Wednesday, Sept. 3
Venue: SprinTurf
Format: Full-pads, wrap up but don’t take down, contact in 11-on-11 drills, don’t hit the quarterbacks.
Practice Rundown: Position drills, 7-on-7 skeleton drills, 11-on-11 drills, first-team offense and defense vs. scout team, first team offense vs. first-team defense, special team drills.
Highlights:
Freshman quarterback Matt Linehan and sophomore Chad Chalich split reps working with the first string offense, Linehan took first reps in offensive drills. He will be the starting quarterback against Louisiana-Monroe but both quarterbacks will play.
Senior running back Kristoffer Olugbode gave defenders more than they could handle in 11-on-11 drills. The senior was tough to bring down, breaking tackles while displaying some deceptive shiftiness. He appeared to take the most reps with the first team, but shared time with fellow senior Jerrel Brown. Junior Elijhaa Penny and two freshmen Aaron Duckworth and Isaiah Saunders also received reps with the first team offense.
Sophomore Richard Montgomery looks to be comfortable in his new hybrid role, which is a combination of running back and wide receiver. He took the top off the defense a number of times against the scout team defense. He also showed some savvy in the 7-on-7 skeleton drills, as he managed to haul in an off-target pass, quickly gather his balance and make a defender miss in the open field.
There continues to be a heavy rotation of punt returners. The bulk of the returns were by Montgomery, senior wide receiver Joshua McCain and junior cornerback Jayshawn Jordan. Numerous others also received looks at punt returner.
Sophomore Austin Rehkow looks to have both the starting kicker and punter job. Despite the coaching staff adding two kickers and one punter, Rehkow clearly has the better leg for both positions.
Other Observations:
Players who did not participate in practice were redshirt freshman defensive lineman Will Schmidt, sophomore defensive lineman Zach Cable, sophomore defensive back Jordan Grabski, sophomore safety Desmond Banks, junior wide receiver Jordan Frysinger, sophomore tight end Eric Lemke and junior offensive lineman Ben Westrum.
During position drills, junior offensive lineman Jeff Travillion and junior defensive lineman Glen Antoine both appeared to be hurt, and did not return to practice.
Freshman quarterback Jake Luton spent the majority of his time with the scout team. Despite being the youngest quarterback on the roster, Luton has a clear size advantage over the other quarterbacks. At 6-foot-6 and 218 pounds, he’s not only the biggest