Here's my practice report...
Disclaimer: Feel free to delete if you think it violates board policies.
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The following players were in blue jerseys: Scott, Hawk, Pagac, Everett and Schnittker. They all seemed to have very minor injuries but took part in some of the drills, did some running and biking. Schnittker says his back is "getting there" whatever that means. He didn't do any contact, but did some other things off to the side.
The following players were in yellow jerseys: Lydell, Mo Hall, Roshawn Parker, B. Joe (in a sling from the surgery), Tyree (in a sling, dislocated shoulder), D'Andrea, Jacobs, and Chattams. There could have been a few more, it was hard to tell. Lydell, Mo Hall, and Parker didn't appear to be injured, but were doing mostly biking and medicine ball work. Hopefully just precautionary. Underwood had a boot on his right foot/ankle. D'Andrea was on crutches. Both looked like they were just sprains that could've happened in morning practice. Besides Joe and Tyree, none of the injuries looked real serious, but not necessarily promising. Word is that Joe may be out a little longer than previously reported, i.e. he almost definitely won't be playing in the opener. DeMaria was working with the ones at RB because of all the injuries, and also injured an ankle in 11 on 11 drills. He did walk off under his own power though. Mo Hall was shown on the news practicing without the yellow jersey earlier in the day, but supposedly had a minor ankle sprain. I think a lot of these may be precautionary until the RB situation is cleared up with MC.
Kudla I did not see...doesn't necessarily mean he was MIA, but I'm 99.9% sure he wasn't participating in drills, and may or may not have been on the sidelines. I didn't see Arden anywhere, but wasn't really looking for him, FWIW.
Some things I remember from practice itself:
Performed a drill with the QB's, RB's, & WR's vs. the DL's and LB's. A QB lined up on the 10 with a RB or WR against either a LB or DL. On the signal, the offense tried to run an option to the goalline without being touched by the defense. This wasn't really an offensive drill to practice the option, it was more for the defense's sake. The offense scored about 80% of the time (as they probably should). Those that looked good on defense included Carpenter (got his man twice, more than anybody else), Fraser, and Reynolds.
In any drill with the WR's going against the DB's, Gamble and Jenkins matched up exclusively. In the red zone drill, Gamble shut down Jenkins very well. You could really tell that Gamble added some upper body strength. He looked much thicker than last year, and his tackling is improved immensely. Technique was impressive too. He looks big enough to be a safety.
The RB group was a combo of walkons/MASH unit. Both RB's and both FB's out of contact along with Parker. Basically it was guys like Staubs and DeMaria, plus a few others even I didn't recognize.
Roy Hall is physically the most impressive WR I've seen in awhile. When he stood next to Izzy, their body types were almost identical. Izzy was about an inch taller. Both have been hitting the weights. I focused on Hall for awhile during red zone and other passing drills. He made some very nice over-the-shoulder and leaping catches in the corner of the endzone. I'll be surprised if he doesn't contribute a lot this year, and looks like he's being groomed to step in for Jenkins next year. Hall will cause matchup problems with corners this year.
Izzy showed some good blocking in 11 on 11 drills, and also caught a couple nice passes. He could easily play on the kick block teams this year and also see some time at TE instead of redshirting. Still, a redshirt would not surprise me, as Hartsock will play the majority and Hamby has a lot of game experience.
With Hawk, D'Andrea, and Pagac not participating in contact, the starting LB's were Carpenter (SAM), Reynolds (MIK), and Matthews (WIL). Honestly, all three looked good, especially Carpenter. It'll be hard to keep him off the field. I think Matthews finally bulked up enough to be a good WIL. He should backup Hawk.
Reggie Smith is very physically imposing. I'd expect a redshirt year, and he could possibly end up at DE next season. He looked to be bigger than the 248 he was listed at, but was still pretty quick. On occasions, he lined up on the DL as a rush end next to Will Smith, and was also the 2nd team SAM.
Todd Boeckman was at practice and was actually working out. I was under the impression that he could not participate in practice until he enrolls full-time. Could it be possible that he indeed enrolled for fall quarter instead of taking a grayshirt? I don’t know, but I’m 99% sure it was him. The O-Zone seems to agree.
Ira Guilford was participating in practice today, so it looks like his issues have been cleared up. He was not in full pads, he was only in shorts and helmet. He participated in some drills that didn't involve contact. In 11 on 11 drills, he was in the offensive huddle every play, and would then step back to watch the play. I'd expect him to be in full pads by mid-week. IMO, he will start this year practicing with the RB's. If he isn't needed there, he'll probably redshirt and play on either side next year.
