AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2008 > March > 31
Monday, March 31, 2008
Here, there, everywhere at Rose Bowl Field
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Scattershooting from Tech’s fifth spring practice …
OL A.J. Smith, who has been working at G, left practice. Don’t know if he’s sick or injured. More later.
LB Shane Bowen, a projected starter, is out for the duration of spring practice after shoulder surgery. But he’s here today, in pads, working on the side with one of those can’t-miss red vests on.
RB Tyler Evans is out with a likely dislocated left shoulder, suffered Saturday. He’s working alongside Bowen, but with no shoulder pads.
A-back/PR Andrew Smith (illness) is back after missing all of last week.
Tony Clark working LB rather than DB, though there’s no way to be sure that will stay just from watching.
Jackets just finished a mini-scrimmage situation. Nesbitt and Jamaal Evans each broke long runs. Booker struggling with some footwork. Multiple players struggling with some pitches and catches. Nesbitt missed a wide-open receiver deep.
Now, in passing drills, defense working on dime. Current alignment: CBs: Word-Daniels and Butler; Ss White and Reese; dime backs: Tarrant and Burnett.
Nesbitt just connected waaaaay deep right with walk-on WR Kevin Cone (St. Pius) with Martin Frierson covering, and then deep left with freshman Tyler Melton on a very nice over-the-shoulder catch. Tarrant covering.
Booker just connected for 35 yards right to redshirt freshman walk-on WR R.B. Clyburn.
I’m curious … the talk about increasing mental toughness, is that standard for a new coach? Ever hear a coach say, “We’re tough enough; we’re just not fast enough or strong enough?”
This is definitely a mental thing, as Paul Johnson said last week. So how might one coach and his staff be better at coaching that than another?
Therein lies a question for which I don’t have an answer, like why are Atlanta’s streets so bad (they finally pave a street after finishing the sewer line on that street only to tear holes in it again within months), or why aren’t the traffic lights in this very big (and very fast-growing) metropolitan area timed?
My experience from coaching changes is they work more often to positive effect in the short-term. When covering the Falcons, I noted a big pickup in Jim Mora’s first year and it wasn’t because of big roster changes (Rod Coleman was the only significant pickup in 2004). It was new energy, and oh yeah, Michael Vick didn’t have a broken leg.
Random example: Look at Minnesota’s basketball team this year. The Gophers were horrible last season, just attrocious. Tubby Smith didn’t overhaul the roster, but he overhauled the attitude. And the Gophers won 20 (or more). He did the same thing years earlier at Georgia, and kept the Pitino verve alive at Kentucky before petering out. The key? For him, at least, cut bait and run at the right time (or a year or two too late from Kentucky).
Maybe I’m nuts, but Josh Nesbitt looks a bit leaner. Jonathan Dwyer does not. He’s a project, which is saying something. Skill is not the issue. It’s about intensity. My two cents: he needs to shed about 10-12 pounds.
Got some recruits out here today, same as Saturday. Don’t know names at this point. Might be able to find out later.
I wonder, too (and will ask), about the slotting of some positions. There are some guys working with the top OL units, like Jason Hill and David Brown, who did not make marks last summer or season while some others who did (most notably Clyde Yandell, and to a lesser degree Nick Claytor) are working with backup units.
Perhaps because both offensive line coaches are new, and there is no keen in-house first-hand knowledge of the players at those positions, the coaches just go on a combination of the obvious (like Gardner, Voss, Dunmon and Smith working high because they played a lot last year) and then a deferment to years (Hill and Brown are upperclassmen and Yandell/Claytor/Gilbert) are redshirt freshmen. Then, let players work it out.
I don’t care what kind of blocking scheme this runs, if I had to make a bet, I’d put Yandell’s name on the line if asked who might start or play a lot on the OL this year that last year did not. He had a good summer before redshirting. He moves well, has good size, etc.
More later.
I’m going to write for tomorrow morning about DEs, and a little bit about some philosophical changes in the D-line.
Matt
