Saturday’s practice, which head coach Kenny Dillingham called the best of the spring, featured longer segments of routine practice compared to last Saturday’s session, which was dominated time-wise by a long scrimmage.
First Team
LT Colby Garvin
LG Cade Briggs
C Sean Na’a
RG Makua Pule
RT Josh Atkins
QB Trenton Bourguet
RB Raleek Brown/Kyson Brown
SLOT Melquan Stovall
WR Jake Smith
WR Derek Eusebio
TE Cameron Harpole
Second Team
LT Emmit Bohle
LG Kyle Scott
C Leif Fautanu
RG Ise Matautia
RT Jalen Klemm
QB Sam Leavitt
RB Cam Skattebo/George Hart III
SLOT Kaleb Black
WR Max Ware
WR Korbin Hendrix
TE Markeston Douglas
The offense got right to work during the tempo portion of practice but did not get ahead of the defense in any way. The ball was moved whether a play failed or not, and the first group went down the field with no amazing efforts.
When the second group came in, it was apparent that the Sam Leavitt-Korbin Hendrix connection was another blossoming in Spring. Hendrix had a nice catch on the drive that was ended for the third group to come in.
When it comes to the third group, Kaleb Black had a good start to practice with a catch in the open field. With the departure of Jaden Rashada, freshman walk-on quarterback Navi Bruzon is taking the third-team reps, which will remain the case until another scholarship quarterback is brought from the portal.
After a short walkthrough period, the offense went their separate ways for the individual part of practice. The tight ends firstly were the most obvious small group as Bryce Pierre entered the transfer portal. There were only three players accompanying Jason Mohns today. Markeston Douglas led the group as it worked on blocking, sealing an edge before joining the quarterbacks.
Running backs were led by Cam Skattebo on drills with Coach Shaun Aguano. The backs worked on agility and reaction making moves around trash bins and over kit-kat bags. This similar style of traditional period was followed by the offensive lineman who worked in combination of threes going over blocking schemes against different defensive fronts.
The wide receivers got to work today, of course, also missing Elijhah Badger, who, like Pierre, opted to move to the transfer portal. Hines Ward had the players cutting and getting off catching tennis balls and then actual footballs. Jordyn Tyson was present but extremely limited.
Another position group missing a player today was the quarterbacks, as mentioned earlier, with Rashada heading to the portal. Nonetheless, business went on as quarterbacks went through drops and throws with offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo before routes were run.
Once routes were run, overall, the conjunction of the receivers and quarterbacks looked good. The balls were well thrown efficiently even as things moved into the endzone. As it stands now, and according to Dillingham, Sam Leavitt is the starter edging out Trenton Bourguet. Nonetheless, Dillingham said that the caliber of quarterback he will bring out of the portal is one he think could beat out both signal caller, and ultimately he wants to raise the level of competition in the room.
As the offense shifted into the scrimmage, the first and second group offenses struggled as the only highlights were Bourguet finding Stovall on a couple of throws which has been a staple connection in spring, while Leavitt found Coben Bourguet over the middle for a nice gain. The younger Bourguet was having a fantastic showing in practice today.
The next six drives did not see much action as the Leavitt-Coben Bourguet connection continued to flourish, but the defensive play, especially up front, did disrupt matters quite a bit. Kyson Brown had a couple of nice runs, and Jake Smith got loose on a screen for a big gain, that took place thanks to a great block by Melquan Stovall. Since formidable wide receiver blocking was his calling card in the NFL, position coach Hines Ward was quick to congratulate Stovall after that play.
It was not until the eighth drive which was led by Leavitt which saw the quarterback barely miss Skattebo out of the backfield on a streak for a would-be touchdown. Leavitt then scrambled on a third down to extend the red zone drive before he successfully found Skattebo in the flat for a touchdown.
Trenton Bourguet did quite well after that series, as he was facing pressure setting up a third down. On that play he threw a ball in the endzone intended for Jamal Young II but was dropped to the ground thanks to a beautiful Shmari Simmons break up.
The second group came back in and as two steps were taken forward, one was taken back as Leavitt fumbled a snap that effectively killed the drive as the defensive momentum shifted right back.
Three drives later, the first group came onto the field, trying to get something back. A band of brothers got the job done as Bourguet scrambled for a first down. In the following set of downs, he connected again for a touchdown as younger brother Coben was open in the flat. One last blow to the defense before they got the next drive back ending practice on a Prince Dorbah sack. It may have been somewhat of a back-and-forth scrimmage in its latter parts, but the defense, especially in the run-stop department, did have the upper hand.
Defense
First Team
EDGE Clayton Smith
DT CJ Fite
DT Jacob Rich Kongaika
EDGE Elijah O’Neal
LB Caleb McCullough
LB Keyshawn Elliott
Nickel Macen Williams
CB Ed Woods
CB Javan Robinson
Safety Shamari Simmons
Safety Xavion Alford
Second Team
EDGE Prince Dorbah
DT Jeffrey Clark
DT Blazen Lono-Wong
EDGE Justin Wodtly
LB Jordan Crook
LB Zyrus Fiaseu
Nickel Cole Martin
CB Rodney Bimage
CB Latterance Welch
Safety Myles Rowser
Safety Montana Warren
In a scrimmage-heavy session, plenty of players had standout moments.
The defensive line exercises this morning followed a standard routine. Diron Reynolds initiated the session with his "active limbs" circuit, then transitioned into edge and interior rushing drills, synchronizing jumps with snaps. For the second straight morning, Reynolds stressed the importance of the block-break technique. In the scrimmage, Prince Dorbah and Elijah O’Neal were active on the edges, each recording sacks with a handful of QB pressures as well. Both were consistent menaces to the offensive line and even made good plays on twists to inside runs. CJ Fite enjoyed a strong practice up the middle, stuffing inside runs with regularity in basic 11v11 and red-zone situations, and also had a pass batted down, as did Jeff Clark, JP Deeter, and Tristan Monday up against the end zone.
Under the guidance of AJ Cooper, the linebackers demonstrated their tactical acumen by focusing on precise lineups at the line of scrimmage. This strategic approach ensured they were always a step ahead of the offense. In live play, Keyshaun Elliott's performance stood out, as he made several second-level stops, one of them preventing a first down and effectively plugged inside rushes.
Several defensive backs had impressive days of practice. After going through the usual footwork and ball-tracking drills to start, much of the roo was active in coverage in a way yet seen this spring. 2023 holdovers Shamari Simmons and Ed Woods both made impressive pass breakups in the end zone, Woods getting a hand on a pass and Simmons knocking the ball out of the grasp of a receiver in stride. Javan Robinson had a pass breakup that also prevented a touchdown, and he’s someone who may have the upper hand on his teammates to start the opposite side from corner Ed Woods.
Newcomers Kamari Wilson, Cole Martin, and Chris Johnson II were strong in second-level tackling, intensely pursuing the ball and limiting yards after the catch. Joseph McGinnis made a pass breakup in the end zone, while freshman Chris Johnson had his best day of the spring with multiple breakups, closing on routes well. Almost every deep shot or chunk throw from the quarterbacks today would be unsuccessful as a credit to this collective effort in the secondary, forcing plenty of held balls and QB scrambles, which were kept in check for the most part.
Several recruits were at practice, including the newest 2025 addition, wide receiver Adrian Wilson. Incoming freshman kicker Kanyon Floyd was there as well.
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