With the Owls in the process of doing little more than conducting a glorified walk-through, coach David Bailiff strolled over and offered to divulge his post-film evaluations of Saturday morning's scrimmage before Saturday night's workout was complete. Since the odds of developing news breaking this evening were slim, I took Bailiff up on his offer, grabbed my notepad and recorder, and began peppering him with questions. Below are some key notes:
1. Bailiff said there is some "clarity" regarding the quarterback battle, but he opted not to reveal which direction he and Owls OC Ed Zaunbrecher are leaning. He wants the leading candidate to practice with consistency on Monday and Tuesday, and if he does so, Bailiff will meet with the three candidates and alert them of his decision. Bailiff and staff saw "a lot of things that we liked from the quarterback position," but he wants to see it again when the Owls resume workouts early next week (they have Sunday off). Read: Nick Fanuzzi will be named the starter baring unforeseen developments; John Thomas Shepherd will be his backup.
2. Besides celebrating the effort of the youngsters, Bailiff touted the jelling of the offensive line, an absolute must considering the inexperience in the backfield. The line recognized the motions of the defense and reacted accordingly, and that is a positive development.
3. Linebackers Tanner Shuck and Justin Hill caught the eyes of the staff, which only solidifies their standing as the top reserves behind seniors Terrance Garmon and Robert Calhoun.
4. Bailiff wants to see a more physical approach to blocking on the perimeter. Receivers coach Larry Edmondson has been stressing that requirement to his troops, but the staff didn't see enough quality blocking during the scrimmage. "They've got to be as excited about blocking as they are about catching," Bailiff said. There were too many drops, too.
5. The interior of the defensive line needs to improve its technical skills - quickly. Even though the Owls are young and inexperienced at tackle and nose guard, the staff wants to accelerate the learning process regarding the finer points of playing those positions. Bailiff did gush a bit over Alex Lowry, however, saying, "Nothing about him says true freshman."
6. Sophomore KAT Randy Kitchens (ankle) needs to get healthy. Out of the 10 Owls who watched practice on Saturday night, Bailiff singled out Kitchens as a player who needs the reps in order to return to game action. Kitchens missed the 2008 season following hip surgery, and at 6-3, 215 lbs, he could thrive in the backup role to Travis Bradshaw.
7. While on the injured, receiver Corbin Smiter (hernia), tailback Jeramy Goodson (ankle), corner Phillip Gaines (ankle) should either be back fully or without walking boots Monday night.
8. The freshmen corners (Alex Francis, Corey Frazier and Kevin Gaddis) did little to settle their pursuit of playing time. Francis picked off a pass in the end zone; Frazier knocked a ball away from Andre Gautreaux near the goal line; Gaddis stuck his helmet in a couple of piles to provide run support. "We've got four really good, young corners," Bailiff said.
1. Bailiff said there is some "clarity" regarding the quarterback battle, but he opted not to reveal which direction he and Owls OC Ed Zaunbrecher are leaning. He wants the leading candidate to practice with consistency on Monday and Tuesday, and if he does so, Bailiff will meet with the three candidates and alert them of his decision. Bailiff and staff saw "a lot of things that we liked from the quarterback position," but he wants to see it again when the Owls resume workouts early next week (they have Sunday off). Read: Nick Fanuzzi will be named the starter baring unforeseen developments; John Thomas Shepherd will be his backup.
2. Besides celebrating the effort of the youngsters, Bailiff touted the jelling of the offensive line, an absolute must considering the inexperience in the backfield. The line recognized the motions of the defense and reacted accordingly, and that is a positive development.
3. Linebackers Tanner Shuck and Justin Hill caught the eyes of the staff, which only solidifies their standing as the top reserves behind seniors Terrance Garmon and Robert Calhoun.
4. Bailiff wants to see a more physical approach to blocking on the perimeter. Receivers coach Larry Edmondson has been stressing that requirement to his troops, but the staff didn't see enough quality blocking during the scrimmage. "They've got to be as excited about blocking as they are about catching," Bailiff said. There were too many drops, too.
5. The interior of the defensive line needs to improve its technical skills - quickly. Even though the Owls are young and inexperienced at tackle and nose guard, the staff wants to accelerate the learning process regarding the finer points of playing those positions. Bailiff did gush a bit over Alex Lowry, however, saying, "Nothing about him says true freshman."
6. Sophomore KAT Randy Kitchens (ankle) needs to get healthy. Out of the 10 Owls who watched practice on Saturday night, Bailiff singled out Kitchens as a player who needs the reps in order to return to game action. Kitchens missed the 2008 season following hip surgery, and at 6-3, 215 lbs, he could thrive in the backup role to Travis Bradshaw.
7. While on the injured, receiver Corbin Smiter (hernia), tailback Jeramy Goodson (ankle), corner Phillip Gaines (ankle) should either be back fully or without walking boots Monday night.
8. The freshmen corners (Alex Francis, Corey Frazier and Kevin Gaddis) did little to settle their pursuit of playing time. Francis picked off a pass in the end zone; Frazier knocked a ball away from Andre Gautreaux near the goal line; Gaddis stuck his helmet in a couple of piles to provide run support. "We've got four really good, young corners," Bailiff said.
Good stuff, MK. Thanks.
Fanuzzi was a pretty prolific runner in HS, and has been billed as a dual-threat QB. I've only seen him in the scrimmage, and I don't think he carried the ball once. Was that just yesterday, or has the same been true throughout the spring and fall?
I've been real impressed with our corners. Depth at that position has been elusive for the program.
At Ease: You know, that popped into my mind when someone else mentioned Fanuzzi and his remaining in the pocket the other day. He hasn't run much at all, and given his dual-quarterback billing, I find that surprising. It is something I will bring up to Fanuzzi once he is named the starter (ahem). - MK
Since it seems that there's a wealth of talent at the RB position, has there been any talk of multi-back formations?
Owl-88: There was some pre-camp talk regarding the occasional two-back set, but I have yet to see any such formations (aside from the pistol). I wouldn't mind the wrinkle. - MK