Spring Practice Update 3/28

It’s about halfway through spring practice, so let’s revisit what has happened so far:

Offense

Stafford continues to amaze everybody. I notice Coach Richt is starting to temper his praise, but you can tell he’s excited about #7. Coach Richt had that same enthusiasm for DJ Shockley, he just didn’t hide it because so many moronic fans were worried about how DJ would do.

While Thomas Brown sits on the sidelines rehabbing his knee, Kregg Lumpkin and Knowshon Moreno are turning heads. We all tend to forget about Lumpkin, but his blocking skills are those of a senior and Moreno’s are those of a freshman. Still Moreno is very aware he needs to improve that part of his game.

There’s some buzz about the new fullbacks, Shawn Chapas and Fred Munzenmaier. With all due respect to Jason Johnson, who is 5’9” and 203 lbs, Shawn and Fred are more the size and power of Brannan Southerland, who oh-by-the-way is still a junior.

Sean Bailey is back and doing everything we thought he could. But before you get excited about Mikey Henderson (who’s only slightly bigger than my twelve year old daughter), remember that there was a lot of talk about him this time last year. And in 2006 he had seven catches for 44 yards. I know it’s been a year since he converted, but it will be difficult for me to believe that AJ Bryant won’t put up better numbers this year.

Tripp Chandler is the only one making strides at tight end, but they all somewhat injured. At least he is making strides.

The O-line looks like Sturdivant/C. Davis/ Velasco/Haverkamp/Adams. Obviously that could change a few more times, as Coach Stacy Searels is really pushing those guys. Coach Richt is no longer calling Fernando Velasco “Bubba”. He originally called him “Bubba” because you can’t call a guy who is 6’4” and 330 lbs ‘Fernando’. He said he changed his mind because Velasco has become quite a leader. And he has been getting daily praise from Coach Richt. I wish Chester “Cheese” Adams would get some praise. It would be nice to hear things like, “Cheese was ON today”, or “we got great effort from Cheese today”. One more note on the line. 17 year old freshman OL Tanner Strickland was busted for having a fake ID, part of a larger sting. He won’t be suspended, but Coach will make him run until he pukes. Then he’ll run some more.

Defense

As to the DE’s, I hear different names pop up from time to time, but the one name I hear over and over is Marcus Howard. Howard is 220 lbs and very undersized for an end, but apparently he gets after it. I guess I like it because it will make all the freshman work that much harder to get in the line up.

Kade Weston and Jeff Owens still own the DT starting jobs, but Geno Atkins is making a move and Brandon Wood has moved to tackle from the end.

The move-Brandon Miller-to-MLB project has been a success so far. It looks like he has found his spot. He has also taken on some leadership. And we were all so excited about the incoming speedy LB’s (Dent/Hebron/Dewberry) that we forgot about Dannell Ellerbe. Ellerbe has kept his nose clean and is making his presence known. We could conceivably have Dewberry/Miller/Ellerbe as the starters and none of them would be new. So I’m not going to worry about the linebackers any more.

Cornerbacks. Paul Oliver. Bryan Evans. Enough said.

While Kelin Johnson and CJ Byrd will probably start at safety, Quintin Banks and Reshad Jones are learning and learning. They have the physical skills, but when you add the knowledge – look out.

Special teams

Brandon Coutu. Kicker. Period.

Brian Mimbs won’t have any competition (though Coutu was punting some) until Drew Butler gets there in the fall, so I hope he’s staying sharp.

The offensive line and the defensive ends are still the biggest question marks. But with the way Coach Searels has plunged into his new OL job, there’s reason to hope that we won’t have a repeat of 2003 (47 sacks). And the defensive ends may prove to be a deeper bunch, if not a more talented bunch than last year.

You Might Be A Dawg Fan If........

You do three loads of laundry – colors, darks, and red

You would have voted for Vince Dooley if he ran

You would, without hesitation, take a swing at someone if they said something bad about Lewis Grizzard (even if it was a woman)

An NIT win excites you (Dawgs beat Fresno State 88-78 this week-WOOHOO!)

You knew that Terry Hoage owned a vineyard even before I just told you

You brag about your top notch gymnastics program.

You would wash Matt Stafford’s feet if called upon to do so……….

Add your own…………

Basketball time – ETSU Buccaneers

It happens every March. March Madness descends upon us and I think back to a time when my alma mater, ETSU, had brushes with greatness. The East Tennessee State Buccaneers had some really solid teams in the late 80’s and early 90’s. They went to the big dance fours years running (89-92).
March 16th, 1989 - #16 ETSU vs. #1 Oklahoma. Despite a double digit lead at half-time, most of us watching knew that when freshman sensation Keith “Mister” Jennings fouled out towards the end, things looked bleak. In fact, we didn’t relinquish the lead until the last minute of the game and lost 72-71. That game remains the closest a #16 seed has ever come to beating a #1 seed in NCAA tournament history. Two points away from being one of the biggest upsets EVER.
We returned to the NCAA’s in ’90 and ’91, but lost in the first round to Iowa and Georgia Tech, respectively.
1992 was the only time the Bucs got past the first round when, as a #14 seed, they upended #3 seed Arizona in Atlanta. I was lucky enough to go to that game and it was truly exciting for us little old I-AA’ers. Finally, we had moved past the dreaded first round and wouldn’t you know it, in round two all we have to do is beat a team from Michigan that is made up of all freshman. Anybody remember those freshmen? They were unknown then, but Fab Five members Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Ray Jackson and Jimmy King went on to play in the finals that year, losing to Duke. I sat behind a very quiet Michigan fan at the Omni the entire game. Afterwards, I asked him, “Why don’t you seem that impressed with this bunch?” “Well”, he said, “they CAN be inconsistent.” I wonder if he was impressed after they came within one win of being the NCAA Champions. Unlike my Michigan counterpart, I truly liked the players on those teams. I had a class with Keith “Mister” Jennings and he was very quiet, but courteous, polite and all that stuff. And having worked at the McDonald’s right next to campus, I came into contact with almost all of them at one point or another. You want to know how good a person truly is? Watch how they treat burger slingers. Greg Dennis, Calvin Talford, Mister Jennings. These were humble, gracious guys.
A child hood friend of mine, Steve Tomasovich played center for Wofford and they came to play ETSU in the spring of 1989, just as their great run was starting. I spoke to him after the game and he said ETSU was a tourney team. “An NCAA tourney team?” I asked. “Oh, yeah, they’re that good, especially with Dennis (with whom he went toe to toe).” I laughed it off because that’s just what someone WOULD say after they’ve been beaten. Turns out he was right.

Notes from the first week of spring practice

There’s only one healthy tight end on scholarship practicing – Tripp Chandler. Coleman Watson (groin) and NaDerris Ward(shoulder) will be fine by the fall. Bruce Figgins and Aron White don’t arrive until the summer.

Linebackers are hard to find, too. Akeem Hebron (hamstring) is non-contact and Marcus Washington (shoulder) and Daryl Gamble (foot) are out of commission for now. With Darius Dewberry bothered by a hamstring injury, Akeem Dent is the starting strong side LB. Brandon Miller seems to have taken to the middle spot very well. Hey, remember Dannell Ellerbe? Stole Mudcat’s car and got suspended three games last year? He appears to be back in form.

Jeff Owens and Kade Owens appear to be a great tandem on the interior line. That’s probably a good thing because our DE’s need to hit the pasta.

None of the offensive linemen are really stepping up except for returning starters Fernando Velasco and Chester Adams. By the way, those names are too long. So we need to start using their nicknames. Last year Coach Richt said that Fernando Velasco is too big for someone with that name, so he called him Bubba. And on his first day of practice, Chester Adams walked up to Coach Richt and said, “Coach my name is Chester Adams and they call me the Big Cheese.” Duly noted, Chester. Anyway, don’t get worked up about the line not being able to ‘gel’ right away. It will take awhile. New OL coach Stacy Searels is going to get up in their grill. The stocks of Scott Haverkamp and Trinton Sturdivant are rising.

Brian Mimbs is the only punter listed right now, but he KNOWS he’s going to get some competition from Drew Butler in the fall.

And wide receiver Sean Bailey is back. Dear Lord baby Jesus, I jus wanna thank ya. If the rest of the receivers catch even half the balls they dropped last year, opposing defensive coordinators are going to have to account for them even more.

Knowshon Moreno is making an impact. Remember on signing day when someone asked Coach Ball about him? He replied, “He’s a special young man.” It got a big chuckle because everyone knew he was being modest. It’s been said that he has replaced Kregg Lumpkin on the first team. If that’s the case, we should begin his Heisman campaign right now.

Depending on how much they learn, Reshad Jones and Quintin Banks could spend a lot of time rotating in on the safety positions. There’s nothing wrong with starters Kelin Johnson and CJ Byrd, it’s just that Jones and Banks are that good.

The party line is that Andy Bailey and Brandon Coutu are still battling for the kicking spot, but unless Bailey’s psyche gets a major overhaul, Coutu will be the man.

Seems like there’s someone I’m forgetting……….oh, right. Matt Stafford ain’t gonna have one of those sophomore slumps. All he’s gonna do is get better.

In spring and fall practice, the offense usually takes awhile to catch up to the defense. After one week, they look about even (even with the new o-line). I stand by my prediction that the offense will finally outshine the defense in 2007.

Flashback - Dawgs vs Vols: The Best Thing To Happen in 2006

That’s right, I said it. The 51-33 butt whipping that we took on October 7^th last year was probably the best thing that could have happened to us at the time – for the long run. Think back to that time. We were ranked 10^th in the nation despite having squeaked by winless Colorado and a feeble Ole Miss. Our defense was still considered premier, though enough cracks were made obvious that we knew what to work on.

We were beating the Vols 24-7 at home with time running out in the first half and it appeared that we had this one in the bag. But 30 minutes and 37 points later, Tennessee finished off the win by scoring more than 50 points for only the second time EVER at Sanford Stadium.

Did things turn around right then and there? No. Losses to Vanderbilt, Kentucky (see Stafford's face) and the annual disappointment in Jacksonville added to what most would consider a disappointing season. What I think separates the UT game was that we had forgotten Coach Richt’s main mantra since he arrived in Athens – FINISH THE DRILL. You could argue that the Vanderbilt game was more of a wake up call. It was homecoming and we lost to a team that we’ve beaten every year since 1994 (also a loss in Athens). But that game was never out of reach. A missed two point conversion, a missed field goal or a blocked field goal would have changed the out come of the game. And if you’re in that camp, go ahead and curse Andy Bailey here. As far as the Kentucky loss, let’s give them some credit, they did go bowling last year. Andre Woodson is a really good quarterback and Stafford was still in his “I’ll-never-take-a-sack-even-if-it-means-throwing-an-interception” mode (three picks). As far as Florida……….well, I can only talk about that when I’m lying on a couch in my therapist’s office.

Back to the Vols.

I don’t think that the 2006 Volunteers were more talented overall than we were. But they played 60 minutes of football that day. We played about 27 minutes. Losing a 16 point lead at home is indicative of a problem and that was that we were not finishing the drill. I’m not saying that anyone had forgotten FTD……..well, actually, that’s exactly what I’m saying. I see the coaches all have t-shirts with the slogan. But by then ‘finish the drill might have just become something catchy to say. I don’t know that the players really believed it. The UT game was a clear slap in the face, a slap that said “you have no heart”. It was like telling the really pretty girl, “yes, you’re hot, but there’s nothing behind those eyes” (For the record, I’m so shallow that I’ve NEVER said that).

Even though it took five more games and a QB shuffle, when we faced Auburn we were clearly ready to finish the drill. And that carried into a fourth quarter comeback against Georgia Tech and a second half comeback against Virginia Tech in the Pea…I mean, Chick-Fil-A Bowl.

I was pleased to see Coach Richt wearing his t-shirt this past week at practice. That means that those three words still ring true for this year and I’m sure they will remind the players of what the Vols did to us on that October night in Sanford. I hope “regrouping” is something we don’t have on our ‘to do’ list midway through the 2007 season.