday evening to correct mistakes.
The Rebels spent part of the day reviewing film of Saturday's scrimmage before taking to the practice fields for 90 minutes, working in shorts and shoulder pads on corrections, special teams and conditioning.
"After looking at the film, we still have a long ways to go," said head coach Houston Nutt. "I was pleased with some things, and not very pleased with some other things. But that's why we have camp."
Nutt noted several defensive players that stood out from the scrimmage.
"Wayne Dorsey did some good things, and Kentrell Lockett intercepts a ball for us," Nutt said. "There were some big hits. C.J. Johnson and Ralph Williams were very consistent. Brishen Mathews and Damien Jackson were hitters."
The quarterback race continues into week two of the preseason, and Nutt saw too many miscues in Saturday's competition.
"The quarterbacks still have to keep coming," he said. "They made too many mistakes. They have to take care of the ball. They have to make good decisions and stay out of disasters."
Freshman cornerback Senquez Golson did not practice with the squad Sunday as he traveled to Boston to meet with the Red Sox regarding their offer to sign a professional baseball contract. Nutt said the eighth-round pick plans to make his decision this morning.
Tennessee's roster is stacked with freshmen and sophomores who in many cases are bigger, faster and stronger than their elder teammates. The result is a highly competitive fall camp that has younger players pushing the upperclassmen for starting positions.
Junior cornerback Marsalis Teague has no problem with the competition, which he says is making the Volunteers better every day.
"That's one of those things you can't dwell on as a junior or a senior," Teague said Sunday. "Once you're out there, you're all competing against each other, but at the same time you're competing with each other. The competition level is at a high point for us. I feel like with everybody out there competing for each other and competing with each other, I feel like it's going to make our team a whole lot better."
Tennessee's roster has a bit more depth a year after back-to-back coaching turnovers. Still, freshmen and sophomores outnumber upperclassmen two to one, with 26 juniors and seniors on scholarship, compared to 27 sophomores and 26 freshmen.
Only a few upperclassmen, such as senior running back Tauren Poole and senior defensive tackle Malik Jackson, have clear roles as starters, leaving others to be role-playing guys who are called on for specific schemes or plays.
"I had a real frank meeting with our football team right in the beginning," coach Derek Dooley said. "It's our job as coaches to bring in the best talent that we can bring in, to promote competition."
Dooley enjoys the competition because he knows it will push individual players to improve on a daily basis, which will in turn make the youthful squad better come Sept. 3 when Tennessee opens the season against Montana.
The Commodores wrapped up the team's week of practice Saturday night under the lights at the John Rich Practice Facility with an 83-play scrimmage working on a variety of situations.
Senior Larry Smith led the first-team offense, completing 10 of 25 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns, including a 40-yard strike to Jordan Matthews during the third-down situational part of the scrimmage.
Junior Jordan Rodgers led the second-team offense, completing 8 of 17 passes for 49 yards with a pair of interceptions. Freshmen Josh Grady and Kris Kentara split snaps with the third team with Grady completing four of five passes for 41 yards and Kentara going 1-for-2 for seven yards.
Junior running back Zac Stacy carried the ball 10 times for 34 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown during the team's goal-line work. Two freshmen running backs stood out on the night with Jerron Seymour carrying the ball four times for 40 yards and Mitchell Hester had 34 yards on four carries. Hester also scampered in from 11 yards out for a touchdown.
There's a good chance Trey Burton will lead Florida in touches this season. He almost certainly will lead the Gators in positions played.
Florida has expanded Burton's role heading into the fall, lining him up at running back, fullback, receiver and tight end. It's an effort to confuse defenses, create mismatches and improve an offense that ranked 82nd in the nation in 2010.
"He's going to do so many things for us," first-year coach Will Muschamp said. "He's a guy that is going to be catching the football. He's going to be blocking. He's going to be carrying it. He was a short-yardage situation guy in the spring, and was probably our best short-yardage back.
"It's kind of limitless what he's going to be doing in our offense."
Burton was a big part of Florida's scheme as a freshman. He ranked third on the team with 349 yards rushing, second with 32 receptions for 210 yards and scored a team-high 12 touchdowns.
Source:
No comments:
Post a Comment