Today there was a 20 minute window for media to watch practice. Photos from that window are on the homepage now. After practice Coach Wilson and Kerry Thomas spoke with the media. Here are the highlights.
Frank Wilson
Frank Wilson
- It was a really good day of practice. It was good to be back on the field and have everybody lively and energized, ready to compete after a day off.
- Two of our players, Manny Harris and Jacolbie Butler, have moved on and sought to finish their career in other places. They have asked for transfers and been granted those releases. We wish both of those young men the very best in their future endeavors. It was a pleasure having them as part of our program.
- We got better today. We worked some tough situations for the offense. We worked on being backed up and having to move the ball and give ourselves breathing room.
- The defense for the most part did an excellent job of pinning the offense back in the goaline area. On the last series we were able to squirt out and go for a 90 yard run by BJ Daniels that set up a touchdown pass. It was competitive in both units.
- Like where the offensive line is. Both tackles, Josh Dunlop and Reed Darragh have improved dramatically. Kyle McKinney and Stefan Beard at the guard position have done well and right now Austin Pratt is manning the center position. Those are the guys that are the (first team) right now but that could all change at the snap of a finger based on practice film evaluation. I like where they are.
- The number twos on the O-Line are Josh Otis, Juan Perez-Isidro, Jordan Wright, Dominic Pastucci (editor note: the fifth lineman of second string was not named by coach).
- Looking at college and professional football these days very seldom does one guy get all the carries. You have to have some kind of quality depth at that position. We're building that position to have that. Jalen Rhodes is doing a great job of manning the first unit but right behind him is Tyrell Clay and BJ Daniels as well.
- Went back and looked at Saturday's scrimmage on film. There were some really good things on offense and defense as well as special teams. Thought we improved our team throughout the day. It's good to get that physical football day in, which we do on a daily basis but we don't (tackle) to the ground everyday. Thought receivers played well and the film confirmed that. We ran the ball well in spots when we were able to communicate effectively.
- Always looking for explosive plays. We didn't have enough of them last year. You want to have them because they're momentum changers and can be game winners.
- Defense got a pick in team drills and another in seven on seven.
- Bryce Rivers is coming along. We keep putting things on his plate to see how well he digests them. He continues to prove that he's capable of handling the workload. You see the flashes of the ability and at times he's like any other typical freshman, when the defense gets exotic he has to pause for a moment because he's never seen it at live speed. He's growing everyday.
