Friday Practice Report

The first week of practice is almost over and today our Rebels returned to the practice field because of the beautiful weather. It was in the high 80's with a light breeze and really just a great day outside in Oxford. Hopefully the weather will remain just as fantastic for tomorrow's scrimmage. Anyway, here are our notes:

1. Among the hundreds of fans in attendance was former Rebel quarterback Romero Miller. It was good to see the guy back in Oxford. He did a great job for us while he was here and I like seeing successful Rebels return. Schaeffer, you're not welcome, but Miller, come on over whenever you'd like.

2. Joshua Shene had a rough day early on today. Man... we have GOT to establish a good kicking game. If we have a good offense and defense but lose because of kicking, I'm going to punch Joshua Shene in the face. Okay, not really (we've seriously got to stop inciting Spirit board virtual riots).

3. We're starting to worry that Demareo Marr was recruited solely based on his height. He got burned by (insert short wide receiver) today. He also completely gave up on 1-on-1 drills and really had the coaches rip into him for it. He's either lazy or extremely out of shape. We're hoping it's the latter and that he'll get more stamina during camp and prove that we didn't waste a scholly on the kid.

4. Brandon Bolden returned punts again today. We were surprised to see him get time with Marshay and Dex who, by our estimates, already completely own the position. It could just be that they're preparing for two years from now, but we doubt it. Don't be shocked to see Bolden return some punts throughout the season. He's a great change of pace from Dex and Marshay. He's fast, but he's not as shifty as those two guys. It will be tough for gunners to bring him down and he really does an excellent job of staying on his feet. He really displayed his knack for not getting knocked around during 11-on-11 drills. We realize that the players were not supposed to hit each other full-force but we don't feel that those circumstances take away from his performance.

5. Kentrell Lockett had a good day today. He was able to get in the backfield several times against the first team O-line and was really working hard in the drills.

6. Michael Oher made Emmanuel Stephens look like an idiot. He pancaked Stephens like we haven't seen him do since his high school highlight tapes. This isn't to say Stephens isn't good, because he certainly is. He worked out a good bit with the first team and caused a disruption or two during 11-on-11 drills.

7. Chris Bowers is not good. We're sorry, but he's not the great white hype many of you (older people) would hope him to be.

8. Jerrell Powe still needs work. Just like yesterday, there were glimpses of good things, but he just doesn't look like he looked a year ago when he was disrupting the backfield on every play. He has lost a step. He destroyed a walk-on guard, but who cares? He's supposed to destroy Maurice Miller, Darryl Harris, and Daverin Geralds. He didn't do that. He continued to work out with the third team.

9. Dexter McCluster reeled in a great pass and juked his defender like he was standing still during 1-on-1 drills. He then then turned around and let his defender know that he "towe (him) up like lunchmeat," whatever the hell that means. We love that little bastard buddy. If he can keep the injury bug off of him, expect him to make some big, big plays. SEC, consider this your fair warning.

10. Lionel Breaux knocked Marshay Green down during the pass skeleton and on the next play Green earned himself a pass interference call. While we've been singing his praises all week, Marshay didn't have such a great practice today.

11. Jevan Snead is a very vocal leader. During the 11-on-11 drills he made sure to give credit where it was due while hounding players who made fundamental mistakes (dropped passes, etc). He especially made sure to pat his new best friends on the back as much as possible. He also had a good practice throughout the evening.

12. Shay Hodge made some great catches, including a one handed snag in the endzone during the pass skeletons. Honestly, this is the one position we should have no concerns with this fall. All of our starting receivers bring something to the table and their backups are more than serviceable.

13. Speaking of backup wideouts, Richie Contartesi, a small walk-on possession receiver (see: white guy), was doing a fair share of shit talkin' today. He really should cut that out. He's more than expendable and Powe is more than hungry. Seriously Richie, cut the noise.

14. These coaches are really interesting to watch. We especially enjoy watching Tracy Rocker and Ron Dickerson (DL and WR respectively) because they do an excellent job of motivating their players while teaching them. They are also both highly respected among their respective position groups. While all of these coaches should prove to be capable, these two have shone a good bit this week.


Ok, that's all we can pull off of the tops of our heads right now. Have a good weekend and hopefully we'll see you at tomorrow's scrimmage. If you've read this, are in Oxford, and don't show up to the scrimmage you're a shitty, shitty Rebel. Hell yeah, we're calling you out. Get your ass to Vaught-Hemingway tomorrow or we'll, ummm, write mean shit about you on a blog, or something.