In the opinion of one source, yesterday’s practice was a solid one but not great by any means. The offensive line situation is still unsettled. Garrett Anderson, Heath Batchelor, Terrence Campbell, Seaver Brown, Lemuel Jeanpierre and Gurminder Thind all saw time at guard yesterday. I hear Thind had the best practice of the bunch, but there wasn’t much separation. With all of the shuffling, there are still a lot of inconsistencies and a lot of mistakes being made, particularly in pass protection.
Blake Mitchell and Chris Smelley took about an even number of snaps as the first team QB. Tommy Beecher received more reps yesterday than he did on Monday. There isn’t much separation here either, but Mitchell may be the odds on favorite to get the start. When the pass protection is there, the feeling is Mitchell is the best candidate. The problem is he’s at his worst when protection breaks down and those are the situations that lead to his biggest mistakes.
The defense continues to prepare for a balanced offense from Tennessee. One focus of yesterday’s practice beating the blocker to the point of attack, especially where the linebackers are concerned. This is something Jasper Brinkley did so well, and the others are still getting to the point where they can read and react quickly enough to do it with consistency.
Special teams worked on punt coverage and players staying in their lanes, and there were some issues there that will need to be addressed as the week goes on. Jonathan Hefney hurt them last year with a big punt return, and they can’t afford a repeat there on Saturday night.
Blake Mitchell and Chris Smelley took about an even number of snaps as the first team QB. Tommy Beecher received more reps yesterday than he did on Monday. There isn’t much separation here either, but Mitchell may be the odds on favorite to get the start. When the pass protection is there, the feeling is Mitchell is the best candidate. The problem is he’s at his worst when protection breaks down and those are the situations that lead to his biggest mistakes.
The defense continues to prepare for a balanced offense from Tennessee. One focus of yesterday’s practice beating the blocker to the point of attack, especially where the linebackers are concerned. This is something Jasper Brinkley did so well, and the others are still getting to the point where they can read and react quickly enough to do it with consistency.
Special teams worked on punt coverage and players staying in their lanes, and there were some issues there that will need to be addressed as the week goes on. Jonathan Hefney hurt them last year with a big punt return, and they can’t afford a repeat there on Saturday night.
