Spring Game Summary

Posted by aneill | Practice Report | Saturday 24 April 2010 4:37 pm


The first team offense dominated the Spring Game today, led by Tevin Washington who ran for three touchdowns and threw for one more.  A game normally dominated by defense and offensive mishaps did a complete 180 today as 5 team touchdowns were scored on 9 total possessions with no turnovers.  The first team offense looked especially sharp guided by Washington as they scored four touchdowns on 5 possessions.

 The offensive onslaught shows how far Tech has come with the triple option as a team, but also indicates that the defense is well behind in grasping Al Groh’s new 3-4 scheme.  The plan is to install the defense in phases, similar to how Coach Paul Johnson has installed his offense.  They appear to be about as far behind the eight ball as Johnson’s offense was when they first debuted at the Spring Game two years ago.

 The first possession of the game saw Tech in a familiar position after three straight runs set up a fourth and one from their own 40 yard line.  Tech decided to go for it, which to the casual college football fan would appear to be an unrealistic decision in a meaningless game.  As Tech fans all know, however, Coach Johnson would have made the same decision in any official Georgia Tech football game and Washington was able to sneak for the first down.  Anthony Allen then found a crease up the middle and gained 40 yards to set Tech up for a first and goal.  Washington then scored his first of many touchdowns on a 5 yard run.  Strike up the band for the fight song and it felt just like old times during Tech’s memorable 2009 ACC championship season.

 The second team offense trotted onto the field behind quarterback Jordan Luallen, a red-shirt freshman from Indiana. Marcus Wright was unable to corral a low pass from Luallen followed by a nice stop by Emmanuel Dieke on Lucas Cox to force the first punt of the game.  Stephen Hill, starting wide receiver and back up punt returner called for a fair catch on the kick.

 The first string offense then entered the game for the second time and were forced to go three and out.  Anthony Barnes did a good job to string out the toss sweep on third down that allowed true freshman Isaiah Johnson to come up from his safety position to make the tackle for a loss of yards.  Johnson now wears Morgan Burnett’s number one and looks to be following a similar path as he has a chance to start as a freshman.

 Jerrard Tarrant looked for his first action at punt returner, but redshirt freshman Sean Poole boomed one over his head.  The ball continued to roll after it hit the ground and when it was all said and done stopped for a 71 yard punt.

 Luallen tried to rebound on his second attempt, but could not get the offense in gear.  He was stuffed for a short gain on the first play and then pitched it to Bostic for a loss of yards on the next play.  BJ Machen put a big stick on Bostic that got the crowd excited and on its feet cheering loudly for the defense for the first time.  Luallen floated one to Bostic on third down but the pass was just out of his reach and he trapped it against the ground on what would have been a first down. 

 Washington began his third possession by taking a bone shattering hit from Anthony Egbuniwe that drew some Ooohs and Aaahs from the fans in attendance.  They were eventually stopped short at the opponent’s 40 yard line, but Tech again went for it on fourth down.  Athony Allen picked up the first down as he bulldozed his way for five yards right up the middle.  Washington aired it out for the first time of the game and Hill made the play of the day in spectacular fashion to go up and over Dominique Reese to make the 34 yard reception.  The pass was well under thrown and appeared to be an easy interception for Reese.  However, Hill was able to adjust his route, come back to the ball, and jump up and over Reese to snatch the ball away.  Hill is going to put up gaudy statistics at Tech to prove that a receiver recruited specifically for the triple option can also be a first round NFL draft pick.  The play set up a first and goal and that saw Allen get stuffed at the line while Washington tried to push him forward for the first down, a la Reggie Bush.  The push was unsuccessful but I have to applaud effort like that from the quarterback.  Washington called his own number on the next play and walked in untouched right up the middle as he broke the plane of the end zone for the touchdown.

 David Sims checked into the game for the first time at quarterback and began with a bang as he made a nice read to keep the ball and then maneuver his way down the field for a 24 yard gain.  Lucas Cox continued to pick up solid chunks of yards at B-back and the cracking of helmets could be heard as he kept his legs churning after initial contact.  Sims made his first bad read and pitched the ball too soon to freshman Charles Perkins, who took a good lick from Rod Sweeting.  Steven Sylvester looks destined to be a future vocal leader for the team.  He was witnessed dancing around on the field while the marching band played, “Put on”.  The offense was eventually stopped short, but went for it on fourth and three.  Sims would pick up the necessary yardage on a 5 yard run up the middle.  He then gained another key first down on third and eight by breaking a tackle after putting a spin move on the first defender.  Sims has a solid build at 5-11, 219 and his low center of gravity makes him difficult to bring down.  Orwin Smith, the MVP from last Spring, finally made his presence known as he lowered the boom on Malcolm Munroe to turn a loss into a four yard gain.  Smith is a player that needs to get more touches.  I could see him bulking up and becoming the starting B-back of the future.  Coach Johnson finally called a pass play for Sims on third and two which turned out to be a mistake as he air mailed it over everybody’s head.  Sims will need to improve as a passer going forward if he ever expects to see playing time at quarterback.  Nevertheless, he was bailed out by a foolish late hit penalty on Dieke.  A false start then wiped away a would be touchdown by Cox, but it would not matter as Smith scampered in from 14 yards for the touchdown two plays later.  Sims made a good read to pitch it to Smith, who followed good blocking on the edge for the easy score.

 Stephen Hill received the ensuing kickoff and showed nice vision as he made progress down the field.  It looks like Tech is going to do everything that they can to get the ball in his hands.  The 6-4 receiver showcased his speed on the very next play as he got behind the defense on a 70 yard touchdown pass, the longest play from scrimmage of the day.  He blazed by Johnson and Butler to burn the defense by nearly five yards and Washington tossed it perfectly 50 yards in the air to hit Hill in stride.  I expected Washington to throw it well short, but it looks like his mechanics have changed for the better.  He throws the ball less side arm now, which gives me some confidence in his ability to throw the deep ball.     

 Sims was unable to maintain the momentum in his second offensive attempt and unfortunately slipped and fell for a big loss on third down. 

 Washington would then methodically march the first team offense down the field with good decision making on a variety of plays.  Embry Peeples gained 18 yards on a pitch, followed by a nine yard run up the middle by Allen, and then a toss sweep to Roddy Jones that went for eight yards.  Washington picked up two yards on fourth and one to keep the drive alive and then hit Peeples for an easy first down pass.  Allen gained 13 yards up the middle after making a brilliant cut back on a run up the middle.  He is one of those running backs that gets stronger as the game goes along.  Washington eventually would call his own number, showing good vision to follow his blockers for 14 yards.  He would cap the drive off with his third five-yard touchdown run of the day.

 The score came just in time as the heavens opened up and rain began pouring down on the field.  The players and coaches all sprinted for the locker room as thunder and lightning prevented any thought of continuing the game at a later time. 

 I have admittedly not been the biggest fan of Tevin Washington but he really showed my something today.  His arm strength is still not ideal, but it has definitely improved a great deal and he now has the ability to make every pass required by a Division I quarterback.  His improvement leads me to believe that the loss of Jaybo Shaw will soon be forgotten if Josh Nesbitt had to miss a game this season.  If he continues to improve, Washington is in line to be Tech’s future starting quarterback considering that he is only a red-shirt sophomore.

 Tech will return one of the nation’s most potent offenses this year and if this game is any indication, the loss of Thomas and Dwyer will have very little impact on their chances of success this year.  Several former players came back for the game including starting linebacker Gary Guyton of the New England Patriots, 2010 first round pick Demaryius Thomas and 2010 third round pick Morgan Burnett.  All players were interviewed by Wes Durham on the sidelines and Burnett provided some comic relief. 

 When asked about the cold in Green Bay Burnett said, “It’s a good cold, I look forward to it!”   

 Burnett also commented on waiting for his name to be called by saying, “It’s like waiting for Christmas, It takes forever to get there.”

 Overall it was a good feeling being back in the stadium.  Tech did a good job making this a great experience for the fans.  Things are rosy at the moment since it is so early in the year, but that tingly happy feeling might change very quickly into nervous angst if the defense does not drastically improve before the start of the season.

Spring Game Statistics

Posted by aneill | Practice Report | Saturday 24 April 2010 1:36 pm

Passing
Tevin Washington – Starting QB: 6-7, 106 yards, 1 td, 0 int
Jordan Luallen – Second QB: 0-2
David Sims – Third QB: 0-1

Team totals: 6-10, 106 yds, 10.6 ypa, 1 td, 0 int

Rushing
Anthony Allen – Starting B-back: 15 carries, 90 yards, 6.0 ypc
Lucas Cox – Second B-back: 5 carries, 19 yards, 3.8 ypc
Richard Watson – Third B-back: 1 car, 3 yds, 3.0 ypc
Tevin Washington – Starting QB: 10 carries, 29 rush yards, 2.9 ypc, 3 rush tds
Jordan Luallen – Second QB: 1 rush, 1 rush yd
David Sims – Third QB: 5 carries, 38 rush yds, 7.6 ypc
Roddy Jones – Starting A-back: 3 car, 8 yds, 2.7 ypc
Embry Peeples – Starting A-back: 1 car, 18 yds, 18 ypc
Marcus Wright – Second A-back: 1 car, 4 yds, 4.0 ypc
Orwin Smith – Second A-back: 2 car, 18 yds, 9.0 ypc, 1 td
BJ Bostic – Third A-back: 3 car, -4 yds
Charles Perkins – Third A-back: 1 car, 0 yds

Team totals: 48 carries, 224 yds, 4.7 ypc, 4 tds

Receiving
Stephen Hill – Starting WR: 3 receptions, 106 yards, 35.3 ypr, 1 td
Tyler Melton – Starting WR: 1 rec, 3 yds, 3.0 ypr
Embry Peeples – Starting A-back: 2 rec, 13 yds, 12.5 ypr

Team totals: 6 rec, 122 yds, 20.3 ypr, 1 td

Offensive MVP – Tevin Washington
Defensive MVP – None, Very little defense was played in this game

Practice #15 – 8/15/09

Posted by aneill | Practice Report | Saturday 15 August 2009 4:55 pm


The offense came out with a game plan this morning, which they executed nearly flawlessly. In the second full scrimmage of summer practice the offense displayed their full potential, running up and down the field on the defense, seemingly at will. The scrimmage format was the same as last Saturday’s with each possession starting from their own 30 yard line and the first string offense going against the first string defense, then second on second, then third on third, and then back to the top.

The first unit started off well by gaining a first down after three consecutive run plays. Nesbitt then scampered for 15 yards after he could not find a receiver open, including a great cutback to elude Jefferson. Nesbitt called his own number on a triple option play, gaining 20 yards to move the ball all the way to the 20 yard line. A toss sweep to Peeples went for 10 yards and another first down before the defense decided that they had taken enough abuse. Jefferson stood Dwyer up for a short gain up the middle followed by another short gain by Nesbitt down to the 5 yard line. Nesbitt rolled to his left on a third and goal passing play, but the play was defended well by the secondary. He eventually ran out of space along the sidelines before accepting a 5 yard loss. Blair came in on 4th down to nail a 27 yard field goal.

The second unit came out with authority after Marcus Wright took a toss sweep around the right side for a tough 8 yard gain. It took nearly 3 defenders to stop his momentum, but the little guy still would not go down. He finished the play by shouldering Martin Frierson to the…

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Practice #14 – 8/14/09

Posted by aneill | Practice Report | Saturday 15 August 2009 2:24 am


CPJ made sure that today’s practice would start out on a positive note. New Georgia Tech President, Buzz Peterson, and Athletic Director, Dan Radakovich, addressed the team before practice to motivate and challenge them on their goals and aspirations for the upcoming season. Apparently my fame precedes me as both men approached me to shake my hand on their way off of the field! Alright, so maybe it had more to do with being at the right place at the right time, but I can pretend.

Drills began today with some punt returns on special teams. It didn’t take long for Coach Monken to tear into the blockers for running too slow ahead of the punt returner. At one point Tarrant ran ahead of both of his blockers and coach asked his blockers who they could possibly be blocking behind the return man. He stressed not looking at the ball while the punter was receiving it, but instead looking up the field for whom to block. In one on one drills Bay-Bay performed well today including a nice deep over the shoulder catch. Cone made a nice catch from Tevin and Peeples also caught one deep down the field after beating the linebacker.

In the first scrimmage of the day, Watson started things off with a big run up the center of the field. Lyons was not to be outdone, however, as he followed suit with a nice run of his own up the middle, including a quick cut back move in the hole to give himself an open lane to run through. Jaybo made an excellent read on a pass down the sidelines that had the cornerback completely fooled on the play for an easy touchdown. Dwyer had his first highlight in awhile on a pitch play where he was able to turn the corner due to a nice block by Peeples. The defense made some plays too, but the story of this segment was the run blocking of the offensive line. Cox was also able to find a big hole up the middle followed by an easy Nesbitt run for a long gain.

Tevin and Jaybo were very efficient during seven on seven drills, but for the second straight day a lot of good throws were wasted by 6 dropped passes. One great thing to watch was the chemistry between Nesbitt and Bay-Bay. All four of Nesbitt’s completions went to Bay-Bay on a variety of short to intermediate routes. His best highlight came on a perfectly thrown sideline pass where Bay-Bay was able to secure the ball along the sidelines and then have the awareness to drag his foot in bounds. Sims did not have his best of days and his body language reflected this as he was slow in getting the offense to the line of scrimmage. CPJ noticed and became angry about half way through, yelling, “Break the huddle and run to the line!” This seemed to light a fire under Sims, who responded with two of his best long passes to date. The first was dropped by Moore, but on the second Godhigh made a spectacular over the shoulder catch deep down the field for a touchdown. The defense was not to be outshined during this drill. They had several highlights, including a nice break-up by none other than The Predator, Morgan Burnett. Coop also showed some great closing speed on a ball over the middle that he almost anticipated soon enough to intercept. Jemea Thomas made a nice play on Hill to slap the ball out of his hands before he could tuck it to his body. On the last play of the drill, Thomas had an opportunity to level Jamal Paige over the middle, but this time wisely held up. Thomas is another freshman in the secondary that has looked impressive and his aggressive play should result in some playing time at some point this season.

During the final scrimmage of the day there was once again solid play on both sides of the ball. Bay-Bay continued to have a stellar practice on the receiving end, making a great catch on a deep ball down the sidelines from Nesbitt. Osahon Tongo then made a great play on defense to get his hands up at the line of scrimmage to bat down an attempted pass. Nesbitt countered with a great pass to Cone on a timing route along the sidelines. B.J. Machen read the next play well and had great containment to earn the sack on Nesbitt. The defensive line sitting out the play could be heard yelling at freshman Emmanuel Dieke to inform him what to look for based on the offensive set. Dieke, who inherited Michael Johnson’s old jersey number of 93, has also apparently acquired the nickname “Too Tall” due to his height (6’-6”). It’s great to see this camaraderie and leadership on the field amongst players, especially between veterans and freshmen. Nesbitt made a great read on another crossing route to Cox where the blocking opened things up nicely for a long gain. Nesbitt forced one bad pass at the end of the scrimmage that was picked by The Predator, but overall he looked pretty good.

Practice concluded in the usual manner with the team huddling together to listen to the thoughts of CPJ. They then broke apart into individual units to get some concluding words from their individual coaches and then the practice concluded. Each individual unit also has their own huddle chant and one that is simple yet powerful goes, “1, 2, 3, Hard Work.” Tomorrow morning is the final open practice to the public, which will culminate with a full scrimmage. I hope to see how much all of their hard work has paid off at Bobby Dodd stadium.

Practice #13 – 8/13/09

Posted by aneill | Practice Report | Thursday 13 August 2009 6:52 pm


Today’s practice started out on the wrong foot and then ended up on the other wrong foot. The defense huddled up before breaking apart into unit drills. In the middle of the huddle, they started singing, “We ready….We ready….For Y’all!” Coach Wommack and Coach Kelly were not too pleased as the team took too much of the coach’s time before breaking the huddle. The coaches ran over to the huddle and made the entire defense do up-downs.

The drill that I watched today was one for the defensive lineman. They had to weave between a serious of blocking pads lined up on the ground and then at the end swipe the ball out of the quarterback’s throwing hand. I enjoyed this drill because the quarterback should fumble every single time when he is sacked from the blind side and this needs to be drilled into the defensive lineman’s head. In the towel drill today, Stephen Hill performed well with some aggressive blocking on the cornerback. Bay-Bay stood out during one on one drills by once again driving the cornerback about 5 yards off of him before breaking back to the ball for the easy reception. He also caught a long pass where he was able to position his body well to shield the cornerback and then make the tough over the shoulder grab.

Jaybo returned to practice today and made his presence known during the first scrimmage of the day with a nice touchdown pass to Jonathan Malone. The offensive line looked good and bad, opening up a huge hole for Nesbitt on one play for long yards, but then the center bumped into Nesbitt on another play for a loss of yards. Lyons had a nice tough run up the middle where he dragged the linebacker for 5 extra yards. Quentin Sims made a nice juke move on an end around to avoid a potentially big loss after Egbuniwe read the play well. Tevin fumbled a snap from center that was recovered by the defense, which always frustrates me more than anything. Orwin Smith caught a pitch around the right side and showed nice cutting ability to gain some extra yards on the play. He is a pretty good looking freshman with the ball in his hands, but my guess is that he will red shirt due to the depth that we already have at A-back.

Nesbitt performed well during seven on seven drills and if it weren’t for two dropped passes, he would have almost been perfect on the drill. Marcus Wright looked good today, disappearing behind the linebackers for two easy receptions from Nesbitt. Wright also got wide open down the field for a potential touchdown but Nesbitt overthrew him by just one or two steps. Nesbitt did, however, throw 3 absolutely perfect deep passes, two of which were dropped by Bay-Bay and Cone respectively. Cone did avenge this drop to a certain degree by catching the other deep pass that Nesbitt completed. Jaybo looked a little rusty during this drill, which was to be expected in his first day back on the field since Saturday. Tevin looked about average during the drill. He didn’t do anything special but at the same time he didn’t make any bad decisions either. Tevin had one nice pass over the middle to Godhigh, who made a nice grab on the play. Sims had his best performance yet in this drill, only missing on one of his pass attempts. He threw great tight spiral on a deep ball that was caught by Daniel McKayhan for the touchdown. Hill also got himself open for an easy catch and was seen getting some instruction from Coach Preston on his route running. The biggest play of the drill came when Orwin Smith made a nice catch over the middle but was then leveled by Jemea Thomas to knock the ball loose. The defenders are not supposed to knock anybody to the ground during this drill and after the play was over Thomas was lectured by Coach Wommack.

The final scrimmage was slightly different today as they lined up on the astro turf field for two minute drills. The offense started from their own 30 and had two minutes to go down the field and score. Nesbitt lead the first unit onto the field, but was picked off on a pass that was a little bit high and went off of the fingertips of the intended receiver and into the waiting arms of Cooper. Nesbitt started over and this time managed to get a first down on a good catch by Sims on third and long. Nesbitt followed this up with a great 30 yard completion to Peeples down to the 20 yard line. Sims then caught a 15 yard pass down to the 5 and managed to get out of bounds. Dwyer was then stopped short, followed by a spike of the football to stop the clock, and then another incompletion to set up 4th and goal. Nesbitt did a great job to avoid a sack on 4th down and delivered a good ball to Sims, who tipped the pass in the air to himself and then eventually dropped the easy touchdown.

Jaybo then brought the second unit on the field and was sacked on his first play, but managed to set up a third and 2 after a good pass to MacKayhan along the sidelines. Hill dropped a first down pass, but on fourth down Lyons broke one up the middle for a 30 yard gain. Jaybo then moved then chains on two completions, but eventually was sacked for a huge loss of yards. The offense did not recover and turned the ball over on downs.

The team then ran a few plays as they normally do without any time restrictions. The A-backs and B-backs jumped offside on the first play and CPJ was fuming with anger. He yelled, “Get out!” and then the second string came in to run a play. Things did not get much better as Sims dropped a first down catch and then on another play Tevin threw a pick 6 to Brad Jefferson. CPJ was not happy with the team’s performance today and made everybody run sprints at the end of practice. It was not the best day out there today and hopefully they will rebound with strong practice tomorrow.

Practice #12 – 8/12/09

Posted by aneill | Practice Report | Wednesday 12 August 2009 11:23 pm


The second practice of the day was conducted with the players wearing shells only; just like the second practice on Monday. This evening there were some new drills that caught my attention. All of the running backs were required to run a ropes course while carrying a ball in their hands. Once they got through the course, which was about 6 rows long, the coach hit the players with a blocking in an attempt to get them to fumble. The wide receivers also had to traverse the same rope course, but while they went through, Coach Preston tossed a ball to them that they had to catch and throw back. The coach and player did this back and forth about three times or so until the player had completed the course. The defense also had a good drill where two players at a time started on the ground, lying on their backs. They then had to roll over and sprint to the sidelines as quick as they could to tackle the blocking pad. This reinforced the refusal to give up on a play even if you get blocked or knocked to the ground. In one on one drills, Bay-Bay made the best catch of the afternoon, somehow cradling an over the shoulder pass with just his left hand. The Predator demonstrated that in addition to playing safety that he also has the speed and technique to play the cornerback position. He played very physical defense with the receivers at the line of scrimmage, refusing to give the receivers space to operate and as a result was in great position both times to knock down the pass from the quarterback. Stephen Hill was back to his usual ways, making a nice grab over the middle despite being interfered with. Melton made a similar grab himself with the defender draped all over him and Geoff Greco also made a noteworthy one-handed catch. The teams then broke apart into offense and defense to do walk-through drills. Nesbitt fumbled a snap for the first time that I can remember and as a result the entire offense had to do up-downs. I can say pretty confidently that the snap exchange from center will not be a problem like it was at times last year.

Nesbitt, Tevin, and Sims all looked good during seven on seven drills today. Nesbitt did force one bad pass into triple coverage that was intercepted by Jemea Thomas, but otherwise he was very efficient. His best highlight was a touch pass delivered perfectly to Dwyer that was placed directly over the linebacker’s head. Dwyer caught the pass and then it was a footrace to the end zone which we all know that JD does not lose. Cone also had a nice over the shoulder catch on a deep pass from Nesbitt. On another play, Bay-Bay once again was able to get about a 5 yard cushion for the reception and then turn and make a few moves in order to get additional yardage. That is something that we will see a lot of this season. Tevin was flawless during this drill and did not throw a single incompletion (I missed one play but I’ll just assume he completed it). Hill had a nice catch and turn followed by Orwin Smith, who would have made Sportscenter with an outstanding one-handed grab. Sims made great reads again today and he looks better by leaps and bounds when compared to his first few practices. On the defensive side of the ball, Sweeting stood out in passing drills by breaking up a couple of passes. The freshman has stood out so far in practice and he is competing for a second string spot.

The quarterbacks then moved into tighter quarters inside of the red zone and things suddenly did not look so good. Nesbitt threw two interceptions, but one of them wasn’t his fault after it went through Cone’s hands and into Reid’s gloves for the pick. The other was an under thrown pass where Michael Peterson found himself in ideal position for the turnover. One of the only highlights for the offense on this drill was a TD pass from Tevin to Paul Reese. Wright also made a nice catch while taking a hit from the defender on the play.

In the only scrimmage of the day the defense dominated initially, but the offense rebounded to finish strong. Derrick Morgan started things off with a sack on Nesbitt. Barnes got great penetration on the next play which forced Tevin to roll directly into the path of a blitzing Brad Jefferson. Steven Powers and Egbuniwe had two more sacks before the offense was finally able to re-organize. Nesbitt started things off with a perfect pass to Marcus Wright. Hill then caught a pass from Tevin after he was able to get a nice cushion from the defender. Hill then turned, and if it weren’t for the sidelines, would have broken a short gain into a touchdown after a nice stiff arm on the cornerback. Hill would get his touchdown reception only a few plays later after he burned Reid for an easy wide-open grab. Nesbitt’s best pass of the day was also his final pass of the day after he connected with Peeples streaking down the field for a touchdown.

The practice was shorter again lasting less than 2 hours. The team had a much better overall day today compared to Monday, which was very encouraging. The team resumes practice tomorrow at 3 PM.

Practice #11 – 8/12/09

Posted by aneill | Practice Report | Wednesday 12 August 2009 3:09 pm


The team trotted on the field early this morning for their second day this week of double duty.  Luckily, the players got a break from the sun today as the weather was nice and cool for the first time.  Special teams punt return and kick off returns lead things off followed by unit drills.  The cornerbacks participated in a tip drill for the first time today.  One cornerback would play offense while the other corner played defense.  Coach Kelly would throw the ball high and the offensive player would intentionally miss the pass and tip the ball backward.  The defender had to be on his toes and react to the deflected pass to make the interception.  During one on one drills the receivers for the most got the best of the cornerbacks.  Bay-bay showed why he is an elite prospect, using good footwork to run precise routes as well as using his huge frame to position himself where only he could make a play on the ball.  Sims showed some good touch on his passes as he completed two deep balls to Kevin Cone and Jeremy Moore.  Melton also had a nice catch to go up on over Butler for the reception.  On the other side of the ball, Burnett and Sweeting also made nice efforts to break up passes to the intended receiver.  Cooper also showed great speed and athleticism to run step for step with Bay-Bay on a deep pass and ultimately get his hands up to prevent the ball from being caught. 

The first scrimmage of the day consisted almost entirely of running plays and the defensive line ate the offensive line’s lunch.  All of the defensive linemen that participated in this drill, including: Barnes, Morgan, Hall, Walls, Tongo, Rocker, Cross, Egbuniwe, Wilson, Lanier, Dieke, Powers, and Crenshaw proved to be immovable objects.  The linebackers also did a great job including a nice play by Cooper to avoid a cut block by Allen to make a play on the running back.  Cooper is a very athletic player that shows good lateral speed, length (6’4” and large wingspan), and natural instincts.  Cooper got some valuable experience last year as a freshman and he is poised to make some game changing plays on defense this season.  Tevin had one decent run and another decent pitch to Malone, but for the most part there was no room to operate as the offensive line got abused.

 The quarterbacks rebounded today and they looked good during seven on seven drills.  The only problem, however, was 7 dropped passes by wide receivers.  Most of the drops were on very catch able balls that just went right through the receiver’s hands.  One ball dropped by Moore was then intercepted by Malcolm Munroe on an amazing shoestring grab.  He didn’t even participate in the tip drill earlier, but that situation is exactly why it is practiced!  Tevin and Nesbitt both threw absolutely perfect deep balls to Fisher and Melton respectively, but both receivers let the ball slip through their hands as it came over their shoulders.  Both plays drew groans from the frustrated crowd in attendance.  Nevertheless, both Fisher and Melton redeemed themselves later in the drill by making two catches on deep passes.  On one of the plays, Coach Preston yelled out to Fisher, “That’s Marietta’s finest on that play!”  Bay-Bay continued to have a great practice receiving the ball, including one play where he burned the corner and then made and amazing cut to stay in bounds and juke the safety for a touchdown.  Cone piggy backed on yesterday’s performance by making another nice grab on a ball thrown high over the middle.  Nesbitt, Tevin, and Sims all made good decisions today and there were only a few passes that were slightly inaccurate.  Nesbitt threw one high to Marcus Wright, which has happened a few times throughout the week.  Wright is so small that the defenders have trouble finding him down the field, but unfortunately our quarterback can’t find him either.  Sims was yelled at for holding the ball too long at one point, but to me he looked better than in previous days.  In other practices he would take off running every other play because he was too scared to look downfield.  At least now he is gaining enough confidence to keep his eyes downfield to look for a receiver.  Tevin had a great pass in traffic where he was able to thread the needle to Quentin Sims, which is the first time I have seen him make that type of tight throw that requires some decent arm strength.

The final scrimmage of the day consisted of mostly passing plays and the offensive line did a great job in pass protection.  This was my first glimpse of how a lethal passing attack might look out of the wishbone and it looked pretty good.  Nesbitt and Bay-Bay continued to be on the same page together as their timing was perfect.  Nesbitt and Allen have also shown pretty good repoire in the passing game.  Today, Allen caught a ball and then immediately made a sweet spin move on the defender.  Allen is one of those players that you design in video games, who has all the moves in his arsenal and somehow knows exactly the right situation to use them.  Tevin got into the zone about mid-way through the scrimmage and it seemed like every decision that he made was the correct one.  Tevin dropped back to pass and could not find anybody so he simply tucked it and scampered up the middle of the field for first down yardage on two consecutive plays.  The defense stayed honest on the next play so he threw right over the top on a great throw to Moore.  Then on the next play Tevin rolled to his right and just before he might have been sacked, he threw the ball back across his body to the only spot that Moore could catch it between two defenders.  The defense did make a few plays including a good deflection by Derrick Morgan on a quick pass into the flat.  Butler also made a textbook one on one defensive play on a deep pass, where he read the receiver’s body language and got his head around just in time to break up the pass.  Antonio Wilson had the only sack during this part of practice.

The practice only lasted less than 2 hours today and CPJ was happy with their performance.  The team should not be as worn out as they were on Monday and I look for them to follow up this morning with a strong practice this evening. 

I had a few questions and comments on message boards that I will now address.  Jaybo needs to get back out on the practice field soon because Tevin is looking stronger and stronger with every practice.  Nevertheless, game day experience is irreplaceable and Jaybo is still our number two.  Anthony Allen looks great at A-back and he will not be playing B-back this year.  The only player that rotates occasionally at both back positions is Lucas Cox.

Practice #10 – 8/11/09

Posted by aneill | Practice Report | Tuesday 11 August 2009 10:19 pm

The team came back out in full pads today. Jaybo was absent from the entire practice, while Dwyer suited up in pads today and participated in about half of the practice. The team started out with special teams before moving into unit drills. The A-backs have an interesting drill that they do just about every practice. One A-back will move from side to side carrying the football in his hands while picking up his feet to navigate a serious of blocking pads that sit on the ground. All of the other A-backs are lined up side by side behind the guy with the ball and whenever the ball carrier gets within range they will slap at him and try to strip the football. If the ball is ever fumbled, the player is taught to pounce on it as soon as he can. It also came to my attention that the defensive linemen always spend the beginning of practice doing drills on the astro turf portion of the practice field. The artificial turf absorbs a lot of heat and it is practically a sauna on that side of the field. According to Coach Wommack, Gif Smith does this because, “We gotta make ‘em angry!” In one on one drills, Stephen Hill stood out again by catching all three of the passes thrown his way, including one deep ball where he had the defense beat by a couple of steps. Kevin Cone showed off his excellent route running ability today and also had a nice catch on a deep pass. He is looking more and more like a solid number three wide receiver. Melton completely fooled the defense by selling a slant pattern and as soon as the cornerback bit on the play he changed directions and broke wide open deep towards the sidelines. On defense, The Predator once again showed amazing recovery speed. On a deep post, he was beat pretty easily and the pass was thrown well, but somehow he managed to catch up to the receiver and distract him from getting to the ball. During these one on one drills, the coach will also try to distract the quarterback from making a perfect pass because it’s rare in game day situation that qb will have a perfect pocket to throw the football. One of the coaches ran at Nesbitt as he was passing the ball and yelled, “All kinds of junk in your face!” I started cracking up from where I was sitting and I can only imagine what Nesbitt was thinking on the field.

The next segment of practice was a brief scrimmage and on the first play Dwyer reassured me that everything is fine and dandy with him. He took a pitch from Nesbitt around the right side and opened up his stride to full speed as he turned the corner. Anthony Allen continued his solid performance in the passing game, getting open down the field where Nesbitt was able to find him. Lyons found space and nearly broke one up the middle and Tevin also had two nice pitch plays to Jonathan Malone where he sold the defense well by waiting until the last second to get rid of the ball. On defense, Robert Hall laid a nice hit on Richard Watson to stand him up at the line of scrimmage. Jefferson and Morgan assisted on a sack and Egbuniwe had a sack of his own where he also caused a fumble. Egbuniwe has been playing well and it seems like he has had a sack in the last 3 or 4 straight practices.

In 7 on 7 drills, Nesbitt, Tevin, and Sims once again rotated, each getting an equal number of snaps. Nesbitt and Tevin looked decent today, making some good reads and some bad. It was a step up from the second practice yesterday, but overall not their best performance. Sims on the other hand showed more improvement today. He looked like the best quarterback on the field to start the drill, but faded down the stretch. Nonetheless, it was his best performance yet. Highlights of the drill included a nice catch by Peeples on a low pass thrown at his ankles as well as great read and throw by Nesbitt deep down the field to a wide open Peeples. Cone also had a nice catch jumping high and extending to grab a ball over the middle of the field. Those are always the tough passes to catch because you are almost certainly going to take a hard hit. Cooper made a nice pick, showing great range and instincts to anticipate where the pass was going from Tevin. Bay-Bay had his ups and downs during this drill. He did, however, demonstrate his ability to get open pretty easily on two different plays. On one play he caught the pass, but on the other it went right off of his chest after he started running before the catch. The Predator made yet another nice play to knock down a pass after Tevin checked to his third wide receiver option. Cox had an unusual dropped pass today as he his normally our most sure handed running back. Sims also had a ball intercepted by Rashaad Reid after he waited just a split second too late to throw the pass. Sims is starting to make the correct reads though and now it’s just a matter of working on his timing and consistency.

During the final scrimmage of the day, the offense at last started to impress me as they had during earlier practices. One thing to note is that only Nesbitt and Tevin run plays during scrimmages since Sims does not have a good grasp on the playbook yet. Anthony Allen showed more of his big play potential, this time on an inside handoff from Nesbitt. Allen started the play running between the guard and tackle, but then suddenly he made a sick move to bounce the ball outside and he was off to the races for big yardage. Lyons had another nice run up the middle and Jonathan Malone continued to have a stand-out practice as he was the beneficiary again on a pitch from Tevin. Both quarterbacks also had nice runs down the field, displaying their contrasting styles. Tevin works down the field methodically and intuitively. Nesbitt on the other hand sees just the little bit of space that he needs and bursts through the hole into the open field, where he is very dangerous. Cone also made a nice grab after a pass deflected off of Burnett’s fingertips. Mario Edwards dropped an easy interception that had the defensive sideline in disbelief. Sed Griffin had a sack on a blitz up the middle and Egbuniwe and Barnes combined for another sack. The practice concluded with field goals. I thought CPJ was going to go the entire practice without yelling at anybody, but then the holder fumbled the first snap. If you want to know how he reacted to that miscue, just use your imagination. The field goal unit rebounded and Blair connected on his final three attempts. The practice ended the same way as I am going to end this report, “1, 2, 3, Championship!”

Practice #9 – 8/10/09

Posted by aneill | Practice Report | Monday 10 August 2009 9:46 pm

The team trotted back out onto the practice field only 5 hours removed from their first practice this morning.  They wore shells only for the first time since last Thursday.  Dwyer, Jaybo, Reese, and Luallen all worked out for the first hour on the sidelines and then sat out for the remainder of practice.  Dwyer and Reese underwent an interesting workout routine that at one point included repeatedly swinging a sledge hammer as hard as they could into the side of a large rubber tire.  Drills were a slight variation from what they had been doing for the last several days and one unique drill was an exercise for the wide receivers.  Coach Preston had them diving for low passes into a large mat to pad their fall.  He stressed full body extension when diving for passes during this drill.  The highlight of drills came during one on one passes with the cornerback against the wide receiver.  The quarterbacks were practicing throwing both fades passes and quick slants inside of the red zone.  The corner of the end zone was marked by a front pylon and a back pylon as it normally is.  Beyond the back pylon was a rope to mark off the edge of the field followed by large sloped embankment and also a brick equipment storage building.  Sims threw his first two fade passes about 5 yards too deep which resulted in the receivers and cornerbacks getting tangled up in the ropes and then their momentum carried them up the embankment.  Well after a third fade pass nearly ran a receiver into the brick wall a coach sarcastically yelled, “Do they not have pylons in Calhoun County?!”  Sims quickly fixed the problem and carried out the remainder of the drill.

Seven on seven drills came next and the quarterbacks split reps evenly between Nesbitt, Tevin, and Sims.  Previously Nesbitt had been getting about double the number of reps when compared to each of the back-ups.  Nesbitt did not have a very good afternoon throwing the ball but I suppose that everybody has a bad day every once in awhile.  Sims improved from his previous efforts today, including one beautiful pass to Jeremy Moore.  Sims had a lot of velocity on the ball and threaded the needle between three defenders on the play.  Bay-Bay dropped an easy one from Josh after he did the same thing in this morning’s practice, which he did some push-ups along the sidelines to make amends for.  Nesbitt had shown a lot of poise in the pocket and made some great reads in previous practices but today he forced a pass into double coverage and paid the price for it as it was intercepted by Jon Lockhart.  Highlights included a perfect deep pass from Tevin to Orwin Smith as well as a nice out route and catch by Kevin Cone, where he gave himself nearly 8 yards of cushion. 

The offense then moved the ball to the 10 yard line for the first seven on seven drill inside the red zone.  Nesbitt struggled again, including one pass that was picked off by Jemea Thomas for what would have been a 90 yard interception touchdown return.  Sims also struggled with his accuracy in these drills, but one bright spot was Tevin.  He went a perfect 5-5, completing a wide array of throws including a fade pass, slant pattern, and passes into the flat.  Highlights included a huge hit by Corey Earls on Jeremy Moore on a slant pattern that nearly knocked him clean out of his shoes.  A few plays later Moore dropped a pass on another slant pattern more than likely after he heard footsteps.  Stephen Hill and Orwin Smith both did a good job getting open in space for easy touchdown receptions.  Hill also made an amazing catch in the corner of the end zone where he adjusted to the ball in mid-air by reaching his hands back across his body to corral the ball.  CPJ made me laugh when he found himself caught in the middle of a play.  He pretended to play cornerback on Stephen Hill, but his defense was unsuccessful as Hill caught the pass anyways.  On another play, Melton jumped offside and ran nearly 5 yards down the field before he realized it.  CPJ was not too thrilled and yelled, “Tyler, get out.  I need another receiver.”  I love coach’s intensity and dedication to perfection, which is big reason why our program is on the way to the top!

After a few more drills the teams got back together for a scrimmage to end the practice.  Only Nesbitt and Tevin took snaps and the defense dominated.  Reid showed his closing speed to break up a pass to the intended receiver and The Predator followed suit by doing the same thing on the next play.  Burnett celebrated his defensive play in style by waiving his arms to indicate an incomplete pass.  Egbuniwe, Hall, and Morgan all had sacks on the quarterback during this segment of practice.  Morgan breaks through the line moving so fast sometimes that I think he is going to absolutely crush the qb, but of course the coaches are quick to blow the play dead in order to remind him that he can’t do that until Saturdays starting in September. 

Practice lasted a little over 2 hours today and it was a scorcher as always.  The team looked a little worn out today, but that is to be expected during the second practice of the day.  This practice was more for mental toughness and conditioning than anything else and we’ll see how they respond tomorrow.  The entire set of A-backs was spotted after practice catching balls against the goal post.  Tevin also practiced some additional snaps after practice and Sims worked on his accuracy by throwing passes to an assistant coach.  Anybody that stays late after practicing for nearly 4.5 hours on the day is a real trooper in my book and that desire to succeed will eventually pay off.

Practice #8 – 8/10/09

Posted by aneill | Practice Report | Monday 10 August 2009 2:01 pm

Practice began early today and for once there was relief from the sun for the spectators.  The same could not be said for the players.  Practice began with kick-offs and punt returns followed by individual unit drills.  The drill that I watched intently today was a one on one drill for the safeties.  Two safeties would line up facing each other with about 20 yards of space between one another.  One safety had the ball on offense and he would try to make a quick move to get past the safety playing defense.  Coach Wommack taught the defender to run as fast as they could toward the offensive player, then break down when the player was in range, read his body language, and make the tackle.  The biggest point of emphasis in this drill was for the defender to always keep their head up and also to keep their feet moving.  When either of these two essential items was neglected, the ball carrier got by the defender every single time.  During one on one passing drills between the cornerback and wide receivers, an intriguing match-up ensued as Morgan Burnett lined up against Stephen Hill.  On the fist pass, Burnett was extremely physical with the freshman, but Hill was able to get inside position and make a tough grab on the slant route with Burnett draped all over him.  The second pass attempt was a deep ball where The Predator ran step for step with The Phenom and was able to make a great play in getting his hand up to deflect the pass away at the last second.  Unfortunately, this drill did not last very long and that was the only time they battled each other.  Another can’t miss moment came on the opposite side of the field where the A-backs were going one on one in passing routes against the linebackers.  CPJ normally chills on the back a golf cart at the center of the practice field during these drills, but today the linebackers gave him reason to get up.  The linebackers knocked a couple of the A-backs to the ground, which finally prompted CPJ to get up and run over to the field to yell, “The next guy that knocks a guy down runs until he drops!”  Needless to say, nobody tackled anybody else for the remainder of this drill.

 

The first scrimmage came about mid-practice.  Highlights included Tevin Washington with a nice downfield run that was sprung by a good block courtesy of Robert Godhigh.  Tevin is not the fastest of players, but he is a crafty runner that knows how to use his blockers well and he has great natural instincts running the ball.  Tevin also had a nice pitch where he hung on to the ball until the very last second, which caused the defense to converge until he pitched it to Orwin Smith for a big run.  Nesbitt looked good during these drills, making great reads on just about every possession he was in for.  This included a pretty pass completion to Anthony Allen as well as a quarterback keeper that went for significant yardage.  The biggest collision of any practice yet came when Daniel Drummond took a handoff up the middle where he was met immediately Anthony Egbuniwe.  Drummond showed his toughness by staying up on the play until the whistle blew the play dead.  You could probably hear the violent helmet on helmet contact from a mile away and Egbuniwe was a little shaken up after the play.

 

There were only three quarterbacks of service today during 7 on 7 drills as both Luallen and Jaybo sat out practice.  The quarterbacks started out slow today but rebounded to go 11-23 collectively.  Nesbitt looked very good once again completing 5-11, but three of those incompletions were dropped passes.  Tevin was also a very efficient 4-6, while Sims continued to struggle with both his accuracy and reading the defense.  Highlights of this segment included two great routes and catches by Tyler Melton, although he did drop one pass.  Nesbitt made a perfect pass to Kevin Cone, putting it in the only place where he could catch the ball for a would-be touchdown.  Tevin followed Nesbitt’s example by delivering a perfect deep pass of his own to Quentin Sims which went for 6.  In the medicine ball drill, Tarrant, Morgan, Cooper, and Burnett all showed their athleticism with their ability to avoid the cut block without breaking stride.  Derrick Morgan actually hurdled over a cut block attempt by Brad Jefferson!  One last thing that I appreciated during drills is how on top of the players the coaches are.  One particular instance came during simulation drills, where defensive players run standard pro-set offensive plays.  After the play, one of the coaches scolded a defensive lineman playing offensive guard for not pulling like he was supposed to.  The guy doesn’t even play offense!  Man, it’s a tough world on that practice field.

 

The final segment of practice involved another scrimmage followed by the first full team field goal drills of the summer.  Highlights of the scrimmage included a nice screen pass to Preston Lyons, who showed good vision reading his blockers down field.  The defense blitzed a lot and one of the beneficiaries was The Predator, who made a great play getting into the backfield to deflect a pass by Nesbitt, nearly getting there in time to cause a fumble.  Egbuniwe also made a nice play to get his hands up and deflect a pass high into the air.  The strangest play of practice occurred when Nesbitt attempted a shovel pass to the middle of the field.  The defense congested the middle on the play and the shovel pass actually went off of a player’s back and then into the arms of Nesbitt who was able to scoot around the edge for decent yardage.  Derrick Morgan showed good speed to sack Nesbitt in the backfield followed by Egbuniwe getting into the backfield for another sack on the qb.  At this point Coach Spencer yelled angrily at the offensive line for not blocking anybody and CPJ said that they were not even trying on the play.  Anthony Allen jumped offsides on the next play and CPJ punished the offense by giving the defense the snap count for the following play.  The offense was able to save a little face on the final play, when Watson picked up the blitz and allowed Tevin ample time to throw deep to an open Stephen Hill for the easy over the shoulder catch for the touchdown.  The scrimmage ended at the sound of a horn and the entire team then ran to the other side of the practice field for field goal attempts.  Once they made it to the other side, CPJ was not happy with their response time and made the entire team do up and downs.  It was quite a site watching the entire team ranging from 5’-7”, 175 pound Robert Godhigh all the way to 6’-7”, 353 pound TJ Barnes simultaneously drop to the ground and then get back up over and over again.  Finally, they lined up for field goals and it was difficult to see from the angle that I was at but Blair appeared to make all 4 of his attempts.

 

After practice was over Paul Reese, Jamal Paige, Anthony Allen, Justin Randolph, and Embry Peeples were all spotted catching balls again while clinging to the goal post.  Dwyer did not participate in the final segment of practice and the coaches instead had him lifting weights on the sideline.  Izan Cross ran with the second string defense today in place of Emmanuel Dieke.  Another cool thing that I noticed is the huddle chants by the offense and defense respectively.  The offense yells, “1, 2, 3, Showtime!” and the defense yells, “Awwwwww, Boom!”  Practice went for nearly 2.5 hours today and the team will be back on the field at 5:15 for their second practice of the day.  I’ll have that one covered for you too with a report this evening.

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