Full report by Ryan Myers
Offensive practice report
There were no two deep from Tuesday’s session; the only live-action 11-on-11 segments consisted of players deeper down the depth chart. Even still, Tuesday’s session saw plenty of noteworthy moments from the offensive side.
Following stretches, the offense went right into progressing plays, going through the reps and sets against a ghost defense. The tempo of this portion was intense, as offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo had his players run through the plays and talked through reads with his quarterback room. After suffering a rib injury against Utah, quarterback Sam Leavitt has yet to put the pads back on; however, he was present and talkative on Tuesday, encouraging his teammates for the day.
The offensive line worked together well blocking against a four-man rush. Position coach Saga Tuitele was vocal with his players during the sets, configuring who blocks the downfield man and what gaps need to be exploited in a game scenario.
The running backs and quarterbacks went into handoff plays while the running backs ran through the imaginary gaps and took hits from projectiles. The wide arrangement of quarterbacks created some teaching moments, as true freshman Navi Bruzon and redshirt freshman Christian Hunt were able to grow through some of the basics.
The wide receivers looked in good spirits while keeping their focus high during practice as the performance on the field appeared applicable. Wide receiver coach Hines Ward laughed and joked with his players on occasion as well as instructed their performance. Going through some basic routes. The quarterbacks joined the wide receivers through two route progressions, along with the tight ends going through medium and long-distance routes near the sideline. The passes from a multitude of quarterbacks, not including Sam Leavitt, improved as time went on, dropping back into play action movements and being forced to recenter before making a pass, which made for exponential growth in ball placement and timing immediately.
While the kickoff team was going through its sets, the offensive lineman on both sides of the ball continued to work as the offensive and defensive linemen drilled one-on-one, a hyper-energetic and joyful atmosphere creating a competitive environment between the none two deep linemen on the offensive side 57 and Sean Na’a made resilient efforts on the defensive side it was 36 and J.P Deeter who made a significant impact.
Center Leif Fautanu and defensive lineman Jacob Kongaika watched and motivated their teammates through the drill. As the two-deep players didn’t participate, it made for a good test to see what the young guys could bring to the table on both ends.
The non-two deep players began the final portion of Tuesday’s short practice scrimmaging full field; the offensive started strong thanks to a Najie deep ball to 83 for a touchdown. Eusebio went up and grabbed a high ball over his defender and stayed on his feet to run another 20 yards over the pilon. On the next drive, the offense continued to run smoothly for the offense Alton McCaskill and Jason Brown Jr ran with force down the gut; McCaskill almost ran a 50-yarder to the house, but he stepped out later in the drive, while Hunt tried to find redshirt junior Armon Collins on a deep ball that didn't connect.
McCaskill was able to run through his man after catching a screen pass and earning 10 yards, ending the day on a positive note for himself.
Tuesday's practice was only accessible to the media for 90 minutes and ended by 10:15 a.m. MST, yet it provided great insight into the positive atmosphere the team is displaying after Saturday’s defeat at Cincinnati. The offensive side clearly understands the necessary work that needs to be implemented while enjoying the bye week and taking some needed time to recover.
Defensive Report
There were no two deep from Tuesday’s session; the only live-action 11-on-11 segments consisted of players deeper down the depth chart. Tuesday’s session still saw plenty of noteworthy moments from the defensive side.
The defense was right into individual drills; the defense lineman raced off the blocks. The defensive tackles split from the ends as the DTs worked on driving up on the block while the defensive line walked through 2v1 edge blocking strategies.
The safeties walked through lateral shifts when in coverage and breaking on routes downfield. While the corners started off with their usual pass disruption drills.
The linebackers drilled lateral shuffling to attack up the seam, practicing by sliding side to side and then making tackles through soft pads.
The defensive unit continued their individual drills until the special teams unit got underway, starting with the kickoff team. Walking through the procedures, the kickoffs didn’t go live until after multiple walkthroughs, however, the players looked to understand blocking assignments and potential gaps
On the live kickoff, redshirt freshman Jamaal Young II was the returner. On the first play, he was stopped short after just 18 yards. This defensive stop hyped up coach Kenny Dillingham and the other special teams staff, as the kicking team made their presence felt early.
The second time of asking, Young was able to reach the 25-yard line, beating a man before getting stopped via ‘two-hand-touch.’ The special teams unit was pleased with the blocking of the returning team, while the kicking team continued to impose its will on the practice.
During the Scrimmages, the defensive players made their fair share of big plays, from the defensive front line featuring redshirt freshmen Kyran Bourda and Landen Thomas and the secondary with Rodney Bimage and Kyan McDonald.
On the defensive side of the coin, the pass rushing was heavy for the offense to deal with, forcing Hunt to throw it away or into double coverage. McCaskill was later swallowed up at the line of scrimmage by redshirt freshman defensive back Jack Bell. Bruzon’s pass over the top was well defended by Kyan McDonald, who sat well for the deep ball, and while Jason Brown proved hard to tackle once again however, the defensive front led by 90 and 94 wrapped him McDonald, Montana’s Warren, and Rodney Bimage made their presence felt on pass coverage.
Tuesday's practice was only accessible to the media for 90 minutes, ending by 10:15 a.m., MST, yet it provided great insight into the positive atmosphere the team is displaying after Saturday’s defeat at Cincinnati. The defensive side displayed a daily hunger to improve, allowing the older guys the opportunity to show love and give props to some of the younger talent on the roster as well.
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