Wednesday, Oct. 23
Venue: SprinTurf, outside of the Kibbie Dome.
Format: Full pads, wrap-up but don’t take down for the whole team. Don’t hit the quarterbacks.
Practice Rundown: Position drills, 7-on-7 skeleton drill, first team offense and defense vs. scout team, punt/kickoff return drills, special teams drills, bump-and-run drills for the DBs, scrimmage without the wide receivers.
Highlights: It’s a good sign to see quarterbacks Chad Chalich and Josh McCain out of slings. Both were working out, but still not in pads.
Taylor Davis looks to be on his way to starting his first game of the season. He looked good during practice. He made good reads and only ran when he needed to avoid the sack or when he didn’t see anyone open.
The defense showed flashes of consistency today. They didn’t allow the scout team to get many yards. With that being said, defensive end Quinton Bradley did not practice today. His status is unknown for game time on Saturday.
Austin Rehkow was on top of things when it came to kicking. He had several booming punts that were 50-60 yards down field before it hit the ground. On the field goal side, he made all but one kick. His long on the day was 55 yards and that went right through the middle of the uprights. He continues to show consistency for the Vandals.
Other Observations: Several Vandals keep getting the injury bug. Quinton Bradley, Solomon Dixon, Chad Chalich, and Josh McCain all sat out. Trey Williams and Jared Klingenburg were both back playing. It is unknown how much time we will see from them on the field.
The cornerback situation continues to be a concern, especially since Dixon sat out. Jayshawn Jordan and Christian Whitehead continue to see action at the position, while Desmond Banks is getting into the mix. Expect to see quite a few substitutions during the game on Saturday.
Petrino looked to be calm through most of the practice. He explained plays to different players while keeping his cool. After practice, he then turned the intensity up on the team. He wants them to be ready to play at Ole Miss so he continues to push them hard while showing a little more cool than he has been known for.
The team practiced the Wildcat formation with James Baker and Richard Montgomery taking the snaps. It will be interesting to see how much they run out of the formation against Ole Miss. They also could be running this just in case Taylor Davis gets shaken up during the game.