We talkin' 'bout practice....not the game

I took in the 2009 practice with fellow board member Juicebox and a couple of thousand of our brethren.


The Juicer and I have been to a more than a few of these before so we knew sort of what to expect.

First of all let me lower expectations for what you are about to read....

Okay now that is out of the way let me jump in with some of my takeaways:

I like Tony Alford


We were sitting in the second row of the gold seats right behind the running backs while they were going through the drills. I must say that I loved Alford's coaching style. He was intense and VERY detail oriented. He didn't accept less than perfection which wasn't good news for Jonas Gray who apparently has historical problems getting his feet up. Did you hear me Jonas? I don't want to have to cuss you out in front of all of these *&%&* &*%$ people so get your *&$#$ feet up.


I am a big fan of Cierra Wood and Theo Riddick. From the looks of things the coaches are too. Wood broke off a few big runs on the second teamers and Riddick also looked very explosive and seems to be well liked among the team.


*JETS FAN ALERT*


Settle down we are just talkin' 'bout practice...not the game..not the game that they will go out and die for...

Allen and Aldridge didn't get many touches and I am sure that was by design too keep them healthy. So don't run out and tell your neighbor that I am saying that the two freshmen are the greatest thing since Allen Pinkett......but they did look good

But remember there is more to playing running back then just running the ball. Both of these guys are undersized right now and would be a bit of liability in pass protection, which has really been a struggle for young running backs in Charlie's offense. Remember when D-Walk got like every carry his junior year? Well it wasn't an accident, he was the only one they felt confident with back there to pick up the blitz on passing downs.

Hit me I am open

Clausen and Crist both looked sharp. Jimmy is the man and he is looking 100%. His throws were on the money all day and he hit Golden Tate deep for a 50 yard score at the end of the practice when the 1s were going against the 1s. I forgot who was on the coverage..hey this is a free site give me a break alright? I am sure someone will put it in the comments for me. Muchas thank yous.

Golden Tate is ridiculous fast. He makes it seem so effortless. He also has a little pot gut which isn't fair because mine has made me none the faster.

If Golden learns to break tackles like the rocket used to watch the heck out.

From what I saw today I would also not be surprised to see Shaquelle Evans quickly move his way up the depth chart to be our #5, #4 or even #3 receiver. Deion Walker also looks pretty good. He also caught a long ball for a touchdown, I think from Even Sharpley who also connected with Evans on a very nice long pass. Sharpley looked solid but he won't at all press for the #1 or #2.

The girls like me for my beard and my...
The TEs looked pretty solid. Rudolph is and will be a monster. This is Ragone's Missouri year. He gon' hav ta show me. But I have to say that Jake Golic has the size for the position. I think some people *cough* me *cough* just though he was on the legacy program. It will be interesting to see him develop in the years to come.


The big uglies

I got to see a lot of the lineman as well but since I know the least about line techniques I will pass on what I saw....

Trevor Robinson: Good
Chris Stewart: Good
Eric Olsen: Still adjusting to the center position
Sam Young: Didn't see much of him but he could use a trip to the barber to help him get his head in his helmet.

Paul Duncan: Looked good but there still may be some rust there

Some of the underclassmen are starting to put on some size which is obviously what you want to see. I feel like we finally have some depth on the line.

2 on 1 I want play that game tonight....

I think they call this the Irish Eyes drill. It is a great drill if for nothing else it puts some competition into practice. A great coach once told me that you need to try to get as much competition into practice as you can in order to motivate players and to get them ready for game pressure. I sort of think he was right.


Can't say anything really stood out in this drill. There was one big match up at the end that the defense seemed to claim but it was hard to see what the match up was because everyone crowded around on the field and we couldn't see what was happening from our seats. Sorry....once again maybe the comment section can save me.


D fence
We were on the opposite side of the field from the defense so I can only give you so quick hits.

Ethan Johnson is about the same size he was last year...which is still big he stood out in the drills

If there was ever a person built for the nose it is Brandon Newman. He is x² + 4x + 4 (for you non math types that is a perfect square)

If football was the Irish Eyes drill Paddy Mullen would be a starter.

Brian Smith is the heart of the team and if football doesn't work out he will make a great politician.

Sorry not really anything else to add for the D like I said they were on the other side of the field most of the day.

Random Tidbits

Ryan Newman's mom is probably the life of every party she is at. The woman can cheer.

Nate Montana wasn't there and Juicebox just didn't seem himself.

My son left his ND hat in his seat and when we went back to get it, it was gone.

Verducci has lost some weight.

Charlie Weis is not a touchy feeley kinda coach

The kickers have an easy life....oh by the way the freshman looked good...so did Walker but it will be interesting to see who wins the job. The freshman nailed one at the end with all the pressure of running on him and the players went nuts

I will enjoy reading your comments and please if you were at the practice feel free to add your thoughts.


A hat tip to the man who inspired the headline.