Practice report: Another lineman quits, Hooks hurt
The Cougars wrapped up their second practice of fall camp 2009 a bit ago, with temperatures about 10-12 degrees warmer than they were Saturday.
Nothing really significant took place, except for the fact that linebacker Terrance Hooks suffered a hamstring injury early in the practice during some drills and missed the remainder of the workout.
Coach Bronco Mendenhall said Hooks will be fine and won't be out for an extended amount of time.
Monday's other announcement, as it were, is that offensive lineman Stetson Tenney, a walkon from Show Low, Ariz., has decided to quit the team. The announcement was a bit surprising, because Tenney worked with the two in Saturday's practice and was seemingly going to see a little playing time.
Of course, everyone was hoping for a Manase Tonga sighting, but there was none.
Mendenhall said the latest is that Tonga could be in camp next Monday. He's got tests until Wednesday, and grades are due to come out Friday. Then, Tonga will need to get the green light from an admissions committee. before he can participate with the team.
As for Jesse Taufi, the offensive lineman, he was not at practice, either. Mendenhall hopes to see him at practice on Tuesday (10 a.m.).
Other guys who didn't practice on Saturday -- linebacker Matt Bauman, receiver Rhen Brown -- were present and accounted for on Monday.
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Tough to judge after just two practices, but it appears that we might have been penciling in Jordan Pendleton as the starter at the strongside linebacker spot (David Nixon's old spot) a little too fast.
Grant Nelson ran with the ones today as much as Pendleton did, and Mendenhall sees some competition for the spot during fall camp.
Also, it appears more and more like the starting field corner position is going to be Robbie Buckner's to lose. Buckner ran with the ones Monday, while Garett Nicholson was with the fourth team. Getting burned badly by McKay Jacobson on a stop-and-go route didn't aid Nicholson's cause, either.
Another option at outside linebacker could be juco transfer Jordan Atkinson, who has been playing outside after coming in to the program as an inside linebacker.
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In the first team session Monday, quarterback Max Hall looked especially sharp. He threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jacobson, a 25-yarder to Spencer Hafoka and a 22-yarder to tight end Dennis Pitta.
Jacobson beat Brandon Bradley for his TD snare, while Hafoka put a beautiful move on Corby Eason to get wide open. It was nice to see Hafoka at full speed, after he missed spring camp and many summer workouts due to influenze and other ailments.
Backup QB Brenden Gaskins got a chance when the twos went against the twos, but couldn't move the team in the red zone situation and Mitch Payne kicked a 37-yard field goal.
Riley Nelson went in for one play in the first team session, but the snap was high and coaches called for the first-string offense to come back.
The highlight for the defense in the first team session came when Scott Johnson blocked a PAT attempt by Payne.
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In the second team session Monday, the defense fared much better, perhaps because the offense was asked to go the length of the field and didn't start every possession close to the red zone.
In fact, the only time the offense drove all the way and scored was when the ones went against the defense's threes and fours. The TD, scored by Harvey Unga, was set up by Hall's 36-yard pass to Jacobson in which he got behind Nicholson.
Quarterback Riley Nelson was in for more than just one play during this session, and he struggled. After hooking up with B.J. Peterson for a short gain, Nelson threw three incomplete passes and did not look sharp at all. But he was with the offensive third-stringers going against the defensive starters.
Nothing really significant took place, except for the fact that linebacker Terrance Hooks suffered a hamstring injury early in the practice during some drills and missed the remainder of the workout.
Coach Bronco Mendenhall said Hooks will be fine and won't be out for an extended amount of time.
Monday's other announcement, as it were, is that offensive lineman Stetson Tenney, a walkon from Show Low, Ariz., has decided to quit the team. The announcement was a bit surprising, because Tenney worked with the two in Saturday's practice and was seemingly going to see a little playing time.
Of course, everyone was hoping for a Manase Tonga sighting, but there was none.
Mendenhall said the latest is that Tonga could be in camp next Monday. He's got tests until Wednesday, and grades are due to come out Friday. Then, Tonga will need to get the green light from an admissions committee. before he can participate with the team.
As for Jesse Taufi, the offensive lineman, he was not at practice, either. Mendenhall hopes to see him at practice on Tuesday (10 a.m.).
Other guys who didn't practice on Saturday -- linebacker Matt Bauman, receiver Rhen Brown -- were present and accounted for on Monday.
------------------------
Tough to judge after just two practices, but it appears that we might have been penciling in Jordan Pendleton as the starter at the strongside linebacker spot (David Nixon's old spot) a little too fast.
Grant Nelson ran with the ones today as much as Pendleton did, and Mendenhall sees some competition for the spot during fall camp.
Also, it appears more and more like the starting field corner position is going to be Robbie Buckner's to lose. Buckner ran with the ones Monday, while Garett Nicholson was with the fourth team. Getting burned badly by McKay Jacobson on a stop-and-go route didn't aid Nicholson's cause, either.
Another option at outside linebacker could be juco transfer Jordan Atkinson, who has been playing outside after coming in to the program as an inside linebacker.
---------------------
In the first team session Monday, quarterback Max Hall looked especially sharp. He threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jacobson, a 25-yarder to Spencer Hafoka and a 22-yarder to tight end Dennis Pitta.
Jacobson beat Brandon Bradley for his TD snare, while Hafoka put a beautiful move on Corby Eason to get wide open. It was nice to see Hafoka at full speed, after he missed spring camp and many summer workouts due to influenze and other ailments.
Backup QB Brenden Gaskins got a chance when the twos went against the twos, but couldn't move the team in the red zone situation and Mitch Payne kicked a 37-yard field goal.
Riley Nelson went in for one play in the first team session, but the snap was high and coaches called for the first-string offense to come back.
The highlight for the defense in the first team session came when Scott Johnson blocked a PAT attempt by Payne.
---------------------
In the second team session Monday, the defense fared much better, perhaps because the offense was asked to go the length of the field and didn't start every possession close to the red zone.
In fact, the only time the offense drove all the way and scored was when the ones went against the defense's threes and fours. The TD, scored by Harvey Unga, was set up by Hall's 36-yard pass to Jacobson in which he got behind Nicholson.
Quarterback Riley Nelson was in for more than just one play during this session, and he struggled. After hooking up with B.J. Peterson for a short gain, Nelson threw three incomplete passes and did not look sharp at all. But he was with the offensive third-stringers going against the defensive starters.
7:40 PM
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4 Comments:
Great details Jay, thanks!
The "new" details about Tonga's timeline should have been obvious a month or more ago, when he began the classes and the syllabus was laid out. Yet even last Saturday there was uncertainty when Tonga could appear.
Is it just that the coaches are clueless about the athletes' classes, or are they unwilling to reveal what they already know?
I think fans are more "clueless" than the coaches.
Thanks for the info! Would be great to hear about Lee Aguirre and if he is getting any playing time at corner.
It appears that Lee Aguirre will be moved to boundary corner and will back up Brandon Bradley at that position.
At least, that's how things have looked through the first two practices.
-- Jay
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