Matt Cotcher
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submitted Today, 10:59 PM in Texas Longhorns Football By Matt Cotcher
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
- Even for the opening practice, there was heavy structure – no wasted time and constant movement sparked by high-energy coaches that were very enthusiastic with instruction.
- No longhorn logo on the helmet.
- First day, so there were no pads or shells, only helmets.
- Jay Norvell was constantly in motion and very involved throughout practice.
- Jeff Traylor gave Malik Jefferson a few quick pointers after the first set of full squad scrimmage work.
- Charlie Strong was very quiet today compared to assistants. I also made note that for a defensive minded coach, Strong watched an awful lot of offense today.
- Jeff Traylor will oversee special teams as a whole, but each assistant coach is responsible for one specific group. Today, Jay Norvell worked with the punt return group. Traylor’s specific group is the punters.
- Brian Jean-Mary got all over Malik Jefferson at one point during full squad work.
- Swoopes started practice with hurry-up offense from the red zone - only worked throws to his right.
- Heard missed one of his throws in red zone work - Swoopes didn't. Different receiver group though.
- Logan Vinklarek was taking 3rd string snaps.
- Noted that Swoopes waits for timing on throws to be perfect whereas Heard simply tucked the ball and ran, rather than waiting.
- Forget “splitting repetitionsâ€, Swoopes and Heard were both always busy. When one was throwing to the left side, the other was simultaneously throwing to the right. Even when they were split in positional drills, both the 1st and 2nd team worked at the same time.
- Tommie Robinson corrected D’Onta Foreman’s pre-snap stance while Foreman was running 2nd team with Heard in the red zone drills.
- Alex De La Torre got a lot of first-team snaps and was in pre-snap motion on almost every play. Andrew Beck ran second-team in that hybrid, motion role.
- In the 7-on-7 period, Donald Catalon ran with the first-team.
- In goal line work, D’Onta Foreman saw time with the first-team OL and Swoopes.
- Wide receiver drills: Tight figure 8's around cones, with a catch at the end; next drill was focused on ball security ‘punch, grab, strip’.
- Marcus Johnson caught everything thrown his way and consistently had separation.
- All around it was a good day for the wideouts - not many drops. More bad throws than dropped passes.
- Daje Johnson primarily worked out of the slot with the first-team unit. He caught balls with his hands well today.
- Lorenzo Joe lined up out wide on first-team snaps.
- Andrew Beck had the highlight reel catch of the day – a one-handed grab over the middle, in traffic.
- In the 7-on-7 period, Blake Whiteley ran first-team in a flex/hybrid role.
- Lorenzo Joe short armed a pass when he went over the middle and was in heavy traffic.
- Blake Whiteley ran with the first-team at tight end during full squad scrimmage work.
- Garrett Gray had to take time out of scrimmage work to have trainers work on the bottom of his foot. It did not appear to be serious.
- Lorenzo Joe had one of the only drops I saw.
- The first-team offensive line was: Marcus Hutchins – Sedrick Flowers – Taylor Doyle – Kent Perkins – Tristan Nickelson
- The second team offensive line was: Connor Williams – Brandon Hodges – Jake Raulerson – Elijah Rodriguez – Garrett Thomas
- Joe Wickline spent extra time with Garrett Thomas after second full squad scrimmage session.
- Sedrick Flowers stayed out in the middle of the field to talk with Strong after the first-team unit was finished in full squad scrimmage work.
- Tristan Nickelson is every bit of his listed 6’8â€, 312 pounds.
- Shiro Davis – Paul Boyette, Jr. – Hassan Ridgeway were the first-team defensive line. Interestingly, the three of them mixed positions pre-snap on every play. There was no telling which order they would line-up in. Then mix in Naashon Hughes darting up to the line (or staying back) and the DL was highly variable for Day 1.
- The second-team defensive line was: Poona Ford – Jake McMillon – Quincy Vasser
- Peter Jinkens and Dalton Santos were the two linebackers consistently on the field with the first-team defense.
- Edwin Freeman, Tim Cole, and Malik Jefferson were the second-team linebacker unit.
- Every time he came off the field during scrimmage work, Malik Jefferson went straight to Vance Bedford for feedback and instruction.
- Sheroid Evans – John Bonney – Jason Hall – Dylan Haines was the first-team unit at defensive back.
- Bryson Echols picked off Heard’s very first pass as soon as quarterbacks were throwing with defenders on the field.
- Reserve defensive back Jordan Strickland is sneaky with the use of his hands in coverage.
- Sheroid Evans was really aggressive with his hands and with contact at the line of scrimmage – so much so that I made note of it twice.
- Antwaun Davis absolutely destroyed Hunter DeGroot at the line of scrimmage on one play.
- Jason Hall looks bigger.
- Sheroid Evans versus Marcus Johnson is well worth the price of admission.
- Fielding punts: Marcus Johnson, Daje Johnson, Duke Thomas, Jacorey Warrick – the foursome did not drop a single kick.
- Nick Rose, Matt Sims, and Mitchell Becker took turns punting. Kyle Ashby and Jak Holbrook were the deep snappers.
