Practice Report - 8/20

There have been a lot of injuries this fall, luckily none too serious. Most of the players have returned to practice with the exception to the guys that have had surgeries. Coach Larry Coker on today’s practice, “This was a good day. We handled the ball well. We reacted well and we got a lot of things done today.”

Redshirt freshman quarterback Marc Guillon has decided to transfer. Coach Coker described the situation, “Marc Guillon came by today and asked for a release. Marc wants to transfer to another institution and we’ll certainly do everything we can. He’s a very fine young man and a fine player. Certainly, we hate to see him go. We certainly wish the best for him. We are very disappointed.”

“I was a little bit shocked and surprised (about Marc’s decision). He wasn’t distraught. I think he discussed it with his parents. I think he made a mature decision. I didn’t perceive it was a decision for me to talk him out of. I think he was pretty definite on what he wanted to do”

Quarterbacks

With the loss of Guillon, freshman Kyle Wright who would have likely been redshirted this year, steps up as the third-string quarterback behind Brock Berlin and Derrick Crudup. Wright could possibly be a traveling redshirt, meaning he would have the redshirt status but would travel with the team in case he was needed.

Running Backs

Talib Humphrey, Kyle Cobia and Jarrett Payton are all back practicing after dealing with various injuries this fall. Jon Beason is still being used as a fullback. Frank Gore is still looking impressive and is excited for the season to start.

Wide Receivers

Don’t look for Jason Geathers to play in the opener. Although he would like to be back playing, the coaching staff is not anticipating him being ready. Roscoe Parrish is still recovering from a knee scope on August 11. He is practicing but is not at full speed. Kevin Beard and Ryan Moore will start if Geathers and Parrish are not ready to play.

Tight Ends

Kellen Winslow showed enthusiasm today during stretches telling his teammates just eight more days. Yes Kellen, just eight more days and you can show the rest of the country why you are ‘the chosen one’.

Offensive Line

“Guard Joe McGrath has a stress fracture and will probably be out a couple of weeks,” says Coker.

Vernon Carey suffered an ankle sprain during Sunday’s practice, but he practiced today at left guard filling in for McGrath. Carlos Joseph takes the place of Carey at right tackle. The starting five looks like this now: LT Eric Winston; LG Vernon Carey; C Joel Rodriguez; RG Chris Myers; RT Carlos Joseph.

“The encouraging thing is that Tony Tella and Rashad Butler are really starting to get better. I’m really pleased with Alex Pou. We held Vernon Carey out of the scrimmage (on Monday) and Alex played extremely well at guard.”

Defensive Line

Santonio Thomas is back in full pads after going through a small procedure last week. Orien Harris will start at defensive tackle with Vince Wilfork if Thomas is not ready to go on August 28. John Square is practicing after missing the first two weeks recovering from shoulder surgery. Thomas Carroll and Baraka Atkins appear to be the starting defensive ends.

Linebackers

Jonathan Vilma was in pads today, but did not participate in all drills. D.J. Williams is practicing and his ankle appears to be fine. Roger McIntosh is recovering from surgery and did not practice today. Vilma and Williams should be ready to play for the opener while McIntosh’s availability is in doubt. Darrell McClover would start in his place. McClover has done a nice job filling in for McIntosh and showing very good speed on the outside.

Defensive Backs

Sean Taylor is back practicing after a leg injury he suffered in the final scrimmage open to the public. Maurice Sikes and Taylor might be the two most impressive looking safeties in the country. Both will be wearing very intimidating dark reflective visors that are very similar to sunglasses as opposed to the clear plastic shield worn my many football players. Greg Threat is back practicing and will be backing up Sikes at strong safety.

Specialists

Jon Peattie and Mark Gent are still battling for the kicking duties. Gent has really struggled in the past week and banging an extra point off the upright today just adds to his struggles. Peattie hits the ball very solid and is an accurate kicker. Gent has the stronger leg but it does not matter how hard you can kick if you can’t get it through the uprights.

There have been a lot of notable injuries this fall and the younger players have been given the opportunity to step up into larger roles than they have been accustomed to. It has been imperative that the younger players take full advantage of their time on the practice field because they could be called upon during the season at any time.