Drew Parent and I were down at Owls practice earlier this morning. It was the first practice of preseason camp that saw the team in full pads.
We were able to catch a good portion of the 11-on-11 drill the Owls ran. Some quick observations:
- The standout performer of the day, at least in my opinion, was freshman running back Ryquell Armstead. He was all over the field this morning. At one point, he took a screen pass from P.J. Walker and broke it off for a big gain. Later on, he took a handoff, broke through the left side of the line and scampered into the endzone from about 20 yards out. Needless to say, he was impressive. The running back competition during camp is going to be interesting.
- True freshman Logan Marchi, redshirt freshman Frank Nutile and redshirt sophomore Tim DiGiorgio all rotated in as the second-team quarterback as the battle to be Walker's backup continued. Marchi had a couple of nice runs on draw plays. Nutile underthrew Sam Benjamin on a deep post, but Benjamin adjusted and made the grab for a big gain. Expect that rotation to continue throughout camp.
- The defense laid a few big hits. Nate L. Smith leveled Brandon Shippen with a hit on an out route. Tavon Young also sized up Benjamin with a big hit at one point.
- Redshirt freshman running back David Hood left toward the end of practice with what appeared to be cramping issues. It didn't seem too serious.
- Thanks in part to a Matt Ioannidis recovery of a fumbled snap and an Alex Wells interception of a tipped pass at the goal line, the defense was declared the day's winner.
Today was a defense day for media availability. We were able to catch up with defensive coordinator Phil Snow, Tyler Matakevich, Tavon Young and Praise Martin-Oguike and will have the audio of those interviews up ASAP.
Those of you who have heard a Phil Snow interview before know he can be a great quote. Today was no exception. Very much recommend checking his interview out when we get it posted.
We were able to catch a good portion of the 11-on-11 drill the Owls ran. Some quick observations:
- The standout performer of the day, at least in my opinion, was freshman running back Ryquell Armstead. He was all over the field this morning. At one point, he took a screen pass from P.J. Walker and broke it off for a big gain. Later on, he took a handoff, broke through the left side of the line and scampered into the endzone from about 20 yards out. Needless to say, he was impressive. The running back competition during camp is going to be interesting.
- True freshman Logan Marchi, redshirt freshman Frank Nutile and redshirt sophomore Tim DiGiorgio all rotated in as the second-team quarterback as the battle to be Walker's backup continued. Marchi had a couple of nice runs on draw plays. Nutile underthrew Sam Benjamin on a deep post, but Benjamin adjusted and made the grab for a big gain. Expect that rotation to continue throughout camp.
- The defense laid a few big hits. Nate L. Smith leveled Brandon Shippen with a hit on an out route. Tavon Young also sized up Benjamin with a big hit at one point.
- Redshirt freshman running back David Hood left toward the end of practice with what appeared to be cramping issues. It didn't seem too serious.
- Thanks in part to a Matt Ioannidis recovery of a fumbled snap and an Alex Wells interception of a tipped pass at the goal line, the defense was declared the day's winner.
Today was a defense day for media availability. We were able to catch up with defensive coordinator Phil Snow, Tyler Matakevich, Tavon Young and Praise Martin-Oguike and will have the audio of those interviews up ASAP.
Those of you who have heard a Phil Snow interview before know he can be a great quote. Today was no exception. Very much recommend checking his interview out when we get it posted.
