Hello all,
Just got home from the first practice of fall camp. Only the first 30 minutes were open to media, and on the first day there wasn't a whole lot to see, but I'll throw a few observations here.
-It was a bit of a quiet start to practice and then once the stretching period started, the energy level went way, way up. You can probably hear Adam Smotherman's voice from Crozet when he's barking out instructions to the guys.
-Nick Jackson broke the team (and coaches) down to begin practice with some jumping jacks. Not a huge deal, but good to see player leadership in addition to what the coaches bring.
-There was quite a bit of emphasis on tempo. The drills immediately following stretching were done with a lot of purpose, and there was a lot of moving around by each group. The players and Coach Elliott mentioned that the tempo of practice was probably a bit of a shock for the team on the first day back, but it's important for them to do everything with purpose.
-Keep in mind I only saw a couple of things and it's not depth chart official but from what I saw, the starting OL appeared to be Logan Taylor, Jestus Johnson, Derek Devine, Jonathan Leech and Noah Josey, but there was some moving around and I saw Patterson in for Logan Taylor at the end of practice (wouldn't read too much into that).
-I didn't see a lot of injured players or anything, except for the ones we already know (Walker, Fields, Twitty). Billy Kemp was in a green jersey (as were a few other depth players that were too far away to identify as the green shields the number) but he looked fine to me, and was going through all the drills at full speed when I was watching.
-Lavel Davis didn't have a brace on. It wasn't a full pads day so we'll see, but he looked pretty good to me. We caught up with him after practice and he seems ready to go.
-The transfers on the defense (including Davis from South Carolina who is huge) really bolster the depth and size of that group.
-James Jackson switched his number to #7 and I had a "who is THAT guy" moment when he came out. He looks to be in great shape and certainly could factor in at linebacker.
-I watched the quarterbacks, running backs and two receivers (Thompson and Kemp) do a jet sweep/pop pass read drill and that was interesting. Coaches Lamb and Gaither led that one, and Gaither really seems like a great teacher and a motivator. He had tips for the running back on nearly every rep of the drill. Freshman Xavier Brown looks really quick to me and Gaither was giving him a lot of pointers on his cuts and ball security.
-Tony Elliott is very involved in drills, and it was fun to watch. Every coach is different; Mendenhall would sort of play a CEO role and I rarely saw him speak much during practice and he spent time observing. London was more vocal and would get more involved, but floated around. Elliott basically takes drills on and runs them himself sometimes. He worked with the returners (Kemp and Starling) on a return drill, and then worked with the backs on a ball security drill. He is constantly finding a way to teach in the practices, which seems to be his style.
-Elliott mentioned some issues with cramping and hydration after practice, and there were a few players off on the side at the end getting hydrated with the trainers. It makes sense given the time of day and the temperature in Charlottesville; it was hot out there.
-One more note, the outdoor turf field next to the indoor facility is now fenced in, and will soon be demolished to make way for the new facility, which will go on top of it.
That's all I've got. I wish we had seen more 11 on 11 stuff but they did that after the open period. On Friday, I'll try to get more insight into the depth chart at different positions, and spend more time with the defense. If there's anything you guys want me to keep an eye on at the next practice, just let me know! It's hard to keep track of 125 players so if you want me to look for something specific, that's easier.
I spoke with Aaron Faumui and Lavel Davis after practice, so we'll have videos of them in the coming days.
Just got home from the first practice of fall camp. Only the first 30 minutes were open to media, and on the first day there wasn't a whole lot to see, but I'll throw a few observations here.
-It was a bit of a quiet start to practice and then once the stretching period started, the energy level went way, way up. You can probably hear Adam Smotherman's voice from Crozet when he's barking out instructions to the guys.
-Nick Jackson broke the team (and coaches) down to begin practice with some jumping jacks. Not a huge deal, but good to see player leadership in addition to what the coaches bring.
-There was quite a bit of emphasis on tempo. The drills immediately following stretching were done with a lot of purpose, and there was a lot of moving around by each group. The players and Coach Elliott mentioned that the tempo of practice was probably a bit of a shock for the team on the first day back, but it's important for them to do everything with purpose.
-Keep in mind I only saw a couple of things and it's not depth chart official but from what I saw, the starting OL appeared to be Logan Taylor, Jestus Johnson, Derek Devine, Jonathan Leech and Noah Josey, but there was some moving around and I saw Patterson in for Logan Taylor at the end of practice (wouldn't read too much into that).
-I didn't see a lot of injured players or anything, except for the ones we already know (Walker, Fields, Twitty). Billy Kemp was in a green jersey (as were a few other depth players that were too far away to identify as the green shields the number) but he looked fine to me, and was going through all the drills at full speed when I was watching.
-Lavel Davis didn't have a brace on. It wasn't a full pads day so we'll see, but he looked pretty good to me. We caught up with him after practice and he seems ready to go.
-The transfers on the defense (including Davis from South Carolina who is huge) really bolster the depth and size of that group.
-James Jackson switched his number to #7 and I had a "who is THAT guy" moment when he came out. He looks to be in great shape and certainly could factor in at linebacker.
-I watched the quarterbacks, running backs and two receivers (Thompson and Kemp) do a jet sweep/pop pass read drill and that was interesting. Coaches Lamb and Gaither led that one, and Gaither really seems like a great teacher and a motivator. He had tips for the running back on nearly every rep of the drill. Freshman Xavier Brown looks really quick to me and Gaither was giving him a lot of pointers on his cuts and ball security.
-Tony Elliott is very involved in drills, and it was fun to watch. Every coach is different; Mendenhall would sort of play a CEO role and I rarely saw him speak much during practice and he spent time observing. London was more vocal and would get more involved, but floated around. Elliott basically takes drills on and runs them himself sometimes. He worked with the returners (Kemp and Starling) on a return drill, and then worked with the backs on a ball security drill. He is constantly finding a way to teach in the practices, which seems to be his style.
-Elliott mentioned some issues with cramping and hydration after practice, and there were a few players off on the side at the end getting hydrated with the trainers. It makes sense given the time of day and the temperature in Charlottesville; it was hot out there.
-One more note, the outdoor turf field next to the indoor facility is now fenced in, and will soon be demolished to make way for the new facility, which will go on top of it.
That's all I've got. I wish we had seen more 11 on 11 stuff but they did that after the open period. On Friday, I'll try to get more insight into the depth chart at different positions, and spend more time with the defense. If there's anything you guys want me to keep an eye on at the next practice, just let me know! It's hard to keep track of 125 players so if you want me to look for something specific, that's easier.
I spoke with Aaron Faumui and Lavel Davis after practice, so we'll have videos of them in the coming days.
