Wednesday, Sept. 24
Venue: Kibbie Dome
Format: Full-pads, wrap up but don’t take down, contact in 11-on-11 drills, don’t hit the quarterbacks
Nathan Romans | Argonaut
Freshman defensive back Dorian Clark keeps his eyes on the quarterback during Wednesday’s practice. The Vandals will play 2 P.M. Saturday against the University of South Alabama at the Kibbie Dome.
Practice rundowns: Position drills, 7-on-7 skeleton drills, first-team offense and defense against scout team, 11-on-11 team drills, special team drills.
Highlights: Senior Jerrel Brown appeared to be leading the running backs in touches. He continued to look shifty in space and make defenders miss on multiple occasions in both 7-on-7 and team drills. He appeared to be the leader of the running back committee.
Fellow senior running back Kristoffer Olugbode looked explosive in position drills and 7-on-7s. He hit holes quickly with authority, he also made some nice plays in the passing game as an outlet for the quarterbacks.
Sophomore punter and kicker Austin Rehkow was getting some phenomenal hang time on his kicks in special team drills. Many of his punts were inching extremely close to the Kibbie Dome roof.
Freshman receiver David Ungerer made an athletic play in 7-on-7 drills. He made an extending one-handed catch on a slightly overthrown ball down the seam.
Other observations:
Sophomore tight end Eric Lemke was not suited up and didn’t participate in practice. He spent the majority of practice working on the sidelines with strength coach Jake Scharnhorst apparently rehabbing his injured knee.
When the two starting units scrimmaged against each other, the offensive line appeared to get the better of the defense. On a number of occasions the group opened up a number of holes for the running backs.
In position drills both the running backs and tight ends appeared to be emphasizing ball control — both groups were doing many strip drills that centered around holding on to the ball.
Sophomore quarterback Chad Chalich took a few reps with the scout team offense against the first team defense, but he also worked with the first team offense.