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Once again, let’s jump right in.
Offense:
It is still difficult to judge a lot of the offensive skill positions given the circumstances during practice. I explain that line of thought further in an upcoming podcast (so check that out), but I will leave the “he looked good, he looked bad” analysis to other writers.
- Jaamal Berry spent some time split out wide today during team drills, which indicates Jordan Hall might not be the only RB used in a hybrid role this season.
- At the same time, Hall seemed to spend more time with the RBs and less time with the WRs than he did yesterday. Being early in the camp, the coaches are clearly still trying to work out the finer details in their offensive strategy.
- All of the tight ends (not just Stoneburner) spent time split out wide in certain formations today. Not to be outdone, Stoneburner did spend time lined up all the way to the sideline, which was wider than any of the other TEs went.
- WR Corey Brown spent time giving one-on one instruction to freshman WR Evan Spencer. Brown appears to be taking on a leadership role among the WRs as one of the more experienced players there.
- WR Coach Stan Drayton is a very hands on coach. Multiple times he ran onto the field mid-play to encourage a WR to finish a play strong or to get an extra block in.
Defense:
It looks like the starters are pretty well set on defense already, but there are some open competitions, most noticeably at CB opposite Travis Howard. There was also a lot of movement along the defensive line today, and some younger players spent time with the second team.
Right now, it is all about getting players reps and seeing what they can do on defense.
- There were some changes along the defensive line today, with certain players spending most of their time at different positions from yesterday.
- Adam Bellamy spent most of his time at strong side defensive end today after splitting time at DT with Johnathan Hankins yesterday. He was on the field with the first team and the second team, and moved down to DT when John Simon came on the field at end. It seems clear that Bellamy will be a huge part of the rotation this season and the coaches are expecting a lot of him.
- JT Moore spent a lot of time at LEO with the first team today.
- Melvin Fellows replaced Darryl Baldwin as the primary strong side DE with the second team.
- Joel Hale spent time at SS DE after repping primarily at DT yesterday, with Fellows sliding over to DT at times when Hale was at end.
- Freshman Michael Bennett continued to spend a majority of his time at strong side DE with the third team, along with fellow freshman Chase Farris.
- Kenny Hayes, who played DE in high school, received most of his reps at DT with the third team.
- Freshman DE Steve Miller played LEO almost exclusively.
- Cornerbacks coach Taver Johnson paid a lot of one-on-one attention to Bradley Roby and was pushing him throughout the passing drills. Johnson also spent time with Dominic Clarke and he was clearly focusing on the competition for the starting spot opposite Travis Howard.
- LB Chris Maxwell made a very nice interception off of a bobbled catch from WR T.Y. Williams during group passing drills.
- Nate Oliver once again spend most of the day at Will Linebacker with the 2nd team, and given the recent losses at the position, that seems like a permanent move for him.
- Doran Grant spent time with the second team at CB.
- Freshman LB Curtis Grant stripped the ball during group passing drills and fellow freshman LB Ryan Shazier scooped it up and ran with it, which will hopefully be a series of events repeated often in future games.
- S Jamie Wood spent time as the 2nd string SS when Christian Bryant slid down to star.
Miscellaneous:
- RB Boom Herron continues to be the vocal leader on the team, continuing a trend that he started at least as far back as winter conditioning.
- WR Corey Brown is also very vocal and has some humorous interactions with the DBs from time to time.
- During a conditioning drill, Michigan’s fight song was played over the loud speakers.
- The kickers practiced onside kicks today, but minus the coverage unit.
- Vrabel didn’t run after practice today, but the WRs, DBs, and DL all stayed on the field after practice for some extra instruction from their position coaches, with the WR spending time catching passes from a throwing machine at close range.
- There was a period that simulated a game -like situation today, with the O on one sideline and the D on the other.
- I didn’t spend much time with interviews after practice due to personal time constraints, but I have full faith in the other reporters covering the practice to do a good job with those.
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