Troy University Athletics
The End of Two-A-Days
8/6/2008 5:00:00 AM | Football
Wednesday, August 6
The morning practice, which was held in shorts with no pads, was a teaching session that was uneventful to watch, but important to the future success of the team. Both the offense and defense spent the majority of the session teaching plays and schemes.
For the offense, there were some interesting wrinkles that could cause some problems for Trojan opponents this fall. Offensive coordinator Neal Brown was patient while installing the plays, but he demanded perfection from his unit in their execution.
On the defensive end, the focus was on containing the
quarterback in the pocket with a controlled pass rush.
During the afternoon practice, the Trojans went back to work in shells and focused on showing, at full speed, what they had retained from the morning practice. The results were mixed on the offensive end, with some good plays and some others that didn't go as planned.
A lot of emphasis, offensively, was on the quarterbacks taking the proper depth on their drops and on the receivers running precise routes.
Late in the practice the squad did some 11-on-11 work at high speed. Sophomore quarterback Tanner Jones started the session by completing four straight passes before walk-on defensive back Brandon Cody ended the string with an interception.
Junior Levi Brown was next to lead the offense, hitting four-of-five passes, with one drop. His best completion was a 13-yard strike to converted linebacker Nate Nolin.
Freshman Dan Parker took his turn next, breaking off a pair of solid gains on the ground before an incompletion on his first pass attempt. His drive stalled without a completion, leading to a 41-yard field goal attempt that junior Sam Glusman drove through the uprights. Freshman Michael Taylor followed with a kick from the same spot, and produced the same result to end practice.
Kick Returners Getting a Look: Early on in the afternoon practice there was a good bit of attention given to the kick returners, who are faced with the chore of replacing All-American Leodis McKelvin.
Sophomore Jerrel Jernigan and junior college transfer Jorrick Calvin took most of the reps, and both looked like they were capable of taking on the job. In addition to the returners, there was a lot of focus on the protection and blocking for the returners.
Practice Schedule Changes: The
The team will return to the field, in shells, Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. before Saturday morning's scrimmage, which is scheduled to 10:30 a.m.
Sunday will be the teams first off day since the start of
camp. The squad will assemble at
NFL Returns: The Trojans got a chance to work in front of some more NFL scouts on Wednesday. The San Francisco 49ers were represented at the morning session and they the Super Bowl champion New York Giants were in for the afternoon.
Prognostications: The annual Sports Illustrated college football preview issue arrived today and
SI has the Trojans going bowling
again this year. The Trojans were ranked 61st overall in the
magazines' ranking of all Bowl Championship Division teams, and had
Other Magazine News: The premier issue of Alabama Football from Varsity Sports
Media is out an includes a nice profile of
