Stephen Garcia ran the scout team last night and did his best impression on Vanderbilt QB Chris Nickson. Nickson can hurt you more with his feet than his arm, but he’s capable of getting hot throwing it as well. Obviously, Carolina will be keying on Earl Bennett as much as possible and the returns of Carlos Thomas and Stoney Woodson will both be of benefit in that regard.
Coach Spurrier called the defensive line out publicly, and they seem to have taken the criticism to heart. They don’t want to see that happen again, and they practiced extra hard last night as a result.
Overall, the defense worked hard at preparing for Vanderbilt’s spread option attack. It’s key for them to stick to their individual assignments and maintain their lanes to prevent the Commodores from gashing them on the ground. Look for the front-7 to attack at times, too, as long as the secondary continues to do its job in pass coverage.
At offensive guard, Kevin Young and Lemuel Jeanpierre received most of the first team work, and I hear Young looked very good overall. If he can stay healthy and his practice performance carries over to the game, he may very well be the answer they’re looking for at one guard spot. Gurminder Thind will also be in the mix for playing time at guard on Saturday.
The struggles on the offensive line in pass protection has forced Spurrier to adjust his offense and really emphasize the need for the receivers to run their routes at full speed. If not, the line just can’t protect long enough and plays break down.
I mentioned in my reports about two weeks ago that Blake Mitchell was coming off in practice and Spurrier, of course, announced yesterday that he plans to give him some snaps this weekend. It will be interesting to see how he performs and how Chris Smelley responds to it. My guess is it will only make both of them better.
All precautions are being taken to avoid having Carolina’s players take this weekend’s game lightly. It’s a HUGE game in terms of getting another conference win, and the team knows it. They want the crowd to be just like it was for the Kentucky game.
Coach Spurrier called the defensive line out publicly, and they seem to have taken the criticism to heart. They don’t want to see that happen again, and they practiced extra hard last night as a result.
Overall, the defense worked hard at preparing for Vanderbilt’s spread option attack. It’s key for them to stick to their individual assignments and maintain their lanes to prevent the Commodores from gashing them on the ground. Look for the front-7 to attack at times, too, as long as the secondary continues to do its job in pass coverage.
At offensive guard, Kevin Young and Lemuel Jeanpierre received most of the first team work, and I hear Young looked very good overall. If he can stay healthy and his practice performance carries over to the game, he may very well be the answer they’re looking for at one guard spot. Gurminder Thind will also be in the mix for playing time at guard on Saturday.
The struggles on the offensive line in pass protection has forced Spurrier to adjust his offense and really emphasize the need for the receivers to run their routes at full speed. If not, the line just can’t protect long enough and plays break down.
I mentioned in my reports about two weeks ago that Blake Mitchell was coming off in practice and Spurrier, of course, announced yesterday that he plans to give him some snaps this weekend. It will be interesting to see how he performs and how Chris Smelley responds to it. My guess is it will only make both of them better.
All precautions are being taken to avoid having Carolina’s players take this weekend’s game lightly. It’s a HUGE game in terms of getting another conference win, and the team knows it. They want the crowd to be just like it was for the Kentucky game.
